Open Forum

When I first started teaching, like many, I had little budget but wanted to find an inexpensive way to build pride in the program and the students accomplishments without breaking the bank.

 I quickly latched onto two ideas that I followed through with until I retired a few years ago. They were quite simple and extremely cost effective. The first idea was to engage other students not related to the theatre, but rather through the visual arts department. I reached out to the AP Studio Art teacher to see if they might be interested in creating an assignment for their students to create the artwork for our theatrical productions. I would provide the particulars of the show and a synopsis of the story to spark their imaginations. With the enthusiasm of the teacher for the idea, we were off and running.

When all the submissions were finished I then presented the completed artwork to the students participating in the production, in order to select the piece that best represented the story we were trying to tell.

 This was a fantastic process for the cast as we discussed the pros and cons of the various pieces of art. Which ones would catch the eye from a distance and draw someone in to get a closer look, which ones best depicted the play/musical's story, which ones sparked the imagination, were they bold, whimsical, serious, subdued. Lots of interesting discussion, dialogue, compromise,  collaboration to ultimately pick what everyone thought would best represent that particular show.

We used the artwork for our posters, programs, t-shirts anyway PR related. As a reward to the artist whose work was chosen they were given a laminated "Golden Ticket" that was good for one free ticket to ALL of the show throughout one calendar year. So if their art was chosen for the spring musical, their ticket would be good for the next school year.

 The second idea was to mount/glue one of the posters to a two foot by three foot stiff white quality piece of paper. This gave a great boarder and framed the poster nicely. After the production was over every student involved with the production signed their name in the white boarder (I had a 25 color Sharpie assortment for the students to choose from.) I then laminated the final product and hung them along the walls in the black box theatre. 

As the collection of posters grew it became a source of pride for the upperclassmen to point out the shows they had been in to the newer students. It also was a subtle recruiting method as students who were taking a beginning theatre class was ask about them and inevitably see a signature of a friend on a poster.

Many years after one of my students graduated and successfully migrated to the professional world, came back with an ensemble of actors I had brought in to teach a master class for my current students. I didn't know they were apart of the group. She was thrilled to share with her professional colleagues the productions they had been apart of while they had been here, pointing out her signature.

Two simple ideas, low cost, lasting memories.

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Stewart Hawk
Washington State Thespians
206-465-4568
stewart.hawk@gmail.com
http://wathespians.org
------------------------------

Such great ideas.  Thanks for sharing.  Oddly enough, our show this year is set in a museum and our advanced art class is creating all of our pieces for our set.  The student artists will also be there before each performance as "museum tour guides" to discuss the pieces.  The entire auditorium will be set up as one big immersive museum and the show will be performed in the "lobby" area of the museum (at least that's how we will make it appear).  LOVE this!  We have so many art students excited about the show AND the art teacher was thrilled that the theatre program purchased art supplies for them.  We would've had to purchase posters, frame them, etc. anyway, so I told her I'd rather spend it on supplies and have original works from students.  

Another great idea to consider that has been popular at our school is to host some open invite events.  We've tried an improv night, but get mostly theatre kids and not many from outside the program.  The one that draws in students is our Karaoke and Cookies (this year we're adding Cocoa too).  We do it after school and keep it fun and relaxed.  All you need is a laptop to access online karaoke tracks, a few microphones, and the sound system, and voila!  We simply provide a few assorted trays of cookies from our local Publix.  Our administrators and teachers even come and join in the fun!  We've decided to reach out and invite our alumni and other troupes from the area too this year.

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Amy MacCord
Musical Theatre Teacher
Westwood Middle School
FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2023 16:07
From: Stewart Hawk
Subject: Wednesday's Wisdom From EdTA Emeritus Sages

When I first started teaching, like many, I had little budget but wanted to find an inexpensive way to build pride in the program and the students accomplishments without breaking the bank.

 I quickly latched onto two ideas that I followed through with until I retired a few years ago. They were quite simple and extremely cost effective. The first idea was to engage other students not related to the theatre, but rather through the visual arts department. I reached out to the AP Studio Art teacher to see if they might be interested in creating an assignment for their students to create the artwork for our theatrical productions. I would provide the particulars of the show and a synopsis of the story to spark their imaginations. With the enthusiasm of the teacher for the idea, we were off and running.

When all the submissions were finished I then presented the completed artwork to the students participating in the production, in order to select the piece that best represented the story we were trying to tell.

 This was a fantastic process for the cast as we discussed the pros and cons of the various pieces of art. Which ones would catch the eye from a distance and draw someone in to get a closer look, which ones best depicted the play/musical's story, which ones sparked the imagination, were they bold, whimsical, serious, subdued. Lots of interesting discussion, dialogue, compromise,  collaboration to ultimately pick what everyone thought would best represent that particular show.

We used the artwork for our posters, programs, t-shirts anyway PR related. As a reward to the artist whose work was chosen they were given a laminated "Golden Ticket" that was good for one free ticket to ALL of the show throughout one calendar year. So if their art was chosen for the spring musical, their ticket would be good for the next school year.

 The second idea was to mount/glue one of the posters to a two foot by three foot stiff white quality piece of paper. This gave a great boarder and framed the poster nicely. After the production was over every student involved with the production signed their name in the white boarder (I had a 25 color Sharpie assortment for the students to choose from.) I then laminated the final product and hung them along the walls in the black box theatre. 

As the collection of posters grew it became a source of pride for the upperclassmen to point out the shows they had been in to the newer students. It also was a subtle recruiting method as students who were taking a beginning theatre class was ask about them and inevitably see a signature of a friend on a poster.

Many years after one of my students graduated and successfully migrated to the professional world, came back with an ensemble of actors I had brought in to teach a master class for my current students. I didn't know they were apart of the group. She was thrilled to share with her professional colleagues the productions they had been apart of while they had been here, pointing out her signature.

Two simple ideas, low cost, lasting memories.

------------------------------
Stewart Hawk
Washington State Thespians
206-465-4568
stewart.hawk@gmail.com
http://wathespians.org
------------------------------