Sorry to take so long to answer, ita, but I left work at 4:30 (1:30 board time) and just saw your question.

The comment goes back to Aimee's original comment that started it all -- the classmate that said that Martin Luther King ended slavery, and my response that I could accept that idea if classmate had a sound argument that Jim Crow was essentially the same as slavery.

Others have made the argument. While Jim Crow wasn't chattel slavery, it did create a comprehensive legal and social system that placed a class of people in a subordinate position. Not to mention that many members of the subordinate class were doing basically the same thing that their ancestors did under slavery -- sharecroppers being analogous to field hands, maids and cooks similar to house servants.

Ultimately, I can't quite call it the same as slavery, largely because many could (and did) leave the South (largely for the cities of the North). Not to argue that things were wonderful there, but there was the option to leave.

I was just trying to come up with a context where the statement of Aimee's classmate made sense.

(Edited to fix typo.)

Hey, who on here has theatre experience? I am directing Romeo and Juliet.

Heh. Emmett's older godsister (a senior in high school) is also directing Romeo and Juliet right now. But she's directed several plays before and acted in them as well. I should hook you two up via email so you can compare notes. She's the coolest teenager I know, and very Shakespearianced.

Also, of course, JZ. Juliana, of course. Sophia's done much more than just costuming. She can help you a lot.

Plus you should watch the Season 2 of Slings and Arrows which has a production of R&J in it with great acting and directing tips therein.

Erin-

I think you made a good choice on the costuming. In fact, if you think of the play as "modern" day in other areas, you will have a good concept going on and one that, I think, your kids and the people who see it will understand, which is absolutely the most important thing. Think about this in terms of sound and set and lights. Also, if you don't have a lot of money, my advice is to keep it simple-- better a nice looking black curtain with the focus on the students then something that looks crappy, is my opinion. In order for things to visuallyu look good and unified, my experience in a small high school setting is that you will need to keep a really tight reign on sets, lights, etc... much more so than a professional director would with professional designers/

With regard to blocking, use your instincts, I am sure they are good.

I am imagining that your goal with this is for the kids to learn something and have fun, and for the audience to have enjoy, and I am sure that you can do that, just knowing you. If you have any questions or really specific advice needs, know that, in addition to being a costumer, I used to direct high school theatre, so absolutely e-me and I would be happy to help out or be a sounding board. I will also take a look around, because I have a few good books on directing high school theatre, and I will see if I can find the titles. Also, I have to say that directing high school theatre was one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had, so have fun!

Also, I bet, although it is a horrible time for her, ChiKat could help you a lot as she is a theatre person who is now student teaching.

And this is making me realize how much I miss directing in high school, although perhaps my ultimate wish of becoming an English teacher just so I can direct the plays would perhaps really give the short shrift to you know, the actual English Language Arts I would teach if I did that.

Can I get some job~ma for GF? She had two interviews today and both seemed to go well.

Wha-huh? Wacky double post.

I don't want to bore everyone else to tears so I won't post it here, Erin, but if you want I can send you some exercises to get them all good and loud without shredding their vocal cords (which will probably bore them to tears, but it really does help).

I'm kinda tempted to throw our extra Slings & Arrows tapes in a box and ship it off to you, because Geoffrey Tennant, the character played by Paul Gross, is really a Mary Sue of Shakespeare directors; in the two seasons of the show, you get to see him dealing with complainers and divas, dealing with blocking, light and costume issues, and doing extremely effective one-on-one coaching through some big tough monologues (and in S2 he coaches the leads in R&J). You could do worse than take tips from him (except minus the nervous breakdowns and ghost-seeing and living in the prop room in the theater basement).

If you can possibly find a professional anywhere to come in and coach the kids in stage combat, that'd be excellent, because that shit is hard and potentially actually dangerous -- and learning how to fake it is fun, fun, fun and will totally get the kids even more engaged than they already are.

Erin, I'm kinda sporadic on the board now (eek! student teaching!), but I'm always available via email with suggestions on what to do.

Number one: you're a smart woman with an artistic eye. Trust your instincts.

Two: For sets, see if you can wrangle an art and/or woodshop teacher for help. I know they can often do amazing things with next to no money. And, they could make it a class assignment/extra credit to work on the set.

Three: See above advice from Sophia and JZ.

GC, all kinds of job~ma for the GF!

Aimee, your professor is an ass. With boils.

Umm.. Hi, y'all!! Still alive and loving student teaching. The kids are in the Let's Test Ms. M and See if She Will Crack phase, but I expected that and it's nothing too serious. I have the Student Teacher's Sickness (it seems it's going around to all the STs!), but it's slowly leaving my system.

With directing kids, I find it helps to be really clear about the emotion of each piece of the scene, and then you vary your direction according to what they need to get there. To kids with acting talent, you can explain the feeling (He's waiting for her and is nervous that she won't show) and with kids who are more self conscious, you can give them actions which illustrate or evoke the feeling. (Pace from here to here and keep looking down the street).

I remember when my high school did R&J, the director really stressed that everyone go off-book ASAP, and then we concentrated on speeding up the delivery so that it sounded natural, not "Shakespearian." We kids really got into the rudeness of the characters, starting with the street fight at the beginning ("Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?"), so making the characters real and real-sounding was key to get us into it.

I was a street vendor in the first scene, then did scenery changes until my big scene as the Apothecary.