[SML] College to High School

Sat Apr 16 10:17:31 UTC 2016

Yep, "it depends" is the correct answer.  I have gone through feast and
famine in my district.  Every school district is different.  Some have
great stability and others, like mine seem to be in a constant state of
change.  This is my 12th year as a HS TD.  Next year I will be answering to
my 6th direct supervisor and we will be on our 5th superintendent.
Inconsistency sucks but not as much as poor management without change.  You
can certainly find that issue in college and the professional world as
well.  Budgets will vary greatly from district to district but a district
that can afford a TD typically at least has a need and some means help
produce shows.  I have to wear every hat around here except for costumes.
It does keep me jumping.  Make sure you know what you are getting yourself
into and whether or not the TD job is a TD+Auditorium manager or a
TD+Auditorium manager+LD+Sets and Sound.  Does the facility allow over-hire
for complex shows? Do they have an active student crew? Is there a parent
support group?  What type of space does the school have? Is it safe for
you? Is it safe for students?  Is it a lawsuit waiting to happen? What type
of tools and shop space are available?  What is your shop budget for tools
and expendables vs. any show budget?

Programming at the HS level is cyclical.  My crew and I produce 25-30
productions of various sizes each school year.  That includes: plays.
musicals, Band and Symphony Concerts, A synchronized swimming show,
Spelling Bees and a whole bunch more.  With the exception of the plays and
musicals, things can get stale. You either need to spice things up every so
often or take outside work.  I used to do a lot more of the prior but I am
being held to a 40 hour work week (yes, even during tech). The only way I
can do it is by training students as quickly as possible and getting them
up to speed with basic design and operation as fast as I can.  Finding time
to really make things as special as I used to be able to doesn't happen so
I end up taking a lot of over-hire calls after my day job.  Working outside
with adults is a welcome change and definitely helps me grow
professionally.

Dealing with students can be both fun and annoying.  I find that the
enthusiasm level is pretty high and the students definitely want to be
active.  The clock is always ticking and the bell will ring and they will
go to their next class, club, sport, to finish homework or wherever. Also
keep in mind that you are dealing with minors that are caught between
adolescence and adulthood.  I have spent more time than I ever thought I
would helping students get through life problems that have nothing
whatsoever to do with theater.  It is actually one of the more rewarding
things I get to do that is not in my job description.

While we are on the subject of students, the question of just how much they
are allowed to do is a serious question.  Is the district OK with them
using tools? How loose are the rules on supervision? Can you send a student
to grab something for your shop if you are on the stage? If the shop is not
adjacent to the stage, does it need to be locked down with zero student
access? These are all questions I have run into.

The HS gig definitely gets in the way of doing a full season of Summer
Stock.  Getting out in early June is 2-3 weeks late for reporting to a
Summer Stock gig.

Even with all of the BS and tightrope walking I have to do, I find that the
relationship I have with my students and the path that production work can
provide them is quite rewarding. I can also say that I don't have a single
student in my program that does not want to be there. That is huge as far
as morale goes for both myself and the students.

Keith Newman
Cleveland Heights High School

On Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 8:00 PM, nathan best via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> Thanks for the heads up.
> On Apr 12, 2016 6:50 PM, "Erin Joy Swank via Stagecraft" <
> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>
>> I just looked up the book. Looks like a new edition is being published a
>> week from today, FYI, with updates (first edition was 2003).
>>
>> There’s a book called “The Perfect Stage Crew,” by John Kaluta and if you
>>> flip through that, I think it gives a pretty good idea of what an average
>>> set of expectations are for a high school TD in terms of student knowledge,
>>> participation, etc.
>>
>>
>> Erin
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 11:28 AM, John McAfee via Stagecraft <
>> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>>
>>> I second the frustrating “it depends” answer.  I spent 4 years as a high
>>> school TD and am in my 5th year as a college TD and I’m looking to go back
>>> to high school.  At the college level, I get a lot of non-majors who have
>>> jobs and kids and "real life” so the time and focus needed to learn how to
>>> build a platform with care is not there.  With high schoolers, yes,they
>>> were more immature, but when they were working with me, I found I had more
>>> of their attention.
>>>
>>> There’s also the question of administrative support and budget and
>>> private vs. public (both college and high school).  Since high school is a
>>> smaller ecosystem, I think that there can be more administrative support
>>> and it is easier to explain how your job is not the traditional job.
>>> That’s harder to do at the college level, I’ve found.  The support in high
>>> school will probably not translate into a larger budget, but you might have
>>> parental support (theatre boosters) that can help raise money and maybe
>>> some parents who can act as ATD if they are interested.
>>>
>>> My experiences are also a little more apples to oranges because I was at
>>> a private boarding school for the high school and am at a state university
>>> (and not a flagship) now.
>>>
>>> There’s a book called “The Perfect Stage Crew,” by John Kaluta and if
>>> you flip through that, I think it gives a pretty good idea of what an
>>> average set of expectations are for a high school TD in terms of student
>>> knowledge, participation, etc.
>>>
>>> On Apr 12, 2016, at 12:47 PM, gbierly via Stagecraft <
>>> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> It is really going to depend on your schools, both the college and HS
>>> and their programs.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ____________________________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Erin Joy Swank
>> 937-308-0366 cell
>> Stage Manager
>>
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
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>>
>
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