Firestone Theatre has a significant online presence. There are three online sites intended for consumption by the general public. You should check them out.
The first and perhaps most important is our newly designed official website. This site can be found at http://www.firestonetheatre.com/ and is intended to be a portal for all things related to theatre education at Firestone High School. There are pages on this site dedicated to our production season and our Thespian Troupe, as well as others. One page is designed specifically for prospective students. The download and link page contains links to many theatre-related sites as well as downloads students might need for class, productions, and Thespian activities.
If you are reading this, you are already aware of the second and possibly third online presence: our blog and our Facebook fan page.
This blog, called THE STAGE WE'RE GOING THROUGH, is a place for us to discuss our activities at greater length and frequency than we can through other outlets. We expect the blog mostly to be read by members of the community interested in learning more about the theatre education available at Firestone High School. We will of course post information about our many productions but also updates from our Thespian activities and extensions of classroom learning. Most blog posts will be written by me but I am hopeful that a few will be written by students who are involved in the activity being discussed. If you scroll down far enough, you will encounter a few posts by students in years past. I hope to get a few students to write a post or two as we continue our work on HENRY V, DEAR GABBY, and SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK -- all of which are currently in rehearsal. This blog is posted automatically as a note on the Firestone Theatre Facebook page.
The Facebook page can be found by searching for Firestone Theatre in the Facebook search engine. This popular page is for patrons and members of the community who want to be kept up-to-date on Firestone Theatre production activities. This page includes information on all of our public performances in addition to our other activities such as the season subscription campaign and the annual spaghetti dinner. Production photos as well as shots from rehearsal and set construction are sometimes posted there. Status updates help to keep fans aware of the day-to-day activities of Firestone Theatre and the Thespian troupe. This blog is automatically posted as a note on the Firestone Theatre Facebook page.
If you are a fan of Firestone Theatre, I invite you to visit these online sites regularly.
maz
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The StARS come out at night . . . and other times, as well.
A group of theatre students will gather today to start making plans for the 2010 NE Ohio Thespian Conference. This group will include a handful of Firestone Thespians in addition to students from other schools from around NE Ohio.
This group is called StARS, or Student Area Representatives. They help to plan the area conference that is to be held at Riverside High School in Painesville on Saturday, December 4, 2010. These students will establish the conference's theme and build activities around it. StARS make suggestions to the adult leadership and help to shape the conference in general.
There are no dues to join StARS. There is no initiation. There is no interview or other prerequisites.
All a student needs to become a StAR is the desire to participate in this fun and meaningful Thespian activity. I am gratified that some of our Firestone Thespian students are willing to participate and have taken the first steps toward serving as a leader in our area.
I understand that every StAR who attends each of the three meetings will be refunded their area conference registration. That's a nice perk for a student's time. Even without it, volunteering as a StAR is totally worth the effort.
maz
This group is called StARS, or Student Area Representatives. They help to plan the area conference that is to be held at Riverside High School in Painesville on Saturday, December 4, 2010. These students will establish the conference's theme and build activities around it. StARS make suggestions to the adult leadership and help to shape the conference in general.
There are no dues to join StARS. There is no initiation. There is no interview or other prerequisites.
All a student needs to become a StAR is the desire to participate in this fun and meaningful Thespian activity. I am gratified that some of our Firestone Thespian students are willing to participate and have taken the first steps toward serving as a leader in our area.
I understand that every StAR who attends each of the three meetings will be refunded their area conference registration. That's a nice perk for a student's time. Even without it, volunteering as a StAR is totally worth the effort.
maz
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Walking into the Woods
Earlier today I met briefly with the newly hired education director of the Cleveland Play House as well as several others to discuss an upcoming project.
Firestone Theatre has been invited by the Play House to participate in a newly funded program called Full Contact and I think it will be very exciting. This program is funded by the NEA and is intended to help make connections between the Playhouse and high schools in Northeast Ohio. The goal is to partner 4 schools with 4 separate theatre artists and to create an original piece of theatre based on another piece of art -- a painting, poem, sculpture, etc. The four newly created pieces will be presented at the Play House as a single performance on an as yet undetermined date.
Much more we do not yet know. I never have had a problem walking into the woods without a map and I think this has the potential to be an exciting project.
I basic schedule has been established for a residency in the fall. The rest of the details will be worked out in short order. I don't have a map and I don't know for sure where we are going . . . but I think it is going to be a great, eventful journey.
maz
Firestone Theatre has been invited by the Play House to participate in a newly funded program called Full Contact and I think it will be very exciting. This program is funded by the NEA and is intended to help make connections between the Playhouse and high schools in Northeast Ohio. The goal is to partner 4 schools with 4 separate theatre artists and to create an original piece of theatre based on another piece of art -- a painting, poem, sculpture, etc. The four newly created pieces will be presented at the Play House as a single performance on an as yet undetermined date.
