Today I approved the offering of a number of theatre textbooks for elementary schools on our website. They’re specifically for elementary school drama programs or classroom use. We thought about this quite a bit and decided that our selection of drama textbooks needed more of these books. I’ve worked with quite a few elementary schools in Denver and I normally used Theatre Machine, one of our most popular books. However, we just didn’t have items targeted for younger kids.

Many people ask me how Pioneer Drama Service finds them. The main person who finds these books is Becca, an education specialist at Pioneer. She works with many publishing companies. They send her numerous books and she evaluates them. From there, when she has found a book that she thinks would be a tremendous resource for teachers, drama directors or actors, we offer them. Thanks to Becca, I think we have a great selection.

I agree. It has been a long time. After working with dozens of people concerning blogs, it's not unusual for them to fizzle out. People get busy. Same with me. However, I'd like to share some of the things that have made Pioneer exciting. New plays. New writers. New catalogs.

Our latest catalog is full color with a selection of over 500 plays, musicals and textbooks. Awesome! As for the new plays and writers, take a look below. I'm excited and I urge you to take a look at how they are contributing to the world of theatre.

I’d like to personally congratulate Craig Sodaro on the publication of his new book MAKE IT MYSTERY. The book, which is now carried by Meriwether Publishing, contains twelve short royalty-free comedy-mystery plays. It’s workable for actors of all ages.

Craig has written many plays for Pioneer Drama Service. In fact, he and I have a special “brainstorming” relationship. Many plays that Craig writes are a “collaboration” of thoughts. For example, Craig will soon be sending me a melodrama. Craig has written the show, which has a golf theme. However, it has been a wonderful experience exchanging ideas with him.

Craig is a unique writer because he has a gift for writing different types of plays. Besides melodrama, he has ventured into mystery, comedy, musicals, and intense drama. I’m excited to see the golf melodrama. I’m even more excited to see what he writes next!

Improvisation is one of the greatest clubs a school can have. I have personally experienced this. Two years I started a club at our local middle school and it had over 40 students sign up. What made this experience interesting was the number of boys. I’m sure many middle school directors who are reading this have noticed that their drama clubs are flooded with girls. This had the opposite effect. Ninety-five percent of the middle school improvisation club actors were boys.

After heading the school’s drama club last year, I decided to switch to an improvisation club. The club: “Get in the Act Improvisation,” will focus in on having fun, yet learning unique acting skills. I have decided to limit the number of kids who can join. Working with a large number of children takes away from valuable acting time that the students seek. Thus, the first fifteen students who return their permission slips will get in.

Below are a number of resources that I will use. I urge you to take a look at their descriptions. They are perfect for school improvisation clubs and classroom use.

On May 1^st, I signed close to 300 checks. Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. was paying their playwrights their royalties. Checks ranged from only fifty-five cents to over one hundred fifty thousand dollars.

When a play is published, many playwrights have dreams of making millions of dollars. However, when writing for the amateur market, it’s difficult to tell what plays are going to be successful. I have been surprised at how well certain shows do. I am equally surprised at how some shows do not bring in any dollars.

If you are published, never expect financial success. Be proud you’re your play was chosen out of hundred of submissions to be published. The royalty check is simply the icing on the cake. (Though some icings taste better than others.)

Was it a successful? Did it meet my expectations, the kid’s expectations? Did it meet the parent’s expectations?

The one performance of TWINDERELLA took place after a pizza dinner. Each time I have put on a play with the Newton Middle School Drama Club, I always have the “party” before the play. I bring in dinner and allow the kids to unwind and, hopefully, prepare for the show mentally.

Things went well at the party. As they munched on cheese pizza, many game impromptu speeches. Many were emotional. Others were silly. Overall, the spirit of the room was proof that 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders could work together on something special. What about the performance…

Well, I’m not sure how to describe it. The show had the spirit that I wanted. However, when they accidentally skipped two scenes, it drove me crazy. I always separate myself from the show and let them go on their own. Although I allowed someone to prompt the actors, she didn’t do a great job. Oh, well.

