New kid on the block

RunningDogProductions

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Premium Member
Hi, all! I'm so happy to finally join you. I've actually been aware of ControlBooth for a long time, as one of my techie friends from high school created it! But life took me in a million different directions after high school theatre. Now I am transitioning from being a middle school English teacher/musical director to a full-time high school theatre teacher.

I am in a unique situation. I am actually returning to my alma mater to lead the drama department after my teacher, the person who ran the program for 20 years, died by suicide on May 1. The kids obviously have been through so much trauma with this and COVID. I know we all feel this way, but my high school theatre department was and is a family and has a very unique energy to it to this day. A lot of that stems from the environment my teacher created. Needless to say, in the middle of a pandemic and after the suicide of the person who inspired me to do this job in the first place, it is surreal to be stepping into this role. I'm excited, nervous, sad, overwhelmed....you name it, I've gone through it in the past 2 months. So I am very grateful that this site exists.

I'm super lucky to have @dvsDave and other alumni, like @mbenonis, are helping me in this insane process. dvsDave has been meeting me at the school, masked up, helping answer all my technical questions, being a socially-distanced shoulder to cry on, and literally doing hard labor. This is a BIG job and he stepped right up because he cares. Theatre people are the best people, and Dave is the best of those best people.

I do want to take a moment to shout out the theatre educators on this forum. Regardless of how frustrating this COVID thing is and everything else...these kids love you. I was very close with my teacher but sometimes I was a jerk. I was a teenage girl. My teacher loved me anyway. That is my one piece of comfort right now. And as I see the messages pour in about my mentor, I realize that there is just no way to know how many kids you affected. Even the ones who act like they don't even like you? They may just love you. But they act out because you're the first adult authority figure they respect and like who actually cares about them enough to be real.

Theatre teachers are special. We just are. Don't forget that. Don't lose that. Keep the magic alive.
 
Welcome aboard from the bottom of the Shenandoah Valley. CB is a great resource for academic theater types, lots of info and helpful folks.
 
Greetings from Annandale. Good luck with your new job, and when you can start mounting shows get familiar with the folks at Artistic Concepts Group in Chantilly. They do the theater maintenance and inspections for Loudoun County schools and are a great resource for theater teachers in the area.
 
Welcome Aboard!
I have a lot of motto's one of my favorites is, "You've got questions, we've got answers." Never hesitate to ask.
 
@RunningDogProductions you have a huge job to fill in after the last teacher sadly departed. I am sure it will be along road to recovery. The shock of suicide on top of Covid is somewhere I would not like to be.
As others have said we are here to support you, answer your questions, have a joke or whatever you need.
I will warn you that those of us that come from the land down under have a different humor that you might not understand at first but we are harmless.
Now go and build that family and memories for those students and yourself to look back on and smile.

Regards
Geoff
 

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