Robot High School

Look at this really great video from friends of a friend of a friend in Columbia. Great stuff. A TEENAGE JONNY QUEST IN TOKYO pre-show video, perhaps?

"Robot High School" from Michael McClendon on Vimeo.

Spring Break

With the spring production upon us, it's easy to forget the important things in life. Here. Watch this. Regain your perspective.

T-minus two weeks and counting!

The second week of WAIT UNTIL DARK is finished. One weekend (three performances) remain.

It struck me at yesterday's matinee that it must be strange seeing your teacher on stage...acting. Is it?

I often encourage other high school drama teachers to get on stage at least once a year...to give their students the opportunity to see them act. Most don't. First, it is a considerable time commitment, and drama teachers stay very busy all year long. Second, many drama teachers just haven't done it in a while. They may be nervous that if they don't "wow" their students, they may lose some street cred. And finally, many drama teachers don't act on community stages because, well, there are so very few opportunities to do so. Even in Greenville—a city of four active community theaters—it's often difficult to break in.

What do you think? Does it add to your experience as a drama student to see me act? Does it "extend my teaching beyond the classroom?" Does it make a difference at all?

It may not. But it'd be cool to share your comments with other drama teachers who are considering acting...in front of their students.

MANN SHOW March

3/3 Film Criticism: DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978)

3/4 MANN SHOW Leadership Meeting

3/9 “Wait Until Dark” STARRING COACH WHITE! @ CentreStage, 3 PM

3/10 Film Criticism: TO MY GREAT CHAGRIN (2007)

3/10 MANN SHOW Membership Meeting, AUDITORIUM

3/17 Film Criticism: CITIZEN KANE (1946)

3/31 Film Criticism: DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

Good thing it's a leap year...this February has been jam-packed!

Sorry I've left the blog for several weeks. Here's what's been going on:

"TEENAGE JONNY QUEST IN TOKYO"
The play is going full steam forward. Despite some early disappointments--several actors did not accept their roles once the time commitment was more fully understood, some were dismissed for absences--the cast is now completely off-book (not bad for a month and a half from opening!), will soon complete their second movement/dance workshop, and has just begun Aikido training with Sensei Eric Harrell.

"SYLVIA" and "THE SEAGULL"
Recent Greenville-area plays have been less than impressive. To be honest, I found SYLVIA at CentreStage and THE SEAGULL at The Warehouse to be a bit of a bore. Though both productions had fine casts and some outstanding performances, neither show gave me much to think or talk about after...except to muse about why I left so unmoved. Ultimately, I decided that SYLVIA was a story over-populated with characters I cared little about, and THE SEAGULL felt suffocated by an overly-ambitious directorial vision.

"TO MY GREAT CHAGRIN"
Felt proud to attend the New York City premier of my friends Jeff Sumerel and Jeter Rhodes', documentary feature film about influential performance artist Brother Theodore. Playwright and actor Eric Bogosian, legendary TV talk show host Dick Cavett, and SNL short film auteur, Tom Schiller were in attendance for the screening which took place at the world-famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Midtown Manhattan. Jeff and Jeter plan to screen the film for Film Criticism students next month!

"FEURZABRUTA"
The best theatre experience I have had since this Argentinian company's last show, "DE LA GUARDA." Still, the most visceral, emotionally riveting...inspiring theatre in the world as far as I am concerned.

"WAIT UNTIL DARK"
This is the real reason I've not been writing on the blog: too busy preparing for my annual foray into live theatre acting. The WAIT is over when the show opens next week at Greenville's CentreStage for a three week run. A true-crime thriller with a cast of colorful character actors (Mann grad and Greenville stage legend, J. MICHAEL CRAIG, Long John Rhydwyn, Jeter Rhodes, and Mann Social Studies teacher, PAUL CALVIN), this is a show no Mann Show member will want to miss! Mann show plans to attend a performance en masse, Friday, March 7.

"SLINGS & ARROWS" Season 3
In the middle of the third and final season on the best television show ever. SLINGS is a Canadian-made comedy series about a Shakespearian theatre company. It will make you laugh, cry and figure out what's so great about The Bard.

MANN SHOW February

2/4 Film Criticism: CASABLANCA (1942)

2/4 MANN SHOW Leadership Meeting

2/6 MANN SHOW Membership Meeting

2/11 Film Criticism: SUNRISE (1927)

2/19 Film Criticism: CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981)

2/25 Film Criticism: THE KING OF KONG A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (2007)

3/7 “Wait Until Dark” STARRING COACH WHITE! @ CentreStage