We've started rehearsing for year three of *Choosing Sides* at Horace Mann Middle School.  *Choosing Sides* is a three-day interactive play that explores bullying with middle school students.  I developed *Choosing Sides* in collaboration with Pulaski Technical College, SafePlaces, and Horace Mann Middle School.  I am excited about this year because I have revised the script and facilitations, and I'm ready to try out the revisions.  Last year was very effective but I played it safe.  I relied heavily on our *Choosing Sides* booklets for facilitations. These were booklets with specially designed written activities that inspired additional discussion. The teacher and students really loved the booklets.  They all felt the booklets provided an emotionally safe way to engage with this difficult topic.  This year we're doing a lot more on-your-feet activities.  Hopefully, we can keep it emotionally safe but also get into some more meaningful conversations.  Above you see my actors, Stephanie Ong and Chris Straw rehearsing.  I will write more in the coming weeks!

Paula Morell and I will facilitate an autobiographical writing and performance workshop for FREE!  Hope you can make it!

During the final week of Pulaski Technical College's Teen College, I co-taught with Paula Morrell of Tales From the South.  I taught My Story (an autobiographical performance class), and Paula taught Journey Into Writing (a creative writing course). Most of our students consider themselves writers more than they consider themselves performers.  Knowing we would be expected to present something for parents and invited guests at the sharing Friday morning, we devised an extremely safe way for our writers to perform.

The acting class decided to perform a mini-revue of *Wicked* songs, so Paula had the foresight to give her writing students a complementary prompt during the Teen College's first week.  She asked students to write a prequel short story for one of the other characters in *The Wizard of Oz*--much like Jonathan Maguire did with the Wicked Witch of the West in *Wicked*.  Two students co-wrote the story of the Scarecrow, and we staged it during the second week.

Given my knowledge of our students' comfort levels, I wanted to provide them with a way they could feel both safe and successful in staging the work.  In devising with my AGS students this summer, I challenged them to consider alternative light sources, and two groups took accepted that challenge by using silhouette incredibly effectively. I thought silhouette would provide a comfortable way for our students to perform their work.  They would be behind a sheet, after all.  So we recorded students reading the story.  Then two students (Scarecrow and Witch) volunteered to perform the tableaux which provided the visuals for the story.  The students not involved in making tableaux on stage created live sound effects.  Finally, we assigned another student to lower a green gel over the light for the Witch's entrance.  It was a very cool, very comfortable performance for our writers!

Last week I taught Improv Insanity at Pulaski Technical College's Arkansas Teen College--a two week enrichment program for 6th-12th graders.  Between large group warm-ups and large group rehearsals for a few songs from *Wicked,* I taught five students.  We learned the basic rules of improv such as being spontaneous, accepting offers, and assuming our partner's brilliance through improv games and scenarios.  Improv has technique just like acting, and improv technique can be particularly difficult for middle school age students in particular.  One of the cardinal rules of improv is never to say no in a scene.  If your partner says you're riding a horse, you don't say:  "This is not a horse.  This is an elephant."  You must accept whatever your partner sets forth.  Middle school students often operate in the negative with each other in everyday life--self-deprecating jokes, "harmless" put-downs, etc.  Most of my students were middle school students, so we worked A LOT on the never say no rule.  By the end of the week, I felt all students had improved...even if improvement meant simply speaking in front of others.  I am constantly reminded how good theatre is for kids' self-confidence.  Teaching Improv Insanity reinforced that belief.

We've used puppets generously provided by April Ross (formerly of the Heights Toy Center in Little Rock).  The idea of using puppets came from my good friend from Stage One Children's Theatre in Louisville, Talleri McRae.  Talleri suggested I use puppets when she read my previous Cabot observations blog in which I mention my challenges in using Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre techniques with young children.  In forum, you stop a scene at the climax and have audience members "rehearse" different solutions to the problem by standing in for actors.  When I tried this with children, the childrens' reactions ranged from completely freezing up to self-conscious giggling but rarely had I been successful in these facilitations.  Talleri suggested having the students whisper what they would say and do to me and then using a puppet to actually stand in.  This technique really seemed to free the students up, so I decided to use puppets in the actual show.  Now I'm wondering....puppets or no puppets?

