1 00:00:02,220 --> 00:00:07,400 Hello, welcome to, But I Digress, a podcast about educational theater and how maybe we 2 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:08,919 should run an educational theater. 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,400 This week we are talking about how to get started with your program. 4 00:00:12,580 --> 00:00:14,560 And with that, here's Jennifer. 5 00:00:18,620 --> 00:00:20,339 Theater program, educational theater program. 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:26,399 In this episode, we plan on giving you an idea of what is it that you would, 7 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:27,920 what's the beginning? 8 00:00:28,219 --> 00:00:29,320 How do you start in the beginning? 9 00:00:30,159 --> 00:00:33,039 You just, you don't ask permission, you just go. 10 00:00:35,039 --> 00:00:38,119 The one, so I've started more than one theater program, but this one is the one I've 11 00:00:38,119 --> 00:00:40,000 stayed with the longest for various reasons. 12 00:00:40,539 --> 00:00:44,960 And actually, when we first started it, we didn't have an auditorium. 13 00:00:45,299 --> 00:00:49,560 They built one like a year later, but there was student interest and it started 14 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:51,060 out just as a club. 15 00:00:51,119 --> 00:00:55,020 And we had a function at our school where once a month all the clubs got to meet 16 00:00:55,020 --> 00:00:55,979 during school. 17 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,340 And so we would meet and students would bring their own like skits or there 18 00:01:01,340 --> 00:01:02,520 was a ballet dancer. 19 00:01:02,619 --> 00:01:07,640 There were these boys that made these really impressive Muppet style puppets 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,040 that would do skits from the Muppet show and stuff like that. 21 00:01:10,060 --> 00:01:13,760 And so people just performed, just brought their own things to perform in. 22 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,159 And we also went to see a lot of plays. 23 00:01:16,180 --> 00:01:19,459 And then we just got really lucky because I didn't know this was going to 24 00:01:19,459 --> 00:01:23,640 happen when we started the program, that they built a really, for our area 25 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,480 and for the size of our district, a very nice auditorium for us to use. 26 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,280 And then we just, I just said, OK, now we're doing it. 27 00:01:29,299 --> 00:01:31,760 Like there wasn't, I didn't, there wasn't a lot of planning. 28 00:01:31,799 --> 00:01:34,219 One of which meetings I didn't ask permission from anybody. 29 00:01:34,739 --> 00:01:39,200 I just said, here's the thing that I'm then we're going to do it. 30 00:01:39,260 --> 00:01:41,840 So there was not, I don't know, wasn't done by committee. 31 00:01:43,019 --> 00:01:46,359 So for a first episode that tells you how to make a drama program, 32 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:51,180 the the idea that you didn't have a plan and didn't ask anybody's 33 00:01:51,180 --> 00:01:53,659 permission really shortcuts the. 34 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:55,359 Well, I mean, I had done it before. 35 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:00,900 I mean, I think like so the first show that I ever did that I felt 36 00:02:01,460 --> 00:02:06,480 like was not just like a Christmas play or a cute little kindergarten 37 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:07,859 skit at the end of the year. 38 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,919 A couple had a family had moved into our area and put their kids 39 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:14,120 in our school who were professional theater artists. 40 00:02:14,580 --> 00:02:17,479 And they wanted to put up their version of professional play. 41 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,319 And we did the show, Our Town, which, of course, is in public domain. 42 00:02:20,319 --> 00:02:21,560 You have to pay for any of it. 43 00:02:22,259 --> 00:02:25,960 And one of if you're not familiar with that play, one of the unique 44 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,159 qualities about it is that there aren't any sets and there are. 45 00:02:30,319 --> 00:02:31,439 And costumes are very minimal. 46 00:02:31,740 --> 00:02:33,219 So it's super cheap to do. 47 00:02:33,259 --> 00:02:34,120 You're not paying royalties. 48 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,199 You don't have to build anything. 49 00:02:35,759 --> 00:02:39,479 You need like a couple of tables and chairs. 50 00:02:39,719 --> 00:02:43,120 And you need a couple of ladders 51 00:02:44,060 --> 00:02:46,080 and a big piece of wood. 52 00:02:46,319 --> 00:02:47,699 Well, you need actually several chairs. 53 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:48,879 And that's about it. 54 00:02:48,879 --> 00:02:53,560 So I thought that was since they had done that as my first like grown up show, 55 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:55,780 I was 13, I think. 56 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:57,539 I lied about being in high school to get into that show. 57 00:02:57,819 --> 00:03:00,680 So I thought that would be a great way to start our program was with that show. 58 00:03:00,819 --> 00:03:03,280 And that's so that's why we did that particular play was because it was 59 00:03:04,139 --> 00:03:06,840 free and cheap and had some name recognition. 60 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:07,800 And it's a really good. 61 00:03:07,900 --> 00:03:08,939 It's a really good play. 62 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,500 And there's no sound effects and there's no lighting designs, 63 00:03:12,599 --> 00:03:14,219 just actors on a bare stage. 64 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:15,900 In fact, the main character is a stage manager. 65 00:03:16,439 --> 00:03:17,240 They tell you a story. 66 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,159 So I think everybody should start with that show. 67 00:03:19,300 --> 00:03:20,240 I think that's smart. 68 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,360 Here in the year 2025, 69 00:03:25,659 --> 00:03:28,060 if somebody is planning on trying to do this, 70 00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:31,960 how close to that road do you feel like you would need to skew 71 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:36,199 if someone is in a random school district that doesn't have a theater program? 72 00:03:36,759 --> 00:03:41,639 Or what would you say the the cleaned up version of your plan 73 00:03:41,639 --> 00:03:43,319 would be if you had to do it again? 74 00:03:44,799 --> 00:03:46,180 Oh, I don't know. 75 00:03:46,180 --> 00:03:48,039 You have to have some connection with the students. 76 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:52,539 I already been here, I think, two years teaching English 77 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,199 by the time we decided to do it. 78 00:03:55,219 --> 00:03:57,520 So I already had some connections with the students. 79 00:03:57,919 --> 00:04:00,340 And through my English classes, we did a lot of theater. 80 00:04:00,580 --> 00:04:04,379 I feel like it's easier to to teach plays 81 00:04:04,379 --> 00:04:06,860 is a whole group activity than a novel. 82 00:04:07,139 --> 00:04:10,419 So we'd already done several plays in class and I taught different grade levels. 83 00:04:10,699 --> 00:04:14,360 So I knew there were students who were interested in doing theater. 84 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,680 And I was also friends with the band teacher. 85 00:04:18,259 --> 00:04:22,379 And so we had a lot of sort of overlap because they want to perform, right? 86 00:04:22,459 --> 00:04:23,500 However, there's a way to perform. 87 00:04:24,639 --> 00:04:28,520 So, I mean, I think it's about, you know, getting to know people and 88 00:04:29,540 --> 00:04:32,139 just seeing, you know, putting feelers out there to see who wants 89 00:04:32,139 --> 00:04:33,319 who wants to come and play. 90 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,600 And then if you pick a play like our town that's very flexible 91 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,819 in your casting, you don't need you could have a lot of extras 92 00:04:39,819 --> 00:04:41,639 or you could have not very many at all. 93 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,040 That works out really well. 94 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,500 Do you feel like you're better at this than you were when you started? 95 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,779 Yes. Like how if I were going to start like at a brand new school? Right. 96 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:52,360 Like if you if you had to do it over again, 97 00:04:52,379 --> 00:04:54,759 how much of the things that you did originally would you keep 98 00:04:54,759 --> 00:04:56,079 and how many things would you change? 99 00:04:56,319 --> 00:04:59,319 I mean, this is this was, you know, more than 20 years ago. 100 00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:02,199 And I had baby brain because I had just had my daughter. 101 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,240 In fact, I wore her for most of the production. 102 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,079 I wore on that sling on my chest. 103 00:05:06,379 --> 00:05:08,420 But I think because like I said, it wasn't the first time 104 00:05:08,420 --> 00:05:10,399 I'd gone in to start a theater program. 105 00:05:10,399 --> 00:05:15,519 Like every time I went, I taught in three different four different schools 106 00:05:15,519 --> 00:05:18,899 and one had a burgeoning theater program and the other ones 107 00:05:18,899 --> 00:05:19,839 really didn't have anything. 108 00:05:20,079 --> 00:05:23,019 And so I just came in and just announces what I'm going to do 109 00:05:23,019 --> 00:05:25,000 and who wants to come and play. 110 00:05:25,139 --> 00:05:27,259 So I think I would do it. 111 00:05:27,699 --> 00:05:30,120 I would make friends with the right with as many people as possible 112 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:31,560 and then say, do you want to come do this? 113 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:32,920 And then enough people always say yes. 114 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,339 Like, I don't know, just always sort of magically works. 115 00:05:36,399 --> 00:05:37,720 Theaters magic like that. 116 00:05:38,260 --> 00:05:42,300 Like so many things we set out to do when I have these ideas. 117 00:05:43,100 --> 00:05:45,019 I know sometimes you think that we can't do them. 118 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:46,480 And sometimes I think we can't do them. 119 00:05:46,699 --> 00:05:49,560 But if I say we're going to do them, if you put it out there 120 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,879 in the world and other people are like, oh, yeah, and then we get it done. 121 00:05:53,199 --> 00:05:55,680 And it's literally magic. 122 00:05:56,139 --> 00:05:57,399 I don't know. 123 00:05:58,060 --> 00:05:59,399 I don't know why. 124 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,279 I mean, we do plays and I sit in the back and I watch 125 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,480 and I think, how did we pull this together? 126 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,519 Like the one we did last year with the aliens and stuff. 127 00:06:09,879 --> 00:06:11,920 I don't want to give it away because somebody else might want to do that show. 128 00:06:12,199 --> 00:06:15,300 But I just thought I read that script and I thought, this sounds really cool, 129 00:06:15,319 --> 00:06:16,240 but I don't know how it's going to work. 130 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:18,600 And then it did, you know, and the audience was 131 00:06:20,039 --> 00:06:21,579 very much into it by the end. 132 00:06:21,620 --> 00:06:22,699 I mean, I don't know. 133 00:06:22,980 --> 00:06:25,339 And it's literally magic. 134 00:06:25,620 --> 00:06:28,720 I don't I don't know why it happens or why it works. 135 00:06:28,759 --> 00:06:30,519 And it's not just true with our theater program. 136 00:06:30,899 --> 00:06:34,680 I go to see other plays of the places and not everything I see is great. 137 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,019 But on a regular basis, I will see something go, oh, oh, this is so amazing. 138 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,339 And everybody in the audience is is with them. 139 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,620 I saw Hamlet like a month ago at Kentucky Shakespeare in Louisville, 140 00:06:46,620 --> 00:06:47,319 Shakespeare in the Park. 141 00:06:47,500 --> 00:06:49,100 There's their amazing summer program. 