The Tony's

So I did not get to watch the Tony Awards this year, but I did watch some of the performances on youtube, and I saw the award winners online. I am not sure how I feel about some of the winners this year.

I completely agree with some of the winners, like "Death Of A Salesman" winning best revival of a play, and "Newsies" winning best choreography. There were many actors and wonderful artists that were recognized as they should have been.

However, I must say that Jeremy Jordan did TWO shows this Tony season, and after seeing clips, and listening to songs from both "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Newsies" he totally deserved to win best performance by a leading male in a musical. I have looked at Steve Kazee in "Once", and I am thoroughly unimpressed with his performance, and the show.

Granted! I haven't seen it live, but if the videos I have looked at are any representation, how did it win best new musical?! I just don't get it.

I know I don't live in New York, and I don't really get an accurate representation of the shows nominated, but sometimes I worry about what is happening with this business I love so much. I might just go to New York and start bitch slapping people, until they get their shit together.

Changes

I have been using this blog as a way to write about my expereinces teaching, but I am no longer teaching. From here on out I am going to use it as a way of speaking my mind about the theatre business, my experiences in theatre, and what ever else I want to bitch about.

I am super excited about starting my life in a new city, and to be able to get back to the stage. For the past several years I have been putting off being on the stage in order to help my students perfect their skills, and I think a nice way of getting back to the stage will be to write a one man show.

"A one man show? Is he mad? Does he think he is Jack McFarland?" These are all valid questions you may ask yourself. And the answer are; "Yes." "No." and "Bitch please."

I have always wanted to try my hand at writing, and have been playing around with a play for several years now. I have had some pretty crazy life experience for only being 24, and I think some awesome monologues enhanced with songs from my favorite musicals is just what I want to start with. Just me and a microphone on the stage. Oh, and a piano player because, lets face it, I SUCK at piano.

Now don't go crazy asking when the show is happening, I haven't even started writing it. I know you are saying to yourself; "OMG he's doing a one man show and I'm so excited because he is so FAB! U! LOUS!" Well this is all true, but before you pee your pants with anticipation, let a homo write for a few months, and find a venue, and rehearse songs. I promise that when it is all put together, you will be the first to know.

Until then, feel free to stalk me. BUT! If you are going to stalk me you must sing "On My Own" from Les Miserables. Why? Because it's the ULTIMATE stalker song. Deal with it.

The Beggining of The End....or something

As the school year is winding down, so are all of the activities. Rehearsals are becoming more laid back, kids are ready for summer; as am I. We are getting ready for our last performance of the year. Next Thursday we will host our final banquet, and our workshop performances.

We will be featuring two shows at our workshop, and I can feel the excitement from the kids, as we are finally doing dramas rather than comedys. Both shows are so impactful, and I know that the kids are going to really touch the audience, because they move me everyday in rehearsal.

I have been so priviledged to work with these extremely talented kids. I know that so many of them will go on to fantastic careers on the stage.

At risk of sounding like a sentamental sap, I have grown to love these kids and if I don't get to stay next year I will miss them dearly. Lets all cross our fingers that I get to stay and continue working with them and helping to harvest their talent.

I have this feeling that I am at the beggining of the end. Or possibly and the end of the beggining. Either way, it is a wonderful feeling.

I'm not exactly sure what this post accomplished, but here it is. Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Quotes

So here lately I have been pretty busy, but my students have made some excellent remarks. I will share them with you, because they are that fantastic.

We are doing a play about Japanese internment camps during WWII and one line in the play is "Whos is the enemy?!" To which a student responded "Jesus."

The students were talking about my slight coffee addiction and one of them said "Dunlap, I think Hitler would have run away from you before coffee."

We were discussing The Scottish Play one day and this is the conversation that happened.
-Student: "Don't say his name in the theatre, Mr. Dunlap will kill you."
-Me: "No I won't. The theatre gods will. Do not anger them."

A student was speaking to me about her fellow thespians and this is what she said.
-Student: "He just annoys the crap out of me and I want to punch him."
-Me: "You can't punch him. What you need to realize is he's a good kid, he just needs to pull his head out of his...."
-Student: "Coffee cup."
-Me: "Exactly."

-Me: "He guys, Liza Minelli is being given a special award for Life Time Acheivement in dance and theatre!"
-Student: "Who is Liza Minelli."
-Me: "Someone educate him before he kills me."

I was speaking with collegues about being in the hall between classes and this is what was said.
-Me: "When you stand here and they walk by, do you ever just want to push them into a wall?"
-Collegue: "All the time."
-Me: "Oh good, I'm not alone."

So a collegue and I were discussing songs we wanted to sing.
-Collegue: "I wanted to do something! What did I want to do?!"
-Me: *off handed* "Little GIrls."
-Studnet: "um................."
-Me: "The song from Annie!!!! Not like that!!!"

I love that my students are so out there, and hilarious. I may start writing all of their funnies down and publish a book. Just a thought. I hope you enjoyed.

"Straight ginger"

So, as most of you know, I have curly hair and have been keeping red for a while now. Periodically I will straighten my hair. So last week I starightened my hair, and went to school. Needless to say it was a new experience for the kids, but the really funny part came in choir.

As the students are getting set on the risers, one girl asked to touch my hair. I told her no, and she goes off on this tangent about how weird I look with straight hair. So she has been going on for a while when she finally says, "You're a curly ginger, not a straight ginger!"

Everyone in the room stops for a second and then burst out laughing. She didn't realize why it was so funny, until someone pointed out that she had made a gay joke. I couldn't help but look at her and say "You're right, I am deffinitely not a straight ginger."

Some days the students really shock me with how open minded they are. You can never judge a play by its opening scene.

New projects

Since wrapping our last performance, we have come back from spring break and begun work on our next project. We are preparing for our spring awards banquet. In all of my brilliant genius I have decided that we will do it as an awards show, complete with short plays. To avoid me directing everything I decided we would have student directed plays. The kids are totally stoked!

One of my senior girls is directing a two person play about a cop with the Teatre Department going to arrest a deranged playwright. It's rather hilarious. This is her directorial debut, and she already shows promise. I am super excited to see how she works.

My other senior director is doing a play about an American man and Arabian woman and the Interpreter that helps them communicate. The play is all in English which makes it even funnier. This is also a direcorial debut by the coolest little hippie student I have. She made me homemade granola. I fucking love my job.

And the final play is a directorial debut from one of my freshman girls. She is so ridiculously talented its stupid. Her play is about two girls making a frined of theirs hold his breath for three minutes while the sun comes up. It's rather silly, but pretty fun.

On top of the student directed plays, I am doing a piece with the remaining students about bullying and teen violence. The group has been doing comedies for the last several years so I think doing something dramatic will be good for them.

I am also doing a special play with the seniors entitled "Antigone's Red". It is a short 10 minute play about the Japanese internment camps of WWII. The kids love it, and I thinnk they are going to able to do amazing things with it.

The kids are really excited about the final performance and so am I! It's going to be a fantastic way to end the school year!!!

Opening Night

When the morning of the show dawned I was excited and restless. I had about 40 billion things to do before we could have a show.

After school my cast and crew showed up and starrting preparing for the show. Backstage was alive with excitement.

The audience took their seats and dinner was served. After dinner the remianing audience that didn't want a meal was seated.

I welcomed everyone and made my thank you's in my curtain speech and then the show started. As the lights came up, it was like a magic spell was cast over the theatre. Everything was pure perfection, not one cue was missed, nor one line dropped. You would have thought that they were on the stage at the Shubert Theatre, not in an auditorium at Morenci High School. I could not believe the priase I recieved after the show.

And then my students came to me after the show with a dozen yellow roses, and a program they had all signed. I cried, it was such a beautiful moment.

