High school theater isn’t all standing ovations and standing sets—it’s a chaotic mix of hilarious rehearsals, last-minute crises, and a lot of Diet Coke. From Shakespearean hijinks to staging The Laramie Project, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at my life as a Drama Momma.

October 24, 2012Just a reminder: my busload of slobbering delinquents will be performing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged on Friday at 7 PM and Saturday at 2 PM at my high school. Admission is $3. (The show and experience are worth at least half that.)

Please come and support the arts in public education. Or, if that’s not incentive enough, come watch me completely melt down from stress and exhaustion. Either way, it’ll be a wild and crazy time.

October 25, 2012

I’m heartened by the old adage “the worse the dress rehearsal, the better the show.”

At this rate, we’ll win a fucking Tony.

October 27, 2012

I managed not to kill any of the Drama Babies or Tech Bunnies last night, which means you still have one more chance to see the final show: Today at 2 PM! Tickets are only $3, and trust me, it’s worth every penny. They pulled it together, and it was a riot.

Traditionally, flowers are given to directors, actors, and sponsors after a high school production. My kids? They gave me flowers, a card, and—because they know me so well—a bag of Doritos and a case and a half of Diet Coke. BAWAHAHAHA!

November 9, 2012

The kids want to do Peter Pan for the spring play…

Cthulhu help me.

November 9, 2012

Crisis averted.

 I think I’ve talked them off the Peter Pan ledge.

Their next suggestion, though? I LOVE it. I want them to do it so badly I ache. And then, of course, the rational, job-loving, politics-avoiding side of me starts screaming, “ARE YOU NUTS?!?!”

So… who’s going to hire me after I’m fired for letting them do The Laramie Project?

March 8, 2013
First script read-through yesterday. The Laramie Project has a lot of adult situations and salty language. Multiple uses of the f-bomb and the F epithet. I was genuinely proud that they made it through without giggling like middle schoolers.

However (and there’s always a “however comma” with Drama Babies), they lost it when they reached the part of the script mentioning the hospital in Poudre Valley, CO. It’s pronounced “Pooder.” Yeah… that was the end of their composure.

sigh

May 11, 2013
The kids ROCKED IT. Audience members even cried and not in pain!!! The kids were that GOOD and it was that moving! Wish you had come out to see it? Don’t worry—there’s one more chance!

Bayside High School Auditorium, 2 PM TODAY. Just $5 for a theater experience you won’t forget!

Final Thoughts:

Directing high school theater is like cooking a chaotic, multi-course meal for a room full of critics. You start with raw ingredients (students who might not know a monologue from a montage) and slowly whip them into something resembling a cohesive production. There’s plenty of trial and error—burnt edges, missing spices, and the occasional culinary disaster—but then comes the magic: the curtain rises, the audience laughs or cries in all the right places, and you realize all the sweat and stress were worth it. Every frantic rehearsal, every bag of Doritos, and every moment of madness comes together to create something unforgettable.

1. Teachers: What’s the most memorable production you’ve ever been part of, either as a director or a sponsor?
2. Parents: What’s the best (or worst) high school play you’ve ever seen?
3. Theater fans: If you could stage any play in a high school, which one would you choose and why?