So this week was crazy - 3 matinee performances, followed by 3 evening performances which ended last night. I have not slept much and am exhausted, but so proud of those kids who did an incredible job! My family came out to see it as well, which was so nice and so supportive! Caroline even came down from Ottawa to see it!!! I don't have any pictures of me with the cast yet, although many were taken. Here are a few more pictures from the ones I took during the dress rehearsal last week (so now all costumes are completed). My camera died at intermission, so I only have half the show! Narrators start the show Welcome to Agrabah! The Sultan addressing the crowd The Royal Family awaiting the princes The Prince formerly known as "The Artist" Someone stole my bread - mmmm sourdough! "He's got a sword" - "You fools, we all have swords!" You're not from around here, are you? Jafar and Iago singing "Why Me?" The Genie appears (in half of his correct costume - dress rehearsals are like that) Friend Like Me It's a BIG musical! Getting of the cave on a magic carpet! Intermission entertainment from the guards
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Matinee performances were this week - we had rave reviews from both teachers and students from the elementary schools that came. Our students have worked so hard and the show is incredible! Can't wait for everyone to see it!
Evening performances start tomorrow - April 7th, 8th & 9th! Buy tickets ahead of time or at the door! $2 for children/seniors, $5 for students, $7 for adults! Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:00pm! Leave a comment with contact info for more information! :) So dress rehearsals started this week - they are going pretty well! We had some issues with costumes - some of the chorus members took "wear neutral browns & tans, something you would wear in the desert" the wrong way and were wearing outfits that more resembled cave girls than people in the middle east. We told them they had to wear skirts at least to their mid-calf as a compromise. We also have the mics hooked up and are playing with the sound levels. 3 more rehearsals this week and 3 day shows for elementary schools the following week - it's so close!!!
So I spent some of Wednesday and all day Thursday of my March Break painting the Aladdin set - super fun. My body is aching, but I'm glad the basic stuff is done. We had to clean up the disgusting mess left from the other school (we share the theatre with the adjacent public school) on Wednesday, and then Thursday we primed the floor, the risers, and the scaffolding, and then painted them. We have to add all the detailing to our sandy floor, but we'll do that next week. We used "Sweet Sandy" paint for our Arabian theme and "Pepper Spice" for the backgrounds. On Thursday we had sound and lighting techs come in and fix our sound board (which was a mess) and now the sound quality is great, and we have some new lights and gels coming in before the play! We are also ordering more headset mics because they sound great now! Rehearsals start up again on Tuesday - full dress rehearsals for the next 3 weeks. We found paint to match our genie's bright blue body suit from MAC Pro. Question - who uses blue body paint on a daily basis? The costumes should be finished this week too! Elementary school performances begin April 4-6th in the day, and nightly performances are April 7-9th at 7pm. Get your tickets starting next week!!!! Wednesday - securing risers and cleaning Thursday - after priming Thursday - after painting - Sweet Sandy!
...after March Break! April 7th, 8th, 9th at 7pm. Let me know if you want to come and see the show! Getting so excited for my students!!!
The last few weeks went pretty well after that crazy week with dissections. My 12's worked on their ISUs, and although one student ended up getting suspended for going crazy at me and swearing and all, it was still OK. They made it through the boring work periods and lessons and wrote their test and got their project done. I've marked about a third of them so far - pretty good! We started the last unit - organic chem - on Wednesday - it's a tough unit, but I revamped it a lot to try and make it more manageable - it seems to be working so I'm happy.