142 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:55,100 It's the longest non ticketed free Shakespeare company in the country. 143 00:06:55,339 --> 00:06:58,899 And they did Hamlet and they had a female Hamlet and she was amazing. 144 00:06:59,199 --> 00:07:01,079 There were a whole bunch of 145 00:07:01,079 --> 00:07:05,899 governor's school for the art students there who, I guess, had never 146 00:07:06,420 --> 00:07:09,620 seen a red Hamlet because any time anybody 147 00:07:09,620 --> 00:07:13,100 got killed or an important information came out, they were all like, 148 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,800 what? You know, and I just thought this is so insane that I've I could, 149 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,220 you know, I can recite this play in my sleep and these kids never see it. 150 00:07:20,259 --> 00:07:22,819 And there's everyone so invested in this, even the people 151 00:07:22,819 --> 00:07:23,939 have seen it like a hundred times. 152 00:07:23,939 --> 00:07:26,100 And it was just I don't know. 153 00:07:26,259 --> 00:07:28,480 It's just that live theater is the coolest thing 154 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,319 in the whole world, because everybody that is there, 155 00:07:33,259 --> 00:07:36,680 you get this one shot for all of you to be gathered or experience 156 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:38,639 is one thing, and you can never recreate that. 157 00:07:38,660 --> 00:07:39,779 You have to be right there. 158 00:07:39,839 --> 00:07:43,399 You can't be thinking, well, we do this again or next time or tomorrow. 159 00:07:43,639 --> 00:07:46,079 No, this is the one shot you have at it. 160 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,259 And everybody, you know, is everybody buys in suspension 161 00:07:50,259 --> 00:07:51,420 of disbelief of the audience. 162 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,160 And when it works, it's just like, I don't know, 163 00:07:55,180 --> 00:07:57,120 it's just the best feeling in the world. 164 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:58,279 I mean, that's why it works, 165 00:07:58,379 --> 00:08:00,560 is because everybody wants to get that high again. 166 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:02,360 Once they've done it, they want to feel that again. 167 00:08:02,879 --> 00:08:06,339 So, well, I mean, in some instances, it's sort of like a magic show. 168 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:07,180 Right. It is. 169 00:08:07,379 --> 00:08:11,480 Most people go to a magic show wanting to believe the magic that happens. 170 00:08:12,259 --> 00:08:14,899 And some and some people go to a magic show to try and figure out. 171 00:08:15,079 --> 00:08:16,240 Right. Right. It works. 172 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,819 Which I actually feel like I'm a lot more in that camp a lot of times. 173 00:08:19,839 --> 00:08:22,879 Like when I go to plays, it 174 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:25,040 I enjoy the play. 175 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,560 I enjoy the story, but I'm also watching all of the other. 176 00:08:29,279 --> 00:08:32,299 Right. I want to see how the hell did you do that? 177 00:08:32,639 --> 00:08:36,299 Like, how did you make that move when there was nobody around it? Right. 178 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:38,940 How is that light on stage doing that thing 179 00:08:38,940 --> 00:08:42,320 and there's no wires ran to it and I can't see anything that connects it? 180 00:08:42,740 --> 00:08:45,559 Or how is that picture floating away or whatever? 181 00:08:45,620 --> 00:08:50,960 You know, like I I enjoy the aspects of trying to figure out 182 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:52,639 the technical things that happen. 183 00:08:52,639 --> 00:08:56,600 But even then, still, like I'm very much into it 184 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,679 in terms of enjoying the things that are happening in it. 185 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,460 But I do think that that is a great way to to understand 186 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:07,399 maybe why it always works so well, is that because oftentimes 187 00:09:07,980 --> 00:09:11,460 most of the people, unless you're on a field trip with just hooligans, 188 00:09:13,299 --> 00:09:16,460 that that most of the people are there and want it to work. 189 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:17,679 That is definitely true. 190 00:09:17,779 --> 00:09:19,539 That is definitely true. They want to buy it. 191 00:09:19,539 --> 00:09:23,519 And I will say it's a little bit harder with our audiences 192 00:09:23,519 --> 00:09:27,820 because we do day shows with students and some of them are there 193 00:09:27,820 --> 00:09:30,440 to get out of class and they don't really. 194 00:09:30,519 --> 00:09:32,220 They're not super interested in whatever the play is. 195 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,460 But if you can see and that's it's the it's worth the audience 196 00:09:35,460 --> 00:09:37,659 because I think about those things that you were just talking about 197 00:09:37,659 --> 00:09:40,519 when I'm watching a play like how did that guy get over there so fast? 198 00:09:40,539 --> 00:09:41,960 How did that costume change? 199 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:43,799 Look at this way. They did this blocking. 200 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:45,399 I could I could recreate this somewhere else. 201 00:09:45,460 --> 00:09:47,120 I'm always stealing everybody in theater. 202 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:48,720 And I think it's true of a lot of art forms. 203 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,600 We're looking at other people's stuff going, oh, that's really cool. 204 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:52,919 How can I incorporate what I'm doing? 205 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,379 But if we can get those kids who showed up to a play 206 00:09:55,379 --> 00:09:57,620 because they want to get out of class or because their girlfriend 207 00:09:57,620 --> 00:09:59,340 wanted to see the play and they showed up with her. 208 00:09:59,519 --> 00:10:02,519 If they start to buy in, that's that's like the best feeling 209 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:05,100 because they weren't even there because they wanted to be there. 210 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,840 Right. So when we do we do a musical with kindergarten 211 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:10,279 through 12th graders in it. 212 00:10:10,860 --> 00:10:14,580 And we have those schools come to our school and to see the show. 213 00:10:14,799 --> 00:10:17,799 So when the little bitties come, the elementary kids come. 214 00:10:17,799 --> 00:10:19,779 It doesn't matter what we do. 215 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:21,700 It's like the Beatles are on stage. 216 00:10:21,919 --> 00:10:23,720 If they know the songs, they will sing. 217 00:10:23,740 --> 00:10:25,100 They will scream. They will clap. 218 00:10:25,220 --> 00:10:27,399 They are very excited to be on a field trip. 219 00:10:27,740 --> 00:10:29,360 They're very excited to be at the high school. 220 00:10:29,799 --> 00:10:32,220 And that is I mean, that's the best audience you can have 221 00:10:33,039 --> 00:10:34,460 because as soon as we have to stop and wait 222 00:10:34,460 --> 00:10:35,820 from the stop, clapping and screaming up 223 00:10:35,820 --> 00:10:36,879 that you have to calm them down, 224 00:10:36,879 --> 00:10:38,759 because they're so excited because they're at a musical. 225 00:10:39,379 --> 00:10:41,659 But we can get high school kids to buy in. 226 00:10:41,659 --> 00:10:44,759 That is when they're when they're laughing 227 00:10:44,759 --> 00:10:45,940 or when we can scare them. 228 00:10:45,940 --> 00:10:47,240 That's even more fun. We can scare them. 229 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:48,779 That that to me is the best thing, 230 00:10:49,100 --> 00:10:51,360 because you have to work a little bit harder at that 231 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,120 because they didn't come, you know, to see a play or to be entertained. 232 00:10:55,259 --> 00:10:56,419 They came to get out of class. 233 00:10:56,740 --> 00:10:59,559 I think the the best example of that that I have seen 234 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,320 in the in a day show with high school students 235 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,019 is when you did Caesar. 236 00:11:05,139 --> 00:11:08,419 Yeah, because the obviously anyone that doesn't know 237 00:11:08,419 --> 00:11:11,659 the ending of Caesar or the the battle scenes in Caesar 238 00:11:11,659 --> 00:11:14,860 can be very can be done very violently 239 00:11:14,860 --> 00:11:17,980 and the blocking and stuff that that you had done for them 240 00:11:17,980 --> 00:11:20,940 were was I would almost say borderline graphic. 241 00:11:21,340 --> 00:11:22,539 There was a lot of blood, 242 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,759 the amount of blood and just the hits in that 243 00:11:26,759 --> 00:11:29,059 were very aggressive and stuff like that. 244 00:11:29,059 --> 00:11:31,700 And I think that there were a lot of boys that were there 245 00:11:31,700 --> 00:11:34,960 because there was a girl there that wanted they wanted to be around 246 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:36,980 or they just were like trying to get out of class or whatever. 247 00:11:36,980 --> 00:11:41,860 But when when that level of aggressiveness broke out, 248 00:11:41,860 --> 00:11:45,860 they they were very interested in how that was happening 249 00:11:45,860 --> 00:11:46,980 and being done and stuff like that. 250 00:11:47,039 --> 00:11:49,259 That is the most money we've ever made. 251 00:11:49,279 --> 00:11:51,580 The most intense we've ever had for Shakespeare play 252 00:11:52,159 --> 00:11:55,919 because a large portion of those students came back that night 253 00:11:55,919 --> 00:11:56,919 to watch it again. 254 00:11:56,919 --> 00:11:59,039 And that doesn't often happen, especially with Shakespeare. 255 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,620 So we yeah, that's the most money we ever made off of Shakespeare play. 256 00:12:02,620 --> 00:12:05,080 And it was post apocalyptic and gender swapped. 257 00:12:05,419 --> 00:12:07,519 So it was based on Heather's. 258 00:12:07,580 --> 00:12:10,039 It was a Heather's version of Julius Caesar. 259 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:11,519 I was really proud of that show, too. 260 00:12:12,340 --> 00:12:16,019 Yeah. Assuming there's a person out there that wants to do this, 261 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:17,659 but doesn't really have a background in theater, 262 00:12:17,740 --> 00:12:20,279 that doesn't have a degree in theater, that didn't do it in college. 263 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,179 Do they start at the school or do they start somewhere else? 264 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:25,580 Do they start going to plays? 265 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:26,960 Do they start going to theater? 266 00:12:27,059 --> 00:12:27,679 Oh, definitely. 267 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,399 You I think the more theater you can consume, good, bad or otherwise, 268 00:12:31,519 --> 00:12:32,559 the better off you're going to be. 269 00:12:32,580 --> 00:12:33,200 And I think that's true. 270 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,080 If you want to be good at anything, you want to watch other people 271 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,720 do that thing or read about people doing that thing. 272 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,340 I listen to a lot of theater podcasts. 273 00:12:39,580 --> 00:12:41,259 I watch videos about theater. 274 00:12:41,259 --> 00:12:42,559 I go to try to see theater. 275 00:12:42,759 --> 00:12:45,860 And we have so many students now who have gone out in the world 276 00:12:45,860 --> 00:12:47,279 and are doing theater other places. 277 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:49,480 That's kind of cool to get to go see, you know, what they're doing 278 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,299 all over the place, because I think one type of person 279 00:12:53,299 --> 00:12:57,240 this podcast might be for is I know in there's no certification 280 00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:58,860 in Kentucky for theater. 281 00:12:59,159 --> 00:13:00,879 It's just sort of lumped under English. 282 00:13:00,899 --> 00:13:03,259 And a lot of times, if you are a brand new 283 00:13:03,259 --> 00:13:06,779 untenured English teacher or social studies or any manner of teachers, 284 00:13:06,940 --> 00:13:09,080 they just say, OK, now you have to teach theater class. 