List of Contributions

RE: Other platforms than Zoom

Posted By Valerie Farschman 08-22-2020 09:05
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I was lucky, this past spring I was able to use Zoom to work with Amherst Junior High theatre students to produce the 60 minute musical "Through the Looking Glass" which will have a ONE TIME SHOWING ONLY! This coming Saturday, August 29 at 7:00 pm on YouTube https://youtu.be/EdaKfMHD764 Please ...

RE: Online theater project recap.....

Posted By Valerie Farschman 05-29-2020 16:52
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So cute, and so well done. I like how the play itself lent to these small scenes. I hope your students are proud, they should be! You and your son did a nice job of editing, too. We are done recording our "musical" so now the editing begins. I will let you know when it is going to be "viewed." ...

RE: My School will Present Online Play - May 15th & 16th

Posted By Valerie Farschman 05-16-2020 19:48
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I enjoyed Part 2 very much (sorry I missed Part 1)BRAVO to everyone, it was a great and smooth production!Great emotion and energy!Loved some of the special effects with Ricky. My Junior High students and I are currently recording a 60 minute musical, using zoom and videos for the songs.I hope they ...

RE: Recording production on Zoom Question

Posted By Valerie Farschman 05-03-2020 10:07
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We are JUST starting to record our play, so I am far from being an expert. I have not had a chance to see the practice video we did Friday, because a high school student has it (she is editing all our videos for our play). Did you make sure to mark "gallery view" on your screen before you started? ...

How do we get people to donate to our virtual theatre production?

Posted By Valerie Farschman 04-29-2020 10:15
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I am currently working on a virtual performance of a one act musical with junior high students.We are finding this a very exciting as well as a very challenging way to work.We use Zoom to meet and rehearse. The technical differences in WiFi speeds, etc can be frustrating.We will record the Zoom meetings ...

Has anyone practiced songs using Zoom?

Posted By Valerie Farschman 04-15-2020 14:30
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As I move forward rehearsing a one act musical with my middle school actors, we found it difficult to practice our show songs while on zoom due to the lag for some of the singers.Has anyone found a way to rehearse songs with their students?I would be very interested in hearing how you were able to do ...

RE: Special Circumstance Student

Posted By Valerie Farschman 02-27-2020 19:37
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Since the student started with you at the beginning of the year, there is no reason to adjust his status on the website. If he is a senior, it is a mute point. If he is not graduating, he may end up coming back next year, therefore, keep his records up to date. I even kept students who moved to another ...

RE: Live actor playing Audrey II?

Posted By Valerie Farschman 01-08-2020 09:24
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Basic Puppetry 101: If you are using a puppet, then the focus needs to be on the puppet. The only way to make it come to life and be real is if everyone (cast and audience) is looking at it, no matter where the voice is coming from. For instance, when using a hand puppet, the puppeteer looks at the puppet ...

RE: Costumes

Posted By Valerie Farschman 11-12-2019 08:47
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Of course this is not acceptable. In order to teach proper theatre etiquette, you cannot allow any actor to decide what costume they will wear. Sounds like it is time for an important discussion with this performer. For one thing, this actress is NOT playing herself, so her personal likes and dislikes ...

RE: Facial expression exercises for a large "non-theatre" group

Posted By Valerie Farschman 10-08-2019 09:47
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It seems the director is concerned that the students are concentrating more on hitting their notes than what they are singing about, thus their faces are showing concentration when it would be more beneficial to reflect emotion of the song. Start out with stretching exercises - ones that are exaggerated ...

RE: Radium Girls Question

Posted By Valerie Farschman 09-11-2019 18:22
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When we did the show, the only accents were Von Sochocky and Marie Curie, and we used David Alan Stern's Acting with an Accent cds and manual for those two actors. I have used his cds in the past with great success. Some actors don't take it seriously enough, so then I have the assistant director work ...

RE: Rodgers-Hammerstein-Trouble getting rights

Posted By Valerie Farschman 09-09-2019 22:08
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Joseph, I read the article, and I disagree with much of it. That person is entitled to their opinion, however, their interpretation is not completely accurate. There are issues that need to be addressed, but almost every play has issues. Interpretation is in the hands of the director, and there are ...

RE: Wizard of Oz

Posted By Valerie Farschman 08-30-2019 20:37
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Tams-Witmark is the publisher for the popular Wizard of Oz RSC version, that is the one closest to the classic movie. As so many have said - it is a complex musical due to the MANY different scenes. Other versions that have been suggested might be worth perusing, however, I felt that the audience expects ...

RE: Thespian Troupe "Committees"

Posted By Valerie Farschman 05-23-2019 09:03
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What you suggest is novel. I can only share what we have done. Instead of adding to the Troupe Council, we have student Stage Managers and Crew Heads. We have Crew Heads for Set, Lights, Sound, Props, Publicity, House, Costumes, Makeup, Programs and Dramaturge. Sometimes there are two people ...

RE: Crucible Ensemble

Posted By Valerie Farschman 05-23-2019 08:45
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It has been many, many years since I directed The Crucible. This is what I recall: I had done a great deal of research, and cast many girls ( 10 - 12 ) as part of Abby's group. They were all given the names of the actual girls involved so they could research them for character analysis. I had them all ...

RE: ITS Officer Issues

Posted By Valerie Farschman 05-18-2019 08:43
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I agree with Ken. Also, keep in mind that all Thespians are bound by the Thespian pledge (which is in the Induction Ceremony) which states "I promise ...to cooperate with my fellow thespians / and work for the good of the troupe;" So all the Thespians need to uphold that, especially officers. There ...

RE: Peter Sklar's Beginning's Workshop NYC

Posted By Valerie Farschman 04-27-2019 09:34
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He came and talked to my students last year. He gave them very good advice, although it was clear that he was promoting his summer camps. My students googled his name and found those very negative posts, which appear to be suspicious, since the original poster had removed them. (There are far more ...

RE: Audition Workshop?

Posted By Valerie Farschman 03-07-2019 09:01
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What you plan sounds very good. To assist students at my school, several years ago we instituted "Monologue and/or Song Help" (for the musical in the spring they have to have both prepared) after school the Friday before auditions. I did not feel it wise to be involved directly with helping students ...

RE: Guys and Dolls questions.

Posted By Valerie Farschman 03-03-2019 11:35
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I can answer the question about the doll, as this is what we came up with: There are suppose to be two "vendors" (a male and a female) that are selling paper dolls that appear to be magical - they can float and dance on their own! These two people are cons, using a trick wire to make the display paper ...

RE: Spoofed- evening of one acts

Posted By Valerie Farschman 01-26-2019 08:22
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I have performed as Mother Goose for years, and have a script for the stories of The Three Little Pigs and Humpty Dumpty that I adapted myself. We have used them for our Drama Camp, having students in grades 6 - 8th act them out at the end of the camp for their parents. Would you like them? You could ...

Valerie Farschman

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