Hi gang,
COSTUME RUN: Tonight we are trying a rough costume run. Miss Ellen may ask you to hold your costume up next to you during rehearsal. We want to make sure the color theme is working with your current placements on stage. You might not be asked to put your costumes on, and that is okay. Due to the details (small buttons and decorations) of each costume, we are trying to minimize the wear and tear. This is basically for my eyes -- not necessarily for size. You have already been fitted in your costumes.
HONOR TO US ALL, PART 2: If you are in this number, you need to come early and work on your dance BEFORE rehearsal begins. You will need to stay down in the marble hallway, but it would be very wise of you to go over this dance. I have re-taught this number 4 times to you, and I have noticed some students still struggling. This should not be the case. The choreography is easy enough -- you just need to memorize it and perform it with confidence. I WILL NOT re-teach this again. I need to move on and teach the end of the number, so you need to work on this in your own time. I may start cutting people from this number if it continues to be a problem. A few students are coming about 15 minutes early to work on this in the marble hallway before we begin rehearsal. If possible, please join them.
DOWN TIME: You all will have lots of down time as I run and clean scenes this week. Please use this properly. Work on dances you do not know, work on scenes you don't know, run lines, run transitions, practice lyrics. There are TONS of things for you to do. I should not see any students sitting around talking only to get up on stage and then not know what they are doing.
QUESTIONS: I realize that several of you may have questions. This may be your first show, and you are confused or need some guidance. This is exactly why I have the blog and why we have had two parent meetings. I don't mind questions, but when the questions are something that I have said five times since rehearsal has begun, I am wondering if your student is paying attention. The question of "I have not learned this song since I wasn't here, what should I do?" is not legit. The answer that I have said from day one still remains the same. You will need to get with a friend or someone in that scene and run it. Work together -- we are a team. As we are running things, I will work you into the scene, so you have a "spot". I will teach you, but I need you to take responsibility for your learning.
MEMORIZE!!: You need to be off book. We are a week from the show. Unless you are Mulan, you have no reason not to be memorized yet. I expect everyone to be off book (choreography, blocking, lines, and lyrics - EVERYTHING) by Thursday, February 3rd. You will notice as you are off book that your acting skills usually double! When you don't have your head buried in your book, I promise your characters will come much more easily. It's actually even way more fun!
HUGE THANK YOU: A big thank you goes out to all of my students who have showed great leadership over the past two weeks. I can tell who works on things outside of rehearsal times, and it is showing! I don't always get time to pull each of you aside, but I want you to know that it does not go unnoticed. Your leadership when you keep the rest of your friends on task and listening is helping me a TON. I'm thankful for each of you!
GREAT JOB: You all are doing a great job. I am not disappointed, sad, upset, or worried -- BUT it is my responsibility as your teacher to push you to your best. I am going to continue to do that. I truly believe that each of you can be even better, and I'm not going to let you do this show half-heartedly. I'm going to continue to push and tell you what looks good :) Trust me! I want to teach you to give your 100% best in everything, and if each of us does this, I promise you, WE WILL HAVE A FANTASTIC SHOW! Kudos to each of you, but we are not there yet. Let's keep working hard this week and enjoy the journey.
You all hold my heart-
Miss Wilmes
