It is an age old problem to combat senoritis. Once May gets here and the non-stop testing begins it is near impossible to get seniors to come inside much less focus on anything of significance in the classroom. We have tried to create many different activities to keep them connected to thier work to the time they walk down the aisle – all with questionable results. The solution that has had the most play is for senior performance majors to create some kind of a showcase or performance in which they present work that has been with them since the beginning of the year. The thought here is that would surley like one more chance to have an audience. Don’t all performers crave one more audience? Well, they don’t. They really don’t. The material they accumulate at the end of the year has long gone stale and they have little interest/ability in resuscitating it. Afterall, this material has gotten them into college doors – in which case it has served its purpose – or it really never did the trick. In any case, it is done!
The other solution has been to give them the time and space to present a one act play all under their selection, rehearsal, guidance and care. Surely, new material will keep them invested. Some years it does – most often it doesn’t. The biggest problem here is that the comradeship that they have had for four years is also wearing thin and the best of friends are just incapable of working together without major rifts.
What to do? What is a performance major to do when performing is just out of the picture?