Broadway Master Classes - Day 1

Wow!

Since my first blog post, I've been meaning to write another update...a new post confirming how I managed to get everything booked, lamenting about how hard it has been to prepare for being away from school (and our middle school's annual musical production!) in order to attend these Broadway Master Classes, etc.  But as often happens in life, things got busy and before I knew it, I was on a plane early this morning!

I would like to back up and address two things from the past month or so.  First of all, as I mentioned, I've dealt with a great deal of preparation for my May trip to New York City.  Our middle school has a production of Seussical, Jr. that is going up while I'm away.  Anyone who has ever worked in theatre and/or education knows how impossible it is to invest time and heart into a project of this scope and walk be pulled away just before it comes to fruition (preview performance was today, with the official performances on Monday and Tuesday night).  But despite all the effort that I put in to get the lighting design done and all of the other technical elements to come together before I left town, it is really the others involved on this show who are the heroes.  Rather than resent my absence or become bitter that they might have to take on my responsibilities, the director, our department chair, the other designers, and my amazing student crew all have stepped up and fully supported me in my professional development endeavors.  For that, I am eternally grateful to all of them!

The other thing for which I am extremely thankful is Center Theatre Group and their impressive support for theatre education and theatre educators.  While that may sound like I'm just showing the appropriate gratitude for the organization that selected me to receive this fellowship, it goes well beyond that.  I've seen all the work they do to expose youth in the LA area to theatre.  I've been fortunate enough to see the appreciation they have for all theatre educators, and how they support people like us by hosting networking events and even offering complimentary tickets to shows.  CTG is truly a wonderful organization for the work they are doing with schools and teachers.

Anyway, back to the present!  In the blink of eye, my first professional development opportunity is upon me.  Today I flew to New York, checked into my NYU dorm room (very déjà vu, as I lived in another NYU dorm right around the corner for 4 years back in the late-90's), and took the train uptown to see the Broadway production of American Idiot, the new musical based on the music of Green Day.  For the next two days, I will be immersed in the Broadway Sound Master Class, where the sound designer of American Idiot will be one of several top sound professionals who will be leading classes ranging from conceptual design to technical practice in the field of live sound.

I do admit that I wonder if I'm in over my head with this group enrolled in the BSMC; I'm not a sound professional, and I have no formal training in sound design or engineering.  However, I'm eager to soak up every bit of knowledge I can.  Also, since I'm planing to try to use this newfound knowledge to develop curriculum that I can use with my own students, I'm also excited to watch and see how the teachers of the master classes (and even the other professionals taking the classes) engage their students and one another in this process of sharing expertise, communicating ideas, and making the material come alive.  If I see any "best practices" at work here, hopefully I can utilize those techniques in my classes as well.

Tomorrow is a full day, so I plan to get to bed and get a full night's sleep before we hit the ground running tomorrow.  I hope to blog daily while I'm here...if not, I'll have to summarize the experience as best I can once I've had a chance to process everything.  One night down; two days of sound classes, a day of projection classes, another Broadway show (FELA!), and two days of lighting classes left!