285 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,159 And that's something I've heard from several people this summer 286 00:13:11,159 --> 00:13:13,200 that they're just sort of getting this dumped in their lab 287 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,620 and they don't have any idea how to do any of it. 288 00:13:17,879 --> 00:13:20,860 So, yeah, the more you consume and more people you can talk to 289 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,120 and and try to listen to, you know, stuff that we know how to do, 290 00:13:25,639 --> 00:13:26,620 then the better off you're going to be. 291 00:13:26,620 --> 00:13:28,820 Because I was lucky when I mean, I did this on my own. 292 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,139 It wasn't because someone said, no, you have to fear now. 293 00:13:31,139 --> 00:13:34,440 I was I wanted to major in theater in college. 294 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,299 And I thought, but then I'll be poor. 295 00:13:37,759 --> 00:13:39,200 So what can I do? 296 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:43,220 How can I how can I do theater for a living and still get paid? 297 00:13:43,279 --> 00:13:45,299 And I thought, oh, well, I could teach it 298 00:13:45,299 --> 00:13:49,019 because that would be much more stable than being in a play 299 00:13:49,019 --> 00:13:50,240 that's going to end its run. 300 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:51,980 Then you have to go find a good play to be in or whatever. 301 00:13:52,839 --> 00:13:55,519 And the message I was getting from, you know, 302 00:13:55,860 --> 00:13:57,679 the people at my high school and the people, 303 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,039 the college I was talking to is that no one's going to pay you to do theater. 304 00:14:01,299 --> 00:14:04,799 And I thought, oh, OK, well, I'll also get an English degree 305 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,299 and they will pay me to teach English because everybody's got to take that. 306 00:14:08,299 --> 00:14:12,179 And then I can kind of just come in under the radar with the theater program. 307 00:14:12,860 --> 00:14:15,240 So I know a lot of people get dumped and it's like, here you go. 308 00:14:15,299 --> 00:14:17,519 Now you teach theater because you want to have a job. 309 00:14:18,019 --> 00:14:22,259 OK, so thinking about those people who may be walking into a theater program 310 00:14:22,259 --> 00:14:24,700 that already sort of exists, that already sort of has a culture. 311 00:14:25,419 --> 00:14:26,120 But that'd be great. 312 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,620 Maybe they don't know that culture. 313 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:29,899 They don't know anything about it. 314 00:14:30,860 --> 00:14:34,000 So what what would be your, you know, 315 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,779 like if you had to bullet point it down to five ideas, 316 00:14:36,779 --> 00:14:40,379 like what would be what would be your things that they should do? 317 00:14:41,259 --> 00:14:43,980 You know, we're talking about this podcast coming out every other week. 318 00:14:44,279 --> 00:14:48,279 We're talking about every every other podcast has a interview. 319 00:14:48,559 --> 00:14:50,299 So, you know, they have four. 320 00:14:50,519 --> 00:14:53,539 They have three ish weeks, four ish weeks to implement something 321 00:14:53,539 --> 00:14:54,879 as the school year starts. 322 00:14:55,360 --> 00:15:00,179 What what are their five bullet points that you think they need to do immediately? 323 00:15:00,259 --> 00:15:04,039 Like, what is the what are the first five things that if there is already 324 00:15:04,039 --> 00:15:06,139 somebody who was in charge of the program that's leaving, 325 00:15:06,139 --> 00:15:09,799 you need to try to get in touch with them and get as much information 326 00:15:09,799 --> 00:15:10,960 from them as you can. 327 00:15:11,799 --> 00:15:15,100 You and then you also need to talk to your upperclassmen drama kids. 328 00:15:15,100 --> 00:15:18,700 There's always going to be a core group of kids who this is their whole identity 329 00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:21,460 and they just eat, sleep and breathe plays 330 00:15:22,039 --> 00:15:25,419 and find out what they thought has gone well with the program 331 00:15:25,419 --> 00:15:28,639 and what they would like to change and kind of read your audience. 332 00:15:28,679 --> 00:15:30,360 Like what kind of shows do well there? 333 00:15:30,379 --> 00:15:32,659 Like we're established enough that we do the same 334 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:35,019 kind of shows every year. 335 00:15:35,179 --> 00:15:38,179 We try to do a Shakespeare and we do a musical and we do a comedy 336 00:15:38,179 --> 00:15:40,960 and then we do a wild card show just depending on what 337 00:15:42,139 --> 00:15:44,379 what I'm in the mood for or what people pick. 338 00:15:44,679 --> 00:15:47,860 Like, so read the room, figure out, you know, what kind of backing 339 00:15:47,860 --> 00:15:48,960 do you have from administration? 340 00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:54,200 How concerned do you have to be about content like violence 341 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,879 or profanity or depictions of sex? 342 00:15:59,879 --> 00:16:03,320 Like what, you know, how conservative or liberal is your system? 343 00:16:03,460 --> 00:16:05,159 So definitely want to read the room. 344 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,779 And honestly, if it were my first year doing it, like we're 345 00:16:08,779 --> 00:16:12,559 we're running probably four plays, two more long competitions 346 00:16:12,559 --> 00:16:14,639 and a 24 hour one act show, probably. 347 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,740 But if it were that first year we did our town, we did our town. 348 00:16:17,759 --> 00:16:19,840 And that was it. That was the only show that we did. 349 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,759 So just start really slow and so and take what was there 350 00:16:23,759 --> 00:16:26,799 that was good and put your own stamp on it. 351 00:16:26,799 --> 00:16:28,340 But you don't have to reinvent the wheel. 352 00:16:28,340 --> 00:16:30,779 If you've got if you're coming into something that has support, 353 00:16:31,299 --> 00:16:34,019 find out who the parents are that always bring in food 354 00:16:34,019 --> 00:16:37,740 and can work on costumes and will, you know, give you money 355 00:16:37,740 --> 00:16:41,139 to, you know, buy props or set pieces or whatever. 356 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,080 So get, you know, get involved with that community 357 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:44,720 and figure out what's already there. 358 00:16:45,100 --> 00:16:46,740 Don't try to start from scratch. 359 00:16:47,259 --> 00:16:48,480 But then that brings us to the people 360 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,100 that are trying to start it from scratch. 361 00:16:50,500 --> 00:16:53,899 So what are their what are their five things that they need to do? 362 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:54,919 That was five things. 363 00:16:56,139 --> 00:16:57,860 It's more of a counting is hard. 364 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:00,759 So the same kind of thing where you want to read the room, 365 00:17:00,980 --> 00:17:03,379 like, once again, you know, what interest has there been? 366 00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:04,220 Is there a community theater? 367 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,059 Was there a theater program at some time that has died away? 368 00:17:07,420 --> 00:17:09,259 And then and look to the other arts teachers 369 00:17:09,259 --> 00:17:12,960 if there's a band program or a choir program, those kids just want to be 370 00:17:13,439 --> 00:17:17,339 they just want to perform so and get to be friends with those people. 371 00:17:17,539 --> 00:17:22,059 And then like our band director here currently is the choreographer 372 00:17:22,059 --> 00:17:23,380 and the music director for our musical. 373 00:17:23,539 --> 00:17:27,160 And he's way better at that than me, because like theater is like stone soup. 374 00:17:27,679 --> 00:17:31,119 Everybody brings this thing that they're good at and then you go do it. 375 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:32,200 I couldn't do this all myself. 376 00:17:32,339 --> 00:17:33,279 I couldn't do it without Brent. 377 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:35,180 I couldn't do it without Pauline. 378 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,599 I couldn't do it without my kids that were involved in the program, my bio kids. 379 00:17:38,660 --> 00:17:41,980 I couldn't do it without Sweezy, who is our band director. 380 00:17:42,299 --> 00:17:45,339 There's lots of people that help with Alan Florence, who helps with sets 381 00:17:45,339 --> 00:17:48,480 and my husband who's helped with sets and sound and stuff like that. 382 00:17:48,799 --> 00:17:52,140 So you want to get as many people allied with you as possible 383 00:17:52,140 --> 00:17:53,099 and get them to come play. 384 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,880 So but you definitely have to read the room like what and just start small. 385 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:57,900 So start with our town, man. 386 00:17:58,380 --> 00:18:01,140 Talking about like you have a lot of your sets 387 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,140 painted, built by the art. 388 00:18:07,140 --> 00:18:07,759 Oh, the art department. 389 00:18:07,859 --> 00:18:10,720 Yeah, definitely get to be friends with the art with the art teacher. 390 00:18:11,619 --> 00:18:14,660 What's the what's the most interesting thing that he's ever made for you? 391 00:18:14,799 --> 00:18:16,339 I don't know. 392 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,599 He one time made a giant 393 00:18:20,339 --> 00:18:22,560 like you could put people inside of it. 394 00:18:22,619 --> 00:18:24,619 Fried chicken bucket 395 00:18:25,220 --> 00:18:29,079 that I really did like quite a bit for too much light makes the baby go blind 396 00:18:29,879 --> 00:18:32,140 and a giant foghorn leg horn. 397 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,420 And he made those really nice rocks that we have used a bunch 398 00:18:35,420 --> 00:18:36,420 like people can sit on them. 399 00:18:36,420 --> 00:18:39,059 We can throw them at people like big stones. 400 00:18:39,940 --> 00:18:42,119 And he made a really he's made some good logs. 401 00:18:42,339 --> 00:18:46,400 I mean, he's just like and that's like I'm not a visual arts person. 402 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,700 I can make I can make props if I have to. 403 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,079 But usually I can find people that are better than me. 404 00:18:52,079 --> 00:18:53,619 That's what I think is what your job is. 405 00:18:53,619 --> 00:18:56,799 If you're the producer of the theater company is not because I have seen other 406 00:18:56,799 --> 00:18:59,160 programs where there are people who want to do everything themselves. 407 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,279 They're going to make all the costumes, paint all the sets 408 00:19:02,799 --> 00:19:04,059 and write all the programs. 409 00:19:04,279 --> 00:19:06,019 And I don't I can't. 410 00:19:06,180 --> 00:19:06,839 I'm tired. 411 00:19:07,279 --> 00:19:10,200 But even when I was younger and less tired, I still was like, 412 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,619 oh, here's a person who's better than me. 413 00:19:13,579 --> 00:19:14,960 Go let them do that. 414 00:19:14,980 --> 00:19:17,819 And so I can say to our art teacher, here's a thing that I want. 415 00:19:17,900 --> 00:19:20,559 And then he comes back with this 416 00:19:20,559 --> 00:19:24,420 a thing that is 10 times better, like all the signs they made for we did. 417 00:19:24,559 --> 00:19:28,140 We set Midsummer Night's Dream in a mall and all the stores had names 418 00:19:28,140 --> 00:19:33,259 that were loosely based on Shakespeare characters or and play names. 419 00:19:33,259 --> 00:19:37,079 And he just made these beautiful signs that we put up all over the auditorium 420 00:19:37,079 --> 00:19:39,599 because the whole mall's auditorium, like he's fabulous. 421 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,180 I love him. 422 00:19:42,559 --> 00:19:43,519 So much good help. 423 00:19:43,819 --> 00:19:48,299 Oftentimes, when I think of my first stuff that I did with the program 424 00:19:48,299 --> 00:19:51,720 was when my kids were in 425 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,900 Seussical, which was the first music, the first district wide musical that we did. 426 00:19:56,779 --> 00:20:00,279 And I oftentimes think back to a thing that you said to me 427 00:20:00,279 --> 00:20:03,640 because I don't know, it was like the second or third week 428 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:08,180 and that we had practice and you had set the kids off 429 00:20:08,180 --> 00:20:11,740 to do something and they were doing it very badly. 