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Amy Sidwell

Director of Theatrical Arts

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Director of Theatrical Arts
Bronze Member

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East Coast Theatre Camps?

Posted By Amy Sidwell 03-03-2016 22:36
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AH HA! I found the list in the general search, not in the forums. However, I would still love some suggestions of camps your middle school students have loved. I am currently teaching in China, and I have some parents interested in summer theatre camps on the east coast. As I am from the west, I ...

RE: In the Heights: I need males & props

Posted By Amy Sidwell 02-18-2016 01:59
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I always find questions such as this frustrating. As a female in the arts, I wonder why any director would choose a show where they are scraping the bottom of the barrel for male talent and leaving their many. many, female actors to play bit parts and mothers. Just because the show is a favorite of yours, ...

RE: Middle School Shows/Musicals featuring Chinese characters?

Posted By Amy Sidwell 09-24-2015 01:34
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Thanks for the great suggestions, all! Sorry for the slow response, but internet isn't always reliable around here. I've got some good shows to look at now. ------------------------------ Amy Sidwell Director of Theatrical Arts Shanghai ------------------------------ ---------------- ...

RE: Middle School Curriculum Plays

Posted By Amy Sidwell 09-11-2015 11:15
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Hi Tierney, If you are looking to connect to Middle School CCSS such and so, does history count? There are two great plays about the Triangle Factory Fire (which is often studied in middle school social studies/history). One features mostly younger folks as many of the workers killed in the fire ...

Middle School Shows/Musicals featuring Chinese characters?

Posted By Amy Sidwell 09-11-2015 10:49
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So, I've made a fairly large move in the past few months. I'm now teaching drama in Shanghai (and have gone from seven preps to just three...whew...we won't talk about my attempts to remember my high school Chinese lessons). Anyway given the nature of shipping things to China and getting rights, I apparently ...

RE: Costume Organization

Posted By Amy Sidwell 06-12-2015 10:33
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When I took over the department, there was no organization due to a fire the previous spring. All of the costumes were simply brought back and dumped onto the racks with no rhyme, reason, or color sorting. We got them mostly organized and had to pack all of the costumes up the next year for duct cleaning. ...

RE: Pre-Tests for Acting

Posted By Amy Sidwell 05-15-2015 14:01
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I do basically the same thing as the others. However, I also give a start of the year pre-test on theatre vocab. Since learning the "language of the theatre" is a vital part of our teaching, this is a highly concrete way to measure growth with a semester one and semester two final on basic terms. Besides, ...

RE: Website frustrations

Posted By Amy Sidwell 01-22-2015 14:52
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Ok, follow these steps: Go to membership at the top left of the page under the Ed Theatre logo. Under Manage a troupe, select My Thespian (or Junior) troupe. Under "Add New Troupe Members" click on "Induct Thespians" (On the center of the page, not on the side menu.) Read what the next page ...

RE: Recommendations for Voice work

Posted By Amy Sidwell 01-05-2015 11:17
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We used Edith Skinner's Speak with Distinction in my college program. It's got some good things for you as the teacher. You might also look at this one: http://www.amazon.com/Right-Speak-Working-Voice/dp/0878300554/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420474525&sr=1-1&keywords=patsy+rodenburg It's ...

RE: Seeking suggestions for a shorter 45-60min, funny, minimal set requirements play for ages 9-14...what have you done/seen that you lived. Thanks

Posted By Amy Sidwell 01-05-2015 11:08
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The Check Please series by Jonathan Rand is humorous. I know they have been done to death in the schools, but if your school district hasn't seen them yet, they are sure to entertain. There are an even number of male and females roles and all have potential for good character work to avoid stereotypes. ...

RE: Dramatic Publishing play suggestions...

Posted By Amy Sidwell 01-05-2015 11:06
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We did Maricela de la Luz Lights the World, it's a children's theatre piece, but has great puppet and mask work potential. It's made for six actors, but we split the doubled roles. ------------------------------------------- Amy Sidwell Director of Theatrical Arts Woodburn Arts and Communications ...

RE: Course Descriptions

Posted By Amy Sidwell 11-19-2014 12:58
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Our technical theatre class is Stagecraft. I also have a Production Management (Writing) class which counts as an elective or language arts credit. I am dual certified. This class just started this year and so far I am loving it. The students were divided into teams for publicity, costumes, sound, props, ...

RE: Need help with ideas

Posted By Amy Sidwell 11-18-2014 13:53
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You have to figure out how to connect the work in IB Theatre to other classes and philosophies. The four assessments they must complete this year demand a level of knowledge and personal engagement in/with world theatre. Have you visited the OCC forums for IB Theatre? There are some excellent resources ...

RE: Musical Charlie Brown Cost$$

Posted By Amy Sidwell 11-18-2014 09:31
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We did Charlie Brown last year and the costs weren't quite so high. It depends upon the price of your tickets. We do two school matinees with tickets for 1.00 and those shows were under 200.00 (I don't recall the exact price). However, the rights and script/book rentals for the show were certainly budget ...

RE: Auditioning Greek chorus

Posted By Amy Sidwell 10-31-2014 14:52
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Hi Nathan, One thing to do is play a song which evokes something you are looking for in the play. Tell the group you are going to give them a topic or theme and you would like them to create an add on stage picture which relates to the theme/topic. Each person takes a position and then the next person ...

RE: Line Memorization/Preparation

Posted By Amy Sidwell 10-31-2014 14:48
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Mark Northrup sent me this great list of tricks which he meant to send to the whole forum. It's his first post, and I'm so glad he sent it! I let him know I would post it for him if I didn't see it in the thread, so here you go: Message From: Mark Northrup Hello, I created this document for kids ...

RE: Line Memorization/Preparation

Posted By Amy Sidwell 10-29-2014 16:57
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I'm a natural memorizer, so teaching my students how to memorize is something I really have to think about. I do know that writing words out helps connect them to pathways in the brain, so I like this recent article I saw in Backstage: http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts ...

RE: Adaptations of Greek Plays

Posted By Amy Sidwell 10-28-2014 11:03
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Last year we did Agatha Rex, an adaptation of Antigone. This can be found at theatrefolk.com. Here is one of our shots: Here is a link to the page https://www.theatrefolk.com/products/agatha-rex. I like the modern use of the chorus and the students related to the play. We had one of our ...

RE: Tax audit

Posted By Amy Sidwell 10-14-2014 09:14
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I either use schedule C or schedule A to deduct non-reimbursed educator/employee expenses--I can't remember which at the moment. As I purchase a variety of items for my department/shows, the 250 limit on the regular tax forms doesn't cut it. I make sure I note the reasons for the purchases on each receipt. ...

RE: IB Theatre

Posted By Amy Sidwell 10-14-2014 09:06
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Yipes, that's tough! It's an especially hard year to start IB as the old exams are ending and the new exams are starting up. I'm sure you've visited the IB Theatre forum in the OCC. If not, start there! Your IB coordinator will have to give you your password and login. Below is the information ...