Good for you for taking this on--the more arts opportunities we offer our kids, the better place our world is. To answer your question.
I am in my 4th school as a solo theatre teacher/department. I have been very successful everywhere, thank goodness. I am currently in a large public school (1700 students) with a very supportive administration (thank goodness). I teach Drama 1 and Advanced Drama, which is a mix of students from Drama II-V. I have an after school drama club and an International Thespian Society chapter. We do three after school shows a year, and 2 in-class shows. For after school, a play in the fall, a one-act in the winter, and a musical in the spring. Our class shows are usually one-acts, sometimes, 1 or 2, depending on the class makeup
I direct all the shows, but I have a student director for the one-act and the class shows. I also do all the set design. All my other tech is handled by my students with input from me. My current leaders train their replacements. I am in my 4th year at this school, and I currently have a permanent stage manager and props chair. My classes do all my builds - I incorporate that into my class. I also will build my classes around the season's shows. For example, we did Macbeth this fall, so I built a stage combat unit into my advanced class and pulled my fight captain from that group--much of the choreography was planned in that class. My current class designed and built puppets for Into the Woods which we are working on right now.
My drama club and ITS are run entirely by the students--I am simply there as an adult
It is a lot of hours but it is very rewarding. My biggest hurdle is scheduling our space, but I have a black box for a classroom, so I always have that for rehearsal and we do our small shows in there. Other than that, the music department and I work together to share so that we get our onstage time when we need it.
Our budget comes from ticket sales, and while I would love more, we have done well enough that we can be self-supporting. I never spend more than about $3000 a show, but I reuse a lot, and I borrow when I can. I balance big expense shows with less expensive shows, or I find ways to save money. We did Jekyll and Hyde last year, but I wrote a new script, so now royalties, so we could spend more money on costumes. My set for Macbeth was completely recycled, and only a stage extension, so I only spent money on a fight choreographer. I have extra money for this show, Into the Woods, so I'm building some replacement stock, and I'm splurging on new stage mics. Our lighting is taken care of by the district, so I don't have to do bulbs or that equipment, except spotlight bulbs.
I would say the keys to be successful are these:
1) Give the kids ownership of the program. While it's tempting to step in and help them - teach them, and eventually, they will run it themselves.
2) A supportive administration. You need an admin that will back you up and will not constantly question why you do things. Many of the things I do require trust - allowing my students to use power tools, allowing my students to work alone on project away from my direct supervision, allowing my students to be the teachers. My admin only asks questions when it's something brand new--they trust me and the students I select.
3) It is a lot of hours - During show season my work weeks are about 50-60 hours, but once I go home, except the few weekend and holiday calls, I'm home. I do very little work at home. It gets less as you delve into the program more.
Becoming a theatre teacher is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
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Marie Miguel
Chespeake, VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-08-2024 10:16
From: Betsy Goldman
Subject: Solo Running a Dept. - Queries
Hello Theatre Educators!
Some background: I work at a very small independent school. Prior to my arrival, the theatre program consisted of an after-school program run by one of the Humanities teachers. Since I have been here, I have been slowly adding theatre courses to the curriculum and trying to create a cohesive theatre program/department that encompasses academic and practical classes during the school day, and after-school productions twice a year.
My question is: For those who are creating or running departments more or less by themselves: in short, how do you do it?
Here are 100 more questions: Do you always direct the shows? Do you hire designers? Do you mentor stage managers? How much of the producer role do you take on? Do you have a budget? Did you create that budget, or was it given to you by whoever is in charge? Do you have other roles at your school? Do you feel understood and/or supported? Do you feel as though you are trying to give students a collaborative theatrical experience despite the fact that you are basically making the whole thing happen on your own?
Hit me with any/everything.
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B.
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