The Production Classroom

Episode 179: The Production Classroom Have you considered putting on a play with an advanced class, during class time? Have you ever tried an in-class production and struggled with the process? In this podcast Karen Loftus highlights the steps she went through to create and implement The Production Classroom. Show Notes * The Perils of Modern Education * Drama Teacher Academy - The Production Classroom Episode Transcript Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company. I’m Lindsay Price. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! This is Episode 179 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode179. Today, we are talking about a great, great long-term project that you can do with an advanced class. This can take up a whole semester or even a whole year – depending on how long you have your students. The ultimate goal, I think, with a drama class is to have them move through the entire process of putting on a play – right from audition to performance. I know that this is something many teachers struggle with, right? How do you encourage accountability? What if students don’t listen to their peers? What do the tech students do during rehearsals? We are talking about the production classroom and all of these questions – and more – are answered in today’s conversation. So, let’s get to it. LINDSAY: I am speaking with Karen Loftus. Hello, Karen! KAREN: Hello there! LINDSAY: Karen is a long-time friend to Theatrefolk. I was trying to remember when we first met. I know it was Florida and I know it was a conference and I think it was Jacksonville. Does that right a bell? KAREN: Yeah, I think it was, too. I do. LINDSAY: I think so, and I know that you had just done Circus in Olympus and I think that was, was that the first Theatrefolk play you did? KAREN: No, first Theatrefolk play for us is we did a really great night where we did Emotional Baggage and Tick Tock in the same night. We called it “A Night with Few Words” and it went on really, really well. LINDSAY: Oh, that’s awesome. I’m not sure I knew that story. I knew that you had done those plays. Karen, you have had – I’m going to call it amazing – an amazing journey because, when we first met, you were a high school teacher in Florida and, now, you’re in New York and you’ve had a variety of jobs but your job now – well, from the outside, it kind of sounds a little exciting, right? KAREN: It is! I’m an education production manager for Roundabout Theatre Company now in New York. I actually am managing a program where we’re training technical – we’re training students 18 to 24 in technical theatre. It’s exciting because we’re partnering with IATSE – International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the union of theatre technicians – and they’re working with us to help train these students. And so, it is, it’s really exciting. LINDSAY: Yeah, I love that. I think, to be able to train them but also, like, actually in a theatre, they’re able to – I’m assuming – actually apply the things that they’re learning directly in production. KAREN: Yeah, they are. We normally will go to downtown spaces because there are union houses so there’s situations there, but nothing beats hands-on. Nothing beats just getting right into it, you know?