Open Forum

What type of a teacher/director/troupe director are you? Are you an autocrat, an enforcer, a mother hen, take a lais·sez-faire attitude, do you cajole, are you empathic, a cheerleader, an encourager?

It can be said that at various times we might take on any of those characteristics to help and motivate our students. The important thing is to use whatever means necessary to enable our students to succeed.

When I was teaching the hallmark of my programs was that the students (except in rare occasions) did everything: all the tech aspects of a production, stage managing, marketing, choreography, assistant directors, assistant music directors, etc. They were empowered and given the opportunity to succeed or fail with lessons learned as a result of their experiences. That is not to say that they did not have guidance and help when necessary, and professionals were rarely brought in for tasks out of their skillset; e.g., stage combat, special effects. Bottom line I was teaching confidence in oneself and allowing them to help others to gain confidence and build skills.

So how does one engage their students and empower them to succeed? There is no one easy formula, because all of your students are individuals.

We did four main stage productions a year: a Shakespeare, a comedy or drama, a children's theatre play, and a major musical. However, the real proving ground was that four times throughout the year we would do several evenings of one-acts. Somewhere between 25 and 40 plays a year depending on the length of the plays. Everything about these plays were done by the students. There were guidelines to follow of course, but it was a great proving ground for student to gain skills on a small scale, so that they were ready to take on the task of a main stage production. Those small successes gave birth to larger successes and continued to pay dividends even after my students graduated and went off to continue their life journey.

Not enough can be said about the power of enabling a person to grow as an individual, to find confidence in their abilities, and prepare them to face the future. One never knows how one small accomplishment can change the course of a student's life.

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Stewart Hawk
Washington State Thespian Co-Chapter Director
206-465-4568
stewart.hawk@gmail.com
http://wathespians.org
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Hi Stewart,

I can't say Amen enough times to this.

I ran my program on much the same model. I was there to teach the basics and give the students a launching point for their own ideas and creative talent. My approach to running productions had the students taking responsibility for all aspects of the production under my guidance. For example, I would expect a Freshman to be a part of one of the various crews. A Sophomore would be part of a crew, or possibly an assistant manager, or even a manager if she had shown particular talent. A Junior could be part of a crew, an assistant, or a manager based on her own merits. A Senior could be part of a crew, or an assistant, but I usually didn't let them be managers. I tasked them to pass their acquired knowledge on the the upcoming classes and support the other students in acquiring the skills that the Senior already had. Of Course, some Seniors weren't happy about that, but most quickly recognized that the process was valuable to the program as a whole and it also helped them learn that they could act professionally in whatever role they were assigned. They learned that they wouldn't always be the boss just because they had been there the longest and had the most knowledge. My students owned those productions from the ground up and took great pride in their ability to produce work at very high levels.

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Robert Smith
VA Co-Chapter Director
Virginia Thespians
VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 02:28
From: Stewart Hawk
Subject: Wednesday's Wisdom from EdTA Emeritus Member

What type of a teacher/director/troupe director are you? Are you an autocrat, an enforcer, a mother hen, take a lais·sez-faire attitude, do you cajole, are you empathic, a cheerleader, an encourager?

It can be said that at various times we might take on any of those characteristics to help and motivate our students. The important thing is to use whatever means necessary to enable our students to succeed.

When I was teaching the hallmark of my programs was that the students (except in rare occasions) did everything: all the tech aspects of a production, stage managing, marketing, choreography, assistant directors, assistant music directors, etc. They were empowered and given the opportunity to succeed or fail with lessons learned as a result of their experiences. That is not to say that they did not have guidance and help when necessary, and professionals were rarely brought in for tasks out of their skillset; e.g., stage combat, special effects. Bottom line I was teaching confidence in oneself and allowing them to help others to gain confidence and build skills.

So how does one engage their students and empower them to succeed? There is no one easy formula, because all of your students are individuals.

We did four main stage productions a year: a Shakespeare, a comedy or drama, a children's theatre play, and a major musical. However, the real proving ground was that four times throughout the year we would do several evenings of one-acts. Somewhere between 25 and 40 plays a year depending on the length of the plays. Everything about these plays were done by the students. There were guidelines to follow of course, but it was a great proving ground for student to gain skills on a small scale, so that they were ready to take on the task of a main stage production. Those small successes gave birth to larger successes and continued to pay dividends even after my students graduated and went off to continue their life journey.

Not enough can be said about the power of enabling a person to grow as an individual, to find confidence in their abilities, and prepare them to face the future. One never knows how one small accomplishment can change the course of a student's life.

------------------------------
Stewart Hawk
Washington State Thespian Co-Chapter Director
206-465-4568
stewart.hawk@gmail.com
http://wathespians.org
------------------------------