The New Theatre Teacher? Advice, please.?

I have been there/done that, both as a leader and as a follower.

You didn't mention whether this is high school or college. So, I'm going to address this as if we're talking high school.

You need to brace yourself -- some of the continuing students who loved the previous teacher are going to be unhappy that he/she isn't there, and some of them may resent you for being the replacement. On the plus side, you will likely also have some students who are more malleable -- they'll accept the change quickly, and have the benevolence to accept you.

Your best bet is to be prepared and project a feeling of knowing what you're doing. Decide the major points of what you want to do, and then be ready to stand by your convictions. However, you need to avoid adopting an antagonistic "take it or leave it" attitude, as I've seen several leaders over the years do that and quickly alienate a sizeable majority of people.

You didn't clarify if the previous teacher was let go. If that is the case, you need to decide how much [if any] of the truth you will impart. If the teacher was fond of his/her students, I would readily let them know that he/she sends them sincere good wishes -- sort of a diplomatic and benevolent lie.

If your predecessor left notes about each students strengths/weaknesses, study them. The students will be pleased to find a new teacher who already knows their good qualities -- and of course, you'll be prepared for any weaknesses that need addressing, without having to discover them on your own.

Also, prepare to reassure the students that major changes are not going to happen immediately. I think this is vitally important. Though you were hired to make major changes, you should not make them essentially "overnight". If the continuing students show up to discover 1) a favorite teacher vanished, 2) a new teacher in place, and 3) a completely different theatre department, they will flee like rats from a sinking ship -- it will be too much change to absorb, and they'll feel off-balance.

Your best bet is to have a few minor changes in place on Day One, but save major stuff for later. "Later" will be for you to determine, based on what they are and what part of the school year they affect. If it's something profoundly drastic, you might consider putting it off until the continuing students have graduated.

Finally, if your replacing the predecessor was amicable, you might contact him/her for guidance [e.g. the notes mentioned above]. It's very likely that there may be a few older students who are leaders -- liked and respected by their peers -- and you could talk to them privately and enlist their help in making the transition smooth. Students are always very gratified to be treated as young adults.

All of this advice comes from experience. I once replaced a very beloved retiring instructor at a youth theatre program. Some of the kids were great, but a few thought it was the end of the world. I don't mean this condescending, but kids in the arts often have more emotions than their peers, with some readily willing to give in to melodramatic impulses. So I was prepared and confident, let them know what happened, demonstrated that I had been educated in how the program had been run recently [so they didn't think I had just wandered in off the street], and told them what to expect. Oh, and I used my sense of humor to put them at ease. The result was that the "shock" was short-lived -- being up-front and informative helped them grasp the situation quickly -- and the few students who needed a little extra reassurance received it.

On the "been there" side, I have two "home" theatre companies with whom I do several projects per year [I no longer teach]. Several years ago, one of them lost their longtime music director [he got a significantly better job offer], and we were very sorry to see him go. If you look up "phenomenal" in the dictionary, his picture is probably there -- and he was a hell of a lot of fun to work with. Well, his replacement came in with similar direction skills, but with an "I'm in charge here" attitude that was grating and not a little condescending. The really galling thing is that most of us regular associates made it a point to be warm and welcoming from the start. He either wasn't able to pick up on it, or was so jaded that he thought we weren't sincere -- regardless, management spoke to him several times about his demeanor, he finally became hostile, and he was let go after two seasons. They then hired someone who had slightly less skills, but is a whiz at diplomacy and being able to deal with all personality types. The artists use their skills to build on his preparation [he's aware of this and appreciates it, and has made strides to become better], and things are going swimmingly.