Much more we do not yet know. I never have had a problem walking into the woods without a map and I think this has the potential to be an exciting project.
I basic schedule has been established for a residency in the fall. The rest of the details will be worked out in short order. I don't have a map and I don't know for sure where we are going . . . but I think it is going to be a great, eventful journey.
maz
Monday, October 11, 2010
Rebirth and Renewal
Rehearsals for DEAR GABBY: THE CONFESSIONS OF AN OVER-ACHIEVER began Friday.
This fantastic play by Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie is a moving and insightful rumination on growing up in a modern world. DEAR GABBY is not a typical "you don't understand me" teenaged play. It is a play that is about our universal experiences that touches our inner being in a sneaky and profound way. I have seen this play move both student and parent to tears.
Firestone Theatre loves this play so much that we have produced it almost every year in rep for ten years. Once we took it to the road performing in Dayton, Ohio, and in front of the playwrights (and others) for two special perfomances at the Santa Monica Playhouse in California. A common practice is for past participants to return and support the latest cast with their presence and remembrances. Last year's productions invited former company members to join the latest cast in a full company bow at the end of each performance. It was a great moment in the theatre as it provided an additional connection between students through their chosen art form.
This year's production of DEAR GABBY has been offered to Akron middle schools and high schools so that we can share its powerful message of acceptance to even more students. So far no schools have expressed the interest but it is early. Feel free to suggest it to middle and high schools who are interested in this sort of thing.
There will be a single public performance of this year's production of DEAR GABBY held on the stage of the Akron Civic Theatre. This performance is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 2, 2010.
This year's production of DEAR GABBY is directed by guest artist Elynmarie Kazle who was employed by the Santa Monica Playhouse at the time the play was originally developed and produced. Her understanding of the DEAR GABBY and the playwrights' intent is unparalelled. She brings so much more to the production than just simple direction. Her students are blessed by her passion for and insight into DEAR GABBY. We are blessed to have Elynmarie as a professional resource in our theatre family.
This year's cast features an outstanding group of students who are ready to go on a fantastic journey. Their first read-through is on Friday and I know they are eager to start down a road travelled by many before them. The cast includes seniors Caeli Droge and hayley Hineline; junior Marissa Wilson; sophomores Amelia Britton, Sierrah Jesiolowski, Aaron Eckhardt, DeAndre Haiston, Jada Langston, and Moe McHargh; and freshman Lani Skelley.
maz
This fantastic play by Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie is a moving and insightful rumination on growing up in a modern world. DEAR GABBY is not a typical "you don't understand me" teenaged play. It is a play that is about our universal experiences that touches our inner being in a sneaky and profound way. I have seen this play move both student and parent to tears.
Firestone Theatre loves this play so much that we have produced it almost every year in rep for ten years. Once we took it to the road performing in Dayton, Ohio, and in front of the playwrights (and others) for two special perfomances at the Santa Monica Playhouse in California. A common practice is for past participants to return and support the latest cast with their presence and remembrances. Last year's productions invited former company members to join the latest cast in a full company bow at the end of each performance. It was a great moment in the theatre as it provided an additional connection between students through their chosen art form.
This year's production of DEAR GABBY has been offered to Akron middle schools and high schools so that we can share its powerful message of acceptance to even more students. So far no schools have expressed the interest but it is early. Feel free to suggest it to middle and high schools who are interested in this sort of thing.
There will be a single public performance of this year's production of DEAR GABBY held on the stage of the Akron Civic Theatre. This performance is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 2, 2010.
This year's production of DEAR GABBY is directed by guest artist Elynmarie Kazle who was employed by the Santa Monica Playhouse at the time the play was originally developed and produced. Her understanding of the DEAR GABBY and the playwrights' intent is unparalelled. She brings so much more to the production than just simple direction. Her students are blessed by her passion for and insight into DEAR GABBY. We are blessed to have Elynmarie as a professional resource in our theatre family.
This year's cast features an outstanding group of students who are ready to go on a fantastic journey. Their first read-through is on Friday and I know they are eager to start down a road travelled by many before them. The cast includes seniors Caeli Droge and hayley Hineline; junior Marissa Wilson; sophomores Amelia Britton, Sierrah Jesiolowski, Aaron Eckhardt, DeAndre Haiston, Jada Langston, and Moe McHargh; and freshman Lani Skelley.
maz
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Take me to your Leader
I spent Saturday with six of our Thespians as they attended Troupe Development Day . . . which used to be called the Leadership Conference. I don't know anything about the name change but I do know the change the experience has brought about in the Firestone Thespians who attended.
