Third Class

Friday January 23, 2009
Third class for grades 6-8

The third class was upon us. I can't believe that it's almost the end of the first group of kids! Only one more class after this one! Oh how time flies!

So on the heels of learning that some of the kids (Tara, Gia, Jenna and Lexie) all felt as though Rachel and Heather were 'taking over' I decided to have a talk with all my helpers (Rachel, Heather, Elia and Jill) about making sure that I give out feedback on monologues first and then they can emphasize on what they thought. So I started the class with a hello and handed the 'warm up game' over to Elia. She explained her choice of the game and each child went up and did what they were supposed to do, which was to take an item out of a paper bag given to them and say something they will use it for besides what it is actually used for. For instance, if they see a pair of sunglasses in the bag, they take them out and say something like "Well, look what we have here! It's a bottle of hairspray. Good thing I found it so I could make my hair stay where I want it to!" It was funny what some kids came up with. Nick had some sort of ruler thingie and said "Oh! It's a ... plate ... that I eat on." It was amusing. And Daniel C. took out a fork and said "Hey! It's my HAND!" and put the fork in his sleeve. It's creativity like that that makes me giggle.

Once the game was completed we started up on the remaining monologues that needed to be done. I gave feedback first on most of them but then I got tired so I handed off to my helpers. Whatever to some kids thinking that Heather and Rachel are 'taking over'...I am giving them that responsibility, so in reality I am in charge.

The monologues went well and we finished them right in the nick of time. We have like two more monologues left from kids who weren't in class on Friday, but thank God we are done! I am not a huge fan of monologues!!!

So classes are going super well. I am very excited.

Now on another note - I am teaching a theatre class for grades 1-3 at Forest Park Elementary School in North Kingstown every Thursday for an hour (for four weeks). So I started on Thursday and there is this one girl Emma who is HIGHLY OBNOXIOUS! I wanted to scream she was driving me so nutty! I am not too keen on teaching that class. I am definitely saying no if they ask me to do it again next year!

Second Dates

I use to get the ick on the first date. 

Amanda says I'm too picky. Lindsay just tells me to sleep with everyone.

Now I get the ick on the second date. So, I'm growing. 

I had a second date with this guy. He was a nice guy. His body just turned me off. And looks matter. I don't need a great body, but I've gotten in pretty good shape. And good abs turn me on. I just need the stomach flip. I need to not to have to work into getting excited about a guy. It should just happen.

This is why I'm single. I've been single my whole life. I had a lot of issues to overcome and probably still do, but I'm ready for a relationship. The time alone has been great (and lonely), but I'm also not willing to settle. This might make me picky. I just know what I want.

I've had a crush or two -- and one crash. 

I give guys chances. I have hope. Even if the first date is bad now I go on a second date with the hope that something will change.

But with this guy? On the second date I realized he had an accent that went from a nasal induced gay to Joan Cusak in "Working Girl."

"Working Girl" is a funny movie. I love it. It doesn't mean I want to sleep with Joan Cusak. 

Second Class

Friday January 16, 2009
Second class for grades 6-8

Again the nervous jitters shot through my body and I shivered with emotions. I set up a little at the community center and waited. Heather arrived first and we chatted about stuff before the kids came. Leah arrived first...early as a bird. The three of us discussed and did a little chat for a little bit. Once the masses came in and took their seats we were revved up. (My nerves had dissipated once Heather showed up).

Rachel started everybody off on a game called Boom Chika Boom, which was a lot of fun! I thoroughly enjoyed that. Then we immediately started the monologues. Leah was the brave one and the first to volunteer. It took us the entire class to get through maybeeee half of them, probably less than that. We had 4 new peeps join us - Miranda, Baylee, Flynn and Nicholas. So that makes the total 39 kids..YEP that's right THIRTY NINE!

So everyone did a great job with their monologues (especially Chris, who blows me away! He is soo talented!) I hate to single people out because everyone is different and unique in their own way, but Chris is like professional good.

Class ended all too soon and I was left to the task of relaxing. I am highly enjoying myself! This is going to be an amazing year!

