School Posting

This blogging comes live while the anime club plays Yu-Gi-Oh and "Gundam Wing" plays on the TV ... The second 6 weeks ends on Friday, and it seems that I'm still telling certain classes that they need to do some basic things if they don't want to have a negative ending at least once a week ... Some folks find silence a challenge, and sitting at their table still worse. Sometimes the juniors are worse than the sophomores! [Yes, I read the composition about how Mom abandoned the family; yes, I understand why you crave attention, especially from a female figure; still -- grow up!! ] [Yes, I know the class studies the same stuff you studied 2 years ago; you should've done the work -- or gone to summer school -- the first time!]

The manga library moves fairly regularly, since I find books that the kids don't often see ... and I have about 5 more ready to bring -- we shall see how they react to my eclectic mix.

My throat feels scratchy; I only hope I didn't catch something from the nasty slime that came off the bannister onto my hand yesterday. So many germs, so few innoculations that work.

Ah, time to bid the kids a fond sayonara!

A Stellar Saturday?

Must ... Grab ... It ...

... or there's no escape.

That's how I feel on this "Stellar Saturday" -- wrapped in vines and far from home. The intentions of a SS are good, but the execution is weak. Supposedly we're jointly planning for the upcoming 6 weeks. In reality, we're hearing the same old stuff that we heard in earlier staff development sessions. If I have to "unpack" another student expectation, I may scream -- and my team members' attitudes do not help. One follows the loudest voice, and the other doesn't worry about tomorrow until the crisis is upon us ... Neither has taught in a low-performing school in the inner city, so neither knows that torments that TEA can inflict upon a faculty of a UA school. Been there, done that -- and got the school off the list, but it took everyone doing his or her part, in all departments. Oh, well, my asst. principal (and evaluator) asked me to go since she can't (and the guys didn't volunteer). Once more into the breach, dear friends!

Speaking of Shakespeare. the second performance of Midsummer Night's Dream was more trick than treat. The cast blew lines and entrances while Doc H and Mrs. B watched from the front row. He commented that he couldn't understand what they were saying and, worse, they sounded like a bunch of Mexicans ... Also, Ms. W had prejudiced them against the play; she implied that the blocking was inappropriate and that parents had objected ... Really? I do sympathize with the theatre director -- At FDR I heard the same complaints year after year, except that the kids were using ebonics. Truly, theatre is the red-headed stepchild of the fine arts in high school.

Still, alas, the performance did NOT go well. The crew didn't set all the set pieces -- I spotted that and told someone to put the stool off-stage. (He didn't.) The energy was off -- the audience just sat there -- and too many people shifted this way & that, distracting people trying to watch the play. Worse, someone got into the dressing room & stole money -- THAT destroyed everyone's concentration ... It seems that someone (custodian, construction worker, teacher, student) left the side door open, so anyone could come down the corridor, get into the room, and leave without being seen from my post stage right. Then the clowns blew their scene, which could've saved the show -- and one clown was clowning onstage when he wasn't supposed to!

Again, that's the problem when you have teen actors on stage -- will they remember to do what they're supposed to do? Will the crew remember? We got disqualified last year for running over time -- all because the tech guy wasn't paying attention. He's gotten worse, not better, as the year's progressed -- only into his rap music on his i-pod. I don't know whether he'll find teachers to intercede and keep him at SHS for his senior year ... which might not matter since I think seniors can choose which school they want to attend.

Nest week, the second 6 weeks will be history ... then only 1 week until we're off for Turkey Day! We will survive!

October Night's Dream

I Have a Song to Sing, O!

Magic happened last night at Sunset HS. Maybe Oberon & Titania decided to take pity on the theatre department as it struggled against weather and construction to put on "Midsummer Night's Dream." The tech rehearsal sucked big time, and they hadn't run the entire show as a continuous production; when we began, we had no idea how long it would run! Worse, we had no idea if we'd have an audience: SHS Bison had a football game, and the Rangers played Game 7 in the World Series.

