Justin Cash

Broadway’s Star-Studded 2000s

 No Responses »  Tagged with:
Jan 052010
 

Here’s an interesting article from The New York Times on the decade that was … star-wise, that is.

The 2000s witnessed an unprecedented number of “stars” tread the boards on Broadway stages. Some, like Hugh Jackman in A Steady Rain, returned to the place and skills of where their careers began. But others like P. Diddy and Jerry Springer were surely more questionable.

There was rising star Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room, the then wife of Tom Cruise. Even Cruise’s current wife got a guernsey in 2008 in All My Sons. Or how about Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar or Daniel Radcliffe in Equus? The list goes on.

We also saw inane marketing campaigns, clearly aimed at keeping an old dog alive … longer. The successful revival of Chicago in the late 90s resulted in key roles being swapped around on a regular basis in the 2000s, with big name stars like Usher, Huey Lewis, Melanie Griffith and Lynda Carter suddenly in the show.

Can they act? Can they sing? Does it matter?

More (or less) importantly:

Are they good looking? Are they a star? Will they sell tickets?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the footlights, people who had never been to the theatre in their life before were now sitting admiring their star on stage. Nice to get new people along to a Broadway show, but how about for the right reasons, please!

For better or worse, the power of stardom elevated many a Broadway production in the 2000s beyond its rightful place.

And while this may appear good for Broadway in the short term, surely it will prove damaging in the long run. Someone needs to stop and think about what’s happening, here. It’s a trend that needs to disappear … quickly.

The Story of Slapstick

 No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Jan 012010
 

A special program relevant for Drama teachers popped up on BBC2 over the recent Christmas holiday period. The Story of Slapstick is a 60-minute documentary on the history of the form, neatly blending the origins of slapstick in 16th century Commedia dell’Arte, through silent and then talking films and popular televsion, without sounding too instructional or historical. Aha! The perfect combination for enjoyable “learning by stealth” in the Drama classroom.

The Story of Slapstick covers various masters of the genre, but from a refreshing British perspective. Naturally, short video clips are in abundant supply in this documentary, something that will no doubt please those Drama students of yours hungry for the visual entertainment their generation knows all too well.

Artists/characters/comedy teams featured include Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean, Monty Python, The Goodies, Michael Crawford in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, The Young Ones, Morcambe and Wise, Vic and Bob, and French and Saunders.

This documentary interviews several well-known British comedians, young and old, and covers many of slapstick’s vital ingredients such as violence and the innocence of the characters. The Story of Slapstick also dismisses slapstick’s stigma as being an unsophisticated form and interestingly highlights its additional success on the radio (The Goon Show) and its transition today out of formal scripted sketches into our own living rooms, with everyday slapstick caught on camera then posted on popular websites like YouTube etc.

Worth a watch.

Torrent (.avi, 60 mins, 553mb)

Free Christmas Play Scripts

 2 Responses »  Tagged with:
Dec 202009
 

Well, its that time of year again, so here’s a bunch of links to some free Christmas play scripts (plays and musicals) to download from the web:

There’s More to School Than Grades

 1 Response »  Tagged with: , ,
Dec 092009
 

Well, here in Australia we are nearing the end of the schooling year. Senior high students across the country have already finished up for 2009 and in many cases the younger secondary school students have either just gone on holidays or are about to soon. Most schools in Australia won’t go back for 2010 until late January or early February.

On the eve of my senior Drama students receiving their official grades for the year (for locals in Victoria, that’s the VCE Year 12 Drama course), I have a contradiction worth sharing. I spend most of my year pushing my students to achieve the best possible grades they are capable of, and yet I openly say to them that there’s more to school than grades!

Data in my case will show over the past five or six years, I have a near 100% record of my students achieving grades above what was predicted of them in Year 12 Drama by the curriculum authority mid-year. Hey, this is one of my major aims and I’m the first to be proud of that and many of my students and their parents appreciate this also. It means as an educator I have been able, as many of you reading this blog have been too I’m sure, to suck out of my students more than what everyone believed they were capable of in their senior Drama studies.

But then you get those students who are so obsessed with grades. There’s a difference between getting 13/15 on a written task and querying afterwards ”where can I improve?” and stressing about what those 2 little marks are going to do to your end of year study score and overall Year 12 score. Students need to hear wisdom from their teachers that even if they don’t get accepted into their university course of choice, they will fall on their feet eventually … and most importantly … be happy in life.

As Drama/Theatre teachers, we know the most rewarding things our students receive from studying our courses are very rarely the grades, but rather the:

  • self-confidence in everyday situations
  • socialisation skills
  • problem-solving and negotiation skills
  • increased self-esteem and personal development
  • ability to articulate to others with confidence

And then there’s memories many students cherish for years:

  • their first public performance
  • the high school musicals or plays
  • the musical cast parties!
  • the sense of achievement after a successful show

As I reflect on some of the words in ‘thank you’ cards I have received recently, it is not the grades that our students and their parents remember from Drama at school … it is the life skills Drama gave our students in and outside the classroom that helped them through high school and prepared them better for the outside world.

This serves as a reminder to us about the power of Drama and Theatre in education and the profound impact it can truly have on the lives of young teenagers. With this comes our responsibility as Drama teachers.

Drama …. is there another subject at school that gives students so many skills? I doubt it.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries