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Frequently Asked Questions the DramaMommaSpeaks List

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Frequently Asked Questions the DramaMommaspeaks List

Recently, I had a wonderful opportunity to chat with a first year teacher as he planned the rest of his school year.  He began the year with the students all learning from home, then his school went to hybrid (which means half were at home and half were in the classroom) and soon he’d have them all in the classroom together.

His questions were standard ones I receive which made me think of some other questions which are frequently asked.  Here are some:

1. Do you always warm-up your students? Why?  

Warming-up your students will help in two ways–it gives the student a minute to shake off whatever occurred in the hallway or last class and also helps him to focus on your lesson to come.

2.  What is a good musical for high school students to perform?

The first thing I need to know is how your administration looks at the theater program?  If they are very supportive and want the best for their students (and they TRUST you), then you can take some chances with more adult musicals–with musicals such as West Side Story and Les Mis’ (know that there are very few roles for females in LM, however.)

By and large, I suggest the classics–The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, Music Man and so forth.  Why?  They are guaranteed crowd pleasers and families will attend because they are familiar with them. Good for everyone’s ego and the box office sales.

3.  Can you recommend a good play for middle school students to perform? 

I like to produce adaptations of classic books such as Anne of Green Gables, Tom Sawyer, The Miracle Worker, Diary of Anne Frank, Bridge to Terabithia or Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Find out the reasons I suggest Anne of Green Gables here Ten Reasons Why Everyone Produces Anne of Green Gables

4.  What do you think of improvisation exercises?

I was trained as a professional actress and at that time we did not merely improv. for the sake for fun.  Improvisation was used to develop characters or create new art pieces.  I don’t dispense improvistion like candy.  I like it to mean something (a theme) or practice some particular skill like voice and articulation, for instance.

Frequently Asked Questions the DramaMommaspeaks List

5.  My students are learning from home. Can your lessons be used in distance learning?

Yes, many of my lessons can be used in distance learning.  We have this new cool program on Teacherspayteachers.com called Eastl and it will make any lesson into a digital format.

6.  If you could only teach one musical theater unit, which one would you choose?

For obvious reasons, I would teach Hamilton.  I mean, how can you go wrong with it?  My Hamilton musical lesson is fifty pages and includes everything a teacher might need:  procedure, history of the musical, list of song titles, biographies over creative staff, questions and teacher’s key, trivia and ends with enrichment activities which can be done individually or in groups.

7.  If you could only teach one radio theater unit, which one would you choose?

It depends upon my mood, but I’m pleased with how all of them came out.  The most difficult one is The Frozen Pirate which is best for high school students.  It it set in two different ships and has a narrator who is sometimes a character in the story and sometimes merely narrates.

Another one which I’m proud of is my own–Bow Wow Blues.  BWB is about a group of bumbling bank robbers in the 1930’s who are outsmarted by some quick witted detectives and a couple of dogs who help them.  The characters are broad and easy for middle school students to convey.

8.  Do you charge royalties for your scripts?

No, I don’t.  I only ask that the person producing the script send me a recording and/or photos of their production for my personal uses in marketing. Bookeeping who is producing which script would be a nightmare for me to track at this point in my business.

9.  Do you update your resources?

Yes, constantly!  For instance, let’s say it’s announced Lin Manuel Miranda will be performing in a new movie.  I go in to all the products where he is included and update the information to include a mentioned of the new movie.  Or, a link breaks or vanishes–I go in and find a new one.  Or I add a page to a resource which upon second thought makes the produce more useful to the teacher.

10.  On average, how many new lessons do you create a month?

I create about two new lessons a month and several new bundles.

Frequently Asked Questions the DramaMommaspeaks List

11.  I want to follow you. Do you have an email list I could join?

You bet!  I’m getting ready to glam up my newsletter in the near future and I think you’ll want to be a part of it.  You can join here on this page up above on the right.

d

12.  Are you on Instagram?

Yes, I am very active on Instagram.  I speak about different topics there than on the blog.  You can find me at DramaMommaSpeaks on Instagram.