The weather felt chilly on bare legs & arms, so we moved the stage into the back atrium. Then, we blew the circuit in the back wall -- and the portable light board (an ancient device). We grabbed extension cords and started stringing them to every available outlet ... The director said not to worry, but our "Thisbe" (in his tiny tunic) persevered. We got work lights on the stage. The sound system worked ... and people started to arrive. All told, I think about 40-50 people came to the play. One teacher sourly commented that they came to see their kids ... well, duh. However, I'd done plays at Sunset before, and we didn't have that many people.

Once started, the actors hit their stride, although they never quite mastered Shakespeare's poetry. In other words, they forgot lines ... One flat almost fell on Demetrius when he lay down. As the audience gasped, he caught it, and Oberon pushed it back into place -- and theatrically shushed the audience so the play could continue. (Well played, King!) Lines echoed, and it was hard to hear at times. (No mikes -- the space had too much reverb.) Still, the audience laughed at the right places -- and was quiet. Of course, the clown scene stole the show, thus proving that in low comedy there is no such thing as going "over the top."

After the show, cast and crew -- and parents! -- helped strike the set, roll up cords, and get almost everything into place. Monday morning, they'll have to finish moving tables & Bo Bison into their usual places.

Then we get to do it all over again Monday night ... and, hopefully, the fairies will persuade Mother Nature to grant us clement weather, so "Shakespeare in the Parking Lot" can appear in its natural environ -- before a stone wall with a grassy knoll covered with trees.

Falling into October

Savoyards, Unite!

When I studied at the Dallas Theatre Center, I encountered the marvelous operas of Gilbert & Sullivan. True, they gently satirize British attitudes as the Victorian age grew into the Edwardian years and approached the new century ... The songs still show both men's talents -- and I wish a G&S Society existed here in the DFW area; I enjoyed playing stage manager for the summer productions. The singers might be amateurs (Perhaps they were nonpaid professionals -- I know that some principals wanted to use the experience to move into the opera world.) Last year, a lyric opera company performed The Mikado. At the moment, Dallas Opera will perform Die Zauberflote by Mozart. (Another composer whom I encountered whilst studying at DTC -- my friend Cheryl Duval dedicated 1/2 of a zine to Wolfie -- the other universes were BatB and Phantom of the Opera (the musical not the Lon Chaney original).

At the moment, things aren't quite as joyful as the music might imply. A dear friend from my DTC graduate days is recuperating from chemotherapy, and I just got news that another friend injured herself in a car accident. Both performers, they won't be on the boards as performers for quite some time ... and we have a Christmas performance in early December! As stage manager, I get to schedule our "dance moms" to utilize their talents without crowding the backstage areas. For this I went to grad school? Well, yes -- DTC utilized our abilities backstage and onstage and front of stage. In those pre-Equity days, everyone pitched in to put on the show ... I'm not sure where the stage crews and front of house people come from. (I did see some Junior League ladies working as ushers at "Christmas Carol." However, I don't see their husbands shoving around the set pieces ...) A third friend, hopefully, is doing well after major back surgery last week -- yet another prepares cast & crew for our production of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot -- Midsummer Night's Dream. (I get to do makeup and managing for that one, too.)

A wandering minstrel I,

A thing of shreds & patches ...

I'll close for now. Marc Decascos may appear on tonight's show ... We shall see.

Solemn Thoughts & Silly Season

This says it all --

The debate continues -- have we passed into "little old lady land" or not? I confess that, yes, I'm solidly in the middle ages; however, Joy & Karen insist that they are LOLs ... though most of the time we can't take advantage of senior discounts. Ah, well, I guess I have a day pass (or perhaps it's a night pass) since my students DO believe I'm younger than the age courtesy of my birth certificate. I just don't let them know how long I've been teaching; they can do the math after I tell them how many years I've taught in DISD.

Unfortunately, being a LOL isn't all it's cut out to be. My mom has all sorts of health issues as she grows older -- and, if memory serves me correctly, the issues won't go away -- and her parents lived well into their 90s. A friend at school nearly ruined her health taking care of her elderly mother ... and the list goes on. The "golden years" turn out to be plated, not 14K solid gold.