The show went on without the two scenes and ended in applause. After I accepted my gift and thanked the parents, one of the kids yelled, “Let’s do the scenes we missed.” Suddenly, I was watching the middle of a play. I wasn’t sure if I should stop them. In fact, I was wondering if they were going to do the entire show. After a few minutes, I politely stopped them and had happy kids and happy parents go home.

Was it a success? As a performance, it will never win any awards. However, it was a project that helped bring community to the school, brought self-confidence to students and it brought the understanding of theatre and putting on a play.

Directing a play with middle school kids can be a frightening experience. Many teachers often tell me, “I don’t know if the show will go through. I have middle schoolers!”

I love directing plays with middle school actors. It’s amazing how they always pull it together in the end. The dress rehearsal may be a disaster, but the production is filled with energy, excitement and everyone shines.

Young teens, of course, are interesting. They are in the midst of finding out who they are. Peer pressure is a huge factor. The drama club? It’s always filled with a million girls and three boys. It’s truly a balancing act.

In a month or so, Newton Middle School will be producing TWINDERELLA. I’m the director and I’m about to panic. But then I take a step back and realize that every play that I have directed at Newton has been incredible. The kids always come through.

It’s a new year and it’s always a time for me to look back. I want to see where I have helped people put on a play, as well as understanding theater.

I have searched and found numerous theatre textbooks and put them in our catalog. I have directed plays at the local middle school. I have taken the time to work with directors and help them find the perfect play for their school or community theatre.

It’s been a good year. To all, I wish you a healthy and happy new year on stage and in your life.

A number of weeks ago, I was talking with Jack Welch who used to be with Baker's Plays. Jack left Bakers Plays and went on to take his plays to Europe. Jack called me up and said that a man by the name of Pieter Vink of Anco Entertainment B.V. would be calling.

Pieter has adapted numerous plays into Dutch. They include THE ODD COUPLE by Neil Simon. He also has adapted Piers Chater Robinson's adaptation of PETER PAN. The excitement at Pioneer Drama Service is that Anco Entertainment is looking to use many of our musicals! Of course, it's not just musicals... it's also full length plays. Our show, LARCENY AND OLD LACE, just came.

Personally, I’m delighted to see the release of Pioneer’s newest musical, “No Strings Attached” this month. Though Pioneer already carries several different versions of Coloddi’s classic story of “Pinocchio,” this one has a freshness and boldness that makes it very special.

Why do we keep going back to the old stories? They tap into something universal, and they ask really important questions, like “What does it mean to be human?” and “How can I be free to be myself, and still fit into a community?” These stories not only grow ON us, they grow IN us.

I’m also glad to see Bill Francoeur and Patrick Dorn working together again. It’s been years since they collaborated on “Nutcracker.” They are both professionals in their fields, and they know what it takes to create a show that has a high level of excellence, yet is so well crafted that practically anyone can pick up the script and music CD and stage a quality production that is fun for the cast and entertaining for the audience.

I’m sure you’ll agree that “No Strings Attached” stands on its own as a remarkable achievement in teen-oriented musical theater, and a major contribution to the ongoing Pinocchio legacy.

And that’s no lie!

Okay. It’s been a long time since I wrote to you. However, you have got to see what has been created! We have the best website in the play publishing and licensing industry. It has taken years of planning, studying numerous websites, brainstorming and bring in the best technical minds from our company and a website design company.

The most incredible feature, in my opinion, is the “Search Engine.” Unlike many of the other Search Engines in the play publishing industry, it will help you find the right play. After using specific keywords, it will narrow down the shows, allowing to view specific descriptions. From these descriptions, you’ll find it simple to pick out specific plays you are interested in reading. Of course, from there, I know you’ll find a quality show that will bring a standing ovation to your theatre.