Pros:

1)  The students really do like the puppets. 

2)  I think the puppets allow our adult actors to convincingly deliver lines a child would say without the awkwardness that usually accompanies adults performing as children.

Cons:

1)  I don't know how necessary the puppets are.  Could we deliver these lines as effectively without puppets?

2)  The puppets we have are wonderful, and I am so thankful to April for letting us borrow them.  If I decide to go with puppets, however, I think I would want really spectacular puppets, i.e. larger, that are (possibly) created specifically for the show.

3)  Since this is part of a larger series, I want to ensure that the series is unified.  Do puppets in one show and not the others seem random?

4)  We try forum out tomorrow.  Do the puppets really help students stand in for actors?

5)  I would need to really work with actors on animating their puppets.  

I returned to Cabot to workshop *Choosing Sides* today.  The students were super sweet and receptive.  The story centers on bullying between two friends incited by the introduction of a class t-shirt contest.  My observation of the students during free drawing time served as the inspiration, and the storyline seemed to resonate with them today.  Big Kudos to actors/teachers/puppeteers Dylan Clifford and Dariane Mull whose willingness to experiment made today a success.  Here are some quick glows and grows to consider in the revising process:

Glows:
1)  We gave students individualized booklets like we did in our middle school program.  Even though I designed them instead of a graphic designer this time, the booklets were very successful in facilitating students' careful reflection on the scenes.

2)  Students were engaged in the story and facilitation.

Grows:
1)  Our partnering teacher, Mrs. Thompson, suggested presenting the play each day for no longer than 30 minutes.  30 minutes felt like no time at all today.  I wonder what she would think about extending the time now that she is more familiar with the theatre-in-education format.

2)  Right now, we're doing 30 minute segments for 4 classes over 3 days, and all 3 days involve the same story.  If Mrs. Thompson felt we could hold students' attention longer, I would want to add/vary the settings.  Perhaps the t-shirt contest is still the pinnacle, but I'd like to see them interact with each other beyond their desks....perhaps a playground or lunchroom scene?

3)  Originally, I thought of this as a pre-k through 1st grade program.  I am now considering this more as an Early Elementary program for 1st and 2nd grades.  I'm not sure if pre-k students could handle the writing in the booklets, and the storyline just feels very 1st and 2nd grade.  I want to get teachers' input on this.

4)  We recorded a soundscape that served to underscore the middle school program.  It worked really well to establish a school environment and even give the illusion of additional characters.  In the finished product, we must have a soundscape for this one.

5)  We need a set, and I think there will be a floor component to this set.  We will paint portions of the floor with chalkboard paint, and the students will actually draw with the characters during scenes as if they are part of our imaginary classroom.

6)  Hire a graphic designer for the booklets.  Yes, my simple prototype works,  but you can't do many visually interesting things with Microsoft Word.

345 people attended the final showing of *For Colored Girls* at Mosaic Templars last night.  I was so scared throughout much of the process that I want to revel in my feelings of success.  These ladies worked so hard and put in so much work.  I am so proud of them.  And we were so well-received by our audiences.  This experience has affirmed my belief in the value of community-engaged theatre.  Community-engaged theatre can provide theatre experiences to people who may have never stepped foot in an auditorium much less on the stage itself.  That experience can be powerful.  It was for many of our actresses.  And, of course, my shrewd side appreciates how fitting within a niche' provides a ready-made audience.  So even though I truly want my post-show high to last, I want to document my initial lessons and questions so I don't forget them.

