What Warm Up Games to Play
I've had the privilege of teaching a wide range of age groups. I had two classes as my time as a teaching assistant beforehand, 4-6 year olds and 7-12 year olds, and I loved them all so much, they were such a lively bunch and always made my week so entertaining. It was usually my job to warm up my lil' tinkers, and depending on who was in my class, and how old they were, decided what game we'd play that day. Here is the mental list I had made in my time as a TA about all the warm-up games I'd played throughout the years.
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Contradictory Teachers and How To Deal With Them
Contradiction in a teacher-student relationship is unnecessary; it does not develop the mind of a student, and only leads to overthinking their steps to ensure they're doing the right thing, which often ends up being wrong.
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Teaching Theatre: "Is Anybody Out There?!"
Teaching theatre can be lonely.
Wait. What?! How can teaching be lonely? You’re literally surrounded by people all…day...long.
Yes. True. Surrounded by people. People in your classroom who hopefully love theatre and love you. Surrounded by your students. Hopefully surrounded by supportive teaching, admin, and school staff. Maybe supportive parents and guardians too.
But, teaching theatre is lonely.
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Choosing Between a BFA or BA Degree? Here’s a Tool to Help You Decide!
"A Bachelor in Arts degree or a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree?” is one of the most commonly asked questions we get. You would think there’s not much difference between the two programs; however if you thought that, you couldn’t be more wrong. To help students assess whether a BA or a BFA program is best for them, we created a tool that will help aspiring theatre students decide whether to pursue a BFA degree or a BA degree.
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The Best College Theatre Programs in Every State - 2021 Edition
“Here is a fact that many folks in education may not be telling you: There has never been a better time to major in the performing/theatrical arts than right now. We here at OnStage Blog have always tried to provide as many resources as we can for prospective theatrical art students. It begins with finding college programs that are doing some amazing things and giving their students fantastic preparation for their various industries.
So, without further ado, here is our 2021 list for the best college theatre programs in every state in the U.S.”
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Post-Graduation Blues and Confusion
“University/College can be the best 3+ years of your life; where you can reinvent yourself, find new friends, and live independently. And just as quickly as the experience came around, it's gone, and you're now an adult with little-to-no clue on where to go, or what to do, next.”
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What to Expect from an Arts High School
If you decide arts school is for you, look forward to your next four years and get ready for an experience you'll never forget.
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Sorry Theater Kids, It's Time to Start Working Out
Theater kids have long lived under the assumption-- self-imposed or otherwise-- that physical strength, stamina, and coordination have nothing to do with being a performer, and that many people who identify as performers simply don’t have those skills. I don’t think it will come as a surprise to many of you when I tell you that this assumption is simply not true.
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Five Ways I Helped My Theater Students Learn to Say Goodbye
Perhaps the most important thing I wanted to teach my students during this trying time was to savor the moment.
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College for Performing Arts: Do's, Don'ts & Some Food For Thought
Conservatory, or liberal arts school? What aspects of a program should I look at? Should I pick up a minor or double major, or put everything into my performing arts major? For students considering pursuing an education in performing arts, particularly musical theatre, these questions are among the many flying around as they consider different schools and prepare to audition and/or choose where to spend the next few years of their lives.
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Stop Telling Young People Interested In Theatre How Difficult Their Lives Will Be
My adoration for the theatre industry began when I saw my first pantomime at the age of four. I turned to my mum and said I wanted to be up on stage one day. She smiled at me and told me to go for it.
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I Am Burnt Out
It's a common misconception and a huge stereotype that drama students are constantly full of energy, are very loud, always bouncing from wall to wall - when in reality that is not the case at all (maybe besides the 'loud' part...).
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I Just Graduated with a Performance Degree... What’s Next?
Preparation is KEY. If you do not show you are a prepared actor in an audition room, it leaves the director to believe you are not a prepared actor in rehearsal. The number one item that shows you’re prepared is your headshot/resume.
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Theatre vs. Technology: Part 1
The world is soaring forward with the possibilities of technology and many of our schools are working to keep up with the changing society. It is very common to now see schools that are BYOD or 1 to 1 with technology. BYOD schools encourage students to “bring your own device” in order to utilize technology in the classroom. Schools that are 1 to 1 have assigned all students a device that they either take home regularly or leave at school, but every student has consistent access to their a device. As a classroom teacher, you may begin (or already have) to feel pressured to utilize technology in your classroom. This can be a challenge for all teachers, but especially those of us in performance based classrooms! How does the theatre classroom incorporate these technologies in a meaning-making way?
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Please Stop Telling Conservatory Students They "Didn’t Go to a Real College"
As graduation season is upon us, I would like to take the time to say congratulations! Congrats to everyone who graduates or have already graduated this year! Especially those who pursued a career in the arts. That is no easy task! Coincidentally I too have graduated this year as well (Congrats to the 134th class of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts!), and above all, I would like to say one thing.
Please stop telling the conservatory students they didn’t go to college. I’m getting really sick and tired of being told I didn’t go to a real college, and I bet some people who are reading this are too.
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Theatre and Musical Theatre Students in a Department: What’s The Relationship?
As a musical theatre student in a competitive performing arts program, I have witnessed the dynamics between the different majors. Particularly, I have seen how the theatre and musical theatre students navigate the program, and how it can often be different from each other. These students will often stick together by major, even to the point of joining different student theatre clubs where students could usually mingle and exchange experiences. Therefore, this makes the circles rather closed off to each other.
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Theatre in an Underfunded High School
Money may not be the solution to everything, but when it comes to the funding of the arts, it sure helps. As a student at Braintree High School, a public high school just south of Boston, where the arts are the least of the school's priorities. Of course, funding put towards academic classes and research materials should take first rank in the funding hierarchy, but when it comes to extracurriculars, the school quickly favors anything but the arts. It seems no matter how the sports programs may not excel, countless amounts of money are pumped into new facilities and trainers to try to bolster the appeal of a hometown hero who scores the touchdown in a 35-7 loss.
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The Best Undergraduate Theatre Programs in Each State - 2019 Edition
Every year, OnStage Blog deep dives into college theatre programs to find what we feel are some of the best in the nation. While the perfect programs is the one that fits best with the student, schools can become that fit with fantastic facilities, strong faculty, multiple performance opportunities, among other things. In truth, there are some schools that do that better than others and should be recognized for it.
At the end of the summer, we will be publishing our top 25 theatre program rankings. But as we start to close the books on this academic year, we felt it’s time to name some programs that did exceptional work this year. So here is our 2019 list of the best theatre programs in each state.
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Rumors and Outrage over a Middle School Cancelling a Production of 'Spelling Bee'
There is news today coming out of Hyattsville, MD where the local middle school decided to cancel its upcoming production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee just weeks before it was set to open.
According to a letter sent from the school to parents, it provided no details into why the production was cancelled. It stated,
“Unfortunately we have decided to cancel the Spring Musical dates of May 2nd, 3rd and 4th,” the letter said, adding that a parent meeting would be held Tuesday to answer “any of your questions, comments or concerns.”
Without any details, rumors and speculation started to swirl among the students and parents. One rumor, which is making waves now, is that the show was cut because one character has gay parents.
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PA School Board Decides that Theatre Productions Must Now Be Approved by Superintendent Before Performance
The dress rehearsals of shows at Waynesboro Senior High School looks like they’ll have quite the critic going forward, the schools’ superintendent. A recent school board decision made it possible for the Superintendent to approve or deny performances going forward based on whether he determines it appropriate.
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