Alice Opens

Our Drama 1 students are working hard on our class production of Alice in Wonderland. This is a one act BLACK LIGHT show and promises to be visually stimulating and entertaining. We've got 3 great performances coming up on Jan 8, 9, and 10 at 7pm and the cost will be only $3. This is a very ambitious project for a Drama 1 class and I am very grateful to the students who have gone above and beyond the short class time we have to help make this show a reality. Our concept for the show is based on the idea of a "psychodelic mad house" and will feature sound effects, puppets, and a variety of strange comedic characters. Don't miss this unique ALICE.

What Motivates You?

Here's a question to all the students I've worked with so far this year: What motivates you? I'm continually trying to learn about what appeals to you to make you want to work. Most of you spend numerous hours a day being entertained by video games, ipods, chronic texting, and internet networks. You probably spend the majority of your waking hours engaged in one or all of these things. This is your top priority. What would it take to make SCHOOL your top priority? How would SCHOOL have to change to get your attention? I must admit that I never enjoyed being a student until I entered grad school this past summer. I could go on and on about the things I hated about my "schooling". What would have to happen to make YOUR education the most important thing about your life? Seriously, what would it take? I am trying to mount a really cool play for my Drama 1 class right now and only a handful of the students in the class are committed to it. Even my Wildcat Players in the class don't seem to care about it. They'd rather play video games. I just don't understand it. What has to happen to make you want to CARE about this as much as I do? I REALLY want to know.

Congratulations!

Three of our Wildcat Players have been cast in a show called The Reluctant Dragon, which will be produced by the SC Children's Theatre and will be performed in the Gunter Theatre at the Peace Center in February. Way to go! I am so very proud of you! ASHLEY PITTMAN and her brother ALEX are playing Townspeople, MALORIE CUNNINGHAM is playing Morpeth, and WESLEY BOOKER is playing St. George. If you see these guys in the hall, give them a high five. They deserve it! SC Children's Theatre is where I started long ago when I was in high school, so I am especially proud of your accomplishment. We will definitely get a group together to come see it. (Maybe even more than once.) Well done!

Christmas Spectacular

Alright, kids, if you'd like to see your teacher in a show, now's your chance. This is a Christmas variety show and I sing some Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, wear some hair, and dance a little. It's a fun show full of some of Greenville's busiest local actors. Come on out and see it if you're interested. It opens next Friday.

What's Next?

Our spring slot is OPEN to suggestion. Anything is possible. Nothing is currently set in stone. Our reserved show dates are May 1 - 9. So, kids, what play would you like to be a part of next at Woodmont High? JCS is out (for now). I have some ideas, and I'm currently focusing on one. I've mentioned Peter Pan to a few of you and I think this would be a good choice, however difficult, but this is not yet a final decision. What else could we take on? Remember, Twilight, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Star Wars are NOT plays. I will also preemptively VETO High School Musical, Grease, and Oklahoma. All serious suggestions will be taken into consideration, and may appear in the near future if not in the spring. So . . . what's next?

Gospel JCS???

Well, kids, they beat us to it. The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta is debuting a new GOSPEL version of Jesus Christ Superstar in January of 2009. We should definitely make a road trip. My vision for our postponed spring production included featuring a local gospel choir. It just goes to show that all good ideas eventually manifest themselves, whether it be in Piedmont or Atlanta.

Is This Offensive?

The Wildcat Players had plans to produce the world famous rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in the spring. A few people have advised me against this decision, insisting that this play is offensive and sacreligious. I was in this play in college, played Pontius Pilate, and really enjoyed the experience. I had no intentions of creating a sacreligious play. Almost everyone who is opposed to the idea doesn't know the show or the music and is basing their opinion on hearsay. What do you think? Should we NOT produce this play? Is it too offensive for the Woodmont community?

An Empty Stage = An Empty Canvas

This past Sunday we struck the set of Macbeth. It was depressing to see our world totally disappear in 12 hours. Our good friends Steffany and Amber Bankenbusch are also leaving us for Texas. The end of a show is always a sad time for me and the only way to overcome it is with a new show. Strike was a lot of fun and we could not have done it without Coach Bill Horn. A big thanks to you, Horn. We are thankful to have you on our team. Thanks to the students who stayed late (Pierce) and helped us clear the stage for the pageant. I already miss this show. Yall were such a perfect ensemble and totally professional. I hope to create that again in the spring. What will we tackle in the spring, you ask? Not sure yet. Something big that we can figure out together. I love you all and I can't wait to create our next masterpiece on this giant black canvas. BRAVO!

March We On!

ONLY THREE EVENING PERFORMANCES LEFT! Tell all your friends and family to come see our show this weekend. Call em, text em, myspace em - whatever you need to do to get butts in seats. If we want to keep producing plays at this level, we've got to get people to show up! You all deserve a packed house for starring in the best dang high school play EVER.

Our Power Is Ready

Opening night is here! I am so very proud of every one of you. Let's rock tonight!

