Old Age Makeup

Here's an example of some of the fun we had on our last day of class in advanced drama.

Brandi did a fine job of making herself look ancient, don't you think?

New Year, New Adventures

We're already making big plans for next year, and let me tell you - it's going to be a busy one. As many of you already know, I've chosen to produce The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the fall. This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I think that we can pull off one heck of a production. Go ahead and start researching it now. I suggest reading the entire series. I've chosen Joseph Robinette's script and already we are assembling a great creative team: Donna Norman as stage manager, Guy Perticone as lighting designer and special effects consultant, Beth King as head costumer, and Steffany Bankenbusch has also agreed to design costumes all the way from Texas. We've already purchased the rights for 12 performances in October and November (yes, 12).

Also, we'll be forming our very own booster club! Woo! We will call it the Woodmont High School Theatre Guild, and all of our fundraising activities will be run through this new organization.

I will be teaching drama full-time next year, and I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing this. I'll be teaching 4 sections of Drama 1, 1 Drama 2, and 1 Drama 3H/4H combined. I'll also have a new classroom down the hall. This is the first time in the history of our school that we will have a full-time drama position. How cool is that?

Next year will also be the first time we tackle a MUSICAL! This is a whole 'nother can of worms, folks. It will happen in the spring and I am up for suggestions. I'm leaning towards Little Shop of Horrors. Do you have any better ideas? I'm looking to sell our auditorium out. What are your thoughts?

Way to go, Shawn!

Congratulations to Mr. Shawn Simmons for winning this year's DRAMA AWARD for his outstanding performance as Macbeth. Shawn also starred as Antinous and Polyphemus in The Odyssey and as Shere Khan in The Jungle Book and is an innaugural member of our Troupe 7407 of the International Thespian Society. He will be attending Berea College in Kentucky to pursue a degree in Theatre. We wish him the very best and look forward to seeing him on stage in the future. We'll miss ya, buddy!

The Wildcat Players Drama Award is given to one student annually for outstanding performance in one or more productions. It can be awarded to any student in any grade level. Winners of this award include both Shawn and Matt Coker.

Next year an additional award will be given within our honor society . . . Best Thespian!

Who will be honored next year? Will it be you?

Success!

Our production of The Odyssey was a bona fide success! Congratulations on your achievement. I'm so very proud of your professionalism and work ethic. This has to be one of the top class plays ever produced in a high school. You guys rock!

Odyssey Poster

Check it out! This was designed by JT Helms who designed our Macbeth poster. What do you think? Does it reflect our production? What will people think when they see this?

Our New Mascot

Look what we found at the Jockey Lot this morning! It's our new drama mascot, the amazing Hector Del Toro Bustamante. You can call him Hector for short. Thanks to Rabecca (and especially her mom) for saving him from the perils of the flea market and giving him a happy home. Hooray for Hector!

Odyssey Set Design

Here's a picture of the model I built for our Odyssey set. What do you think? Too much?

Can We Do It?

The word "odyssey" refers to a long series of wanderings or adventures, especially filled with notable experiences and hardships. What a fitting name for our current production. Frankly, I'm terrified. We've chosen a massively ambitious project and we open in less than a month. What were we thinking? How will we pull this one off? Are we capable of achieving this?

We have the resources we need. We have fantastic ideas. Can we do it all in 4 weeks? Are you committed to this project? Are you ready to work harder than you've ever worked before?

The only way to reach the moon is if we work together as one team.

I need you on this team.

Troupe # 7407

Woodmont High is now an official member of the

International Thespian Society!

Congratulations to our first members:

Rabecca Bakken

Jarrod Bennett

Taylor Bishop

Wesley Booker

Justin Chiles

Matt Coker

Malorie Cunnigham

John King

Sarah Klemans

Ashley Pittman

Shawn Simmons

Next up . . .

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for a new spring production on the horizon. The Advanced Drama Ensemble of the Drama 2/3H classes will be presenting a full-length play based on The Odyssey by Homer. This is an ambitious project and these students are ready for the challenge. The show has been cast with both veterans and first-timers. We are currently developing a script and production concept. We will be offering 6 public performances May 1 - 9.

Alice DVDs and Pics!

Well, folks, our Drama 1 class production of Alice in Wonderland turned out to be a big success. Our "little" class play drew in an audience of 504 over three nights. I am very proud of all the students who worked so incredibly hard that last week to pull this one off. Way to go! David Dara is now offering DVDs (with pictures) of Alice for only $15. What a deal! Now you can enjoy this memory forever. Come by Mr. Ragland's room for your copy.

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.