430 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,660 And I was like, I looked at you and said, 431 00:20:15,660 --> 00:20:17,839 that is a terrible way to do that. 432 00:20:17,859 --> 00:20:20,119 And you said, go teach them. 433 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:25,400 And I was like, well, but I mean, you told them to do that this way 434 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:26,880 or whatever, and you were like, it doesn't matter. 435 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:28,880 Like, this is a teaching program. 436 00:20:29,759 --> 00:20:34,759 And the goal of this is not to have it done a certain way or have it done, 437 00:20:35,220 --> 00:20:36,339 you know, in this whatever. 438 00:20:36,539 --> 00:20:39,140 The goal is to teach these people how to do this thing. 439 00:20:39,980 --> 00:20:43,680 And of course, you end up on the bad side of that 440 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:45,960 when you've taught someone really good 441 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:50,740 and then they have to go and graduate and you have to find someone. 442 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:52,619 That is a terrible problem. 443 00:20:52,759 --> 00:20:58,359 We lost 12 seniors this year, just fabulous actors and tech people. 444 00:20:58,420 --> 00:21:01,440 And that is a terrible problem that every year you get to the end, 445 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,140 you think, oh, these kids are amazing. 446 00:21:03,140 --> 00:21:05,940 And in the fall, these little babies come back in. 447 00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:08,079 And this year, we're getting seventh through twelfth graders 448 00:21:08,079 --> 00:21:11,559 in the same in the same class before we've only had ninth through twelfth. 449 00:21:11,559 --> 00:21:16,099 And they come in and you think, how did we ever do anything? 450 00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:19,759 Like, none of these children, because they have to be trained up, right? 451 00:21:19,779 --> 00:21:22,220 At the end of next year, our seniors are leaving. 452 00:21:22,279 --> 00:21:23,420 They'll be magical and amazing. 453 00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:24,160 So that is it. 454 00:21:24,220 --> 00:21:27,099 That is a that might be the worst problem with educational theater. 455 00:21:27,180 --> 00:21:34,660 But yeah, no, it's about giving them as much autonomy and authority. 456 00:21:35,099 --> 00:21:36,960 And I know this is the thing a lot of programs don't do. 457 00:21:37,019 --> 00:21:39,880 There are a lot of programs that I have been tangentially involved 458 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,960 with where adults did everything and the kids were allowed to act. 459 00:21:44,079 --> 00:21:45,380 And that was it. 460 00:21:45,980 --> 00:21:49,299 And the director will come out at the beginning of the show 461 00:21:49,299 --> 00:21:53,180 and give a big, long speech about how they did all this work and whatever. 462 00:21:53,319 --> 00:21:57,259 And I don't this is this is not about me. 463 00:21:57,319 --> 00:22:00,500 I would, in fact, a lot of times I don't even give pre-show speeches anymore. 464 00:22:00,500 --> 00:22:03,740 We work them into the play so that an actor can give them. 465 00:22:03,740 --> 00:22:06,779 And I don't I come out at the end to make sure everybody can get back 466 00:22:06,779 --> 00:22:08,140 to class or get where they're going. 467 00:22:08,140 --> 00:22:11,140 But I try to give big, long speeches about how amazing I am. 468 00:22:11,140 --> 00:22:12,279 I know how amazing I am. 469 00:22:12,619 --> 00:22:15,519 But this is about the kids and I want people to look at them 470 00:22:15,519 --> 00:22:18,700 and I want to give them they do everything they can. 471 00:22:18,940 --> 00:22:23,799 We have students direct and stage manage and run the lights and sounds. 472 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,519 And I mean, about the only thing that we don't let them do 473 00:22:27,519 --> 00:22:30,299 is they can't climb up in the in the ceiling and adjust the lights. 474 00:22:30,619 --> 00:22:33,559 And they can't we don't generally use power tools 475 00:22:33,559 --> 00:22:36,299 unless they're one of their parents is there for building something. 476 00:22:36,299 --> 00:22:37,380 The parent, OK, is it? 477 00:22:37,559 --> 00:22:39,660 But other than that, I think it should be. 478 00:22:39,819 --> 00:22:41,039 And that's just less work for you. 479 00:22:41,059 --> 00:22:43,599 If you're running the program, if you can get kids 480 00:22:43,599 --> 00:22:46,039 and then the sense of accomplishment, they feel when they're like, 481 00:22:46,059 --> 00:22:50,539 look at this thing that I built or this scene that I blocked 482 00:22:50,539 --> 00:22:54,019 or this song that I sang, you know, they did that. 483 00:22:54,140 --> 00:22:57,400 We didn't do it for them and say, OK, you know, 484 00:22:57,519 --> 00:22:58,519 you should pull apart the end. 485 00:22:58,660 --> 00:23:00,900 So I think it's very important you give kids autonomy. 486 00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:02,039 And it is about teaching. 487 00:23:02,380 --> 00:23:04,519 Are we putting out Broadway level theater? 488 00:23:04,519 --> 00:23:07,259 No. But we're teaching people 489 00:23:07,259 --> 00:23:10,880 or giving them opportunities to solve problems, 490 00:23:11,380 --> 00:23:15,539 especially in emergency situations, to work with other people, 491 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,740 to put forth their ideas, to accomplish a goal, to, 492 00:23:19,740 --> 00:23:23,380 you know, set deadlines themselves and do large projects 493 00:23:23,380 --> 00:23:26,339 and to feel a real sense of accomplishment and hands on work 494 00:23:26,339 --> 00:23:29,460 that they maybe aren't getting in all of their classes. 495 00:23:30,059 --> 00:23:33,619 I will I will also talk or I also think about that 496 00:23:33,619 --> 00:23:37,579 when you're saying that about losing these 12 seniors. 497 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,920 But when you look at those 12 seniors, 498 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,180 I think that they're a really great demonstration 499 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:52,200 of how much agency you give these kids like even 500 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,420 even the kids that tended to fall into roles of like 501 00:23:56,259 --> 00:24:01,279 the sidekick and stuff like that were still super 502 00:24:02,559 --> 00:24:05,779 competent in aspects of being 503 00:24:05,779 --> 00:24:09,740 aspects of the theater that maybe didn't necessarily show on stage. 504 00:24:09,859 --> 00:24:13,759 I mean, I'm thinking of a kid that never really had a leading role, 505 00:24:13,819 --> 00:24:17,240 but was always the guy that was like was always the foil 506 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,099 or always the sidekick or always the whatever. 507 00:24:19,380 --> 00:24:22,500 And then but, you know, he did tons of work 508 00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:26,039 involving props and music and all these things 509 00:24:26,039 --> 00:24:29,740 where you would just sort of hand him an idea 510 00:24:29,740 --> 00:24:31,140 and then he would come back and be here. 511 00:24:31,279 --> 00:24:32,579 It is done, you know, whatever. 512 00:24:32,779 --> 00:24:34,700 And I don't know. 513 00:24:34,980 --> 00:24:39,579 I mean, even our most mildest and meekest of the seniors, 514 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,220 which is only in drama for one year, 515 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,980 really became much more of a whole person 516 00:24:47,980 --> 00:24:53,099 and a like a aggressive isn't the right word, but like 517 00:24:54,700 --> 00:24:57,859 able to move on their own without someone else 518 00:24:57,859 --> 00:25:00,220 telling them to, which is more self-confident, 519 00:25:00,420 --> 00:25:03,599 right, which is really not a way that they started the year. 520 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:06,740 So, I mean, I think I think that those and I think that's 521 00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:09,339 one of the aspects of the way that this program gets ran 522 00:25:09,339 --> 00:25:12,599 and the way that hopefully other people want to move their program into 523 00:25:12,599 --> 00:25:17,380 is that in the end, you develop future adults 524 00:25:17,380 --> 00:25:20,300 that are much more confident in the things that they're doing 525 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:22,460 and competent. Yeah. 526 00:25:22,819 --> 00:25:26,019 You know, we've had kids before that you're like, hey, 527 00:25:26,019 --> 00:25:28,980 go take this screw out of the thing. 528 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:31,220 And, you know, the first year they're here, 529 00:25:31,559 --> 00:25:35,140 they have to come back to you 14 times to ask you 530 00:25:35,140 --> 00:25:36,960 how to take the screw out of the thing. 531 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,279 And is this the right way to take the screw out of the thing? 532 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:41,660 And is this the right tool? 533 00:25:42,039 --> 00:25:43,700 And which way do I turn it? 534 00:25:43,839 --> 00:25:44,440 And what and whatever. 535 00:25:44,519 --> 00:25:47,599 And by the end of it, they're building things, you know, like. 536 00:25:48,259 --> 00:25:52,019 Or I remember a situation with one of the seniors that was this year 537 00:25:52,019 --> 00:25:55,640 when they were maybe like a freshman where we were disassembling a set 538 00:25:55,640 --> 00:26:00,119 and they had no clue how to operate a pry bar 539 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:02,539 or why you would ever use the claw on a hammer. 540 00:26:02,619 --> 00:26:05,940 And I just spent, you know, a few minutes showing them. 541 00:26:05,980 --> 00:26:08,460 And then before it was over with, like, I turned them loose. 542 00:26:09,019 --> 00:26:09,920 You know, yeah. 543 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,559 This year, I turned them loose to disassemble two or three things. 544 00:26:12,559 --> 00:26:15,980 And the whole time they were like, it's all about friction and leverage. 545 00:26:15,980 --> 00:26:17,240 You know, whatever, like. 546 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,720 So I think I think that is the thing that you will do 547 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,880 if if you change your program away from being a adult 548 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:32,079 center and center thing to a a system of letting people do jobs 549 00:26:32,079 --> 00:26:34,759 and being OK with people doing those jobs. 550 00:26:35,319 --> 00:26:37,160 Well, and let them pick shows, too. 551 00:26:37,819 --> 00:26:43,240 There are lots of years where more than half or all of our content 552 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,460 is picked up by students who, you know, put together portfolios 553 00:26:47,460 --> 00:26:51,500 where they explain what they what they want in different characters 554 00:26:51,500 --> 00:26:54,539 as far as casting, and they give me pictures of costumes 555 00:26:54,539 --> 00:26:58,519 and they have lists of songs like to play, you know, pre-show 556 00:26:58,519 --> 00:27:00,039 and post-show and things like that. 557 00:27:00,339 --> 00:27:03,299 And so I'm completely happy if I have a student who thinks 558 00:27:03,299 --> 00:27:06,039 they can take on that much responsibility to let them, 559 00:27:06,039 --> 00:27:07,519 you know, run the whole thing. 560 00:27:07,519 --> 00:27:10,500 And I just kind of stand back and and do producer things, 561 00:27:10,559 --> 00:27:12,519 like make sure stuff is paid for and things get ordered. 562 00:27:12,859 --> 00:27:14,960 And people are showing up for rehearsal and things like that. 563 00:27:14,980 --> 00:27:19,420 So, I mean, yeah, the more this is about helping 564 00:27:19,420 --> 00:27:22,720 helping kids become better adults, just better humans. 565 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:24,900 And that's I think it's what education is about, 566 00:27:24,900 --> 00:27:28,019 because we can't possibly in this building or any other building 567 00:27:28,019 --> 00:27:31,299 teach a kid everything they need to know to go out into the world 568 00:27:31,299 --> 00:27:32,819 because we don't know what their job is going to be. 569 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:35,619 We don't know how technology is going to be different in 10 years or whatever. 