Re-Story Theater 2014-15 & Your Art-filled Summer
“Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been.” -from a poem by Alan Alda My H.S. Drama One class has ended and in a great way—a melodrama by Craig Sodaro, “Wait ‘Til The Sun Shines Nellie”! It’s been fun to see timid, apprehensive, quiet students blossom into confident and capable actors and servant-artists. And for those that possessed drama skills already, there was a refining of them that may have even surprised them. We are all...
Read MoreShakespeare & The American H.S. Drama Student
“We know what we are, but not what we may be.” –William Shakespeare Remember way back in August when I shared of how I would be teaching a H.S. theater class, once again? Every Friday, I teach a group of 15 H.S. students. It’s been a good year, so far! And a very stretching one for all of us. For me, it has been the reusing of old muscles and building back strength. And for most of my students it has been the building of new muscles. They’re a wonderfully creative group of teens. ...
Read MoreWorkshops Shape Vision and Bring Hope
In a culture that can’t seem to find its common narrative, we found one as we risked embarrassment, misunderstanding and fear as we shared our own personal stories that day… My January Storyday—“The Power of Storytelling and Spoken Word”—was powerful and meaningful for its participants, including its speaker-teacher. Every age was represented, from teenager to senior. We gathered up from central California to San Diego, and added Kansas and South Africa in for contrast and depth....
Read MoreMOVING FROM LABOURER TO CRAFTSMAN TO ARTIST
He who works with his hands is a labourer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist. —Saint Francis of Assisi This was the first quote that I wrote on the board for my Drama One students. It went in their new and empty Actor’s Journal. It’s a composition book where they are to relate their growth, challenges, ah-hah moments, and general thoughts about being a student-actor. It’s also a place they...
Read MoreHeading Back to School…and Back to the Classroom!
I said, “Yes.” Yes, to teaching Drama One to high school people, once again. I am excited about this. I am nervous about this. I am qualified for this. Are teachers better teachers years later? Yes. Why? Because of accumulated knowledge and tons of practical experience. I have never really stopped teaching. I lead workshops, coach and mentor artists, direct and produce shows. Plus, I have raised a teen and I am raising a teen. Teenagers no longer bring fear and dread as they once did when I...
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