My 10's started optics and we are almost done. It isn't that exciting of a unit, but they grasped all the mathematical concepts and we are doing ANOTHER dissection (sheep eye) after the break, and their test. Most of my classes are pretty good but a few are struggling and I've been try to help them as much as possible with less than a month left in the course. The semester has gone by quickly - next semester I have a 10 applied (ugh), and an 11 university chem (YAY!). 3 different classes instead of 2 like this semester, but my section of 10 academic will be easy since I taught it already this semester. Just need to make some changes to the bio unit and all will be well! On Thursday we had the play Christmas party - the kids were happy from the singing and acting break - it's nice when they can just hang out and get to know each other from time to time. There are all different types of kids involved. That night was the dance...wow...every year there are a few drunk girls that get hauled into the office where they call their parents. I have helped out with student council last year and this year, so this is the third dance I've chaperoned. Well - this year I went above and beyond the call of duty as a teacher. Brief scenario - girl puking in the bathroom - she's on the toilet, the puke is on the floor. She's not really answering - we are concerned, end up having to get a cop in to tell her to open the door, she doesn't. He goes over the top and unlatches it and lets us ladies try to get her up. She does NOT want to get off that toilet and she is crazy drunk. Pukes a few more times until another teacher and I grab her under the armpits and lift her up. She does not want to stand so is not kneeling in her own vomit. The cops come to help lift her up as we yank up her underwear and tights - "I do NOT need to be doing this" I think. Then they half drag her across the main foyer into the office. This is a mistake since its carpeted and she barfs some more. Not good. Another girl didn't even make it INTO the dance she was so drunk. The VP's had to half carry her into the office as well from the parking lot! WOW. I hope I don't ever have to teach those girls...I would have been mortified if that were me, but the bad thing is that they will just laugh it off with their friends and not be embarrassed at all! GEEZ! So crazy night all around. Good way to end before the break. Yesterday was a write-off - less than half the kids but I did get a lot of marking done at least. Now I am off until January 3rd. Before Christmas arrives in exactly one week, for my grade 10 I need to make 2 versions of my optics unit test, update my eye dissection lab, update all my climate change notes and ISU, and for my grade 12 I need to make my organic chemistry test as well as a few assignments for the rest of the unit, and for all 3 classes I need to write my exams. Oh yes, and mark those grade 12 ISUs which are huge. Better to get it done this week than upon my return, however. Then it will be smooth sailing so I can prep for next semester. My goal is to do no work between Dec 25th and Jan 3rd. Wish me luck! This week was rough - busy with 2 sections of frog dissections, an electrochemistry lab, quizzes, tests, the usual, but it seemed a busy week for all my classes. I was run down and frustrated with everyone and tired, so I took a "mental health" sick day on Thursday. I really wasn't feeling great, but I also just needed a day to catch up on my life! I slept a bit (8 AM is really a sleep in considering I usually wake up at 5:15), did the laundry, washed the bedding, tidied my house, did some marking, made an ISU for my chem kids, made a few lessons for my ten's for optics, and watched a hell of a lot of HGTV. All in all, quite a productive day, and I really felt so much better in the end.
Came back to school on Friday refreshed and in a better mood, and all was well. And now it's the weekend. Lovely! PS - neglected my vocal kids on Thursday, however, and practice was a bit crazy on Tuesday - but I'm hoping to get back into it this week! One Jump Ahead has a lot of solo parts and characterization. Yesterday we auditioned solos, including a butcher, a grocer, and a baker. Three girls auditioned, so it wasn't hard to pick them, but of the two, one was so quiet and really had to get the rage out of her "riff-raff, streetrat, scoundrel, take that!" The louder girl wanted to be the grocer...but I had to go with the butcher, I told her "I can see you waving around a cleaver" and gave the quiet girl the grocer. The things you tell the kids...
Second was the harem girls - we had our Aladdin there as well, so not only did they have to sing the part "oh it's sad Aladdin's hit the bottom, he's become a one man rise in crime", but they had to dance and fawn around him. The first two girls did a great job, the second were ok, and the last two girls backed out after deciding they couldn't play that part. The harem girls will also dance around a bit and have to be a bit scandalous (but still PG - Catholic school and all!). I taught them the harmony at the end of practice too - they'll do a really great job and I can't wait to see all the choreography! The matron was easy "I'd blame parents except he hasn't got 'em" - except it's tough to sing, and she kept singing "I'd blame par" and forget to add the "rents" all in one note, but other than that she is very matronly. The last part is the best - the girl who sings "still I think he's rather TASTY!" The girl who got it was voted in for it - she also danced around Aladdin but then started to unzip his hoodie while she sang - I had to draw the line there before I got fired. Other than that, she was hilarious and perfect for the part! Poor Al was blushing - but I think he loved all the attention yesterday! More practice tomorrow, and next week is "A Whole New World" which has a surprising amount of chorus work, but I'll also have to deal with the first time Al and Jas have sang together all romantic and such, as I say "now remember, you do NOT love each other - PLEASE do not start dating". Poor Music is sick this week so I've been solo all last week and this one, but I'm managing. My piano skills are getting better each day! Week 2 we did Arabian nights - we worked on harmonies and different groups and some solo work - it went really well. This week we did "Friend Like Me". Conveniently they did the blocking and dance for it too, so by the end of the week, we were putting the entire song together! It was so great, and they are so happy dancing around and singing. I'm more and more comfortable working with them each time, so I'm having a lot of fun, although it is taking up a lot of time!
We have lost a few of our chorus people, especially the boys. We are down to about 45 as the total cast from 65 in the beginning. Next week is "One Jump Ahead" with lots of different parts and solos - it will be a challenge! |
MissSecondary school chemistry teacher, makeshift vocal director, behavioral therapist & all around life coach Archives
April 2011
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