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Elizabeth Berg

Drama Teacher

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Drama Teacher
Bronze Member

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Shakespeare Duo Scenes

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 09-14-2020 14:59
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Hey educators! What are your favorite 2-person scenes to use with students who are new to performing Shakespeare? ------------------------------ Elizabeth Berg Drama Teacher ------------------------------

RE: Blood and Lady M

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 02-13-2020 00:22
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When I directed this show, we used a liquid fake blood that my tech director made. I'm not sure what recipe she used, but there are several recipes online, and you can also purchase it. We had two crew members in charge of applying the blood (using a sponge) to Macbeth and Lady M's hands while they were ...

RE: Yellow brick road in Wizard of Oz

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 02-12-2020 14:33
Found In Library: Open Forum

RE: Yellow brick road in Wizard of Oz

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 02-12-2020 14:33
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When I directed this show at a middle school, I cast a student with dance experience as the "yellow brick road dancer." She had a dance feature during "Follow the Yellow Brick Road," and then she would re-enter between each scene and dance across the stage as the other actors followed her. We didn't ...

RE: Lend Me A Tenor's Otello

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 09-09-2019 21:28
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I would suggest reaching out directly to Samuel French. While I don't know this for sure, I have heard from another director that Ken Ludwig recently updated the play and changed the opera from Otello to Pagliacci (a change that had already been made in the musical version). They may be able to tell ...

RE: Wizard of Oz

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 08-29-2019 18:25
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Tams-Witmark has a Young Performers' Edition of The Wizard of Oz that I directed at a middle school last year. I've done a lot of the MTI JR. shows as well, and the Tams-Witmark YPE adaptations are pretty similar and provide you with many of the same resources. More info is available here: https://t ...

RE: Advocating for teaching space

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 05-30-2019 23:36
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Two things come to mind for me. The first is having an open playing space. The amount of space you need is really dependent on how many students are in the class, but the room should be large enough for all students to be physically engaged in drama activities at the same time. And open space is important; ...

RE: Kissing

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 02-14-2019 16:16
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I would definitely suggest scheduling a rehearsal with just Curly and Laurey (and the director/stage manager) so that they can practice the kiss without an "audience." Not only is this likely to make things less awkward, but it also creates a safe space where they can communicate freely and you can make ...

The Wizard of Oz: Production Design Ideas

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 01-02-2019 22:27
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Happy 2019, everyone! I'm getting ready to direct The Wizard of Oz at my middle school, and I'm interested in doing something a bit stylized/non-traditional with the production concept and design. I'm currently researching and gathering ideas, and I'm curious if any of you have creative ideas or photos ...

Middle School Play Suggestions

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 08-21-2018 14:28
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Hi everyone! I'm in the process of picking a show for my middle school's fall play, but I haven't yet found a script that feels quite right -- and since this community is always such a great resource, I thought I would turn to you for suggestions! I'm looking for something a bit more sophisticated ...

Middle School Policies: Rehearsal Attendance & High School Assistants

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 08-11-2018 02:42
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Hello all, I'm getting ready for the upcoming school year and making tweaks to our production policies, and I'd love to hear from other teachers about your policies at your own schools. I'm happy to hear everyone's thoughts, though I'm specifically interested in hearing from other middle school teachers. ...

RE: Double Casting Macbeth

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 06-04-2018 21:11
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I directed Macbeth a couple of summers ago with an all-female cast of 14 actors. It was a really great experience. I had to get my script down to an hour (part of a summer theatre festival with several shows running in rep), and since I only had 14 actors, I ended up cutting a large number of characters: ...

Music Man Firecrackers

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 04-29-2018 18:43
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How many of you have directed or worked on The Music Man at your schools? I'd love to hear how you handled the moment when Tommy sets off the firecracker onstage.  Thanks! ------------------------------ Elizabeth Berg Drama Teacher Ashland Public Schools -- Ashland Middle School --------- ...

RE: Quantitiy vs. Quality: Choosing your next production

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 04-28-2018 13:53
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This is a great discussion! I would like to echo what others have said about quality and quantity not being mutually exclusive. In my productions, I always try to prioritize both. I teach at a middle school, and it's my policy to cast everyone who auditions. I really believe in this, primarily because ...

Renting Period Costumes

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 02-25-2018 15:13
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Hi everyone! I'm directing The Music Man this spring and am looking into renting costumes for the first time. I'd love to hear from other teachers about your past experiences with costume rentals -- specifically, if you have any favorite (affordable) rental companies, and how you've handled measurements ...

RE: Casting Children's Theater Camp

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 02-25-2018 14:39
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When I've taught summer theatre programs with this age group and size, I've always done a group-based audition, typically set up like this: Phase 1 is slating. Students line up, shoulder to shoulder, and then one at a time, they step forward and say their name and age. The first round of this is done ...

RE: Peter and the Starcatcher - is 22 actors way too many?

Posted By Elizabeth Berg 01-14-2018 16:41
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I definitely think Peter & the Starcatcher is expandable for a cast of 22 -- and figuring out creative ways to expand it could be an awesome artistic challenge for you and the cast. Because you mentioned that your school and theatre program are so new, it might be helpful to think about your goals ...