Friday, March 26, 2010

Alice in Wonderland


Alice in Wonderland opened tonight. Yesterday they performed for 500 elementary and middle school students for their final dress rehearsal. Our district was also in the process of selecting a new superintendent so they were also touring the school while this was going on. Everything has gone very smoothly for yesterday and tonight's shows. I'm really proud of the kids!

There are still two shows Saturday March 27th at 2 pm and 7 pm. Tickets are $5.

Today the kids from dance and drama participated in the Central Arizona College Academic Symposium. We were the only group from Vista Grande to participate and the only group that brought dance and drama performances. The dances were the two best from Community Choreographer's Showcase and we brought the tea party scene from Alice in Wonderland. They represented the school very well!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Giving New Meaning to the Phrase "Break a Leg!"

My job as the theater teacher requires me to produce shows. The current show is "Alice in Wonderland" We had a fabulous review in today's paper (Wed. March 24) at www.trivalleycentral.com.

What you don't see are the stories about what goes on behind the scenes in the production. Every production has its stories, but this one is a doozey!

The show opens this Friday at Vista Grande High School. We've been in dress rehearsal all week. One of my student's who is the "knave" in the play,( I totally type cast this role!) decided to jump down the two story flight of stairs from the control booth to the auditorium. He did it three times successfully and the fourth, well wasn't so successful. One of my technicians came runing to find me backstage as I was helping with costumes and answering questions. Apparently, the kid couldn't move. I went to assess the situation and sent the tech to find the athletic trainer. When the trainer arrived he brought crutches, just in case. Both the kid's ankles were already very swollen, and we couldn't get him up. We called the paramedics and got a hold of his family. The paramedics arrived just as the local newspaper did to cover the play. That couldn't have looked good!

The paramedics wanted to splint both legs but needed to get his costume off. They asked me if they could cut it off him and said that I "could replace it, right?" At this point I'm absolutely mad that this kid was such an idiot four days before opening night and now they want to cut the costume that is two days old and I have no chance of replacing in such a short time. My answer was "Oh HECK NO! Haven't you guys been watching the news about budget cuts to education, there is no way I can replace it! Especially not four days before a show!" The paramedics sheepishly said "okay" and then very gingerly took the costume off the kid and handed it to me. I would have been okay if they had hurt him more because he brought it on himself.

So the report was after they got out of the hospital, two severely sprained ankles, one heel was completely shattered and the other mildly fractured. Broken is broken if you ask me, mild or not! Its considered bad luck to say "good luck" but we can't say break a leg anymore either, because one of the cast already has.

As for the cast member...well, you might want to come see for yourself! Show times are Friday March 26th at 7pm and Saturday March 27th at 2pm and 7pm at Vista Grande High School, 1556 N. Arizola Rd, Casa Grande AZ, 85222. Tickets are $5. Its very family friendly!