Forced Creativity Strikes Again

I love being a theater director for middle and high school students. I love watching the kids grow more confident with each performance. I like seeing them as excited about theater as I always have been, and I like knowing that the stage provides them with a safe space to try new things. The stage was always my favorite place growing up, and it's fun to watch a new generation discover it.

As I've mentioned before, it also helps me with my writing.

Yesterday was auditions for the middle school fall show. Normally I have about 12-15 kids show up, so I choose my scripts based on those numbers. I wasn't sure what I would get this year. I lost a few of my students to high school, and I'm never sure how many 5th graders I will get. It usually works out.

This one might not.

I had 4 kids show up for auditions, and they told me of two more that want to join. Six kids. For a show with 12 parts. Oh, boy...

One thing I enjoy about theater (and have gotten pretty good at) is making things work. This script is a challenge. I've tried to double up as many parts as possible, but even then I need three more kids - and did I mention that I currently have no boys? It's not impossible, but I started trying to come up with other solutions.

Remember when I wrote about forced creativity? This job requires me to write a certain amount each year, and some of my best work has stemmed from working with my students. Hopefully, this will be one of them.

I started thinking - what if I wrote a script for my six actors for the fall and saved the bigger show for the spring (when I won't be competing with soccer)? Once I came up with this solution, things started to fall into place.

I've been working on an idea for a one act play since the spring. By working on it I mean that I had a title and a very loose idea of what I wanted it to be about. I wasn't worried because I had all year to write it.

Well, my timetable has moved up a bit.

Yesterday after auditions I used my half hour before teaching a class to start the first draft of a script currently titled The Room of Peace. So far, I really like it, and I have a pretty good idea of where it is going. The limitations of the number of actors and an all female cast actually made it easier to figure out the plot. I'm still figuring a few things out, but I think it could be really funny.

I'm still not sure what show I'll be directing this fall. I'm going to wait and see if any more students show up tomorrow. If not, I'll be spending my weekend frantically writing and hoping to avoid writer's block. But, at least I have a backup plan.