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Michael Bergman

Theatre Teacher/Director

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Theatre Teacher/Director
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Posted By Michael Bergman 02-24-2024 12:00
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Retired private school theatre teacher. For 40 years, I taught mostly in high schools, with an occasional middle school class. I was responsible for all extracurricular productions, direction, design and for the first 20 years, tech, both musical and non-.
Posted By Michael Bergman 02-01-2024 10:54
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"On the Verge" by Eric Overmyer has quite a few scenes for that would work. It's a challenging play with terrifically dense and witty dialogue for three women.
Posted By Michael Bergman 04-19-2023 11:53
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If you're looking for something low cost and really fun, you might want to look at the farces of Feydeau. They are fast-paced, a little naughty, and very clever. There are lots of translations to choose from. You could also have a look at Moliere, especially his commedia-based "Scapin". ---------- ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 01-19-2023 11:38
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Hi Blake, I had student co-directors on our major productions. They worked with me from the beginning of the process, choosing a play, through the licensing, design, casting, rehearsal planning, and rehearsals. I gave them as much or as little input as they were comfortable with. And we had once-a-week ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 11-01-2022 09:24
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Hi Melinda, I've directed "Oliver!" twice, in very different productions, and it's been a great experience both times. It's a very dark play, even though many at school seemed to think of it as "singing, dancing, happy orphans". Both times, I had girls playing Oliver and Dodger, as well as many of the ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 08-10-2022 14:49
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Hey all, I am in the process of rewriting an original musical. In its first incarnation, it had a very successful run with great reviews. That was a while ago, and I put this rewrite on hold while I taught high school theater for 40 years. Now I'm revisiting it, rewriting some of the songs, replacing ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 07-30-2022 13:47
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Letters to Sala. Based on a true story. When Sala, about to go into the hospital for a serious surgery, presents a box filled with letters to her daughter, the family begins to piece together Sala's unspoken past. The hundreds of letters were collected by Sala when she was in labor camps during WWII. ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 04-10-2022 07:35
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I once directed a production of "Story Theatre" where each of the stories took place in a different location around the school- on our small stage, in a classroom, the cafeteria, a hallway, stairs, an office, outside. The audience traveled with the actors during the musical interludes between stories. ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 12-08-2021 12:14
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We did Metamorphoses in 2005, without the pool. I had seen a production and the spectacle of the pool overwhelmed the story, so I decided to try a waterless version. The audience sat onstage, with the performing area in a thrust configuration. We focused a lot on movement and sound, with the cast, onstage ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 12-08-2021 11:52
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Cori, I highly recommend Letters to Sala by Arlene Hutton. We did it with 4 males and a large group of females. A wonderful script with lots of meaty roles. Based on a true story so there's lots of research opportunities for your actors. Arlene Hutton is very available if you have any questions about ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 11-29-2021 03:30
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I've done Alice in Wonderland more times since college and throughout my teaching career than any other title. The most traditional version is Eva Lagalliene's and covers Wonderland and Lookingglass. It's long and very wordy. The most abstract one is Andre Gregory and The Manhattan Project's version. ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 08-13-2021 07:37
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You have the perfect numbers for "Letters to Sala" by Arlene Hutton. There are plenty of low-tech solutions to the challenges of this play. It also offers great opportunities for your actors to do research. And it ties in beautifully with history department curriculum. ------------------------------ ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 08-13-2021 07:29
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We had running water on our set for "The Diary of Anne Frank". We ran a hose from our shop to the onstage sink and had a trash can underneath, hidden by the counter. One of our ASM's jobs was to dump the water during intermission and after the show. It was so easy and the audiences were completely mesmerized. ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 05-04-2021 16:45
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Thank you, everyone, for your ideas and suggestions. I now have a list of things to add to our theatre library and will hopefully find, among them, the perfect, meaningful gift for this senior. (Because of the changes to our productions this year, I have some extra money left over in my budget. I am ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 04-28-2021 10:24
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Hi all, It's that time of year that I hate- Awards Season. We spend almost 4 years trying to keep an even playing field in theater activities, and then we need to select a Senior to receive a department award. So I am looking for recommendations for a book to present at the awards assembly. The recipient ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 04-12-2021 09:07
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The students in the Periods and Styles class are working on Comedy of Manners. There are some great monologues and dialogues between two characters. But as luck would have it, there is an odd number of students in the class. Does anyone have a recommendation for a 3-character scene in this genre? It ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 04-09-2021 13:36
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Hi all, I have a former student who is interested in taking some online graduate level courses in film theory. I don't teach much about films, and I certainly don't know much about grad school programs. I am reaching out in the hope that someone here does. Do you know of any school where this person ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 03-13-2021 09:25
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We are going into in-person rehearsals for a production that has a few absolutely necessary kisses. The students will be masked and, when possible, distanced. Our school is being extremely careful, requiring regular testing, especially now that a modified athletics season is up and running. So I am feeling ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 02-21-2021 19:38
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Hi all, Has anyone done "Almost, Maine" in an outdoor setting? We're looking at doing it this spring, and, to avoid lots of issues, I'm thinking about setting up some chairs and lights in a field and doing it there- makeshift platform stage with minimal scenery. I just can't figure out how to drop ...
Posted By Michael Bergman 10-20-2020 19:44
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Hi Theatre Gang. Has anyone had any successes with Zoom-filmed musicals? There is a limited number of musicals that are legally licensed for recording and broadcasting. Given the national trends on Covid, along with the medical predictions, I do not think that we will be able to do anything live in February. ...