The discussion was fast and furious in the car on the way home as the majority of our Thespian officers explored verbally their role in the remainder of this school year.
I have always thought that Thespians provided an unusual opportunity for student leadership. It is a student theatre group, guided by a student-written constitution but led by elected student officers and representatives. I create structure for the officers, remind them of appropriate by-laws, and provide the necessary adult supervision but the planning is up to them. But the officers lead the troupe.
Saturday's activities seem to have lit a fire in the Firestone students who attended. I am looking forward to where it leads.
Troupe Development Day is sponsored by the Ohio Educational Theatre Association. Their website can be found here.
maz
The discussion was fast and furious in the car on the way home as the majority of our Thespian officers explored verbally their role in the remainder of this school year.
I have always thought that Thespians provided an unusual opportunity for student leadership. It is a student theatre group, guided by a student-written constitution but led by elected student officers and representatives. I create structure for the officers, remind them of appropriate by-laws, and provide the necessary adult supervision but the planning is up to them. But the officers lead the troupe.
Saturday's activities seem to have lit a fire in the Firestone students who attended. I am looking forward to where it leads.
Troupe Development Day is sponsored by the Ohio Educational Theatre Association. Their website can be found here.
maz
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Tape This. Copy That.
We do not videotape our shows. Not for archival or any other purpose. While I recognize the sentimental value this practice has for many parents, I also understand the concept of copyright protection and intellectual property. I know that when we produce a play or musical that we do not own its mechanical rights and therefore are not permitted to record it in any fashion.
I am regularly asked by parents and students if we videotape mostly I think because so many others do. I know of at least one school whose shows are taped and later exhibited on the local cable TV outlet. Others regularly make DVDs to sell to parents and fans. Others only make one copy for their "archives." All these schools are in violation of copyright regulations and may open themselves up to being sued in civil court.
I know that we can find thousands of school performances on YouTube. These clips can be a valuable resource when researching a particular show. However, plain and simple they are a violation of the copyright regulations. I struggle to ensure that clips of Firestone Theatre productions are not among them. I simply refuse to take this risk.
Every performance contract I have signed includes a clause specifically forbidding the taping of the work. To do so anyway violates the contract and might subject the school to a substantial fine or a moratorium -- meaning the publishing company may refuse to work with you in the future.
Firestone Theatre has never made a video version of a copyrighted work. The only time we have taped a show is when we owned everything: material, music, staging, artwork, etc. We taped the only original show we produced, Just Passing Thru, a collaboration with local artist Miller Horns. We did so mostly at Miller's insistence. We taped our recent production of Macbeth because we could. Shakespeare is not subject to copyright regulation and we had music written and performed specifically for our show.
I recently came across yet another online article explaining some of the myths about copyright laws. While this article is informative, it does not directly address the disturbingly common practice of videotaping theatre productions. Here is a the link. Check it out to better educate yourself about this complicated issue.
I am regularly asked by parents and students if we videotape mostly I think because so many others do. I know of at least one school whose shows are taped and later exhibited on the local cable TV outlet. Others regularly make DVDs to sell to parents and fans. Others only make one copy for their "archives." All these schools are in violation of copyright regulations and may open themselves up to being sued in civil court.
I know that we can find thousands of school performances on YouTube. These clips can be a valuable resource when researching a particular show. However, plain and simple they are a violation of the copyright regulations. I struggle to ensure that clips of Firestone Theatre productions are not among them. I simply refuse to take this risk.
Every performance contract I have signed includes a clause specifically forbidding the taping of the work. To do so anyway violates the contract and might subject the school to a substantial fine or a moratorium -- meaning the publishing company may refuse to work with you in the future.
Firestone Theatre has never made a video version of a copyrighted work. The only time we have taped a show is when we owned everything: material, music, staging, artwork, etc. We taped the only original show we produced, Just Passing Thru, a collaboration with local artist Miller Horns. We did so mostly at Miller's insistence. We taped our recent production of Macbeth because we could. Shakespeare is not subject to copyright regulation and we had music written and performed specifically for our show.
I recently came across yet another online article explaining some of the myths about copyright laws. While this article is informative, it does not directly address the disturbingly common practice of videotaping theatre productions. Here is a the link. Check it out to better educate yourself about this complicated issue.
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