The Drama Teacher Resource Company

I have taught theatre for over 30 years to all ages – 5 year olds through adults. I have had many experiences with students and plays, but our experience with HOODIE was simply astounding. We had very little time to prepare, but the students were so into it, loved the play so much, they worked hard and made it happen. The peals of sustained laughter from teachers and students alike was a great tonic for the actors. The quiet final moment was, in a room with 350 youngsters, totally quiet. And then there was a spontaneous standing ovation from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students! How cool is that? Following the performance I got emails from faculty with words like "incredible," "excellent," "very meaningful," "impressive," and "Bravo." I can't tell you how many times faculty members have stopped me in hallways to say what a wonderful play for their students to see. One even asked me if the playwright was a middle school teacher because no one else would be able to understand middle school angst so deeply.

I just wanted to write you and let you know how much we enjoyed working on "Stroke Static" this year. Several years ago I wanted to use this script for my competitive readers theatre, but the students I had at that time just didn't "get it". When I was at the STAM State convention this fall, I went to one of Lindsay Price's workshops. It brought back to memory that unique script. This year I have mature, amazing students and I again brought it out. And this year it clicked. We placed first at the Big 8 Readers Tournament, first at our MSHSAA District tournament, and this past weekend we place 2nd at the MO State Tournament. But winning was only the gravy. Every so often you find a script that challenges the actors, so much so that they are better performers for life. This is one of those scripts. And I know that many of the audience members will have a lasting memory of this lovely script. I just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time with the show!

I love feeling not so alone. I am the only drama teacher is my district and it can be very isolating. I spent my first year digging up my own curriculum for 6 different classes and now I have DTA and it’s members as my sounding board.