13.  How about Facebook?

Yes, I am.  I share various arts subjects there.  Check me out https://www.facebook.com/Dramamommaspeaks

14.  Are you ever interviewed on podcasts?

You can learn about them here The Top Reasons to Listen to Podcasts

15. I know Clubhouse is a big thing now.  Would I find you there?

Yup!  Just search Deb Baldwin.

16. Where could I see some reviews of your products?

You can find review of my products here Dramamommaspeaks

Frequently Asked Questions the DramaMommaspeaks List

17.  On average, how pages are your lessons?

Most lessons are around 15 pages in length.

18.  On average, how days’ long are your units?

Some units are three days in length and several are three weeks long.

19.  Do you have drama lessons for elementary students?

Yes, although not as many as I’d like.  I create lessons where the interest is–meaning if a lot of products which are purchased for the month seem to be for middle school, I will make another middle school lesson that month.

20.  Do you have drama integration units?

Yes, I have readers theater and play scripts which are perfect for drama integration. Here’s a blog post about drama integration, too.  How Do I Use Arts Integration in the Classroom?

21.  Who writes the music for your short plays?

My husband of thirty-eight years composes the music.  He is an award-winning instrumental music teacher, taught for forty years and composes as well.

22.  What is the price range of your materials?

Some products are $3.50.  The most expensive product I have are bundles which lasts a semester or even a year.  They are around $100.00

23.  Do accept suggestions?

For things to add to a product or if something needs more clarification?  Yes, but I’d rather the person emailed me than put it in a review.  It confuses the next buyer.

24.  If a teacher wants a particular lesson which you have not created, will you develop it for them?

Yes, I create lessons for teachers on occasion.  The lesson becomes my sole property, but I give the person acknowledgement in the lesson for their idea.

25.  How long does it take to create a radio theater script?

It takes about sixty-five hours to write a script. There is no playwriting template for a radio theater script, so I must set up every page by hand.

26.  Do you have any lessons about people of color?

My Famous Theater Artist Biographies and One Pager Assignment include many people of color–Denzel Washington, Audra McDonald, August Wilson, Camille A. Brown, etc. Here is a blog post concerning my thoughts

27.  Do you have lessons about technical theater?

Of course!  Everything from costume to set design. Here is one: Set Design Fairy Tales

28.  What’s next for you?

Oh…..I can’t tell you yet!  Just make sure you join my email list, look for my free products coming out soon and some other great plans.

I hope these answers help you.  Please feel free to contact me at DhcBaldwin@gmail.com or my website at DeborahBaldwin.net

Deborah Baldwin of DramaMommaSpeaks

 

 

Has Covid Ended the Broadway Theater?

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Has Covid Ended the Broadway Theater?

Recently, my husband and I caught a wonderful performance on BroadwayHD of “Slava’s Snow Show.”  It is quinessential circus theater and we nearly wept with joy while watching it..  Even though it was a filmed performance, it was the closest thing we’d gotten to live theater in nearly a year.

These are unprecendented times, yes?  Everyone in the world is in the same boat.

Will Broadway Theater Re-open?

Broadway, Font, Letters, Sign, Lights, Red, Yellow

It is hard to believe, but Broadway is coming back sooner than we think!

A time line has been drafted for the potential reopening of Broadway theaters and live entertainment venues.

As reported in Broadway News, New York state can reopen venues through a combination of quick Covid tests and socially distanced seating. Although audience numbers would be significantly lower than pre-lockdown levels, it’s the first step to Broadway being back open again.

Speaking about the framework, Governor Cuomo said: “The overall effort is headed towards reopening with testing. And we’re going to be smart, but also aggressive about it.” He also said that Broadway theatres could realistically open if everyone was proven to be Covid negative. As long as all safety protocols were signed off, “You can open a Broadway stage with a set percentage of occupants, where people have tested prior to walking into that Broadway theater.”

During the seven-month Pop Up Festival announced recently, small crowd sizes will be introduced for live performances. This will be the next step since the outdoor Bills Stadium reopened its doors, with up to 7,000 fans attending games.

