Kim and some of Joe Foss' finest. We are setting the musical theatre world on fire.

Dear....

Today Millzworkz Theatre (MT) worked on getting more personal narratives down on paper. The company wrote letters that they probably would never send. As we continue to look for the dramatic arch for this musical, it is important to dig and uncover real stories for each individual. Once we have enough material, I can start melding the stories to build believeable fictional characters and their lives.

The students worked really hard today; Kristi Jones (the USF student who accompanied me) and I were impressed with the honesty of the writing. Everyone has so much to offer. I have to admit, I sometimes get frustrated with too much talking when others are quietly trying to get their thoughts down on paper, but hopefully as each person takes on more ownership of the project, we will all become more focused.

We showed the students a clip from Spring Awakening, the Broadway musical that won 7 Tony Awards (Theatre's version of Oscar's and Grammy's) in 2007. It also is a "coming of age" musical with AMAZING music and performances. "The Bitch of Living" is one of my favorite numbers from the show. If anyone is interested in reading more about Spring Awakening, go to www.springawakening.com You can watch cast interview videos, actual musical footage and even check out their facebook page.

Next week we will meet at 10:30 on Wednesday. I want to start the "workshop" segment of the process soon. So, hopefully by next week, we will be able to hear the first scene of our musical.

Please feel free to drop ideas and comments on the blog. This will be another vehicle that will keep us on track to the fall production.

Back and Blogging

Wednesday I was reunited with the wonderful, creative juices of Joe Foss! I missed them. We walked through the musical calendar. We are going to meet every Wednesday at 11. On the 4th Wed. of each week, we will be workshopping the musical, as if it is a professional production.

I am excited to invite both JF and USF students to comment. Here are the instructions so to post comments on the Millzworkz blog:

1) Click on "0 comments" at the bottom right corner of blog entry (sometimes it will have another number denoting how many comments have been made so far...ie: 3 comments) 2) Clicking this will take you to another page to comment. 3) Yes, you have to have a google account or a blogspot.com account to publish your comment However, if you don't, it asks you to sign up by clicking on the 'sign up here' link. Go ahead and do it. It is free with no obligations. 4) Then, comment away! 5) Click on publish to post your comment.

An SD - NYC Colloboration

Ashley Schwabb, a CST senior, did a beautiful job of introducing acting skills to the students while I was working in NYC. Seriously, she had these students doing colleageate contentless scenes. I was impressed with the participation, committment and leadership of all.

They sent me some of their writings, which I combined and edited. These students know how to write honest and visceral work. This is fun.

Pouring a foundation

The month of September was rushed. I, along with some of my students, tried to set a foundation before I left on my NYC academic sabbatical. We worked on choreography, we wrote, we revised, we wrote again. I was thrilled by the numbers that we were seeing. The first time we met, we offerred pizza, 40 people showed up. The next time there was no pizza as an incentive and 43 students attended...rock on!

In the beginning...

This project began on a hot day in the summer of 2007 in downtown Sioux Falls. Counselor Janelle Mills called me to discuss her idea about introducing performance arts to Joe Foss school. Janelle, an accomplished musician, had written some music and wanted Kim's opinion on its potential for performance. It was perfect for a modern, coming of age musical. The stage was set to serve as the matchmaker for a seemingly, unlikely couple - an alternative high school and and a private college. On with the show...