Archive for June, 2008
International Thespian Festival 2008 Final Thoughts
I love student writers. They write and write and write and sometimes get irritated when you tell them to stop. They look like they’re going to swallow their tongue when you ask them to send you their play.
The enthusiasm of teens never fails to amaze me. I wonder if I ever had that much energy.
Sometimes they’re insanely happy to meet the playwright of the play they worked so hard on. They can’t believe you’d say hi back.
And sometimes they so desperately want to communicate something to you, and are so frustrated when they can’t figure out how to say it.
I love getting to know our customers better. This week I had lunch with the Alabama contingent of teachers. It was fun to escape and laugh and not be behind a table talking to someone. Each night of festival there are also adult receptions, a great place to be a human being and not an exhibitor.
A teacher stopped me at one of the receptions and told me she took my workshop four years ago and still uses the exercises. Another told me they are definitely going to use them this year. Another thanked me for the comments I gave her student for his Individual Event. This one means a lot to me because I try to be a constructive judge and I wonder if the time limits make me rush too much.
My favourite moment is when two girls picked up ‘Girl Talk‘ one of our short play collections, and as they were looking through the titles the first said ‘I call dibs on ‘The Battle of Image Versus Girl!’ and the second said, ‘Well then, I call dibs on ‘Swimming with Sins.
The days are long, the fatigue can be crushing, sometimes you stand for hours with little return. But you can’t help but be buoyed by the excitement in the air, the noise of joy, the love of theatre. It’s a great thing to be a part of.
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Shout! at the ITF
We’re having a great time seeing the reaction to Shout! here in Lincoln at the International Thespians festival. All our work gathering video and audio and spending months on the scripts and website has come to this. And it feels great!
Here, both students and teachers get excited over the prospect of performing a cappella. They like what they see and hear on the video. We’ve had a lot of interest and we’ll see where it goes. We know it’s a musical no one has heard of and it’s never been (or going to be) on Broadway. We know that times are tough and seem to get getting tougher. But the more I talk about the show, the more I realise how much I want schools to have the experience of Shout! and the more I realise how much I love the show! And I’ve got the pictures to prove it…
International Thespians Day Three
By day three, we’ve sold out of…..
The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note
Who wants to really, seriously, tell me that teens aren’t aware of issues or don’t want to be aware of issues?
International Thespians Festival Day Two
I love our hotel. We’re right next door to the theatre so we don’t have to get up so early and we can go back to the room if need be. It’s heaven. I don’t feel like I’m beat up and stomped on and chewed up and spit out. I only feel tired and my voice is just a little bit sore. Success!
Today is the start of the big day which we’ll repeat till Saturday. We’re at the table at 8:30, we stay there till one. We get a wee break and then I’m in workshops for the rest of the afternoon. We get a wee break, back to the table before the evening show. We get a wee break (I love our hotel) and then back out for the adult reception aka the place to schmooze with teachers. It’s a long day but necessary and we’re prepared.
This morning I interviewed Billy Houck and the cast of A Box of Puppies, which is a Theatrefolk play that’s going up on Saturday. None of the girls in the cast had been to the International Thespian Festival before and they were so excited to be there. I was reminded how much I wished I had be able to attend such an event when I was in high school. This podcast will be up once we get back home.
Later on I also interviewed students from Arizona who have done a ton of my plays. It was so great to talk to them, they’re the best! When I asked them which play of ours was their favourite to do, I was shocked to find out it was Stroke Static. This play is near and dear to my heart as it’s about my grandfather and his experience with multi infaract demensia. It almost brought me to tears that others would be so touched by the play.
I taught a teacher master class today about including a playwriting unit in a drama program. I realised how important it is for me to say to others ’students must write plays.’ I truly enjoyed the workshop. It was long (3 hours!!) but completely worthwhile. Alas, the walk to the workshop was rather oppressive. Today the heat in Lincoln was like a wall which I walked into face first. But then at the end of the day, the walk from the theatre to the hotel was hardly long enough to get the whisp of a bruise. Have I mentioned how much I love the hotel? 
Day One in Nebraska
We’re here! I’m writing live (much better than any other option) from the International Thespians Festival in Lincoln Nebraska. We drove here over the weekend, which took around 16 hours. Everyone looks at us as if we’re crazy, but we rather like it. The car is quiet, the land is flat, there’s no phone or computer in the car. We have no responsibilities other than to drive. It’s great! Kind of like a vacation. Sorta. Yes I know it’s no one else’s idea of a vacation, but what can I say…
This is our fifth year in Nebraska and in a lot of ways it feels like coming home. We see a lot of people we only see here and it’s wonderful to re-visit with customers. Lots of hugs! It’s been fun. We love coming here every year. It’s the only place to see customers from all over the US and beyond.
We’re bringing our baby Shout! into the world in Nebraska with a big banner, preview scripts, a video, a lovely swanky brochure. The buzz is positive and brisk. We’ll see where it leads. We’re feeling upbeat!
Today I judged monologues for the National Individual Events Showcase. And unfortunately my main response after the day is…. really? These are the candidates for the National showcase? Everyone who reaches this level has had to achieve a Superior ranking at another festival, sometimes two festivals.
I have to say that in general, I’ve been disappointed. I’m disappointed at how many monologues went over time. Severely disappointed in one case, the individual was excellent, really thrilling work but won’t be able to advance. I’m disappointed at the number of times I had to write ‘watch your diction.’ And ‘make sure your movements are character motivated’ and ‘what does your character want? These sound like basic issues that shouldn’t exist at this level.
What’s the problem? Is it the stress of the event? Has it been too long since the last time they performed and they didn’t practice? Have they been given bad advice? I wish I knew.
Tomorrow I’m going to interview Billy Houck and his cast - he’s got students performing two plays from his collection A Box of Puppies later in the week and I’m going to do a podcast. And I start teaching workshops with a teacher master class: Playwriting in Your Program!
Shout is Available!
SHOUT IS AVAILABLE!!!!!!!
High School Tony Awards
Full coverage, courtesy of The Onion.
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