Here’s the deal, though.  On February 23, venues with a seating capacity of over 10,000 will be allowed to reopen. Of course, this doesn’t include Broadway theater which are much smaller, but hey that’s a start!

Outdoor, Street, Road, City, View, Night, Evening, Time

Not everyone is excited about this plan. From the newyorktheatreguide.com, ” … Broadway leaders previously stated theatres can’t open until Coronavirus levels are low enough to sustain full houses in auditorium.”

Theater is expensive! My personal experiences with administrating theater companies taught me it is not cost effective without a full house. According to nytix.com, “Some may say that any attendance is better than no attendance, but operating costs for Broadway plays are often so steep that they need to sell at least 80% of tickets (or more!) just to break even.

Spending the producers’ money to put on Broadway shows for just 10-25% capacity, could very well create even more losses than having no shows at all. It seems like a real world skit of the famous Nathan Lane show The Producers, but with real consequences for art and people. Broadway Theatres could increase ticket prices but they would have to be 2-3 times the normal cost and they would soon run out of patrons with pockets that deep to buy them.”

At present, Broadway theaters are closed until May 30.

Broadway and West 34th St.

Which Shows Will Re-open?

If you think about it–we are talking about over 97,000 people returning to their jobs and/or be cast.  Unfortunately, they can’t just iron the costumes, turn on the lights and open the grand curtain.  It will take several months for a production to open again.

I looked around to see if I could discern which shows would re-open first. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. According to Broadwayworld.com  productions are slated to open sometime in the fall.

Productions included are:

  • The Music Man by December 20, 21l.
  • Caroline or Change
  • David Byrne’s America Utopia
  • MJ the Musical

Many productions (Dear Evan Hansen, Aladdin, Book of Mormon, Aint Too Proud, etc.) haven’t made an announcement yet.  I’ll update this list as news becomes available.

Who will open first?

Who will open first?  According to the newyorktheatreguide.com website, there are rumors that Hamilton will be the first Broadway show to re-open, with potential performances from Jul. 4, 2021. Yippee!

Speaking to Variety, Lin-Manuel Miranda said: “I think when theater comes back it’s going to be in conversation with technology in an entirely different way. I don’t think we go back to a world where a show premieres on Broadway, and then no one can see it unless they have two hundred bucks. I think producers are going to have to start thinking about how they’re going to capture [their work] because in capturing it they can actually capture a much larger audience for their live show.”

I’m intrigued by this comment.  Does Lin-Manuel mean covid precautions? Or recorded music?

Is Theater Dead? 

As a theater lover, director, producer, actress and teacher I worry about theater even without the pandemic.

It’s easily misunderstood and not everyone understands the power of the performing arts.  I didn’t know it at the time, but this post has come to pass: How Fulfilling is Life Without Theatre? 

I’m always reminded of this quote by John Steinbeck, “The theater is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and has never succumbed.  It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive.”

It does require grit from us in theater arts.  All around you right now there are people working to bring back theater for all of us. Feel comforted by that thought–theater people are a harty bunch!

In the meantime, while we wait to see live theater I can help a little. Here are some lessons which might be of interest to you.

They are quite popular with other teachers. I’ll tell you a secret. (Most of my lessons come with a teacher’s script so a teacher doesn’t have to think what to say to begin the lesson.  I’ve provided it for them.) I have lessons for grades two to twelve. If you don’t know about me, I am a retired drama teacher now selling drama resources. You can find them at Dramamommaspeaks Store

 

Hamilton
Boom Cards
Costume Design
Wicked
Come From Away
Costume Design
Storytelling
High School
Radio Theater
Readers Theater
Drama Vocabulary
Theater will live through this time.  I’m certain it will take several months before we see packed theaters. How exciting will it be to see happy people roaming around Times Square before a performance. I plan to be there, don’t you?

