Monthly Archives: September 2015

Seniors are driving me crazy and most of all driving themselves crazy at this time of year.  The list of colleges that they want to attend and the list of colleges their parents want them to attend and the colleges that will accept them as opposed to the colleges that would accept them but place them into eternal debt as opposed to the colleges too embarrassingly close to home as opposed to those colleges that are too frightenly far away from home as opposed to colleges taking kids far dumber then you  as opposed to colleges that seem to leave kids smarter then you waiting endlessly by the mailbox rusting along with the envelope slot.  Help, oh, help.  “The sky is falling!” says Henny Penny. Read more →

There is one topic in dramatic literature that really does scare me a bit to share with high school folk.  You may think that the topic would be drugs, violence, gender, sexual preference, religion, or morals.  These don’t scare me in the least.  The one topic that does scare me is the topic of despair.  Despair has many faces in dramatic literature.  Most commonly it is referred to as the “pipe dream”.  The “pipe dream” is a sense that the answer, the good news, the reward is on its way through the pipe headed toward you.  What is most painful, of course, is the knowledge that the pipe sprung a leak a long time ago and that nothing is about to happen very slowly. Read more →

As a theatre teacher, I am well aware of how the sword of censorship is always hanging around my neck. In my 22 years of teaching, it has swung a few times and mighty close to the ol’ head, but I got to be a good ducker! Censorship is always such an interesting thing at this age level. I am always struck by the contridictions. Schools can take a wonderful novel like The Color Purple and require it as reading for a senior literature class, even though it contains a few simple lesbian scenes. BUT, god forbid, I staged an accurate rendetion of this novel, even carefully minimizing the lesbian issues, I would be closed down in a few minutes. We can take the nudity in the sculpture class. We can read novels of scandolous, controversial, even abhorant behavior, but, when it comes to the stage. the use of the word “shit” still sparks quite the debate with the powers that be. Funny, huh? Read more →

Today, at the end of Company, I was reflecting on the importance of being present as an actor – and I rather accidentally stumbled on the question of asking students how long it has been since they received a full-out wonderful hug. The response was rather shocking. Many of these attractive, intelligent students got a bit misty eyed and claimed that can’t remember the last time they were hugged. I asked, “aren’t you getting some hugging’ from the ma and pa?” Rather disturbingly many said no. What the heck is up with that? Read more →

I would begin by stating clearly that the administration for my school is amazing.  They support the lowly work of the classroom teacher in amazing ways.  I couldn’t ask better.  But faculty meetings.  Faculty meeting.  Can we talk faculty meetings?

The problem I have about faculty meetings is that is the very best example of the very worst behavior in the school.  No one is paying attention.  Everyone is grading papers, on their laptops, or eating “snacks” as if they had not eaten since the summer began.  And cell phones . .  .cell phones.  Teachers warn students to put them away in that they will distract them and, moreover, it is quite rude.  But we clearly don’t do as we say; we do as we please and crush candy over and over again.  But my number one gripe with faculty meetings is how almost every table has a pair or two that talk and talk and talk through all of the presentations.  Granted some of the presentations are a bit unfocused, but how does that give the audience permission to so misbehave?  And the thing that upsets me the most about this rude, talking behavior is that I am guilty of it almost every time. Read more →