Building high school tech program

[jrgunn]

Hello. After working professionally I finally surrendered to the siren call of a steady paycheck and am now working in a high school teaching technical theatre. Question: is there any curriculum out there I can beg/borrow/steal from among you good people?

[DaveySimps]

Welcome! Thanks for taking time to register and introduce yourself. We have a lot of educators here as well as professionals. You may want to post your question in the Education Forum. Not all members regularly read the New Member Board. I am sure there are lots of people there that will be willing to help you out. BE sure to check out the Wiki and search function too. Also, have you looked into the Educational Theatre Association (EDTA.ORG)? It has been awhile since I have been there, but that might be a good resource for you.

Enjoy CB!

~Dave

[Dionysus]

Welcome to the Control Booth, where the technicians reign! It's great to see educators here! I hope you stick around.

I myself am currently putting together a series of Technical Theatre Workshops to educate kids in the local high school and volunteers for the local community theatre together.
Right now a series of handouts, power-point and hands on tutorials is what I am going for. However I am indeed not a professional educator.
There are plenty of teaching aids out there.
Throw-up a post in the EDUCATION forum and it can all be discussed.

Cheers.

[NickJones]

I have a whole pile of stuff I'm putting together as an "Intro To Tech" it just goes over the really basic stuff, types of connectors, rolling leads, what Mics to use, I will post it up as soon as I finnish it, then you can edit it to your needs, as mine is geared more towards what gear they will use, not what gear you might use.
Nick

[Tex]

The suggestion above to contact your state ETA organization is a good one. Go to the state convention and meet other teachers (if your state has an ITA convention, go there too). There are always lesson plan exchanges and workshops where you can get great ideas. You'll also meet people who have things you can borrow.
There are a couple of "ready made" solutions. Neither is complete and there will be things that you don't wish to include, but it's a starting place.
Practical Technical Theatre - Interactive Educational Video
This is a series of videos and accompanying paperwork. It's good for introducing a unit and actually showing kids things that are hard to describe. It could be a complete course for a teacher who knows nothing about Tech Theatre, but is just a resource for someone with extensive Tech experience.
Stagecraft I - Amazon.com: Stagecraft 1: A Complete Guide to Backstage Work (9781566080620): William H. Lord: Books
This is getting a bit long in the tooth, but is still a good resource. It's designed for high school students and has both the text and tests. Again, it's not a complete course and there's some information that needs updating, but it's a good place to start.
Hope this helps!

[gafftaper]

I've never found a really good curriculum. My favorite is to use the book "Technical theater for no technical people" combined with my own knowledge. The book is very easy to read and written with a sense of humor.

I do read the chapter on stage managers and we'll discuss it tomorrow.

Other than that I've done a lot of taking my old college tech notes and boiling them down to a beginner's level.

[jrgunn]

Thanks to you all. I will pursue all your suggestions vigorously, as school started last week!