If you could pick which musical and play you’d like to open first, which would you select?  I’d love to hear from you.  Contact me at DhcBaldwin@gmail. com or DeborahBaldwin.net

Deborah Baldwin of DramaMommaSpeaks

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

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370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

Today I want to speak about 370 million Indigenous people want you to know about their cultures. That’s a heady number–370 million people.

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

“Navajo Rug” by teofilo

My Navajo Rug

When I was a child, I contracted pneumonia at the beginning of a vacation while we traveled in the southwest.  Instead of going home early, my parents bedded me down in the car to sleep at night to get out of the cold while they slept in a very primitive tent trailer. During that unusual vacation I learned how to swallow huge pills for the pneumonia.  Because of this adventure, I can still take lots of pills all at once because of that fateful vacation.

While we traveled on that trip, we stopped somewhere in New Mexico and purchased a Navajo rug.  Many years later, when my dad died, my mother gave it to me because they used it to keep me warm in the car during the pneumonia.  I will never forget that.

To this day, that Navajo rug lays in our cedar chest protected from the elements.  It occurred to me as I worked on this blog post that I have never learned much about the Navajo nation.  Why didn’t I learn about them when I was in school?

I’m a Trailer Blazer

I am a person who sees a problem and sets out to fix it in some way. Whenever I see the need, I set to it.  Generally, I started youth theater programs for community theaters.  I’ve also co-created a national playwriting contest for youth theater plays, developed an ESL drama club and a few programs. My friend said I’m a trail blazer–I create, get the program up and running and then I’m ready to move on.  Yup, that’s me! Want to learn about my ESL Drama Club:  go to Overcoming Fear and Anxiety When Speaking English As A Second Language

Four years ago, I opened a drama education store (Dramamommaspeaks at TeacherspayTeachers.com)  to provide drama education resources for grades three to twelve.  I teach differently, not staying with the tried and true, because there are many opinions about what a student should learn about theater arts. In general, my teacher’s lessons or units are supplemental.

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

Recently I saw the movie,  Hunt for the Wilder People.  If you have seen it yet, I strongly suggest that you do.  It’s marvelous in so many ways. As I watching this funny and bittersweet story about a Maori boy in New Zealand and his unique relationship to his foster father, I realized I knew very little about the Maori culture.

Who are Indigenous People?

I can’t be the only person who thinks this way.  Truth be told, as children we never studied various cultures in social studies.  I was a student in the 1960s.  I’m sure our current social studies education includes learning about other cultures, but I don’t know how much they are studied.

The world is a mess right now.  We have lost our sense of compassion for people who are different from ourselves.  Could I help? Maybe a teeny bit.

My research began by seeking information about indigenous people.  Looking for facts and details about indigenous people, I found the UnitedNations.org website.

How many people identify as indigenous?

“It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries worldwide.
Practicing unique traditions, they retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct
from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Spread across the world from the Arctic to the South
Pacific, they are the descendants – according to a common definition – of those who inhabited a country or a
geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origin. ”

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

Should I call them Indigenous People? 

The UnitedNations.org post continues, “The term ‘indigenous’ has prevailed as a generic term for many years. In some countries, there may be preference for other terms including  first peoples/nations, aboriginals, ethnic groups, adivasi,
janajati. Occupational and geographical terms like hunter-gatherers, nomads, peasants, hill people, etc.,
also exist and for all practical purposes can be used interchangeably with “indigenous peoples”.

My masters in education focused on arts integration infused in core subjects.  Nothing makes me happier than to discover a way to integrate drama into a core subject classroom.

Because arts integration reaches and engages students, I am always on the hunt for learning opportunities using drama integration to support the core subjects.

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

Enter Indigenous People Units

I collect international folk tales to use in drama class or arts integration lessons.  To date, my plays and readers theater units concern about China, Mexico, Peru,  the Cherokee Indian, Italy, Pakistan, Germany, Romania, Alaska, Japan and a Jewish story.  I believe multiculturalism is very important.  See what I mean.  The Reasons Teaching Multiculturalism in the Classroom is Vitally Important If you are interested in any of these units below, please check them out in my Teacherspayteachers.com store, or my store at Payhip.com or my store at MadebyTeachers.

