MY “BACKSTORY”:

I began teaching at LREI in September 2007. In the second week, I launched straight into holding auditions for my first HS musical which was Little Shop of Horrors – the show opened in the first week of November and within a month I was putting on the MS play, Treasure Island with a cast size over 50! At the time I was asked to be in charge of all set and costumes; I had a parent who helped on lights and a science teacher to help me with set building. At the time, I wondered how I could sustain such a demanding position . . .

I felt overwhelmed and after recovering with a two month break from being in production and focusing on my classes, I launched the MS musical which was Into the Woods Jr. By then, I had managed to hire a set designer and a costume designer that would take some of the workload off my hands. I finally felt I had a grip on my directing role at LREI. In addition to the productions, I was required to create and produce a full 6th grade production for the Medieval Pageant, which, at the time was just before spring break. I also worked with every 8th grader who had prepared a speech for their “moving up” dinner which was the tradition at the time.  I was also a 7th grade Advisor “buddy” and I was teaching 6th, 7th and 8th graders in drama classes throughout the week. That feels like a long time ago now!

THE EVOLUTION OF MY ROLE:

As I take stock of the eleven years I’ve been here, it’s become increasingly obvious that my role has consistently demanded a significant amount of hours, above and beyond any other job I’ve ever had. I had taken on a great deal without fully knowing what was expected as probably most of us do in a new job. Surprisingly,  a couple of years after woking at LREI, I was asked to take on teaching Drama to the 5th graders and produce a final class production for the Greek Festival. Despite having reservations about how much time this would add to my already busy year, I gave it my best effort and have been doing it ever since. I was also asked to become an 8th Grade Advisor which I was for 10 years until this year, but I am back in the role covering for a maternity leave from November- March.

The nature and timing of certain projects have been evolving over time, I’ve been able to change projects to be more process oriented and connected to the students’ learning. The 6th grade now has medieval guilds which allows me to support but not carry the project anymore. The 5th grade final performance is now more deeply connected to the humanities unit on Odysseus and this past June was the first of a new kind of performance that was student written with my leadership and the support of the 5th grade Humanities teachers. The move to Electives in 7th and 8th grade soon after I began has improved the learning environment in those classes and I am able to thoroughly enjoy the teaching.

PRESENT DAY:

So here I am in 2018, I have produced and directed 33 main stage productions, numerous Medieval Pageants, Greek Festivals, Performing Arts Nights. I have spent 99 weekends at LREI with students in preparation for the shows and thousands of hours reading, preparing and executing my ideas to produce the rich productions we see at LREI. Beyond the teaching, directing and raising children, I have some health hindrances that makes each day a physical uphill climb. It has become increasingly obvious that there is very little professional or personal rejuvenation and replenishment.

FOCUS OF SELF STUDY

What do I want to focus on for this study? I would like to make time for professional or personal rejuvenation and replenishment.  I find that after the rigor of the school day, I don’t have the time or energy or to go to the theatre, I don’t take courses because they are often scheduled after school or weekends when I have to be in school, I don’t attend after school social gatherings, special events after school, memorials or congratulatory gatherings and often miss the evening events because I’m still working, or need to be at home for my family or simply have no energy left to go. For many months of the school year I am a “work horse” at LREI and not much else. I barely do anything other than work until the academic year is over and I spend two months in the summer trying to rejuvenate and see and read as much theatre as possible.   

I want to focus on finding time for myself to be able to attend theatre productions, to be inspired, and rejuvenate by doing so. The more theatre I see, the more I learn and the more I can bring back to my work as a teacher and director. My schedule isn’t going to change unless I do something, so I think if I felt encouraged to take time for myself and “come up for air” periodically, I would be able to evolve further in my knowledge of theatre and inject the inspiration into my classes and productions.  I want to experiment with giving myself time off after school during the span of weeks of rehearsals – in other words, delegating or periodically clearing the day after school. Prior to working at LREI I was encouraged to determine days I rehearsed and days I didn’t – I wasn’t tied to the variable schedules of school students and and by doing so I was able to guarantee a more balanced routine. I would like to do this once more.

My plan is to book a series of theatre trips for myself both in Brooklyn: BAM,Theatre for a New Audience, St Ann’s Warehouse as well as the city over the course of this year. I would need to schedule time away from work and home to do so and I would write a response to each production I see and how I can use my experience in my classes and productions. My hope is that through experiencing more theatre and carving out time to do so, I will start a practice that will rejuvenate me and inspire me. My hope is that  I would continue this in the future with the premise that this will not only improve my day to day experiences in school but also give me more confidence in my teaching and directing and provide a doorway to pursue my passion in theatre. I will block off times in my upcoming schedule where I can re-group. This means giving myself permission to do so, which it seems is a major challenge. If I can start a new practice with the help of this program, I feel like I have a chance to carry it on in the years to come. I am really looking forward to pushing myself in this way with help. My hope is that my future years at LREI will have balance more often than there is in my current situation and that I advocate for myself more confidently with regards to professional development.