570 00:27:35,779 --> 00:27:38,779 But if we can give them the tools to learn on their own 571 00:27:38,779 --> 00:27:41,839 and build resilience and self-confidence 572 00:27:41,839 --> 00:27:45,079 and how to overcome setbacks or whatever, 573 00:27:45,140 --> 00:27:47,220 that's the best thing we can do for them. 574 00:27:47,220 --> 00:27:50,799 You know, in any of our classes, I feel like just help them learn how to learn. 575 00:27:50,799 --> 00:27:53,240 So we talked about what to do 576 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,759 if you're taking over a program that already existed. 577 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,960 And we talked a little bit about what to do if you're trying to start a program. 578 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,220 But you reference the fact that we lost. 579 00:28:03,539 --> 00:28:07,240 We've lost 12 really good actors and actresses 580 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,319 who we are wildly biased about because two of them are 581 00:28:10,319 --> 00:28:13,420 are each of us have a kid that graduated and we basically help raise 582 00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:14,859 the other one. Right. 583 00:28:15,900 --> 00:28:19,079 So we're not we we think these kids are pretty amazing. 584 00:28:19,079 --> 00:28:21,339 And I mean, they are, but we're a little biased. 585 00:28:21,519 --> 00:28:27,759 So so now you're walking into a program this year 586 00:28:27,759 --> 00:28:30,519 that we keep making jokes about. 587 00:28:30,819 --> 00:28:34,880 It's the Avengers after Thor, the Hulk and, you know, all the big hitters. 588 00:28:34,940 --> 00:28:39,440 Yeah. So maybe for yourself, but maybe for somebody else. 589 00:28:39,980 --> 00:28:43,240 What are the five things that you feel like you need to do right now 590 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:47,279 in order to help make that program successful 591 00:28:47,279 --> 00:28:50,019 or help bend that program towards success? 592 00:28:50,099 --> 00:28:54,180 Well, one, because the cultures build up for so long, we have and we have 593 00:28:54,180 --> 00:28:56,940 I only get to teach theater one period a day. 594 00:28:56,940 --> 00:28:59,480 And that's been true for most of the time that I've been doing it here. 595 00:29:00,519 --> 00:29:04,000 And some years that there were like 70 kids in that class. 596 00:29:04,879 --> 00:29:08,079 And that you can't do direct instruction with 70 children. 597 00:29:08,099 --> 00:29:09,079 That's just crazy town. 598 00:29:09,359 --> 00:29:13,839 So what I started doing a long time ago, more than a decade ago, 599 00:29:13,839 --> 00:29:16,660 was the students are separated to groups. 600 00:29:17,039 --> 00:29:21,880 And there is a an upper level drama kid, drama three or four, 601 00:29:22,220 --> 00:29:25,960 who is then matched with usually they have somebody else 602 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,140 who's about their level and they're matched with drama ones and twos 603 00:29:29,140 --> 00:29:30,640 so that they have like a little family. 604 00:29:30,660 --> 00:29:33,319 And we color code them, just randomly assign them colors. 605 00:29:33,319 --> 00:29:35,000 And that solves a lot of problems. 606 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:39,200 But that helps when new kids come in, because then they can get 607 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,980 indoctrinated in the culture and they understand the procedures 608 00:29:41,980 --> 00:29:45,299 about how to take attendance and how to do warm ups when you first come in. 609 00:29:46,079 --> 00:29:48,539 And one of the first things we do is a monologue competition, 610 00:29:48,759 --> 00:29:50,259 which I guess we should do an episode about that. 611 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,640 And they teach them how to pick out monologues 612 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:54,400 and learn how to memorize lines. 613 00:29:55,259 --> 00:29:57,460 And farther on the year, you know, how to, you know, 614 00:29:57,539 --> 00:30:01,839 where to keep your costumes and what to do at rehearsals and things like that. 615 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:05,140 I'm in the process right now kind of looking at who I've got 616 00:30:05,140 --> 00:30:06,900 and who who's going to be in leadership positions, 617 00:30:06,900 --> 00:30:09,519 because if you've been in the program for four years 618 00:30:09,519 --> 00:30:11,480 and, of course, now we've got kids in the musicals. 619 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:13,140 They've done it even longer than that. 620 00:30:13,519 --> 00:30:17,819 To get to be the top dog this next year, they all sit in the front row. 621 00:30:17,900 --> 00:30:21,759 It's a big deal to get to be a drama four kid and sit in the front row. 622 00:30:22,220 --> 00:30:23,740 You've been waiting like all this time. 623 00:30:23,740 --> 00:30:26,359 You've been watching the other leaders and learning from them. 624 00:30:26,559 --> 00:30:28,220 And then you get to do it now, too. 625 00:30:28,259 --> 00:30:31,599 So that's that's really that's what's going to save us is we're not 626 00:30:31,599 --> 00:30:35,440 starting completely from scratch because we've got three really solid 627 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:39,460 seniors and several really solid like drama three kids as well. 628 00:30:39,980 --> 00:30:42,380 I think so we're going to so we'll probably have, I don't know, six. 629 00:30:42,420 --> 00:30:44,400 We just like six groups that we had last year. 630 00:30:44,700 --> 00:30:46,519 So, yeah, that's that's going to solve that problem. 631 00:30:46,700 --> 00:30:50,819 Also, the first show that I think we're going to do is not is more of an ensemble show. 632 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:55,240 It's not like everybody gets to do a lot of little things 633 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,539 we kind of see where they are, because one of the rules 634 00:30:57,539 --> 00:30:59,380 is the first show that we do of the season. 635 00:30:59,820 --> 00:31:02,279 Everybody who's in drama one has to appear on stage 636 00:31:02,279 --> 00:31:04,599 because I don't because kids used to come in and say, oh, well, 637 00:31:04,599 --> 00:31:05,619 I just do hair and makeup. 638 00:31:05,839 --> 00:31:07,460 No, you need to learn how to do all the things. 639 00:31:07,460 --> 00:31:11,259 And if they will not get up on stage, then we are not for them. 640 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,039 Like it's an elective course. 641 00:31:13,059 --> 00:31:16,180 You have to have a fine arts credit to graduate in Kentucky, 642 00:31:16,299 --> 00:31:17,539 but it doesn't have to be theater. 643 00:31:17,539 --> 00:31:20,440 And there is no reason for a student to be miserable all year 644 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,960 or for me to have them in our way when they don't want to be there. 645 00:31:23,119 --> 00:31:26,220 So they have to get on stage in the first week of being there. 646 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,180 And then they have to eventually appear in our first show. 647 00:31:29,220 --> 00:31:31,960 And if they're like, nope, can't do that, then they just need to go. 648 00:31:32,140 --> 00:31:33,339 Theater is not for everybody. 649 00:31:33,519 --> 00:31:33,920 It's just not. 650 00:31:34,299 --> 00:31:34,980 We'll be fine. 651 00:31:35,079 --> 00:31:35,720 We'll be fine. 652 00:31:36,700 --> 00:31:37,339 Everything's fine. 653 00:31:38,279 --> 00:31:41,220 So do you feel like there are some things that you've done this summer 654 00:31:42,279 --> 00:31:46,799 already that you have, you know, like that you have done 655 00:31:46,799 --> 00:31:51,420 in order to prep for the program? 656 00:31:51,740 --> 00:31:52,960 Sure. Yeah. 657 00:31:53,319 --> 00:31:55,039 Well, I see all the theater that I can. 658 00:31:55,099 --> 00:31:57,160 I see everything that Kentucky Shakespeare does. 659 00:31:57,220 --> 00:32:02,059 I cannot say enough about what a fabulous program that is an asset to Kentucky. 660 00:32:02,059 --> 00:32:08,380 They have been in Edmondson County, I think, four times this year 661 00:32:08,380 --> 00:32:12,740 because they conduct classes and workshops in the schools. 662 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:16,299 And so they've come and done a theater workshop with us. 663 00:32:17,259 --> 00:32:23,619 And then they did an American history workshop with the high school kids 664 00:32:23,619 --> 00:32:25,000 and then another one with our middle school kids. 665 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:30,160 And then they came back to the public library and did a one-man 666 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:33,059 stream and also a stage combat workshop. 667 00:32:33,420 --> 00:32:36,779 So, I mean, I go see everything that I can that involves them. 668 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:41,619 And I've also seen several other theater pieces, other places this summer. 669 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:47,440 I also read a lot of scripts and kind of narrowed down what I think we're going to do. 670 00:32:47,559 --> 00:32:50,539 So the next thing I need to start doing because school starts in like a month, 671 00:32:50,619 --> 00:32:54,880 right, less than a month, is to start with the Shakespeare play, 672 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,619 which I thought I knew what it was and now I don't know. 673 00:32:58,220 --> 00:32:59,900 I usually go through and edit those. 674 00:32:59,900 --> 00:33:03,259 We don't do the entire play. 675 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,180 And Shakespeare's dead and he told me I could do whatever I wanted to. 676 00:33:05,220 --> 00:33:06,900 So we cut it down for what our audience needs. 677 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:09,779 But then like more modern plays, like the first one we're going to do, 678 00:33:09,779 --> 00:33:13,640 I need to go through and write a rehearsal schedule for that 679 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,039 and make a production analysis for that. 680 00:33:17,079 --> 00:33:20,240 And we should post those like, we should post documents 681 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:21,720 that we use all the time like that. 682 00:33:22,039 --> 00:33:24,500 So you mentioned the monologue madness. 683 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,920 One of the things I wanted to do before we got into all the other stuff 684 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:35,099 is talk about what is the next thing that Edmondson County's drama is going to do. 685 00:33:35,559 --> 00:33:39,619 Kids coming into class in around, you know, a month or so like that. 686 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,079 We're going to have first day stuff with syllabuses and everything like that. 687 00:33:43,980 --> 00:33:49,940 But what's the next real deal thing that Edmondson County drama is going to do? 688 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,960 I do want to say this about first day, though, when I'm thinking about it. 689 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:55,680 When they come in the first day, you have to get them on stage immediately. 690 00:33:55,980 --> 00:33:57,140 You have to get them on stage. 691 00:33:57,140 --> 00:34:00,180 You cannot sit and talk at them and read the syllabus to them. 692 00:34:00,700 --> 00:34:03,279 In fact, a thing we've done in the last couple of years, which is really fun, 693 00:34:03,700 --> 00:34:06,160 was we separated the syllabus out into sections 694 00:34:06,700 --> 00:34:10,780 and we put them in groups and they had to perform that section of the syllabus. 695 00:34:11,099 --> 00:34:14,840 What was the thing about no vaping in the prop hall or something? 696 00:34:14,860 --> 00:34:18,320 Her syllabus has in giant letters that there's no vaping in the prop hall. 697 00:34:18,539 --> 00:34:24,440 And so one of the scenes was just entirely about the no vaping in the prop hall. 698 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,099 Your daughter is screaming at everybody not to think of the prop hall. 699 00:34:27,500 --> 00:34:28,619 And they remember that stuff, right? 700 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:32,420 Because nobody wants to sit and read seven syllabi on the first day of school. 701 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:34,460 That's mind numbing to even think about it. 702 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:36,780 So you get them on stage and you start doing improv 703 00:34:36,780 --> 00:34:38,800 and then maybe the middle of it for the end, you're like, 704 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,780 here's the syllabus, get this signed or whatever. 