 

370 Millions People

In light of the world and the racial conflicts which have come to the forefront, I’ve turned my attention people of different cultures–namely indigenous people and their legend and folk tales.  I hope social studies, language arts, reading and drama teachers will appreciate the lessons and use them in their classroom.  They are enjoying the above mentioned ones I’ve developed.

Here’s a video preview of Sedna, An Inuit Tale

Indigenous People Units

As of this writing, I have two lessons available.  I’m hoping in time to have around ten, but of course I can create as many as I can find to share.

 

The products include some of the following depending upon the resource:

  • Two warm ups–one physical and one imaginative, both boost energy
  • Original version of the Legend of Corn Maidens or Magic Lake–great for comparison and contrast
  • Teacher’s script–what I say and how I say it!
  • Advice in directing reader’s theater
  • Blocking plot for performance
  • Kachina Dolls or Machu Picchu Information
  • Vocabulary and pronunciation
  • Who are the Zuni or Inca people?
  • Eleven to Thirteen page scripts with roles for 20+
  • Original song reminiscent of the Zuni music
  • Sheet music (optional for performance)
  • Sound bytes of music
  • Enrichment activities–designing a costume, designing a set, study of other Native American creation myths or a drama exercise using tableaux

As you can see, there is plenty of material for a lesson or two.

I hope you’ll check out these lessons and the rest to come.  Honestly, I don’t know what will be next, but I know one thing–I’m going to help educate our students about indigenous people through dramatic arts. If you are interested in the reasons for using readers theater as a way to integrate drama into your classroom, go to  The Reasons Reader’s Theater is Successful with Our Students or  How to Excite Students With Drama Integration

What arts integration lessons are your favorite?  I’d love to hear.  Contact me at DhcBaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net

370 Million Indigenous People Want You to Know About Their Cultures

What is Shakespeare in the Park and Why Should I Like It?

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“What is Shakespeare in the Park and why should you like it?” students ask me.

I dodge the question, because….

I have never seen a Shakespeare in the Park production. (Ok, don’t judge me.)

Have you?

Shakespeare in the park Buffalo

I bet it is super cool, though. I’ve heard the Shakespeare in the Park Buffalo is awesome!  Okay, let’s go next summer.

I’ve often wondered who created it. Here is what I found out.

From Wickipedia,

“Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare‘s plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City‘s Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This concept has been adapted by many theater companies, and over time, this name has expanded to encompass outdoor theater productions of the playwright’s works performed all over the world.

Shakespeare in the Park started as an idea to make theater available to people of all walks of life, so that it would be as readily available as library books.[1] The performances are more often than not free admission to the general public, usually presented outdoors as a summer event. These types of performances can be seen by audiences around the world, with most festivals adapting the name for their productions, such as Vancouver‘s Bard on the Beach. Many festivals incorporate workshops, food, and other additions to the performances making this type of theatre experience an interactive community event.”

Okay!

So FREE  admission to a play by the Bard.  That’s great! Anyone can attend from any walk of life.  That’s the way theatre should always be presented.

Here are cities in the U.S. who have Shakespeare in the Park:

Asheville

The Montford Park Players, a community theater company, has been staging free Shakespeare productions in Asheville, North Carolina since 1973. The productions were first staged at a municipal park on Montford Avenue and, in 1993, moved to its current location, the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre.[2]

Baltimore

The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival present productions outdoors each summer in the Meadow at the Evergreen Museum & Library.[3]

Boston

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company presents professional productions of Shakespeare in Boston Common. The first production was in 1996 at Copley Square; a year later the program was moved to the Commons, first at the Parkman Bandstand and more recently at the Parade Ground.[4]

Buffalo

Shakespeare in Delaware Park describes itself as the United States’ 2nd largest Shakespeare festival (following New York Shakespeare Festival). It is held in Buffalo, New York‘s Delaware Park.[5]

Shakespeare in the park in buffalo ny

Buffalo’s production of Hamlet, the witches.