First Class

Friday January 9, 2009
First class for grades 6-8

It was the beginning of a long anticipated event, the first class of the NK Drama Program with me as the leader, the Queen, the Director of all. My nerves were fluttering all day between excitement and fear. Although I knew that I would know most everyone there and that I would have four amazing helpers there I was still second guessing myself. Why did I want to do this again? How in the world did I ever think that little me could lead these amazing kids through six months of rehearsals so they could put on an incredible show? What in the world did I get myself into?

As the day came to a close and it was almost time for me to surrender myself to 11-14 year olds my stomach was doing flips. But I couldn't back out now. So I took the wheel of my Jeep and drove to the Community Center to start setting up for the big night. I unlocked the door and the room brought back so many memories of the past years. In that room we had many laughs throughout the years and also a few tears, with scrapes and bruises. I turned on the familiar flourescent lights and dragged the metal chairs out. By the door stood a table where I put the extra flyers and the manila envelope to put the money in. I placed two or three pens for people to use to fill out flyers and write out their checks and waited. I was ready to start, even though I was still extremely nervous.

The first car pulled into the parking lot and my first students stumbled in, Ashley - a sixth grader who has been with us in the past along with a friend of hers, Erin - also a sixth grader. I took their money and flyers and told them to grab a chair and have a seat. Not too bad. Nerves eased only slightly. Following them another new kid. Chris Lysik. He is also a sixth grader. I had seen him in a couple of shows, he was Willy Wonka in his school's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and also as Gavroche in Les Miserables at URI with Fantasy Works. He had also played Young Scrooge in the Trinity Reperatory company's production of A Christmas Carol. I knew from seeing him in those shows that he was excellent! So I became excited that he decided to join us. Suddenly a slew of kids hopped in, excited and screaming. One by one I took their money and flyers and they took a seat. I saw many of 'my kids' who I have become close with. Leah, Tara, Gia, Katie, Jenna, Meghan etc. Tara ran to me and almost attacked me in a hug.

Ten minutes later it was time to start. I turned around and almost had to do a triple take. There were 34 kids sitting there! I was shocked! SHOCKED! So we began and I was still nervous. Thank God for Heather, Elia, Jill and Rachel, who were an amazing help! We stood in a ginormous circle and did an introduction game and then played "What the Heck are you Doing?" After that we talked about theater a little bit and then played some improv games. Chris Lysik and Ashley did one improv game together and I have to say AGAIN that Chris was great! Ashley did awesome too. I have some great talent this year. Casting is going to be TORTURE! After a few improvs I explained the homework somewhat and handed everyone a monologue for them to learn for the next class. Then class was over.

All in all I thought it went pretty well. Although when asked by a parent afterwards I answered with a "I don't know. I think it went okay." I think I have a fear of failure. So I set myself up so if it happens I won't be disappointed. I really need to get over this irrational stupid fear!

Drama

So tomorrow - Friday January 9, 2009 is the beginning of everything I've been anticipating for since May of 2008. Ever since my Mom announced her decision to step down as Director of the North Kingstown Creative Dramatics Program and hand over the entire thing to me I have had a mixture of emotions. At first I was extremely nervous and scared and then I began to become more confident as I started thinking about what to do. Once I became confident in taking over I started getting excited and anxious for it to start (and the year hadn't even ended yet, Wizard of Oz was still in rehearsals!!). So I started planning and decided on doing Beauty and the Beast. I had been trying to convince my Mom to do Beauty and the Beast ever since we started five years ago but each year she would say no. So this year it was MY decision and nobody could stop me now.

So I requested a copy of the script from MTI (Musical Theater International) and they sent me a perusal copy for a few weeks. I looked it over and my insides were bursting in excitement. I started to become un-focused on Wizard of Oz and could think of nothing else but 2009.

After Wizard of Oz went up and the 2008 Drama Year had come to an end - of course I had that "Now What" kind of depression that follows me at the close of each production but I also had the knowledge that I had a LOT to do in the upcoming 7 months. And so I started planning. And planning. And then ... planning more. I contacted the North Kingstown High School to book the auditorium for the weekend I wanted (June 13th and 14th) but was told to call back in the fall - Columbus Day Weekend.