Waffle Kids

This is what keeps us going. This picture is dedicated to Sloan - his first visit to the almighty Waffle House!

Fun with Weapons

As you can see, we've been having WAY too much fun with our new stage weapons. I'm not really sure what's going on here, but this sums up a lot about our unique cast. I just had to share this picture.

More Banquo

Whoa! Look at Banquo's new "white out" contacts. Sweet!

Above is his makeup for the incantation scene we taped last week. Thanks for these new pics, John.

Blondes Do Have More Fun

Check out John's new goldilocks! Thanks to Jet Ward for transforming John's hair and getting him all this new attention. What do yall think about this new look for Banquo? All he needs is a little blood.

Set Build

This weekend we started really working on our Macbeth set. We had an amazing turnout of volunteers made up of students, parents, and faculty. I honestly could not believe how much we got done in just 2 days! It's all about teamwork, folks! Above is a picture of my set model. Roxane Pittman took this, drew up plans, we bought the materials, and already we've finished the stage extension, the upstage platform, AND painted them. Wow. Thanks to the Pittman family for coordinating the build. Thanks also to the cast members who showed up to work. I was really impressed and grateful. Some of you even came both days (Wesley, John, Rabecca, Amber, Steffany, and Stephen). Your level of commitment beyond rehearsal is to be applauded. You kids rock. I can't wait til next weekend!

This is WOODMONT!

Tonight felt as though we had a breakthrough. Finally, we discovered that we are full of passion and INTENSITY. The second half of our rehearsal was killer! Great job on stepping up to the plate and flexing some muscle. I was especially pleased with Ross and the Weird Sisters. You really started to open up to your characters in ways we'd never seen before. It was also great to see a vulnerable side of Banquo. Well done, folks. I can't wait to see where you take it now. Act to WIN!

Poster!

Check it out! What do you think? Designed by JT Helms.

Which Witch is Which?

Amber, Rabecca, and Malorie have been working hard on developing their characters as the Weird Sisters. Each of them will have distinctive personalities and will be associated in some way with thunder, lightning, and rain. I bought these wigs on ebay for them. Match the hair to the sister. Majority rules.

Macbeth Poster?

Here are the poster designs of the school plays I've directed. They are by 3 different designers. The Macbeth poster is being designed by my good friend JT Helms, a graphic designer based in Chicago. If you were designing it, how would it look? Based on the concepts I've shared with you and the few rehearsals we've had, what type of design would best represent this production? Think about it, and leave some thoughtful comments. (JT just might read them.)

Goodbye, hut!

Today I said goodbye to our amazing hut from The Jungle Book, built with precision by the Pittman family. Because we have no storage for such amazing set pieces at Woodmont, we donated it to our new drama friends at Southside High who will be producing A Midsummer Night's Dream. So our favorite hut will have a new life down the road. Hey, look! That little bird is still perched on top. Ha!

The Players

I just got some new pictures delivered today from last year's first Wildcat Players production of The Jungle Book. I thought I'd share some of the good closeups of some of you who will be starring in Macbeth. Some of these characters are strangely similar to the ones you'll be playing. Enjoy . . .

Shawn Simmons as Shere Khan. Shawn will be playing MACBETH.

Matt Coker as Tabaqui. Matt won the first Drama Award last year. He'll be playing MACDUFF.

John King as Akela. John will be playing BANQUO.

Malorie Cunningham as Raksha. She'll be playing a WEIRD SISTER.

Wesley Booker as Baloo. He'll be playing a MURDERER.

What is GOTHIC?

Our production of Macbeth can be described as "gothic". What does that mean to yall? What does it mean to be "gothic" or "goth"? The term has been used to describe all sorts of things for hundreds of years. I'd like to hear from members of the cast. What is GOTHIC?

Banquo's Dracuhler Eyes

This is a picture of me when I played Dracula at the Greenville Little Theatre last year. I relished playing the older, creeper version of Dracula pictured here. My first real connection with Woodmont students was when a few hundred of them came to our final dress rehearsal. That will always be one of my favorite Woodmont memories. In this picture, I'm wearing contacts that turn the irises in your eyes white. It's very frightening and can be seen easily from the audience. This is how I see Banquo's ghost in the banquet scene (except with a lot more blood). John King, a junior and one of my favorite students, is playing Banquo and will have platinum blonde hair and hopefully these "Dracuhler eyes". I know I keep talking about costumes and wigs, but I am naturally drawn to the visual with my art background. What do yall think about this? What could make Banquo even more frightening in the banquet scene?

Lady M's Hair

Hey, kiddos, I just bought this wig for Lady Macbeth on ebay.

Isn't it perfect?

And so it begins . . .

Hey! Check out this new blog! Fancy!

So we've decided to tackle Shakespeare this year with our upcoming production of MACBETH. This will be our most ambitious and challenging experience to date, but I know that we can handle it. We've got a cast of over 40 and yesterday was our first read-through. How did yall think it went? Are you as excited as I am?