Okay. It’s been a long time since I’ve written to you. However, I think you’ll find it has been worth it.

Today I spoke with a teacher from Texas. She wanted to know where the best resources were for writing melodramas. Though I have to admit I would be the best resource, I pointed to many that our company has. One is BETWEEN HISSES-THE BOOK and BEYOND THE BOOS AND HISSES, a video. These are excellent resources.

I have written a number of melodramas and I always like to look at some of the best as models. Melodramas by Billy St. John, Rachel Davidson and, of course, my father, are terrific. In fact, she had said that they were looking closely at RUN TO THE ROUNDHOUSE, NELLIE as a great model. Made me feel great since my father wrote that many years ago.

wahad

Even though I am not putting on a melodrama, I am staging a show for young performers. I have found that utilizing STAGING MUSICALS FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS is an excellent asset. This book will begin to be offered by Pioneer Drama Service in January of 2005.

The book is a step-by-step guidebook for producing a successful show with young performers. I love it because it discusses theatrical basics, casting and rehearsals, costumes and makeup, scenery and props, stage lighting and sound effects as well as publicity and promotion. It truly is to me an invaluable guide for teaching acting.

So as December 7th creeps up on me, I am armed with my script, list of actors and director's book. 

It's an amazing thing about middle school kids. I've watched them do drama for years and I think I got 'em figured out. In fact, now that I have two middle school kids, I really do think I have them figured out. You see, when a production nears, it's not unusual for the young actors to not have lines memorized, be jumping off the walls.... In fact, nothing comes together until the day of the production. However, since I am only seeing the kids once each week, it's very difficult to pull this thing together. It's a rough one. When you have a cast size of 20, when one kid is out of school due to illness, that's it. However, I'm preparing myself. I know that we may end up doing a number of things.

1. We may have to work with someone on the side to prompt kids with lines. I basically can't stand it but I'll do it.

2. Have some kids use their scripts.

3. Cancel the gig. No way! Too much work!

4. It will pull together.

I really do think having a drama club that meets only one each week does not work. I see a need to do it for two nights each week, using the additional days for drama activities and/or rehearsal. Just have to see how things work out next spring.

It's been a few days... maybe even weeks... since I kept you informed about my volunteer work at Newton Middle School. I decided that the school needed a drama program. Because of a lack of funding in our Littleton School District in the performing arts, a drama club disappeared from Newton. I felt that it was important to me and important to the school that I generate interest. After putting out an announcement and with the help of Debbie Getzel, the Gifted and Talented teacher at the school, we attracted close to 30 kids. Of course, some of them dropped out. That comes with the shifting of middle school interests. It was no surprise to me that the majority of the kids in the club happened to be girls. That's no surprise. It's quite normal for a drama club to have more girls than boys. In fact, most of our plays in Pioneer Drama Service have more female roles than males. However, many of the parts are flexible.

The most difficult aspect of the club is the limitation of time. This is because the club can only meet once each week and can only meet for an hour. To work with this I chose a large cast melodrama that was 30 minutes long. The show is THE PAPER BAG BANDIT, a melodrama by Tim Kelly. Tim was a genious when he was writing plays. When I asked him to write a 30 minute play with a lot of characters, Tim came out with this melodrama and RASCALS UNDER THE BIG TOP.

I have started rehearsals and they are going fairly well, though some of the kids have not started to memorize lines. A lot of this is because I didn't put out a decent schedule. I'm going to pull out a number of our play directing textbooks and will work on being more organized. (I've listed a number of the books below.)  

I wasn't surprised at the high energy the kids have. However, it's working to control the after-school energy and get the kids in the same track for an hour. Things seem to be shaping up. To add to this, I started an olio group as well. This group meets on Tuesday. They are taking short comedy skits and a large variety of jokes for blackout purposes and making it into a nice selection of olios. Want to know what an olio is? Or facts about melodrama. I also have links to other sources.