Monthly Archives: December 2016

Perhaps “fresh meat” is a bit to crude of a term to talk about new actors to the stage – but it is all said in great respect and enthusiasm. Christmas Carol was one of those BIG high school shows that opens the doors to lots of underclassman to make their first appearance on stage. Many have not been on stage since the early years of elementary school or church plays. This is a big step forward. The expectations are much higher and the potential rewards much more exciting. I love to watch them backstage getting ready for the show. Their enthusiasm is well going to make up for any lapse in their early training. All of that time in those freshman and sophomore acting classes are now going to come to some kind of fruition. All of that process is going to be some kind of product – and that feels good.

2016 has been one crazy year for people dying – both famous people in the media and folks right off my Facebook of friends. One particular death that hit me hard is the death of a fellow teacher, Dennis Sims from West Palm Beach. When I was State Director for Florida State Thespians, I spent over a decade watching his shows and admiring his work. He was one of very few high school directors who put the story above everything. Read more →

Yesterday, I had a rather interesting taste of irony in the classroom. In that we are now just days away from Christmas Break, I am fortunate to have many students – particularly those who just graduated last year – come back and spend sometime with my current classes of seniors to share a bit of their journey leading them from seniors through auditions, college selections, money management and actually being a part of the a freshman college class. Read more →

We are doing Fantasy Creations in Theatre History in these last few days before Christmas break. I started the section by asking for books that they had read that were fantasies – and they named the usual collection of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings – – but then their imagination just gave up. Gave up? Really? Read more →

I have a growing curiosity to walk down the halls of the academic building and actually see what is going on. At our school we have one, very new building that houses most of our academics. It has been so long since I have been in one of those “readin’, writin’, ‘rithmetic” classes, that i am not sure what even goes down. Read more →