705 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:41,679 They can all read. 706 00:34:41,780 --> 00:34:42,780 You know, they're illiterate, they can all read. 707 00:34:43,079 --> 00:34:45,139 But the first big thing that we do every single year 708 00:34:45,139 --> 00:34:47,099 is this thing called Shakespeare Madness. 709 00:34:47,099 --> 00:34:54,619 And it is based on the English Speaking Union's Shakespeare competition, 710 00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:57,280 which is a nationwide competition that we are involved in. 711 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:03,199 We have been involved in for the entire time that I've been doing theater here, 712 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,619 where we've been doing it continuously longer than most other schools 713 00:35:06,619 --> 00:35:09,300 or I've been doing it continuously longer than most other teachers. 714 00:35:10,199 --> 00:35:14,360 And so basically, our branch is the Kentucky English Speaking Union 715 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,079 and all this stuff is available on their website. 716 00:35:16,639 --> 00:35:21,420 They have a list of monologues, which are just a couple of minutes long, 717 00:35:21,460 --> 00:35:25,340 and they have choices from pretty much every play in Shakespeare's canon. 718 00:35:26,420 --> 00:35:31,539 And we give that to the kids and we talk about how you might pick a monologue 719 00:35:31,539 --> 00:35:34,400 or whatever and how to rehearse and their group leader is helping with that. 720 00:35:34,619 --> 00:35:36,539 And then they get up and present those monologues 721 00:35:36,539 --> 00:35:39,539 and we have bracketed them just like the NCAA. 722 00:35:40,059 --> 00:35:42,480 So we use a website called... 723 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:43,219 Shalong. 724 00:35:43,659 --> 00:35:46,719 Shalong, yeah, and I've been using it for decades too. 725 00:35:46,900 --> 00:35:51,139 And you can get on there and you can very easily make your own bracket. 726 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,900 You can put the kids in order and we do order them. 727 00:35:54,179 --> 00:35:57,760 So if you won last year, which our winner last year, she graduated, 728 00:35:58,699 --> 00:35:59,900 but it's in second place. 729 00:35:59,960 --> 00:36:02,780 So whoever the last kid that's left from last year's competition, 730 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:05,599 they'll be the number one seed and work their way down. 731 00:36:05,619 --> 00:36:08,000 And the new kids just get down at the bottom, sort of mushed in there. 732 00:36:08,420 --> 00:36:11,420 And it brackets them so that the upper level kids 733 00:36:11,420 --> 00:36:13,539 go against lower level kids most of the time. 734 00:36:13,659 --> 00:36:15,780 But we try not to show the kids the brackets left they perform 735 00:36:15,780 --> 00:36:18,239 because if they think somebody's got a higher seed than them, they'll choke. 736 00:36:18,659 --> 00:36:20,800 But all you have to do to make 100 on that assignment 737 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:22,559 is get up and just recite the monologue. 738 00:36:22,679 --> 00:36:23,760 That's all you have to do. 739 00:36:23,900 --> 00:36:28,280 And some of them, they've got blocking, they're into it, 740 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,739 they've read the entire play, they're locked and loaded, 741 00:36:32,460 --> 00:36:34,219 and they will do a really good job. 742 00:36:34,300 --> 00:36:37,619 Because ultimately, if you win, if you go all the way through the bracket, 743 00:36:37,699 --> 00:36:40,860 then you will get to be our competitor at the state level. 744 00:36:40,860 --> 00:36:43,820 Last year, our student that won, she was second stage, 745 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:44,639 so she did very well. 746 00:36:44,659 --> 00:36:45,719 That's the best we've ever done. 747 00:36:46,199 --> 00:36:47,179 And then you get 100. 748 00:36:47,179 --> 00:36:48,760 If you go one, that's just bonus points. 749 00:36:49,059 --> 00:36:52,760 Some of them get up there and they have memorized it 750 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,800 and they take a giant gulp of a breath 751 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,420 and they just say all of the words all at once with their eyes closed. 752 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:01,539 But they got on stage and they did it. 753 00:37:02,599 --> 00:37:05,119 And now that Brent gives them a crisp high five 754 00:37:05,119 --> 00:37:07,179 when they all compete through the first round, 755 00:37:07,619 --> 00:37:08,659 our buying is much better. 756 00:37:08,659 --> 00:37:11,739 It's really interesting what motivates these students. 757 00:37:13,119 --> 00:37:15,699 And then they've gotten on stage and it wasn't that bad. 758 00:37:15,860 --> 00:37:18,579 And also the other kids in the audience, it's just for our students. 759 00:37:18,619 --> 00:37:20,320 We don't let outsiders into this. 760 00:37:20,780 --> 00:37:22,940 All the kids that are in that audience are either just as scared 761 00:37:22,940 --> 00:37:26,500 as the kids on stage or because they've never done it before 762 00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:28,960 or they know what it feels like. 763 00:37:29,159 --> 00:37:32,719 And so no matter how well or poorly they present their monologue, 764 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,900 everybody hoots and hollers when the kid gets on stage 765 00:37:35,900 --> 00:37:38,380 and then they all clap and hoot and holler when they get off the stage. 766 00:37:38,380 --> 00:37:45,300 So it's a very soft way to get up there and try it. 767 00:37:45,300 --> 00:37:48,139 We've had students who literally had selective mutism, 768 00:37:48,420 --> 00:37:51,039 which is where they just don't speak. 769 00:37:51,119 --> 00:37:53,320 They can speak, but they, for whatever reason, 770 00:37:53,380 --> 00:37:55,559 they do not speak, especially at school. 771 00:37:56,039 --> 00:37:58,940 And we've had a couple in the past 20 some odd years 772 00:37:58,940 --> 00:38:01,940 who would get up on stage and speak and were fine 773 00:38:01,940 --> 00:38:05,440 or had stutters that did not appear when they were on stage 774 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,599 because they felt safer there than they did having conversations 775 00:38:08,599 --> 00:38:09,639 one-on-one with people. 776 00:38:10,639 --> 00:38:13,880 But I think we've been doing it for a long time 777 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:15,400 and that's always done really well. 778 00:38:15,420 --> 00:38:19,539 And it's a good sort of segue into being on stage 779 00:38:19,539 --> 00:38:22,019 and realizing that you're probably not going to get it by lightning. 780 00:38:22,420 --> 00:38:23,340 You know, it's not going to be. 781 00:38:23,559 --> 00:38:26,400 And I mean, I know you used to use it as sort of a gateway. 782 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:28,360 It still is. 783 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,159 If you refuse to do that, then you can't take the class. 784 00:38:32,079 --> 00:38:34,860 And we know pretty quickly because we have five days to drop ad. 785 00:38:34,860 --> 00:38:36,860 So we know pretty quickly if someone's like, 786 00:38:37,059 --> 00:38:37,780 I will not do this. 787 00:38:37,780 --> 00:38:39,139 And I was like, I will fail you. 788 00:38:39,260 --> 00:38:41,039 Let's find you a different class that's better for you 789 00:38:41,039 --> 00:38:43,400 because like I said, there's no reason for a kid to be miserable 790 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,760 and failing elective, that's dumb. 791 00:38:45,780 --> 00:38:49,219 We can move you somewhere else and make you happy, you know. 792 00:38:49,340 --> 00:38:51,300 Well, I was trying to think over the last couple of years, 793 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,300 have we had many kids bail out? 794 00:38:54,780 --> 00:38:58,059 We, I mean, like the first week, maybe two or three. 795 00:38:59,099 --> 00:38:59,719 That's it. 796 00:39:00,199 --> 00:39:01,460 It's not a big number. 797 00:39:01,539 --> 00:39:03,239 It's the offer of a crisp high five. 798 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,059 Nobody can turn that down. 799 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:08,019 Well, and also, like I said, I don't know if I said this earlier or not, 800 00:39:08,059 --> 00:39:11,639 but we're at a point where we're getting the kids of kids who were in drama. 801 00:39:11,860 --> 00:39:14,460 So they've heard their parents tell these stories and they're in it. 802 00:39:14,460 --> 00:39:15,300 They want to be here. 803 00:39:15,300 --> 00:39:16,159 We're in it to win it. 804 00:39:16,659 --> 00:39:18,719 They're not like, well, what's this going to be like, you know, 805 00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:22,559 or they've seen the plays growing up or they did the musicals. 806 00:39:22,579 --> 00:39:25,860 So they're not like, I have no idea what's going to happen in this class. 807 00:39:25,900 --> 00:39:26,960 They kind of have an idea. 808 00:39:27,420 --> 00:39:30,940 So most kids are pretty good about self-selecting and a crisp high five. 809 00:39:30,940 --> 00:39:34,360 I mean, it's really the end all be all. 810 00:39:36,179 --> 00:39:41,039 So one of the things that she mentioned earlier about the reading of the syllabus 811 00:39:41,659 --> 00:39:47,320 is a great example of one of the things she hasn't really touched on, I think, 812 00:39:47,739 --> 00:39:53,800 is about building a culture and that the reading the syllabus thing and the story 813 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:59,420 about that there's no vaping in the prop hall is a great example of building a culture. 814 00:40:00,319 --> 00:40:05,559 So first day, first or second day, whatever, when they were doing these plays, 815 00:40:06,300 --> 00:40:09,900 you know, they get up, they're screaming about no vaping in the prop hall. 816 00:40:10,420 --> 00:40:14,179 They have five or six different versions of no vaping in the prop hall, 817 00:40:14,300 --> 00:40:16,360 no vaping in the prop hall, no vaping in the prop hall. 818 00:40:17,559 --> 00:40:22,940 That becomes the word you would use now a meme in the class. 819 00:40:23,420 --> 00:40:28,179 And so seven months later, someone walks out of the prop hall 820 00:40:28,179 --> 00:40:31,559 and someone will look at them and go, Hey, were you vaping in the prop hall? 821 00:40:31,699 --> 00:40:35,619 You know, like, it becomes part of the culture. 822 00:40:36,139 --> 00:40:42,420 And we've had students who were, I mean, 100% on the spectrum. 823 00:40:43,619 --> 00:40:48,480 And, you know, the class develops these, I mean, there's nothing else to call it, 824 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,199 these cultism kind of things that they do. 825 00:40:52,159 --> 00:40:55,480 And, you know, this kid that's on the spectrum goes, Wait, wait, 826 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:56,719 you did that thing. 827 00:40:57,019 --> 00:41:00,159 So because I'm in the group, I'm supposed to say this. 828 00:41:00,219 --> 00:41:01,119 And then they do. 829 00:41:01,159 --> 00:41:03,760 And it's like I said, it's part of the culture. 830 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:10,239 We have a culture in the program of when someone gets on stage, everyone cheers. 831 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:12,360 When someone comes off stage, everyone cheers. 832 00:41:12,860 --> 00:41:17,280 You know, it doesn't matter if they got up, got two lines into it and fell apart. 833 00:41:17,500 --> 00:41:19,079 Like they continue to cheer. 834 00:41:19,639 --> 00:41:23,559 And I think that over the last five, six, seven years, 835 00:41:23,639 --> 00:41:29,019 it has really kept the program in a very positive place 836 00:41:29,019 --> 00:41:33,119 where we don't have a lot of like backbiting amongst people. 837 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:36,940 And there's not like a lot of like, Oh, we have to watch them 838 00:41:36,940 --> 00:41:39,539 because they're going off to do this or that or whatever. 839 00:41:40,079 --> 00:41:45,739 I do think that's a big part of the thing that she has built. 840 00:41:45,739 --> 00:41:51,440 And it is very much like I say this as a guy who stands around in the class 841 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:54,440 sometimes, it's very female led a lot of times. 842 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:56,159 It is very much a matriarchy. 843 00:41:56,340 --> 00:42:01,320 And so that can be both good and bad, in my opinion, 844 00:42:01,420 --> 00:42:07,280 in that when it's good because the females are not interested in preening 845 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:11,800 and being the center of all attention all the time and everything like that, 846 00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:17,280 it's great because they're not forcing people out 847 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,480 because they need to be in that one spotlight. 