Rehearsal

Rehearsal for the school play is three times a week after school. It's just me and about 30 students working as hard as we can to put on the cutest show ever. My goal is that all the students have a good time and try their best. This past week we finished blocking all of Act One (it's a two act show)! It's interesting to me that middle schoolers are old enough to be creative and have so many awesome ideas, yet they need me to tell them every move to make on stage. They'll even ask the most basic questions about their character and I can see the frustration on their faces when I tell them, "It's your character! These are decisions you get to make while developing who your character is."
My first year, I didn't know that I would need to tell them every cross to make. I thought they would feel when to move. They would sense that in life they would walk away at that point, or that they'd been in one place too long. I thought I could say "Your group of 6 needs to clump downstage left." They don't know how to clump or make stage pictures! Now, I work on stage pictures in class with this activity I got from a great book by James Thomas Bailey.  Even still, many students in the school play do not take drama as an elective during the day, so they don't know about stage picture.
This year, I am writing every single move they make in my script before rehearsal. Then I tell them to do what their gut says. If their gut says nothing, then we go with my notes. If their gut says something, but it doesn't work, we go with my notes. It's a much better system and I think the kids feel much more comfortable working this way.
Next week we start Act Two which means this weekend there will be a lot of prepping for rehearsal. I also need to begin choreography. My goal is get two songs completed this week - two of the big group numbers - the opening and the finale. Let's hope it all goes well.
Directing is fascinating. I used to think I hated it, but really, I didn't know what I was doing. Now that I'm getting the hang of it, it's not so bad after all!