No matter where life takes me, or what I do, I will always remember these wondrful students.

Final Dress

I always love final dress rehearsals. They are always so exciting for everyone innvolved. As a director I try to just sit and watch and give notes after.

For this last dress rehearsal it was no different. When my students came into rehearsal you could see the excitement behind their eyes. The techies instantly started setting the stage, lights, and sound while the actors began getting innto costume and character.

Being that our show was a dinner theatre, I had innvited the student group that was catering our dinner to see the final dress rehearsal. My students were ready, and the audience was in their seats. As the curtain opened and the lights came up I could feel the excitement in the room.

By the time the show came to a close I had taken several pages of notes. After the audience I sat down with the kids. You could tell they were upset by the run of the show. We went over what went wrong, and most of the things they had noticed, were things I had taken notes on. Knowing that they knew what the mistakes were I didn't feel it was essential to make them rehearse more.

I then told the kids that I wasn't worried in the slightest. If dress rehearsals don't go well then the show generally is flawless.

With that being said, I sent the kids home to rest, relax, and generally calm down. There is no use in a dress reharsal if you are just going to freak out the night before the show.

Questions

In the midst of a dress rehearsal, a student says to me; "Mr. Dunlap, this show is really great. I think it will be a big hit. This is good theatre." He then turned to me and asked; "What makes good theatre. I always hear it, and never really understood."

I had to take a moment and think. Good theatre? It is such a complex term really. To know what makes good theatre, you have to look at what is to be accomplished with it. Are we putting on a show just for entertainment? Are we trying to change hearts and minds on important issues? Or are we just taking part in something because it brings a light to our life that wasn't there before?

The answer is simple. If you see a show and it does all of these things, it is good theatre. A playwright named Dustin Lance Black recently wrote a play entitled "8" about the federal case against Proposition 8 in California. The show had a brief run on Broadway and recieved amazing reviews.

Just last week a special one night performance was done in California. The amazing thing about this performance was that it was not the Broadway cast performing. The cast was made up of many big name acotrs such as George Clooney, Jamie Lee Cutis, and Brad Pitt.

Acting started with a stage. It was amazing to see these actors return to their roots, not because they were getting paid, but because it was a cause important to them.

I remember when I was in the 8th grade. My best friends parents took me to my first show. We saw "The Wizard of Oz." At this point I had seen the movie a million times. But when those house lights dimed, and the curtain went up, I was transported to Oz. I didn't just watch Dorothy try to get home, I experienced all of her trials right along with her.

From that point on I knew I wanted to be on a stage.

So, what makes good theatre? Good theatre simply, makes you feel.

Finding the fun

So the show is coming up in a little over a week, and I have started working on the program. I asked all of the students to email me a short bio for said program. I gave them a week to work on it, with the threat of "If you don't get it done on time I will write it, and I won't be nice."

So here it is, the day of the deadline, and I am missing several bio's. Now when I say I won't be nice what I mean is, I will make up anything I can to embarrass you. In the midst of writing bio's I have transformed my students into many things.

I now have a Justin Bieber impersonator, a Hannah Montana worshiper, and an actor aspiring to star in a show about...wait for it...Savage Garden.

I have found that it is kinda fun to give my students other lives. It makes my already strange students, seem WAY out there. I know these backgrounds aren't real, but they are definitely fun to make up. It is all about finding the little things in your day to make it worth while.

In other news, spray painting set gives you uber creative ideas, or maybe it's just the fumes...

Opposition

So my leading male has turned in all of his work and brought up his grade. He has corrected his attitude and appologized for his behavior. As a teacher I would love for my bad kids to do that. This other teacher however, has decided that because of one bad incident, my leading male is a bad student. She is constantly hounding him, and getting on to him.

