For our final blog, I would like for you to comment on what you think you'll take away from theater class. We've been on quite a journey this semester; you've started with a crazy class, and now you've been through a study of all the areas of theater as well as how theater has fit into history. With all of that, what skills or or ideas do you think will help you the most in your life?

I hope you know how much I have enjoyed our time together. Be sure to stop by and say hello from time to time!

-Ms. C

For our blog this time, I want you to comment on the fall play, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. A lot of you have expressed surprise that it takes as much work as it does to create a play. For me, the thinking and the creativity behind a piece like the fall play is what makes theater so interesting. I want to be able to think deeply and carefully about a piece so that the audience understands the message I'm trying to communicate.

I'm always impressed with your good thinking on these issues. Tell me...what surprised you the most about the fall play and our discussions about it? Additionally, I want you to think deeply about what you want to say in a play. If you had one message that you could get across in a play, what would it be? What do you think the world needs to hear?

I can't wait to read what you're thinking.

Most people who attend a play have little idea about what it takes to put a show on the stage. They sit down, read through the program, and then enjoy the story that unfolds before them. You are in the unique position of being able to understand how much effort it takes to produce even the simplest of plays.

It was such a surprise to me to get involved in the backstage part of theater productions. In high school, I was the star; I wouldn't have been caught dead on a crew. Who wanted to sit in the shadows while someone else got the glory? When I got to college, however, that opinion changed quickly and radically. I suddenly became the costume shop coordinator at Wheaton College, and while I learned the job as I went, creating a glorious costume from only an idea was just as pleasurable as standing on the stage and delivering a monologue. Even today, I get just as jazzed about the design discussions for a show as I do with the direction and the performance.

With all of our work in class, what area of theater are you most attracted to? Do you see the triangles and levels of directing clearly? Do ideas about design concepts pop out at you when you read a play? Is the performance aspect your true joy?

It's been a great opening to the year. I've been impressed with the way you're willing to try new and different things. We'll continue to work on building your right-brain, creative muscles throughout the year.

I've asked you to be thinking about the idea of taking risks. I remember pretty clearly the first time that I took a risk in theater. I was in 9th grade, and I was standing outside the choir room door wondering if I should go into the auditions for a traveling one-act show. I had only moved to Minnesota a few months before, and I still didn't feel like I was fitting in.

As I stood there thinking, a group of the popular girls walked by. They looked at me, giggled, and one of them said, "Is she going to try out for the play?"

At that moment, I thought, you know what...I don't care what they think...why should I? I marched into my first high school auditions, not caring about whether or not I was cast. I just knew that I had to follow my heart, not what others said.

And here I am...

What are the risks you're taking in theater class this year? I want you to find one way that you're being more daring (in a good, positive way). For example, you may talk about learning to not be afraid onstage. Be specific about some of the exercises and activities that have helped you get there. If you are comfortable onstage, how have you found yourself challenged in other ways? Maybe the story of Genesius and his choice to choose Christ over the theater made you think about what you would die for. Maybe you're simply learning more about yourself has been challenging. Give us a hint about what's been shifting for you.

There is nothing in the world that I love more than an empty theater. It's full of possibilities. It's a blank page, a canvas. On that stage, I can be anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Where else can creativity live so fully?

This online blog is a way for us to extend our conversations that we start in class. It's where I'll think "out loud" about the things that are happening in class and invite you to respond. This is really our place to contemplate what theater means in our world and in our lives.

Let's start off with our first question. We're looking at the ancient art of storytelling in class and how we can learn the skills of a master storyteller. Is storytelling still relevant and important in today's information-driven, blog-filled world? Or will it fall by the wayside with Model T cars and the steam engine?