But enough from me. Best of luck on this new chapter in your life!

wow, that's a real situation. If your choir director choses someone else over you, ask some of your friends (if it's an open audition) if you were better or worse. that counts the most if they think you're better because they're your peers. if so, could you at least talk to your choir director? But I'm sure if they want a good musical and want to get good reviews the will pick the best people for the parts. If they don't, well then it's they're loss. Just go in there and audition your very best and don't let it show that you're unsure that you will be picked. confidence is pretty much key in those type of things. i have to go through a similar case. I didn't take theatre or choir because I didn't have room because of my other priorities and now it seems like since i didn't take either class, i'm put in the chorus all the time even if I'm better than some other people. i live with it but it sometimes hurts. best of luck to you. i hope you get the part you wanted. i wouldn't worry about it too much especially if you are on good terms with your theatre teacher. They know that you're good at acting and will take that into consideration because a lead has to be good at both things. once again good luck!!

My high school just experienced the same thing. Luckily for me I was a senior this year and was able to avoid having to get acclemated to a new teacher because my director is retiring for next year. If your school is anything like mine, our theatre director was more than capable, he wasn't a hack, and was constantly used as a reason for making our school great. So our theatre students are going into next year distraught. If I were you, I wouldn't go in with the attitude that you're going to be resisted and that by making changes and sticking with them, they'll come around in the end-because that probably won't happen. Unless the changes are ones you find absolutely necessary, don't make them. Theatres usually have strong traditions, and as open-minded as theatre people are, we still resist change. Be willing to learn about their pre-show rituals and traditions, keep all of the tools in the same spots (this way only one person has to learn where things are and where things go), ask about the different posters, or (in my school's case) wooden objects, or props, and if they're any funny stories behind them. Don't go into this new job like Hilary Swank in Freedom Writers-unless the old teacher was bad. Our theatre teacher retired, I don't know what the circumstances are that you're coming into, hopefully it wasn't a firing.

I guess it depends on if you are teaching at the grade-school or university level. If you are teaching high-schoolers, I've found that the best way to teach the students is to lead to a culminating project. Teach them the basics of acting, directing, playwriting, play analysis, etc. and have them create and produce a play at the end of the year. If you are teaching university, it would depend on the class. For either group, it is important to remember that children and adults can become bored. Do not be afraid to challenge them and make them see that the theatre world is not as easy as everyone makes it out to be.

one thing that makes a huge difference is if you are the technical theater teacher, or a drama teacher. the technical teacher is the teacher who teaches kids about the work behind acting. if you are that teacher, i would recomend covering the stage, how to do lights and sound, how to build a set, and lots of other technical things that is the backbone of theater. if you are a drama teacher, talk about plays, and how to perform well, like getting past nervousness, and body acting, movement across the stage, and how to do facial expressions. i learned all of this stuff from drama and tech theater classes. my teachers taught me these things, and i want to persue a job in theater. if you teach students these things, you could really inspire people to pursue theater.

first find out what you were hired to change find out what the students want kept the same and or changed try to tell the students what you intend to change and make sure that the students respect you before anything else

good luck!!

Hi,

you have a wonderful job in my opinion and I applaud those who take on the challenge of helping young people flourish in what I consider to be one of the greatest professions in the world.

That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. To answer your question, I have to give you my mission:

It is: "Inspiring Actors To Build A Base And Position Themselves For Success!"

All you have to do is to spend time on yahoo.answers every day and you will see the questions asked. The most popular ones:

"What do I have to do to become famous?"

"How can I be discovered?"

"Do you need to take classes to become a Hollywood actor?"

"How do I start acting?"

"How do I get an agent?"

"I want to become an actor. Where can I start auditioning?"

"How can I overcome stage fright?"

These young people need guidance in my opinion from someone who can help them realize what they're getting themselves into, what it's really like to be a working actor. And I mean the actor who is out working the beat, trying to get a job, scraping money together to make ends meet and to get the money she needs for headshots, for that reel, etc. The rejection, juggling a job and an acting career. I give them one example of my own from some time ago:

http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/working_as_an_a...

I give them some of the issues that many actors face when they first start out: http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/ .

If they’ve already been working, but are not getting the results they want, I tell them to go take the actor quiz, to help them see some of the things they don’t know, what they don’t know, but should know about their careers: http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/actor_quiz.html

Then there's the actor who is able to make a living, but only by piecing jobs together: a play here, a commercial there, a print job here, an independent film there, etc.

