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Mark Johnson

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RE: Functional Theatre Class

Posted By Mark Johnson 08-03-2017 13:52
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I always have students from our exceptional program in my theater arts classes. Most will be in theater arts one, but our local community theater specializes in working with students with special needs, so I get a good number of students who are experienced and easily move into theater arts two. What ...

RE: More IN THE HEIGHTS questins (just one, actually)

Posted By Mark Johnson 02-27-2017 19:54
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We did a low tech window blind version, but it was not a traditional blind. I'm not sure the name of the type of blind, but it didn't roll or raise and lower/louvre. It was 1" pieces of flat wood woven tightly together so that it could fold up and tuck away and be about 6" thick, but when it was brought ...

RE: Theatre teacher longevity, burnout and general career wellness

Posted By Mark Johnson 11-03-2016 12:30
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What in incredible topic for us to explore. I think first we need to set aside any & all "woe is me" talk. Every single drama teacher knows what they are signing up for. If they don't, whomever helped prepare them failed them. I have found the single best thing, as mentioned in certain ways already, ...

RE: Directing class scene studies

Posted By Mark Johnson 08-10-2016 20:02
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Not EXACTLY what you are looking for, but I use Love and Information by Carol Churchill. Incredibly open ended, short dialogue with collections of "scenes" on a theme. I use the term scenes loosely, so it may really work. I use it as my initial project in Acting III. My classes are year long and we only ...

RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

Posted By Mark Johnson 07-10-2016 20:52
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This isn't a home run money maker size wise, but it is a brilliant idea I took from a colleague that changes almost nothing of what you do, but brings in easy, easy money. I think the original name was mail boxes, but we call them mailbags. For our big musical, we set up a table right by concessions ...

RE: Cutting for One Act

Posted By Mark Johnson 07-07-2016 10:13
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I have been cutting scripts for a long time and have come up with a reasonably successful approach. In no particular order, here are the main points I consider. Don't be afraid to cut material, even if it makes you feel bad. Good jokes, tender moments, interesting characters: they all need to ...

Aladdin

Posted By Mark Johnson 06-06-2016 18:47
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I know there are a ton of versions, so I'd love some help seeking out the best. My students would like to do a non-musical version of Aladdin for our childrens' show next year. I have 3-4 acting classes and each has its own performances, but share set/costumes/props etc. Because of the range of actor ...

RE: Producing IN THE HEIGHTS

Posted By Mark Johnson 05-07-2016 10:18
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That was our musical last year and I've never had students more excited to be apart of a show. I saw someone mentioned the opening to Act II. If your school teaches Romeo and Juliet, I would think people would be hard pressed to have issues. Benny and Nina are, in fact, start crossed lovers. I agree ...

RE: Student input on season selection

Posted By Mark Johnson 03-26-2016 08:41
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This is a wonderful topic that every single one of us must consider and deal with. I am responding because I feel I have a slight variation worth adding. I use the following process for our three shows (a children's show, a one act, and a musical) I have a board of five elected students who gather ...

RE: New teacher needs some ideas for scene work

Posted By Mark Johnson 12-20-2015 10:15
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I inherited a program that left me very little performance material, and with over 100 drama students I need to have a good amount of variety. My biggest advice: ebay! I bought so many books for dollars. It takes time to look through them, but what I do is tag the good ones and make copies. I then bind ...

RE: cafeteria-type roll up gate

Posted By Mark Johnson 10-18-2015 13:40
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We had to solve this problem for a production of In the Heights. What we ended up using was a type of fold-up window shade that we found at Home Depot. We painted it gray and then did some graffiti. It looked pretty good. ------------------------------ Mark Johnson Theatre Arts Teacher Farmington ...

RE: Gun prop in school play

Posted By Mark Johnson 10-16-2015 11:38
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I fully believe in teaching my students at the highest level I can, and sometimes that means weapons. I have two protocols I follow. All weapons, when in storage, are behind two locks: one door, one padlocked cabinet. When they are being used in a show (or in a class project), they again get locked behind ...

RE: Hookah in Alice in Wonderland??

Posted By Mark Johnson 10-15-2015 07:01
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When we did the show, we used bubbles. It kept the oddity of the caterpillar's actions, and gave him something to do while being annoyingly slow with answers. Plus, it solved the issue at hand. ------------------------------ Mark Johnson Theatre Arts Teacher Stevenson HS Sterling Heights, MI ...

Paint Brush Storage

Posted By Mark Johnson 05-05-2015 18:41
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I need someone who has creatively solved an issue, as all the ideas we've tried have issues. Fundamentally, I need a clean and organized way to store paintbrushes (both regular and artist) and rollers after they've been washed. The shop I inherited has a laundry tub installed after the fact over a slop ...

RE: Large scale glass panes

Posted By Mark Johnson 03-17-2015 17:18
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I might just give this a try. Do you do anything special to it, or just let it be the greyish black! MJ ------------------------------ Mark Johnson Theatre Arts Teacher Farmington Hills MI ------------------------------

RE: Large scale glass panes

Posted By Mark Johnson 03-14-2015 14:09
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I am hoping to have the glass to paste signs/ads to, and I really like the look of the reflective look. That is obviously my final back up, I just home there is another way to go. MJ ------------------------------ Mark Johnson Theatre Arts Teacher Farmington Hills MI ------------ ...

Large scale glass panes

Posted By Mark Johnson 03-10-2015 11:11
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We are mounting a production of In the Heights and need to create three storefronts, which if done correctly, would appear to be mostly glass. There is no way we can afford to buy plexiglass (and of course real glass is off the table), so what can we do??? Mark J ------------------------------ ...

RE: Large cast ensemble plays

Posted By Mark Johnson 01-25-2015 18:23
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Have you considered material by William Mastrosimone. His stuff is geared towards high school students, but is quite well written and is very open ended. ------------------------------ Mark Johnson Theatre Arts Teacher Farmington Hills MI ------------------------------

Teaching Theater

Posted By Mark Johnson 12-27-2014 10:51
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Is there a good way to search articles from the Teaching Theatre publication? I am working on my masters thesis and I bet there's some good stuff in there. Unfortunately, I only have three issues in print. Thanks ------------------------------------------- Mark Johnson Theatre Arts Teacher ...

Hip Hop Music from Musicals

Posted By Mark Johnson 09-09-2014 20:45
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I am looking for suggestions for a hip hop song (has to be from a musical) to do a dance routine for the state festival. Last year we did a number from "In the Heights," which coincidentally is our musical this year, so that is out. It can even be a number that you could dance hip hop to that might not ...