TETA K-12 Committee
Middle School Interest Chair
When many teachers were still enjoying their summer, I was already deep into a new theatre adventure – our district wide middle school musical as a summer camp. In early August, 50 students came to my campus daily to rehearse Willy Wonka Jr. What transpired both inspired me and caused me to stress out slightly?
You may wonder why we decided to start rehearsing so early. Usually, each and every summer moment is precious. However, this was the only solution we could find that would not overlap with football, volleyball, choir concerts, band concerts, orchestra concerts, and whatever other middle school engagement was on the calendar. With 5 middle schools, we wanted as many kids to participate if they wanted to be a part of the musical. Let the planning begin!
Our auditions were held in May. We sent out a video explaining what the audition process would be. With incoming sixth graders still in elementary, we wanted to break it down and make them feel like it was a doable process. We taught a song, a dance, and had sides. Your basic introductory audition set up. Our callbacks were the following week and we posted before school released.
I started calling parents a month and a half later to remind them we were starting rehearsals. I have to say with no daily contact or normal communication routine, I was a little freaked out that the first day would come and no students would appear.
August rolled around and bam – students appeared at my stage door like magic. We did lose a few due to moving or transportation to rehearsal but overall we maintained our nice large cast. The hours were from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. I had scheduled lunch at 12 for thirty minutes and offered 2 breaks in the day. The kids did really well. I was working with my choir director, so I had back up. I will say not having a break from the kids is a bit exhausting. However, the work ethic and enthusiasm of the students was amazing!
By the second week, the students were off book on both scenes and songs. Harmonies were coming together. By the end of the second week, most of our dance numbers were looking really sharp. Having the full day rehearsals was awesome. I marveled at the company they had created. It didn’t matter what school they came from or where they were going this fall. Sixth, seventh, or eighth grader students were all getting along and working together. It was a joy to create with them. In fact, we had sessions where they helped create the blocking or choreography.
Now, the first week of school took us a down a peg. All our energy was now split. Kids were sick or had practice of some sort. I have to be honest and admit we lost some ground. However, by week’s end they were back in top shape. I attribute that to the strong bond they had built during the summer.
The other large factor in our success lay in the fact I was able to have four stage managers helping from day one. The students jumped in and loved learning all the technical aspects. They also helped run other rehearsals throughout the day. I might work one scene, while my choir director runs a song, and the 4 SMs would divide up the rest and run songs, dances, or lines. It allowed everyone to remain engaged and working with a single purpose. As a teacher, you understand the importance of keeping everyone on task. This could have been chaos; instead we all had a purpose. With all the kids feeling important and needed, morale remained high and they were all productive!
I truly hope we can continue this practice. Having a summer camp atmosphere is such an engaging platform to build relationships and teach the joy of theatre. I have students who are now returning for their third year with our middle school musical and they have all praised the format. They said they didn’t feel as stressed or tired. They also said they felt closer to the other members in the cast and crew. As an educator, I have had far more teachable moments to my cast and crew. I may have lost some precious summer time, but what I gained was far bigger. I now have a cast ready ahead of schedule, parents that are happy, and a program that is growing.