Lessons:
1)  Before doing community-engaged work, try to understand all your partners' bureaucracies.  With Mosaic and Laman, the bureaucracy primarily involved getting permission on all publicity materials.  Pulaski Tech was a bigger beast.  Of course, PTC supplied the money to produce the work, and we are abundantly thankful to them.  I had no idea, however, that the bureaucracy there was so very involved--setting up vendors, waiting on P.O. approval and information about next steps, depending on other people to make orders.  The take-home lesson here is that planning for a community-engaged project should probably take place about a year in advance.

2)  Be confident in your knowledge of your population and process.  I have worked at PTC for four years now, and I have a very good understanding of the population.  Our students sometimes have a difficult time making commitments because of life circumstances.  Our entire cast was NEVER on time.  We rarely had the ENTIRE cast present.  I didn't know what the show would actually look like until dress rehearsal.  Part of me thinks that this issue could be addressed over time through the cultivation of a theatre culture--a culture that values hard work, punctuality, and pushing oneself to the absolute limit.  When I consider my students' lives, however....we are not talking about typical college kids whose entire lives are theatre.  We are talking about mothers and fathers who juggle full-time work, full-time school, and responsibilities to family.  When I consider that fact, I know it is not only about cultivating a theatre culture.  This is the reality for the people with whom I work, and they make great sacrifices to create art.  My issue is not with my students as much as it is with the guilt/embarrassment I feel when I look at this situation through the eyes of others.  This is really about understanding class, and I often found myself in this process feeling guilty that I wasn't harder on my students about being on time, showing up, etc.  Yes, it frustrated me to no end when someone was late...especially when it was because their "friend" needed a ride.  My inclination is to say "Too bad.  You have a pre-standing commitment to us."  Then I think about the fact that within a culture where not everyone has a car readily available, providing someone a ride (if you are lucky enough to have a car) is a pre-standing responsibility, too.  I want to so a better job of negotiating the requirements of production and my population's specific needs.  And I want to make no apologies to others for the reality that my students find themselves in.  I do want to explain their reality from a knowledgeable standpoint, but I want to speak from that standpoint in order to educate the person with whom I am talking--not to feel ashamed for understanding where my students are coming from.

3)  Stand by your art.  Some people were offended by this work.  *For Colored Girls* is full of curse words and decidedly feminist (a dirty word in some circles).  As a Christian from an evangelical background, it was difficult for me to see that the work I chose to produce offended some people's sense of morality.  I have seen the power of this work, though.  I understand that Shange's message is one of struggle and hope.  I heard cast members and audience members speak to that message.  And, anyway, I believe Christ was a feminist, too.  When we saw Shange at UALR, she was unapologetic to those whom she offended.  "I just don't have time for that, " she said.  I don't know if I want to be that unapologetic because I truly want people to UNDERSTAND the value of the work.  I believe that understanding comes through conversation rather than writing someone off.  There's a balance somewhere there.


Questions:
1)  How can we make community partnerships more substantial and meaningful?
2)  How can we start the planning process earlier?
3)  How can we bring the necessary people into the planning process earlier?
4)  How can we achieve community buy-in like this in every project we do?
5)  How can we make the best use of this momentum?

That's a start.  I'm sure more questions will arise.  Looking forward to the next project!

We're entering our final week of rehearsals, and I feel so many emotions--fear, joy, pride, excitement.  This process has raised so many questions for me about community-engaged performance.  When this is all over, I will write more about that. In the meantime, here are some pics from rehearsal.  These are our "postures of distress."

One of our community engagement elements involves a partnership with Laman Library.  Laman's Special Projects Coordinator, Paula Morrell, and I developed the partnership as a series of workshops--2 reading circles and 1 writing/visual art workshop.  PTC English instructor Jerrica Ryan facilitated the reading circle in which participants discussed and analyzed the work.  PTC Visual Art Instructor Kimberly Kwee and Paula Morrell co-facilitated the writing/visual art workshop.  Using the play as inspiration, participants merged collages and writing to create artworks which will be displayed as a front of house exhibit during the performances at Mosaic Templars.  Thank you Jerrica, Paula, Kim, and everyone at Laman for helping us bring more community members into our artistic process!