Expert: Kenneth D. Plonkey - 4/12/2008

Question
QUESTION: I'm from the yahoo answers thing.I read what you typed and I appreciate it-but as I said , these kids are 4 and over and they're not very good . This is my first play and I love drama but I'm still learning how to teach and they are still learning how to be in a play

ANSWER: Hi Madeline, However did you find me here as well?  I appreciate your  situation, and that even makes it more important that you are an authority figure and not a pal. It is important if you are going to be a teacher that you are a teacher, not a peer of the students. It is similarly important that a director of a play is the same.  If you love drama, don't do anything to disrespect it. Demand respect for the art.  And from all ages.  It is remarkable  how much fun it can be to work with discipline, and it is remarkable how good they will all become if they work with discipline.  I recently saw a question on Yahoo Answers from a young man who was playing the lead in a show that had young, undisciplined participants that were driving him mad because they where interfering with the orderly progress of rehearsals and making it difficult for him to do his role. I told him to ask the director to take care of the problem and if that did not happen to quit. I hope you have a great show, Doc


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I only have two months left and about 4 practices . I need some tips for how to teach them their lines without their parents going mad.Also these are my friends but most of them are younger than me.

Answer
I wrote a long answer to this earlier,but must not have sent it properly. How many rehearsals is that in the next 8 weeks?  To get them to learn their lines, insist they do so at the next rehearsal and start rehearsing without books and with a prompter. Make them repeat if they have to be prompted over and over and over again. If the parents are friends, put them to work. Some can run lines with off stage actors, some can keep order backstage. Use all of your resources. Your rehearsal period is much too long.  Neve should it be more thatn 8 weeks, and 32 two hour rehearsals should be enough for any show. Continue our discussion by writing me at kencosp@aol.com, thanks, Doc