And then there's the actor who has a regular role on a soap, prime-time program or a broadway or off-broadway show. But given the multitude of actors out there, those jobs are few and far between.

They need to understand that they first need to work on themselves. After studying actors over the past three and a half years, I have created resources around these very issues. The things that will take one to success in any field in my opinion and the things that I tell young actors and even those who have been at it for awhile and who are struggling:

1) KNOWING YOURSELF as best you can and FIGURING OUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT first in your life and then in your career: greater knowledge of yourself: strengths, weaknesses, resources you have at your disposal (financial, intellectual, social and physical!)

Clarity of your vision for the future of your career in a very detailed way. If you can do that, your actions will be more focused and you will waste less time and energy. To put it in a positive sense, you will optimize your efforts and probably get results faster.

2) DEVELOPING YOUR MOTIVATION & CREATIVITY: The ability to keep yourself motivated to do what is necessary daily to further your career. Knowing how to do that will help you tremendously!

The creativity and innovation to apply in promoting yourself and helping you to stand out. You can imagine how important that will be with all the competition there is!

3) PUTTING TOGETHER A PLAN: a solid and detailed plan for how you intend to achieve that vision. Many people think that planning is writing some stuff down on a piece of paper and doing those things. There’s much more to it than that!

4) MANAGING YOUR BUSINESS: essential business skills that will help you to be successful as the free-lance professional that you are as an actor. Unfortunately many actors don't realize that they are in business, with a product to sell and promote, that is themselves.

There are three other little things I tell them as well:

The first is a little story.

Some years ago when I played American football in college, we were on the practice field at the end of August right when the new school year started. It was hot and we sweated our butts off! To get to the practice field we had to walk across campus and our college mates were out playing Frisbee. The girls were laying out in the sun. The guys were playing Frisbee, drinking beer and laughing and having a good time. And what were we doing? We were going to put on our equipment in 95° heat and go out and practice for three hours.

You can imagine that in that kind of heat, practice was hard. Sometimes we wanted to rest or get a drink of water, but we couldn’t. Our coach saw that we were tired and wanted to rest and it was always at those moments in the middle of practice when he would call us all in, tell us to take our helmets off and “take a knee”. He used to tell us a lot of things during those little speeches of his. One thing that he always used to tell us was, “Men, when it’s too hot for the other teams, it will be just right for us.” Something else that he used to tell us was, “Men, if you’re out here practicing in this menacing heat, you gotta love it.”

First and foremost you gotta love acting or singing or whatever you want to do. I tell them that if the reason they are doing it is to become famous, then that I would strongly advise you to seek out some other field.

The second is something I learned.

When I first started acting, my teacher told me that it was probably my football and military training that taught me that I had to strive for the goal and that I achieve my goal, when I reach my objective. She told me that acting is not like that at all. She told me that it is not about “nailing” a scene, but rather about living each and every moment of the scene. That’s what makes it more real. We have to be “in the moment”. It’s not about the final destination of becoming famous. It’s about doing something you really love and enjoying your development and your experiences along the way.

The third puts everything together.

Lastly and maybe most importantly, realize that the person who will embark on this new mission of becoming an actor is the actor herself. Whether you are successful or not (and success is something that each individual must define for himself) will depend on the industry itself, but it also will depend largely on the actor, the person. By that I mean, his attitude, his talent, his willingness to learn and be curious, his perseverance, determination, method, his clarity around what he wants out of his career, his capacity to find creative solutions and creative ways to promote himself and set himself apart from the rest, her ability to create a financial base so that you can concentrate fully on her craft, her ability to motivate herself and to handle rejection, her capacity to be disciplined and plan for her success and it will also depend on her capacity to sell and market her acting ability.

So to finish answering your question, I would say, aside from giving them the best technical training you can, which of course is the base, just remember that they can greatly benefit from a role model. They can benefit from having a leader, a guide, a point of reference, from someone who cares and who has their best interest at heart. They will benefit from having someone who teaches them not only to become good actors, but who at the same time through the craft of acting, will teach them how to become better people and to be good at conducting their lives.

Don’t know if that helps. I hope so!

Good luck!

Tony

http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/