Dallas

Inspired by the New York Shakespeare Festival, Robert “Bob” Glenn started The Shakespeare Festival of Dallas in 1971 as a free summer Shakespeare Festival. Renamed Shakespeare Dallas in 2005, the company produces three free Shakespeare productions each summer at the Samuel-Grand Amphitheatre in Lakewood.[6]

Jersey City

The Hudson Shakespeare Company, founded by L. Robert Johnson in 1992, features a summer season where the company stages productions for each month of the summer. Besides Shakespeare standards such as Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, they often produce one to two lesser done productions a season such as The Two Noble Kinsmen, Cardenio and Henry VIII. Based in Jersey City, NJ, they also tour as part of their summer season to other New Jersey locations such as Fort Lee, Hackensack, Kenilworth, Hoboken, West Milford and also to Stratford, CT. [7]

Sakespeare in the Park Buffalo

Kansas City

The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival was founded by Tony winning Broadway producer Marilyn Strauss in 1993 at the urging of Joe Papp[8] with a production of The Tempestin Southmoreland Park. In 1998, they began to produce two productions per year, with a total of 23 production at the start of the 2011 season.[9]

Louisville

Kentucky Shakespeare Festival is a non-profit, professional theatre company in Louisville, Kentucky that produces and performs the works of William Shakespeare. The main productions offered are the annual summer series of plays presented free to the public at Central Park. This series, commonly called “Shakespeare in Central Park”, sprung from an initial production in the park by The Carriage House Players in the summer of 1960. They also perform shows in other venues, as well as conduct educational programs related to acting and other theater-related skills.

New York City

Further information: Shakespeare in the Park (New York City)

The original Shakespeare in the Park was founded in 1954 by Joseph Papp as the New York Shakespeare Festival, which eventually led to free public performances in Central Park.[3] Since 1961 an outdoor amphitheatre, the Delacorte Theatre, has accommodated these productions. Many celebrity actors have worked the Delacorte.[10] People often line up in the morning to assure tickets for the evening performance.[11] Many seasons have featured works by other playwrights, including Bertolt Brecht and Samuel Beckett.[12]

Others

Philadelphia

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet production in Clark Park

This Philadelphia theater company offers the largest, free outdoor production of Shakespeare’s plays in the greater Philadelphia area. Shakespeare in Clark Park was formed in the fall of 2005 by Marla Burkholder, Maria Möller, Tom Reing and Whitney Estrin. In their inaugural season, Shakespeare in Clark Park presented four performances of Twelfth Night, drawing an audience of over 2,000 people. Those audiences have grown to over 5,000 and the annual show has become a staple of summer in Philly.[15]

Pittsburgh

Jennifer Tober founded Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks in 2005. Their performances are free and utilize various public parks in the Pittsburgh area.[16][17]

Rochester

The Rochester Community Players have staged free Shakespeare productions at the Highland Bowl in Highland Park each July since 1997.

San Francisco

Free Shakespeare in the Park began in San Francisco in 1983, with its debut production of The Tempest in Golden Gate Park. Produced every year in San Francisco, Pleasanton, Cupertino, and Redwood City from July through September, this program stages professional theater free of charge throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.[18]

San Pedro

Shakespeare by the Sea was launched in 1998 by Producing Artistic Director Lisa Coffi. It presents free Shakespeare productions in San Pedro, Los Angeles and throughout Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties.[19]

Seattle

Since 1989, GreenStage has been producing free Shakespeare in major parks in and around Seattle. In 2014, they completed the entire Shakespeare canon.[20]

In 1994, a theater company called the Wooden O started annual summer Shakespeare performances at the Luther Burbank Amphitheater on Mercer Island, Washington. In later years park venues including Lynnwood, Washington and Auburn, Washington were added. In the spring of 2008 the Seattle Shakespeare Company merged with Wooden O and continues to present free Shakespeare productions throughout the Puget Sound region.[21]

South Dakota

The South Dakota Shakespeare Festival (SDSF) was formed in 2011 and launched its inaugural season in Vermillion, South Dakota, in June 2012. Since the summer of 2012 the SDSF has been offering fully produced professional Shakespeare performances in Vermillion’s Prentis Park and daytime arts educational offerings for youth and adults. |

Tallahassee

Michael J. Trout and Richard G. Fallon Founded the Southern Shakespeare Festival and Renaissance Fair in 1996. It is held in Tallahassee, Florida‘s Kleman Plaza Tallahassee before it became the location of a parking garage. Currently, being organized for re-launch.