So today I go to make copies, and there she is. So then she decides to talk to me about him. When I explain to her that he has fixed his attitude and grade, like she asked, there is no more to talk about. She then decides to question my teaching abilities. Really?!?! I got him to not only behave, but also do all of his work in her class, and she has the nerve to question my ability as a teacher!!!

It really annoys me that core teachers think that just because I specialized in the arts, I am a terrible teacher.

I made the decision today that, instead of calling her out on it (like she did me) I am going to be an adult. She will see just how awesome my kids are when she comes to the show. And yes, she is coming. She already bought her ticket.

So here is to taking the high road, and to stapling in hem lines right before running on stage.

Smash

I have been watching Smash. It's the new show on NBC. In case you have no clue, it is about the making of a musical. While watching the first episode all I could think was, "If this show had been around when I was twelve, how would it have changed my life?" Then I proceeded to have a full on moment in my head where I was singing on the stage at the Shubert Theatre, belting out the closing number to Rent.

As I snap back to my senses I come to the realization that a TV show was not going to get me on Broadway.

So back to Smash. Can I just say that it is everything I wish Glee had been. From the dancing, to the tight harmonies, this show is just awesome. And the actors are giving their all to the characters. Angelica Houston plays a Broadway producer in the midst of a divorce that could ruin her. She is so convincing and brilliant. You cheer for her character, and want her to win, but you can't help but think she's just a little mad.

My other favorite is Megan Hilty. She is such a BITCH!!!! I love it. She is a diva who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She's even sleeping with the director! And despite all of this back handed cuntyness, I still kinda love her.

So if you haven't seen Smash, and you need a show to blow your mind, and distract you from the other swill on television, check it out.

Also, my leading man informed me that all of his missing work has been turned in, and his grade has been raised. Today I am a happy teacher.

Catching up

At the beginning of the semester we set out to perform "S.P.A.R." by Stephen Gregg. We had two and a half months to get it ready for our annual dinner theatre performance. Two months to put together a one act play. Easy. Right? That's what I thought too.

There is a section of the play where one of the characters sings. Well being the over the top teacher I am I decided, 4 weeks from opening night mind you, that we should turn that simple song into a big, all  out, full cast, Broadway number. Easy. I have 4 weeks, and I am pretty talented. I can stage a  Broadway number in one rehearsal. Wrong. It took an entire week.

So 3 weeks out and my show is looking great. I even have two boys dancing that could hardly tell their right from their left. I have achieved greatness with this show, and I just started at this school. I am feeling totally secure in my job.

And then my lead male informs me that not only is he failing History, but his teacher is mad at him for his attitude in her class. Well being the nice guy I am I tell him, "You have one day to fix this, or I am firing you from the show. Poor grades and behavior are not qualities for leading men, and I am the only diva on this stage."

So now I am two weeks from opening night and it looks like I will be replacing my leading man with an actor from the ensemble, replacing that actor with my light tech, and running lights myself.

The moral of this story you may find your self asking? Don't count your set pieces until you have them all on stage.

The beginning

Being a theatre teacher can sometimes present its own unique problems. While most core teachers think about things like math quizzes, and english papers, or perhaps that research report on Paul Revere; I am usually thinking about, "I need to replace those light bulbs." or "That light needs a safety cable so it doesn't fall on a student." Our minds are usually filled with the most bizzare things from make up to set building. This makes for a very interesting teaching experience, not only for us, but also for the students.
I push my students on a daily basis to strive for their best on and off the stage. I encourage them to participate in their daily life, and to pursue their passions. However, it is not always fun and games. We have fun but we work hard. My students are expected to know all of their lines and blocking early on. Slackers are not welcome, and poor attitude and bad grades in other classes are swiftly dealt with.

The best thing about being a theatre teacher though, is all the fun you get to have with your students. I encourage my kids to be silly, and to have fun. We tell jokes, and stories, and we laugh on a daily basis. The other benefit is seeing the light bulb come on. Watching them transform is an amazing thing.

I want to be able to share those stories. I hope you enjoy.