848 00:42:20,259 --> 00:42:23,519 It can and has in some in the past been bad 849 00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:30,800 because sometimes the people like to like build a little like coven around them. 850 00:42:31,199 --> 00:42:34,400 And then we end up with like two or three little covens and stuff like that. 851 00:42:34,519 --> 00:42:37,780 But in the last few years, we haven't really had that. 852 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:39,780 We have little clusters of people, 853 00:42:39,780 --> 00:42:42,340 but those clusters all intermingle with each other. 854 00:42:42,719 --> 00:42:43,000 Yeah. 855 00:42:43,139 --> 00:42:46,559 The Venn diagram, someone is touching other people 856 00:42:46,559 --> 00:42:48,639 in terms of the Venn diagram at all times. 857 00:42:48,639 --> 00:42:49,320 That's definitely true. 858 00:42:50,420 --> 00:42:50,719 Yeah. 859 00:42:50,940 --> 00:42:53,039 And then you will randomly see people that you're like, 860 00:42:53,039 --> 00:42:54,719 wait, how are these people friends? 861 00:42:54,900 --> 00:42:55,300 Right. 862 00:42:55,380 --> 00:42:58,400 And they are like very intensely friends. 863 00:42:58,820 --> 00:43:00,719 And then, of course, it depends on what they're doing in the show. 864 00:43:01,079 --> 00:43:03,539 Like their characters, they're in all their scenes together 865 00:43:04,079 --> 00:43:06,619 or if the light and sound people for a show, 866 00:43:06,699 --> 00:43:09,480 they're in the box together all the time or it's the stage managers. 867 00:43:09,780 --> 00:43:15,039 So they kind of the clicks shift around based on what or if we're running two shows at once, 868 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,320 you're going to see kids from one show maybe kind of piled up against the show. 869 00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:21,699 But there's not, no, I think the culture is really, really important. 870 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:24,920 I think you have to be very intentional about the culture 871 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:27,280 and about trying to stay positive. 872 00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:29,860 And if there is a problem, addressing that problem as quickly as possible. 873 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:33,679 So it does not, which is something I think I'm a lot better at the older I've gotten. 874 00:43:33,679 --> 00:43:35,139 And of course, I was raising my own kids 875 00:43:35,139 --> 00:43:38,119 and I learned a lot about how to raise other people's kids by raising my own kids. 876 00:43:38,759 --> 00:43:41,599 So, yeah, I think that's definitely true is the culture is 877 00:43:41,599 --> 00:43:43,480 because if it's bad and there's all kinds of 878 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:46,099 because I like I belong to a lot of theater boards and stuff. 879 00:43:46,099 --> 00:43:48,199 And I see a lot of people asking about, 880 00:43:48,619 --> 00:43:51,960 you know, how do I this kid has gone completely supernova 881 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:53,659 because they didn't get the part they wanted 882 00:43:53,659 --> 00:43:55,739 and that the parents are calling me and all this stuff. 883 00:43:55,739 --> 00:44:00,320 And I just don't feel like we have those kind of problems because we don't. 884 00:44:00,519 --> 00:44:01,780 Do we play favorites? Yes. 885 00:44:01,780 --> 00:44:07,460 If I know that I have a kid that is incredibly good at something or competent even 886 00:44:07,460 --> 00:44:10,059 and they are going to work every time I ask them to do it, 887 00:44:10,059 --> 00:44:11,980 we usually only have a couple of stage managers. 888 00:44:12,119 --> 00:44:14,179 In fact, our really good stage manager is going to graduate this year. 889 00:44:14,659 --> 00:44:16,539 Our last really good stage manager was my daughter. 890 00:44:17,300 --> 00:44:19,099 And we have others, but we usually have the same ones 891 00:44:19,099 --> 00:44:20,440 because they're really, really good. 892 00:44:21,159 --> 00:44:23,019 So I play favorites in the sense that 893 00:44:23,019 --> 00:44:26,239 I know these people are going to be able to do what they're supposed to be doing. 894 00:44:26,340 --> 00:44:30,099 But also because they are leaving, we're constantly have to cycle in new kids. 895 00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:33,139 You know, so yeah, no, I think being positive 896 00:44:33,139 --> 00:44:35,599 and just the fact that they know that the people there love them. 897 00:44:36,679 --> 00:44:37,800 We'll take anybody. 898 00:44:39,539 --> 00:44:40,719 There's no qualification. 899 00:44:40,980 --> 00:44:43,920 So a kid will say, I want to take drama, but I'm not a good actor. 900 00:44:44,179 --> 00:44:45,400 Well, it's educational theater. 901 00:44:45,460 --> 00:44:47,699 We'll teach you how to be better at whatever you want to be. 902 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:48,500 That's fine. 903 00:44:48,500 --> 00:44:50,559 We can help you get better if you show up for the class. 904 00:44:51,179 --> 00:44:54,739 But we've had students of various ethnicities. 905 00:44:54,820 --> 00:44:56,659 We've had students with disabilities. 906 00:44:56,780 --> 00:44:59,280 We've had students who were blind. 907 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:00,320 We've had students who were deaf. 908 00:45:00,420 --> 00:45:02,579 We've had lots of spectrum students. 909 00:45:02,579 --> 00:45:06,139 Students who are on the spectrum tend to be really, really good at theater, 910 00:45:06,500 --> 00:45:07,920 which is great for us. 911 00:45:08,340 --> 00:45:10,739 We've had students in wheelchairs. 912 00:45:10,860 --> 00:45:14,760 We've had students who had canes or crutches. 913 00:45:17,539 --> 00:45:21,219 There's nobody who can't be in drama unless you just don't want to be in drama. 914 00:45:21,380 --> 00:45:25,599 There's no like, well, you're not good enough or the right way or whatever. 915 00:45:25,780 --> 00:45:26,460 We don't care. 916 00:45:26,699 --> 00:45:30,820 If you're breathing, we want you to go and hang out with us. 917 00:45:30,820 --> 00:45:37,360 And I will also say that is part of the reason why I really like being part of the program 918 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:41,860 is that we had training for the school district about how 919 00:45:42,559 --> 00:45:46,380 we really needed to see the kids that needed the help. 920 00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:52,539 And I also at the time happened to be involved in the 921 00:45:52,539 --> 00:45:57,519 implementation of doing online registration for families in our county. 922 00:45:57,519 --> 00:46:02,079 And so that year, I really, really got to see 923 00:46:02,079 --> 00:46:08,280 a lot of the people in the county and how we had grandparents and great grandparents 924 00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:14,059 raising children and households that were divided and one parent was in jail 925 00:46:14,059 --> 00:46:17,320 or one parent was on the other side of the world or whatever. 926 00:46:17,559 --> 00:46:20,880 When I looked around in our high school to see, 927 00:46:21,619 --> 00:46:23,980 where are these kids that I'm supposed to be helping, 928 00:46:23,980 --> 00:46:29,519 the place that had the most kids that were sort of the misfit toys in the high school 929 00:46:29,519 --> 00:46:31,539 was one of those places was drama. 930 00:46:32,179 --> 00:46:37,519 And so I decided that that was probably where I wanted to spend my extra effort 931 00:46:37,519 --> 00:46:40,800 to help the children. 932 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:45,059 You know, my argument has always been like, there are plenty of people that 933 00:46:45,059 --> 00:46:52,519 support the star football players and the basketball players and the sporty kids 934 00:46:52,519 --> 00:46:53,519 and everything like that. 935 00:46:53,519 --> 00:46:56,079 I say that as both of my kids being sporty kids. 936 00:46:56,840 --> 00:47:00,199 There are plenty of people that are down talking to the welders 937 00:47:00,199 --> 00:47:04,519 and the electricians and FFA and everything like that. 938 00:47:04,639 --> 00:47:07,380 Those people all have plenty of people to help them out. 939 00:47:07,980 --> 00:47:14,420 But most days when I walk into our theater for the drama class, 940 00:47:14,739 --> 00:47:19,119 we're talking about kids who some of them maybe didn't get food that morning 941 00:47:19,119 --> 00:47:22,659 and had no one at the house when they woke up or whatever. 942 00:47:22,659 --> 00:47:28,519 And so, yeah, I will gladly give you a hug and I will gladly give you a high five. 943 00:47:28,579 --> 00:47:33,940 And I will definitely sit down and play a word game with you while we eat or whatever, 944 00:47:34,719 --> 00:47:36,820 because somebody's got to care about this kid. 945 00:47:37,460 --> 00:47:39,079 And obviously, Jennifer does. 946 00:47:39,199 --> 00:47:43,760 And I saw like an opportunity for me to help care about these kids. 947 00:47:43,940 --> 00:47:46,739 And it really is like there's been more than one time when 948 00:47:47,619 --> 00:47:51,260 the counselors have got a new student who's come in in the middle of the year 949 00:47:51,260 --> 00:47:54,780 and they bring them in and go, we think this is one of your kids, 950 00:47:55,219 --> 00:47:58,679 because we don't know where else this kid goes. 951 00:47:59,420 --> 00:48:00,760 And generally it is. 952 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:02,920 We also don't charge anything for the program. 953 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:04,639 There are a lot of theater programs that are paid to play 954 00:48:04,639 --> 00:48:07,019 and a lot of extracurriculars and co-curriculars that are. 955 00:48:07,260 --> 00:48:09,239 And we have never charged a dime. 956 00:48:09,300 --> 00:48:13,960 We do have some very generous parents and community members 957 00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:16,880 and my best friend since I was five years old, 958 00:48:17,079 --> 00:48:19,599 Kevin, he has been funding the program for a long time. 959 00:48:19,599 --> 00:48:23,400 But if you can buy your own costume, great. 960 00:48:23,420 --> 00:48:25,119 If you can't, we will get it for you. 961 00:48:25,219 --> 00:48:26,079 Just whatever you need. 962 00:48:26,079 --> 00:48:29,119 But I would never tell a kid they couldn't come in and do our stuff 963 00:48:30,159 --> 00:48:32,599 because they did not have the funds to do that. 964 00:48:33,179 --> 00:48:36,820 And I mean, the county that we're in is a very well, 965 00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:39,519 I mean, obviously it has all ends of the spectrum. 966 00:48:39,559 --> 00:48:40,940 We have people that have a lot of money 967 00:48:40,940 --> 00:48:43,739 and people that have no money and stuff like that. 968 00:48:44,179 --> 00:48:47,139 So we, you know, it would be hard for us to say, 969 00:48:47,139 --> 00:48:52,440 listen, everybody that wants to be in the play has to pay $300 or whatever. 970 00:48:52,719 --> 00:48:54,559 Like, I mean, because basically you would just cut, 971 00:48:54,860 --> 00:48:56,719 you would cut yourself down and especially 972 00:48:57,440 --> 00:49:00,139 a lot of the population that we have in the drama program. 973 00:49:00,519 --> 00:49:02,420 Like, you know, I'm not sure if there would have been 974 00:49:04,079 --> 00:49:07,039 seven kids in the program that could have paid that kind of money. 975 00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:08,159 Yeah, that'd be crazy. 976 00:49:08,719 --> 00:49:12,119 She also does get by with like not doing a lot of fundraising either though. 977 00:49:12,119 --> 00:49:18,059 She makes money on the musical and the house for the musical. 978 00:49:18,300 --> 00:49:22,559 And it also funds doing that as a district wide musical funds 979 00:49:22,559 --> 00:49:24,780 a lot of the things that we do. 980 00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:28,800 And this is something like going back to what you want to do if you're starting is, 981 00:49:28,820 --> 00:49:30,980 and this is a thing that lots of theater programs do, 982 00:49:31,300 --> 00:49:34,099 is you do one that you know is going to be wildly popular 983 00:49:34,099 --> 00:49:39,000 and that allows you to do some weirder or more underground things. 984 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:42,639 So this musical, it's the only show that we do with all the students. 985 00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:45,380 It's all extracurricular and they bust the little kids in 986 00:49:45,380 --> 00:49:49,920 from the other schools in the district, but it's a dinner theater. 