11 Years

So the class of 2011 graduates this upcoming Wednesday- and that day also officially brings to a close my 11th year of teaching theatre, film, and stage crew at Riverton High School.

In 11 years of teaching I've:

• Seen 2 of my former students become high school theatre teachers themselves (1 starting at my former high school West Jordan High this upcoming school year)



• Been to the High School Shakespeare Competition 12 years in a row (the first I directed All's Well That Ends Well when I was student teaching at Riverton).



• Been a colleague with some of my former teachers (Dave Stoddard- who hired me as the principal at Riverton was my middle school biology teacher, Steve Bickmore- my high school AP English teacher, Ed Willis- my high school biology teacher and Georgia Fairbanks- my high school choir teacher (now a counselor at Riverton).



• Been walked in on using the bathroom in the boys dressing room 1 time (I still apologize to the minister of the Draper Community Church in Christ- but it was the vice principal that let you into the boys dressing room while I was using it...)



• Vomited 1 time in the boys dressing room (during rehearsals for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)



• Had the projector in Film Studies explode 1 time (but it was horrifying and thankfully the black smoke that poured out of it didn't set off the fire alarm).



• Set off the fire alarm once (from the fog machine in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers)



• Lost control at a production of Little Shop of Horrors at Dixie State in 2000 (but I partially blame Bradley Moss for that)



• Have directed the following Shakesepare pieces: All Well, Titus Andronicus, 12th Night, Taming of the Shrew, and King Lear (twice- the dividing of the kingdom and the blinding of Glouchester)



• Have directed the following musicals: Once Upon a Mattress, Working, Quilters, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Anything Goes, Les Miserables, Smile, Back to the 80's, Lucky Stiff, Secret Garden, Once on this Island, and Secrets Every Smart Traveller Should Know.



• Have done 7 Musical revues- all with Kori Wakamatsu and Kelly DeHaan (for the MDT class).



• Have directed the following plays: The Diviners, The Curious Savage, Lend Me A Tenor, 10 Little Indians, Cash on Delivery, Rumors, The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza, Arabian Nights, Soap Opera, and The Miracle Worker.



• Have seen over 100 shows at Pioneer Theatre Company.



• Have seen over 100 shows on Broadway.



• Have taken students to see the Broadway Touring Shows in Salt Lake City for Wicked, Urinetown, Les Miserables, Cats, The Color Purple, Mary Poppins, Young Frankenstein, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Hairspray, and Spamalot (with Leanna Willmore!)



• Worked with 1000's of students who are majoring in acting, musical theatre, music dance theatre, technical theatre, stage management all over the state of Utah. I've also worked with students that are now performing at Tuachan, BYU Young Ambassadors, Hale Orem, Hale WVC, Pioneer Theatre Company, The Grand and all over the USA.
  

Here's to many more years of RHS Theatre!

NPR

So if you're interested in listening to a song from the new Book of Mormon musical, you can listen to the entire soundtrack on NPR (it's the only place you can listen right now). Try to listen to the first song (Hello)- nothing offensive there- and not have it stuck in your head the rest of the day. If I was in the mission field, I would be singing this on my bike. And the socially awkward missionary 1/2 way through? You all know they're out there...