In September Elia (my musical director) and I stopped by Ann O'Grady's house to check out costumes. As I walked into the house Ann tells me that I'm crazy for doing Beauty and the Beast because it's a very difficult show, and has a very wide vocal range that makes it difficult for children to hit the notes. She said that even she had to get some of the older members of her group - upper year high schoolers to play Belle, Beast and Gaston (which she constantly called Gafreau - what??). So I went in to the house bursting with happiness and then was slammed in the face with a reality boot. I was deflated. She did however tell me that this year the Jr. version of the show was going to be available and I should do that version. I didn't want to do the Jr. version. I wanted to do the full version.

She went on and on about this and that and how everything I wanted to do wasn't the right thing. I told her about how I found a website that lets you rent a magical rose and a magic mirror, that are really amazing and cool. And she shot back with - 'Mike Hyde does a really neat magical rose so that it's floating, you should do that.' Eventually I stopped telling her anything. During the hour and a half we were there just perusing the billions of costumes she kept telling us about how she did the show and how it was hard and how it came out great but she's seen a lot of shows that have fallen flat and that she's the best and that she pays her helpers and how she has put on 117 shows and only 2 of which were awful. Her head was blowing up with her arrogance and I just wished it would pop so she would stop telling me what a failure I was going to be and the show was going to be.

I left - making up some excuse of having to do something or the other. I called my mom and complained to her about the entire experience and she told me to just let it go, that Ann liked to talk and to not listen to anything she says.

I decided to listen to my Mom. Ann does have a bit of an 'i'm better than you' attitude, and there's nothing I can do to change that. I have to give her credit, she has been doing this a long time and her shows are great. But I'm not her and I want to do things my way. I did listen to her on one thing, I gave in and decided to do Beauty and the Beast Jr. for two reasons - one the Jr. versions are always easier to Direct and easier for the kids to learn the lines and songs - two, the royalty fee was far less money than the full version's royalty fee so that would give me more money to spend on other cooler things.

So once that was settled I worked on everything else. I finally got in touch with the NK High School and booked the Auditorium and two Chorus rooms for June 25-28th. I booked the Community Center for classes and Rehearsals and found out how much costumes/set would cost, how much the magical rose and the magic mirror would cost, how much sound would cost, how much head sets / follow spots would cost, how much the cyc would probably cost and then filled out the Project Proposal form to send in to the North Kingstown Arts Council so they could approve my budget of $7,073.00 (or somewhere around there).

A couple of weeks later I was notified that my budget was approved!!! There's one weight lifted off of my shoulders...about twenty five more to go! I immediately filled out the royalty form for the show and brought in the paperwork to Stephanie at the Recreation Department for her to send in the payment to MTI.

In mid-December I talked to Al at the Rec. Dept. and he informed me that the sign-up sheet for the classes went out to both Middle Schools (WMS and DMS) to the kids. It made it all the more real and all the more that it's happening soon! Now all I had to do was wait.

In the interim between the end of Wizard of Oz and this moment I had made out a class syllabus for all the grades, made a prompt book of the script, bought and made some of the costumes, and worked on some of the assignments that are to be handed out...so everything is set.

On Tuesday (January 6th) I arrive home to find two boxes on the porch step off of my car port. I was wondering what they were. And lo and behold they were all of the scripts and necessary stuff for putting on the perfect show. I couldn't believe it. I thought it would take a few more months to get the scripts for the show! I don't actually need them until April! But there is about 3 weights off of my shoulders!

So now it's Thursday (January 8th) and finally - FINALLY - after seven months of torturous wait...tomorrow is the big day. The first day of the new NK Drama Program. The first day of classes for the 6-8th graders. I am all sorts of nerves and excitement.

I have these moments when I think - 'Can I really do this?' and other moments of 'This is so great! I can't wait to take the helm and make this the best year ever'.

So what do you think, my faithful Reader? Do you think I can do it?