Cast List Under Construction

One student suggested to me that the cast list should be announced through messages in bottles with rolled-up messages that must be decoded. Clever, huh? It's tempting. If drama was my only responsibility at school, I would definitely follow through with this idea. If my TI was here this week, I would probably have her do it for me. Maybe I will get a chance...

Still making final decisions. It's taking a little longer than I expected to assign all the characters. With such a great turn-out at auditions its hard to make decisions. I hope that we will have something final ready by tomorrow.

Getting ready for a play also means getting ready for criticism. You have to remember that you can't please everyone. Whether it's the students, the teachers, the administration, the parents, your husband, or yourself...you're are going to lose somewhere. At the risk of sounding fatalistic, I would like to point out that it's good to prepare yourself for hitches, errors, frustrations, and confrontations. It's practical, reasonable, and necessary if you have any hope of clinging to a shred of sanity.

What am I preparing for?

historical inaccuracies
script inadequacies
set issues
costume challenges
schedule conflicts
huge/long school holidays
students dropping out
parents upset about the plot
and all manner of bus problems
teaching someone to walk on one leg


This is NOT pessimism. This is realism at work. These things happen, and when they do it can be discouraging. I have to remember that these problems are not attacking me or my baby--my baby is the play--they are just there because that's life.

It's also hitting me that we will have to choreograph fight scenes. Whoa. Not my forte at all.

This year, so far, there are lots of people helping. We already have a backstage crew. We have a tech/lights committee, we have a props/program committee, there are now three directors on the team altogether. Life is good.

Like anything else in life, when a program doubles in size, the organization should match the growth. With more people helping, there is a need for more communication, more production meetings, more procedures. This will probably be the biggest change compared to last year's play, from my perspective. Not having to do as much is definitely a good thing--but communicating what needs to be bought/made/constructed/designed/arranged will be a new step. It's a bonus to have help! It's a positive, upward, progressive step. Yay drama!

Maybe, this year, we will actually have "Treasure Island" t-shirts made. That would be awesome! How can you have a play without a t-shirt, anyway?

School was crazy today. I appreciate my TI so much. She keeps our classroom running smoothly in every area. Without her, my brain is a discombobulated mess. I can't think straight when there are a hundred details in my short-term memory at once. I am so ready for her to come back! :)

~Julie