987 00:49:49,940 --> 00:49:51,599 So we kind of double dip with that one. 988 00:49:51,599 --> 00:49:56,619 So we partner with the soccer team generally and also the academic team, 989 00:49:56,619 --> 00:49:57,920 which I am the coach of. 990 00:49:57,960 --> 00:49:58,980 So that helps me out too. 991 00:49:59,179 --> 00:50:02,159 And they provided dinner with the show. 992 00:50:02,239 --> 00:50:05,000 And so we charge about like 20 bucks, I think. 993 00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:06,340 I think presale is 20. 994 00:50:07,099 --> 00:50:11,000 And then we get funded and the other organization gets funded as well. 995 00:50:11,219 --> 00:50:12,719 And that brings even more people in. 996 00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:16,780 But parents of little kids, if we did that show five times, 997 00:50:16,860 --> 00:50:18,099 those parents would come five times. 998 00:50:18,239 --> 00:50:21,239 And that's how we make a bunch of money to do 999 00:50:21,239 --> 00:50:24,619 like a, you know, gender swap Julius Caesar 1000 00:50:25,320 --> 00:50:27,420 or the complete works of William Shakespeare, 1001 00:50:27,500 --> 00:50:29,400 a bridge to bridge revised. 1002 00:50:29,639 --> 00:50:33,159 So we can do weirder things that we can't, 1003 00:50:33,159 --> 00:50:35,500 we're not going to get our money back for them 1004 00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:39,800 because we did this massive musical and everybody wanted to come see there. 1005 00:50:39,900 --> 00:50:43,539 Like we did Singin' in the Rain this last semester. 1006 00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:45,800 And so we had all these little cutie patooties 1007 00:50:45,800 --> 00:50:48,900 and little flapper dresses and little yellow raincoats. 1008 00:50:48,980 --> 00:50:52,280 And we just made money like gangbusters. 1009 00:50:52,300 --> 00:50:54,719 So you want to pick one that's going to be wildly popular for the audience 1010 00:50:54,719 --> 00:50:56,679 and then give them the opportunity to see something 1011 00:50:56,679 --> 00:51:01,039 that maybe is a little more lesser known, I guess. 1012 00:51:01,099 --> 00:51:02,360 Trapped is a good example of that. 1013 00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:02,719 Oh, yeah. 1014 00:51:02,719 --> 00:51:08,599 Like it had props that needed to be ordered and stuff like that. 1015 00:51:08,840 --> 00:51:10,679 And like, you know, that's harder to fund 1016 00:51:10,679 --> 00:51:13,639 if you don't know that you're about to bring in more money for the musical. 1017 00:51:13,639 --> 00:51:18,800 Right. So the spring musical will fund everything that comes back around in the fall. 1018 00:51:19,820 --> 00:51:23,780 So, you know, that's it's especially if you're just starting a program 1019 00:51:23,780 --> 00:51:25,179 and stuff like that, I don't necessarily know 1020 00:51:25,179 --> 00:51:27,760 that you start with a school web musical, but... 1021 00:51:28,679 --> 00:51:30,219 No, I would say no. 1022 00:51:30,219 --> 00:51:31,920 If it were my first rodeo, I would not. 1023 00:51:33,239 --> 00:51:35,739 The program started that it was really just her 1024 00:51:35,739 --> 00:51:38,800 and a couple people that acted like they were going to be there that didn't show up, 1025 00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:42,760 which was part of also the reason why I wanted to help. 1026 00:51:42,900 --> 00:51:49,340 But she has developed a pyramid scheme of people helping her with the musical. 1027 00:51:49,659 --> 00:51:52,900 That's a good word. I like that. That's a good term for this. Yeah. 1028 00:51:53,719 --> 00:51:54,780 Do you want to elaborate on that? 1029 00:51:55,079 --> 00:51:58,260 Well, yeah, so I am not a song and dance girl. 1030 00:51:58,260 --> 00:52:04,900 I did musicals when I was a kid, but I never had like a lead in them or anything like that. 1031 00:52:05,219 --> 00:52:09,079 So I have, like I said, I have the band director doing the choreography 1032 00:52:09,079 --> 00:52:13,139 and then I have a former student who also helps with choreography and singing. 1033 00:52:13,820 --> 00:52:18,420 And then Brent works on the tech aspects of it with the mics and that kind of stuff 1034 00:52:18,420 --> 00:52:19,860 and building sets and things like that. 1035 00:52:20,300 --> 00:52:21,940 And the art department helps with that. 1036 00:52:22,159 --> 00:52:23,679 And Mr. Florence, it's nice. 1037 00:52:23,860 --> 00:52:25,679 My husband, Jason, helps with that stuff. 1038 00:52:25,980 --> 00:52:27,679 So we have a lot of people who come in. 1039 00:52:27,679 --> 00:52:34,820 Brent's wife, Pauline, made most of the costumes for The Wizard of Oz, which was just, 1040 00:52:35,119 --> 00:52:38,639 I mean, she made wings for all those monkeys, little hats for them, 1041 00:52:39,260 --> 00:52:42,800 and dresses and suits for all the little kids in Munchkinland. 1042 00:52:42,900 --> 00:52:46,460 It was, I don't even know how many costumes she made for that show, 1043 00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:48,840 like 30 or 40 probably. 1044 00:52:49,159 --> 00:52:53,500 So we do have a lot of help and people who, and we have a parent 1045 00:52:53,500 --> 00:52:57,699 who doesn't even have any children in the program anymore, 1046 00:52:58,219 --> 00:53:00,880 who still, as soon as she finds out rehearsals are happening, 1047 00:53:01,340 --> 00:53:04,920 starts bringing us cases of fruit to feed the children, 1048 00:53:04,980 --> 00:53:07,559 because we give them a snack because they're here for so long after school. 1049 00:53:08,539 --> 00:53:11,559 And just like literally orders from directly from the grocery store, 1050 00:53:11,860 --> 00:53:14,380 cases of bananas and oranges and apples and stuff. 1051 00:53:14,599 --> 00:53:16,039 So the kids have good food to eat. 1052 00:53:16,159 --> 00:53:19,039 And she's not even, like I said, her kids graduated, 1053 00:53:19,099 --> 00:53:21,960 but we built up all this goodwill with her and lots of other people 1054 00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:23,280 whose kids are not in the program anymore. 1055 00:53:23,500 --> 00:53:26,800 Who still want to help us, which is, it's great. 1056 00:53:27,940 --> 00:53:29,659 I don't know if it's necessarily a summation, 1057 00:53:30,440 --> 00:53:38,980 but talking about the culture and the amount of people 1058 00:53:38,980 --> 00:53:43,739 that you have interacted with in this program and everything like that. 1059 00:53:44,199 --> 00:53:48,739 So this last year, you made shirts that had every play 1060 00:53:48,739 --> 00:53:53,400 that you had ever done in this department on them. 1061 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:54,420 Tell us how that went. 1062 00:53:54,900 --> 00:54:00,800 Well, we do a shirt every year that says something silly on it, 1063 00:54:00,860 --> 00:54:03,500 and the kids can put something silly on the back if they want to. 1064 00:54:03,780 --> 00:54:05,780 But because it was our 20th anniversary, I thought, 1065 00:54:05,820 --> 00:54:09,159 wouldn't it be cool if we put all the shows on the shirt? 1066 00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:11,699 And we did, and I told them we were going to order them, 1067 00:54:11,699 --> 00:54:12,559 and that was great. 1068 00:54:12,699 --> 00:54:14,699 And then when we actually did the musical, 1069 00:54:14,780 --> 00:54:16,159 we always ordered the show in the spring. 1070 00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:19,880 The people who had come to the musical, they also wanted shirts. 1071 00:54:20,199 --> 00:54:22,960 And so we ended up doing three orders of shirts. 1072 00:54:22,960 --> 00:54:29,179 And sold, I think, 200 shirts, which is, usually we sell like 50, 1073 00:54:29,460 --> 00:54:30,559 you know, just the people in the program. 1074 00:54:30,599 --> 00:54:31,760 And we don't make money off them. 1075 00:54:31,760 --> 00:54:32,559 We just buy them. 1076 00:54:32,679 --> 00:54:35,559 We do them at cost, like $15 or whatever it is to get them printed. 1077 00:54:35,860 --> 00:54:37,500 But everyone was like, oh, no, I was in that. 1078 00:54:37,519 --> 00:54:38,079 I was in that. 1079 00:54:38,119 --> 00:54:38,900 My sister was in that. 1080 00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:39,500 I saw that. 1081 00:54:39,500 --> 00:54:39,960 I saw that. 1082 00:54:40,179 --> 00:54:42,380 And just the connections, people had these different shows 1083 00:54:42,719 --> 00:54:44,739 and telling stories that I had forgotten about and that kind of thing. 1084 00:54:45,239 --> 00:54:49,280 But yeah, I was really surprised the popularity of those shirts. 1085 00:54:49,420 --> 00:54:49,960 Now people are one of them. 1086 00:54:50,179 --> 00:54:51,420 And bought them for like their whole family. 1087 00:54:51,420 --> 00:54:53,699 Like we were selling six and eight shirts to a family, 1088 00:54:53,860 --> 00:54:56,699 you know, getting toddler size ones and two XLs. 1089 00:54:56,960 --> 00:55:00,340 And it was just really, you've got to figure that at this point, 1090 00:55:01,300 --> 00:55:04,000 the program has interacted with thousands of people, 1091 00:55:04,019 --> 00:55:06,119 either on stage or in the audience. 1092 00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:10,599 And they all have these stories about, and they come in and they say, 1093 00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:14,780 oh, I want to join theater because I saw Brody play Tom Sawyer, 1094 00:55:14,820 --> 00:55:18,260 you know, or I saw James, you know, in the Music Man. 1095 00:55:18,280 --> 00:55:20,460 And they all, they just wanted to be a part of that. 1096 00:55:20,460 --> 00:55:22,480 Or my cousin was in it or whatever. 1097 00:55:23,260 --> 00:55:27,199 And just the number, like before we go into a show, every time we do us, 1098 00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:30,099 we do warm ups, then we do the circle and we hold hands 1099 00:55:30,099 --> 00:55:32,800 and we sing this song that is ridiculous. 1100 00:55:33,239 --> 00:55:35,500 And then I tell them, you know, this is, 1101 00:55:35,800 --> 00:55:38,440 I have the best job in the whole world in terms of 1102 00:55:38,440 --> 00:55:43,639 I get to come and do this every day with these amazing, these amazing people. 1103 00:55:44,179 --> 00:55:47,360 And they get to be part of this thing that's bigger than themselves 1104 00:55:47,360 --> 00:55:49,719 that they're going to remember for the rest of their life. 1105 00:55:49,719 --> 00:55:51,079 And I get to be a part of that memory. 1106 00:55:51,300 --> 00:55:54,480 And I just think that is, it's just phenomenal. 1107 00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:56,980 I can't like, everybody's like, well, what did you want to do 1108 00:55:56,980 --> 00:55:58,500 when you were a kid versus what you're doing now? 1109 00:55:58,500 --> 00:56:01,059 I'm doing exactly what I thought I wanted to do when I was a kid. 1110 00:56:01,320 --> 00:56:03,119 When I was a kid, I didn't know how I was going to get there, 1111 00:56:03,119 --> 00:56:05,260 but I was like, oh, I'm going to do theater. 1112 00:56:05,519 --> 00:56:06,539 I don't know how to do that. 1113 00:56:06,980 --> 00:56:08,380 I'm going to find out how to do that. 1114 00:56:08,380 --> 00:56:09,159 And I did it. 1115 00:56:09,219 --> 00:56:11,820 And so I just think, I don't know, like the outpouring 1116 00:56:11,820 --> 00:56:14,280 this last year of the 20th anniversary and the people that came back, 1117 00:56:15,239 --> 00:56:17,559 you know, people who have now the program. 1118 00:56:18,019 --> 00:56:20,199 Like there was one girl that came all the way 1119 00:56:20,199 --> 00:56:21,500 from like Evansville or something. 1120 00:56:21,539 --> 00:56:22,840 She didn't have any kids in the program like that, 1121 00:56:23,179 --> 00:56:26,440 but she came back because she was in that first show we ever did. 1122 00:56:26,460 --> 00:56:27,880 They try to get that whole cast back together. 1123 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:29,699 And that was really, that was really cool. 1124 00:56:29,739 --> 00:56:32,699 They thought it was important to come back and visit with us and see the show. 1125 00:56:33,659 --> 00:56:34,900 So it's really neat. 1126 00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:36,719 Everyone should start a theater program. 1127 00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:38,320 Who's having more fun than we are? 1128 00:56:38,480 --> 00:56:39,139 No one. 1129 00:56:39,960 --> 00:56:42,500 And that is why this podcast exists. 1130 00:56:44,300 --> 00:56:44,940 Okay. 1131 00:56:45,539 --> 00:56:50,280 So that potentially is the first episode of this 1132 00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:54,340 and what we hope to kind of tell you how to do. 1133 00:56:55,019 --> 00:56:56,199 It seems very rambly. 1134 00:56:59,260 --> 00:57:01,500 I don't know how we would do anything that wasn't rambly. 1135 00:57:01,500 --> 00:57:04,099 Yeah, like this is just going like, 1136 00:57:04,099 --> 00:57:29,300 but I digress is a we've snatched production.