Do-it-All Directors in Middle and High School Theatre

Episode 149:  Do-it-All Directors Are you a do it all director? Today we talk to a number of teachers who have to do it all. We have high school and middle school teachers and teachers who are running both senior and junior programs! Listen to their experience and how they handle their situation. Hint: it’s all about the students. Show Notes * Emergency Lesson Plans Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! This is Episode 149. You can find… ooh, I really hit that nine, didn’t I? That was unexpected – 149. You can find any links to this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com – I slid into that one – episode149. So, how are you today? Apparently, I’m a little silly, but maybe you are feeling cool, calm, or overwhelmed, stressed. Are you looking at your day thinking, “How is this all going to get done and I’ve got rehearsal tonight?!” I put three exclamation points – no, not exclamation points – question marks! Both – exclamation points and question marks after that! Today, you’re in luck because you don’t have to listen to me very much longer. Today, we have some folks who know that feeling very well. Today, we are talking to and about do-it-all directors. We have high school teachers, middle school teachers, and teachers who do both – they have to run both senior and junior programs. I have to tell you, these are my favorite podcasts – the ones where, again, less of me and more of sharing other people’s thoughts, tips, insights – teachers talking to teachers. Maybe some of these teachers are going through your exact scenario and you will be able to go, “I am not alone.” Let me tell you, when I put out the call that I was looking for do-it-all directors, there was a tidal wave of response. So, pull up a chair and listen to what our guests have to say about their experience and how they handle their do-it-all situation. I’m going to give you a hint: It’s all about the students – isn’t it always? All right, let’s get to it. LINDSAY: Okay, I am talking to Connie Voight. Hello, Connie! CONNIE: Hello! LINDSAY: Where in the world are you? CONNIE: I am in Huntsville, Alabama – just south of Nashville. LINDSAY: Awesome. What makes you a do-it-all director? CONNIE: Well, I’m the only theatre teacher here in the upper school. I teach at a small college prep school so we have about 380 kids in our upper school. We call it upper school instead of high school. I’m the only full-time theatre teacher so I’m directing, I’m teaching classes, I’m conducting students in building the set and designing the set and the lights and the sound and the costumes and the competition plays and everything like that. LINDSAY: So, what strategies do you have when everything is sort of coming at you all at once in terms of doing it all? CONNIE: That would be what has just happened in the past few weeks. LINDSAY: What’s that? CONNIE: Yeah, it really would have because, on top of everything, I’m chairing a competition that’s happening this weekend and then my son got married. Over the course of not just shows and stuff, I give a lot of the responsibility to the students, especially in stage craft. The way my stage craft is structured is I have four levels but they all meet at the same time. So,