Realized that I didn't tackle the question quite thoroughly;
How do you get parents involved?
-Takes time. My parent cook's elementary and high school daughters were in my production. She also thinks I'm some sort of magical being, seeing how her older daughter has blossomed and changed and transformed through her involvement with theatre. I really didn't do anything but gently nudge her along. But her mother and father are totally sold on our program because of that. So it's not an easy question to answer because her help was unsought, and just offered based on what transformation she's seen in her daughter. There are others, I'm sure, and I'm beginning to note that the parents of those shy, retiring types are most enthusiastic in helping, as they see first hand the power of theatre arts involvement. Which is nice.
-Choose a musical in which you can get elementary students in the cast. Or force them in; we had 8 elementary girls playing the role of Anybody's in West Side Story. 40 in our production of Wizard of Oz. Elementary parents as a rule of thumb seem to be way more eager and excited to help than the average high school parent. Over half of those parents for Oz insisted on helping in make-up, costuming, snacks, etc. They probably would have done more, but it was my first high school production ever, so I was still clutching onto everything I could. When I have that many parents offering to help again, I'm definitely going to jump on it.
-Induction night. You've done 6 productions this year, which sounds like many students earned points or enough points to get inducted. Use the induction night to promote the Parent Booster club. Offer incentives; booster membership gets you a free ticket to each show of the year. Chaperoning or building X number of hours earns another ticket, something like that. When the parents start getting the one free ticket, it's likely that they're going to call on more people to come see their baby in their latest show, so you shouldn't lose too much in ticket sales (the booster club fee should offset it a little bit, plus by their involvement you're buying yourself some sanity).
-How do I let go/give independence/responsibility to students whilst still maintaining quality?
-It's definitely hard. You know when you have your own kids, and they want to help you sweep the floor, or make the bed, or do the dishes? They're like 4 years old or something. Worst thing as a parent you can do is say no; what's worse is if you let them do it, then go around after them to 'correct' what they do. So...there might be a slight dip in the quality. A slight one. BUT you're giving your students something incredibly valuable by letting them 'make the bed'. They are going to know it's not perfect - they've seen what a well-made bed looks like, but a four year old might get it perfectly wrinkle free, or they might pull the sheet at a crooked angle, but they are going to get it right on successive attempts. They have to make the mistakes in order to learn. Give them room to fail, that's what the rehearsal is for. On our recent West Side Story, I merely facilitated my stage manager and lighting tech to punch through the cues together. During tech run, I patiently waited for them to work through the issues, asked questions, probed thinking, asked them to explain their process, etc. On production night, my tech crew made one mistake. Which was nice. You are still overseeing it, but now you're moving it into the master/apprentice role. Once the kids have had sufficient practice, you can let off even more, and watch as Shira's model takes over: the kids will start training each other. Theatre is such a wonderful opportunity for kids to grow through being given real responsibility over a real, tangible thing, that has a public audience.
-How do I get them to respect the program and take pride in what they do?
-One, they're teenagers, and may not show respect in the same way we expect respect to look like. They may not also be able to articulate it yet. There's obvious disrespect, and that shouldn't be tolerated, but this is another role or part of our curriculum - to teach them the ways in which to show respect for you, the program, the work, etc. Generally, I'm sure they do respect your program and you in ways you might not even realize: John, you strike me as very passionate about theatre, as well as being willing to ask difficult questions (I'm so glad you asked about being disorganized: until you said it, I thought I was the only one!) that don't have easy answers. But again, your students already respect you or they wouldn't be involved with your program. Those who don't, might be dealing with stuff way out of your control. It's another opportunity to teach them about how the world works. Give respect, get respect, blah yadda rakka yap yap.
Okay, that's enough writing. Sorry to talk your ear off, and hope it helps even a smidgeon. Keep up the good work!
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Phillip Goodchild
Ruskin FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2015 08:18
From: John Perry
Subject: Production Fatigue
Three years ago I added a Freshman/Sophomore production to our schedule. This would give the Fr/Soph stage time because I tend to use Juniors/Seniors in the main-stage shows. This year we had 6 productions in our schedule: Fall play/musical, state competition play, Winter talent show, Spring production, Freshman/Sophomore production, and student written one-act plays.
It's killing me. I do almost everything. Stagecraft class helps but very few of the students work after school on shows. I don't know how to get parents involved and I tend to be protective and I don't let go of responsibility easily. I may have too high of expectations for my productions.
It's late in the year and I'm feeling the burn-out coming on!
We are cutting out the Fr/Soph play next year because the Principal see's my classwork suffering because of the production schedule.
The question: How do I get parents involved in helping with the Fall musical? How can I let go and allow the students more independence yet maintain quality? How do I get the students to respect the program and take pride in what they do?
Thanks, I needed that bit of venting.
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John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
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