Canada, our dear neighbor to the north, has quite a few SITP productions.   (Love those Canadians…)

Australia and New Zealand, too!

Fascinating.

I had no idea there was so much Shakespeare being produced, but I guess it’s stands to reason considering how much we all love Shakespeare.

If you are looking for an unusual lesson to teach Shakespeare AND integrate it with drama, here is one—Costume Design for Romeo and Juliet set in the 1940s.  

Or my Shakespeare Card Games and Boom Cards

Here’s a fun one:  Something’s Rotten Musical

Have you attended a Shakespeare in the Park performance? I bet you liked it.  I’d love to hear about it.

Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net

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Who On Earth Created the First Fringe Festival?

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Who on earth created the first fringe festival?

It’s an interesting question.

Last year my husband and I took the trip of a lifetime to Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.  One of our last stops was Edinburg, Scotland.

Here is a photo of the Edinburg castle.

 

Image result for edinburgh castle

(While we toured the castle, I had an encounter with a ghost in one of the jails cells, but that’s a post for another day….)

The popular Edinburg Fringe Festival was running, but unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to attend.  I would have liked that.  Had I know then what I know now about fringe festivals, I would have made it a point to attend some part of it.

So, I promised I would speak about the history of the Edinburg Fringe Festival.

The History of Edinburg Fringe Festival

“In 1947, eight theatre companies showed up at the Edinburgh International Festival, hoping to gain recognition from the mass gathering at the festival. In 1948, Robert Kemp, a Scottish journalist and playwright, described the situation, “Round the fringe of official Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than before … I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the evenings!”.[2] Edinburgh Festival Fringe was founded in 1947.”

Image result for fringe festival

According to the United States of Fringe Festivals:

  • “Focused on the performing arts: At its core, Fringe gives a spotlight to theater, dance, puppetry, music, visual arts, and spoken word. Fringes don’t have a focus on one single discipline or genre, but are a performing-arts smörgåsbord
  • Uncensored: From family friendly to bawdy and burlesque, Fringes do not curate or constrain the material or content used in participating show.
  • Easy to participate in: Ticket prices are purposely low for audiences and production fees are low for artists. We strive to make the arts available to everyone. Show selection varies from festival to festival but is generally quite open to participation by the gamut of amateurs to professionals
  • Festivals: Fringes around the world vary. They last from just a few days to a few weeks and involve lots of people at multiple venues.
  • Original: Fringes feature a wide array of original material—sometimes by design, but usually because that’s what Fringes do naturally well.
  • Rapid-fire: Typically, tech is minimal and time is a factor at our festivals. Shows are often kept brief (Fringes most frequently have shows right around 60 minutes in length) and technical requirements kept simple (minor sets, streamlined cues, nothing elaborate)

Image result for fringe festival

In the U.S., no one organization or individual owns, controls or regulates the name “Fringe”. There are no national rules for how each individual festivals operate; festival content, finances, and structure vary from city to city. Generally, all festivals are committed to an open forum of expression that minimizes the financial risks for both artists and audiences. Fringes work hard to keep production fees and ticket prices low so that more people can participate in our festivals.”

Doesn’t that sound like fun?  People doing theatre just because they want to.  People being creative and imaginative with other people doing the same thing.

I think you’d like to attend one.  I have several former students who participate in them each year and they enjoy the freedom of creativity they feel.

