Standard #6 Teachers communicate well.

1. Teachers communicate well.
2. 
   
3. The teacher uses effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques as well as instructional media and technology to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
4. Communication to parents, students and fellow staff is essential for a good educator. I strive to have clear, concise communication for each of my classes and productions. 
5. Here is an example of a director's note for a production of Little Shop of Horrors I directed in the fall of 2018 at Pius XI Catholic High School, and a letter to administration proposing Seussical as their best option for a middle school show in the spring of 2019. 
6. Welcome to Little Shop of Horrors! On the surface Little Shop is a fun, quirky, campy musical with catchy music and over the top characters. But when you look deeper into the script, you find a complex story about neglect, abuse, manipulation and love. These characters are deeply flawed humans who deal with a very scary reality of being poor and unhappy in their lives. They face questions about who they truly are and what their values are when offered everything they have always wanted. This cast had a great time exploring all of these darker themes while also having a blast discovering the fun and joy within the show. We hope you enjoy the next few hours while we tell you our story, and remember… Don’t Feed The Plants! 

Proposal for St. Matthias 

Seussical JR. 

The Show

Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat and all of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters spring to life onstage in Seussical JR., a fantastical musical extravaganza from Tony-winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.Transporting audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the Elephant, who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos. Horton must protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, and he must also guard an abandoned egg that's been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird.  Although Horton faces ridicule, danger and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him.  Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!

We feel this would be a good choice for St. Matthias because it provides for great opportunities for creative character work and development, fun and unique settings for the art department and tech director to create, beautiful yet simple music that showcases soloists but also provides for many small group and large ensemble numbers, and costumes that can be done simply by a volunteer. 

The cast size is flexible, allowing for us to have as few as 20 but up to 50 or more with the ensemble. 

Budget 

Rights- Approx. $1000.00 (based on cost estimator on MTI website. Exact details of ticket cost and number of seats can change this slightly). If St. Matthias has an account with MTI you should apply for the rights. If not Pius can apply and St. Matthias can reimburse Pius. 

Director- $2000.00 

Tech Director- $1500.00

Set- $750.00

Costumes- $300.00 

Props- $200.00

Copies- $100.00 (The show comes with 30 books, but we recommend photocopying a script for each student so they can write on it, and its not a problem if they lose it.)

Advertising- $200.00 

Proposed Schedule

Auditions Jan 7th (Make up day Jan 8th) from 3:15-4:30pm 

Rehearsals Monday and Tuesday from 3:15- 5:00 starting January 14th. All students in cast would be asked to be at all rehearsals. 

Tech days to help build sets, props and costumes would be on Wednesdays starting Jan 16th. 

Tech week March 18,19,20 

Show March 21, 22, daytime show on the 21st

Production team details

Director will be at all rehearsals and responsible for staging, choreography and oversite of the full production. 

Tech director will be at all build days and will be responsible for creating and building all sets and props with the help of students and parent and teacher volunteers. 

Costumes will be done by a parent or teacher volunteer. 

Music will be taught in class by the music teacher during the school day. Tracks will be provided by MTI and will be used for teaching and performance.