On an even more serious note, one of my oldest friends is being treated for Stage 4 lymphomic cancer ... After Karyl moved back to Alabama, we became long distance e-mail and letter friends; this summer, she dropped out of sight after she and her mom moved out of the family house in Birmingham. Thanks to e-mail, her sister could update us -- and her last message was to my Gmail account in September. I missed it then ... and Joy got the update before I did since I seldom check my Gmail. Many prayers will wing their way to St. Peregrin & St. Luke for strength (for her recovery) and inspiration (for her physicians) as she battles for her life.

But on the flip-side, it was Rally Day at St. Lawrence's Church today. Has a NASCAR flavor, doesn't it? Let me tell you, these people know how to have fun ... oh, yes, we had coffee and cookies at some of the booths that were out to recruit new blood into the various organizations. I now belong to two: the St. Lawrence Chorale [choir] and the Ladies of Mary of Walsingham [very Olde Schoole -- founded in 1061 in Norfolk, England! The choir offered sushi (at 10 AM!) and mimosas (yes, I imbibed). Another group had chocolate martinis (yum! they had me at chocolate), the ubiquitous Swedish meatballs (Bab 5 creator J. Michael Strazinski implied that all cultures in the galaxies had a similar dish.), and much more. I mixed and mingled -- as per orders of our choir master -- and met a few more people. With 241 families, I now have a few strands into this larger church. THEY say they're small; but my old parish had less than 1/10 as many people. It may be small compared with the mega-church down the road (also seen from Cherry Court), but it's mighty ... As I recall, I'm going to persuade the girls to do something for the GRACE outreach center. A little charity is good for the soul.

Randomizer Thoughts

The Best Doctor Ever?

For the 21st century, a definite yes~ though you're always remember your first with fond memories. Tom Baker, Doctor 4, brought me into the Doctor Who universe -- and I bet he made fans out of many of the people who now produce (and act) in the show. Still, after Eccleston brought the show back from its long dormancy, Tennant was simply brilliant (to use his own catch phrase). Russell T. Davies resurrected some of the best of the old monsters, a tradition that Steven Moffatt has continued ... though he's added his own twists to the DW mythos that some older fans take umbrage to. (Don't get Joy started on the River Song storyline ... I liked it, but she did not. Spoilers!)

So far, after 8 weeks of school, classes have settled into a routine (more or less). Although we teach more classes, most classes are smaller than last year ... unless you teach English III or IV, where the classes hit 30+. The 10th grade team offered to take up the slack -- even if it's only in one class -- but the powers-that-be declined to consider our offer. Ah, well, we tried. Speaking of which, I must remember to write out the lesson plan & copy it -- It's not a complicated plan (except for the cursed TEKS numbers), but it must be done ... People are counting coup this year; we suspect that the interim administrators need to justify their jobs.

However, I neglected to comment about our last 2 weekends at Four Winds Faire. If Joy took pix, I'll post them ... The Celtic Music Festival, alas, was sparsely attended -- and I suspect did not earn the performers' fees. Last year, we had less than 20 folks come; luckily, one was my friend Marcia who drove in from Flint. Where's Flint? You're asking little old me from DFW? All I can say is that it's a small town in East Texas off Highway 110. Tyler is the largest town near it ... Marcia came to visit both weekends; we talked dolls and enjoyed good music -- although I hadn't quite expected a South rock jam session at the end of CMF. That's all right -- it just shows the connection from Celtic music to folk to "Southern rock" to current country. Besides, all of us rocked right along with the performers.

The following weekend brought the first Wild West Steampunk Exhibition at Four Winds. The belly dancers became "Desi D. Mona and her slightly soiled doves;" the cavaliers became gunfighters and the sheriffs. (Yes, we had shootouts at the tavern -- I mean, the saloon. (Ye Olde Tavern has gotten a massive facelift, with a complete sound stage, raised performance area, and an upstairs. Right now it plays the role of a haunted house.) We had more people this weekend, including part of the Court (dressed as Edwardian ladies & gentlemen), although still more were needed. For Owl Moon Studios, they were rather successful weekends; we made some new contacts and some cash. Dustin says the WWSE will continue in 2012. Yeehaw!!

Beauty & the Beast -- BJD style

Colette & Jurgis

Joy-Joy and I have dolls playing the roles of Beauty & the Beast ... more to follow.