Here is a life of a few places in the United States where fringe festival occur:

Arizona

California

Colorado

District of Columbia

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Maine

Maryland

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

North Carolina

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

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 Check them out.  Maybe I can catch the one in Kansas City. I’m so excited!
Have you attended a fringe festival performance?  I’d love to hear from you about your perspective?
You can contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net

Happy Mothers Day, the Sad and Happy Parts

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Happy Mothers Day, the Sad and Happy Parts

May is Mother’s day month!

I wish I remembered this day.

I wish we could remember our lives from birth. It might help us understand some aspects  of ourselves we have overlooked.

My mother became ill and diagnosed with heart disease when I was ten years old. Although she lived a very long life, my brother shared she was never quite the same after her illness.

Here are a few things Mom taught me:

  • To delegate
  • To make caramels
  • To sew
  • To travel
  • To attend concerts and plays
  • To swim
  • To make a pie crust
  • To help people less fortunate
  • To love reading
  • To hostess a party
  • To love the out of doors
  • To appreciate the arts
  • To welcome newcomers
  • To have manners

I have her green thumb and color sense. I can grow just about any plant with very little effort. I have a knack with color with practically a photographic memory of colors.

To some extent, I inherited my singing voice from Mom. When she was around eleven years old, she was asked to sing Japan’s national anthem for the Emperor of Japan for some public gathering. I guess she forgot the words.

She never forgot that or forgave herself.  What a pity.  At the time, no one knew that was too much pressure to place on a young person. Whenever I see a child singing the Star Spangled Banner at a sporting event, I think of Mom.

Mom wasn’t always the nicest person. She could be mean and spiteful. Then, no one knew about the benefits of anti-depressants or seeking counseling. Both were taboo.

If they had, I think a lot of Mom’s  issues could have been helped. She had a tendency to pit her kids against one another which only pushed us to be more competitive with one another.

To this day, my brother and my sister and I are splintered with many deep seeded hurts. We can’t seem to get past them. Maybe she didn’t mean to do this to us, but it’s a common complaint among us.

The good thing is I have broken that pattern with my own daughters and step son and they are all the best of friends with each other.

I hoped I’d  have a chance to speak to Mom about myself and what I’ve learned about life. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to do so.

I’m a very driven person who needs a constant creative challenge set before me. Mom didn’t understand that about me. In fact, I think it intimidated her. I know she compared her stay-at-home life with my sister and I and our working mother lives.  She appeared regretful about her decisions, but aren’t we all at times?

I’m sorry to say she could never teach me to knit. Lord, I’m terrible at it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Or sculpt! She was quite good. I inherited her hand sculpture which has no wire armature within it. It is perfectly balanced. We have moved twice in the last eight years and one of the first things I think of is Mom’s hand and whether it made through another move. It sits in my office and I love it.

I love fine china and art. I don’t especially like drinking hot tea, but I love to collect tea pots. That’s Mom’s influence. She prided herself on her English ancestry, drinking strong tea.

I don’t have enough walls for all of the art work I  inherited from her nor for my own collection. That’s her influence. “One can never have too much art” and “Think of art as furniture” she’d say.

While on one our trips, one really funny thing Mom would do is collect rocks for her garden. I sat in the middle of the front seat of our red truck when we traveled.

Whenever we stopped for a break, Mom would go rock hunting. She’d put a newly discovered rock in the truck gleeful at her discovery. Whenever she wasn’t looking, Dad would have me sneak another “precious” one to him and he’d drop it out!

It was this crazy rock tennis match I still laugh about from time to time.

She never bought decent snacks for us, either. As a young girl, I would arrive home and hungrily search the kitchen for anything to eat. Usually, there was some old gross shrunken up apple in the fridge or maybe a piece of moldy cheese.

One time, I found the baking chocolate and took a hunk  thinking it was the sweetened kind. One bite and well, I’ve never recovered.

My mother was quite a character. She could be very kind and generous to people she hardly knew and on a good day, silly and funny.

I try to remember those times on Mothers Day. It only seems fair, respectful and appropriate. It’s the least I can do. You know?

Happy Mothers Day Mommas

Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net

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