2.10 A Conversation with Lindsay Price
This week Jimmy talks with playwright, educator, workshop leader, resident playwright of Theatrefolk, and co-founder of The Drama Teacher Academy Lindsay Price! She shares about her journey in educational theatre, being a successful playwright, and her work creating one of the most widely used resources for theatre teachers out there.
Lindsay’s Recommended Resources:
Google Keep (on her phone!)
Rhyme Zone, Thesaurus.com, Wikipedia (for character specific dialogue!)
The Internet is your friend: Find ways for your kids to use their phones- it is where they live! Anything to make them write in a way that is comfortable for them!
Speaker 1:
[inaudible] .
Speaker 2:
Welcome to fed talks. This is Jimmy Chrisman , your host of the podcast. This is season two, episode 10 of the talks and thank you so much for joining us. Uh , that talks is a podcast for theater teachers and theater education students. Each week I bring new stories and interviews from experienced K-12 theater teachers, current theater education majors and professors of theater education that will warm your heart, renew your faith in teaching and provide resources to better your practice in your theater classroom.
Speaker 3:
Thank you again so much for checking out this week's episode. I'm excited to bring this interview to you. It is with the wonderful and the wonderfully talented Lindsay price. You probably know that name if you are at all on Facebook or a theater teacher and use the internet at all. She is the resident playwright for theater folk and the cofounder of the drama teacher Academy. So I know you all know exactly what that is and I know you're excited to hear from her to hear about her stories and, and her tips and tricks as a playwright, why she started the drama teacher Academy. And , uh , what we can do as teachers to provide playwriting opportunities to our students in our classrooms.
Speaker 2:
Thank you so much for checking out and I hope you enjoyed my interview with Lindsey . Well, I'm excited to welcome the fed socks today, Lindsey
Speaker 3:
price. She is the resident playwright for theater folk and cofounder of the drama teacher Academy. So if you have been listening to fed talks for any amount of time, you have heard both of those things mentioned and I'm super excited to talk to the woman behind all of that. Uh , so Lindsay , welcome to the show. I have tons more things that I can give you the accolades for , but I want to get into that with the interview. So welcome to the show. Thank you for joining me. Oh, thanks for having me. Um, tell us a little bit about , um, kind of your experiences and we'll get into a lot of your experiences, but it kind of, what got you interested in theater education and what sparked that passion and kind of what brought you to where we are now with that?
Speaker 4:
Well, it's been a, it's been a long road. It's a very long road. Um, I started out , um, not wanting to be in theater education. Um, my, a, I was a trying to make it as a play right . And my husband was trying to make it as an actor and we were, we were both not doing so great at that. Um , for very, for various reasons. We were, we were trying to go down, we were trying to have traditional careers , um, when we weren't very traditional. Uh, so we were, we were trying to fit square pegs into round holes. We hadn't, we really hadn't found the , the thing which now we have the thing that makes us happy and makes us , um, passionate and makes us , um, really love theater. We thought we had to go down these roads that everyone else around us was going down. You know, you know, my, my role as a, as a traditional playwright is, Oh, well I get a play. I play produced at a small theater and then a larger theater and then a bigger theater. And then, you know, it's all supposed to just fall into place. And , um, well that just doesn't happen. I don't think it happens to many people. You know, you just see the, the few and you think if I'm not doing that, then I'm a failure. Um, which is another thing that is a , uh, which is it, it's really been a really great to not view failure as a stumbling block or as a negative aspect, but to get to a place where failure is a, is a fun thing. Um, and , and a really , uh , uh, an important thing in your life. Um, so, and we just happened to, we needed , we decided we needed a break from trying to pursue these careers. Um, and we moved back to, it was my husband, his , we were partners in theater folk. We , uh, we started it together. Um, and , uh, we continue to work and create with it together. And we decided to move back to his hometown, which is a ACA small place called North Bay Ontario. And we lived there for four years and by happenstance became introduced to the world of high school theater. Um, it was, it was at that time, it was the moment, it was a booming Mecca of educational theater. Um, there was , um , play festivals in the fall play festivals in the spring . Uh , there was a summer challenge that my husband had done when he was in high school and it just happened to be at the time, the Canadian hub of educational theater association. Um, that's where the, the , the Canadian chapters were in North van Terrio . So we, it was our first introduction. We had no idea what educational theater association was. Uh , but there was a representative there and we were , uh , teaching workshops at this in this small town , um, high school festival. And they just, they came up to us and said, would you like to come to Lincoln, Nebraska and teach workshops there? And were like, Oh, sure. Why not? And went and had literally our minds blown about the scope of educational theater and theater in high school. And that's when I started looking around and , uh , saw the plays that were being done by schools for students and literally had the moment where I said I can do better than I can. I can write clays weekend for them. Not that they, you know, they're , you know, there was just so many plays that I saw. I didn't quite see death of a salesman done by 17 year olds. What really close , like just just not their experience. Right . And that was sort of, that was the first turning point of us towards the education. And then we just more and more we started to do more um, um, more educational materials. We were a productive, your folks actually started as a production company. So we toured schools in the , uh , during the year and , uh , festivals during the summer. And we got to a point where we really figured out we were, we're finding something else to fail at. Really awesome at what they produce. Producing was not for us. We did not have that bone. And we looked at around these place cause I was writing all the plays that we were doing. And very , uh, perhaps naively perhaps with ignorance said, well, we're not going to produce these anymore. I wonder if other people would like to produce them. And that was the, the start of theater folk as a publishing company. And then we had other people who we knew who were writing plays , uh, and we wanted to publish them and get them out into the world. And through that we started going to high school festivals and we just started to see it as, it's such a great, it's a wonderful , um, experience to watch , uh, students put on your stuff. Like it's, it's a, it's, that's amazing. And then we just started listening to be very ,
Speaker 5:
um ,
Speaker 4:
I don't know a hallmark about it, but we literally started listening to people and what they needed and that's why, and that's where the jam teacher Academy came from because we just, we were listening to teachers who felt they were alone and um, no one to help them. And being the only drama teacher in their school or being a middle school teacher who taught math and their principals basically saying to them, well you were in a play in high school, you go teach the the drama class. And, and that's kind of where we've, we've wound up to where we are at on a very, the long, the long and winding road we took , um, wood , it's the road we were meant to take , which is kind of wonderful to be, to end up in a place you're , you're kind of meant to be in and to write the kind of plays that you were meant to write for the audience that you were meant to do, to help people , uh , who you were . Then again, it all sounds very hallmark of who you are meant to help and uh, and we are when , and this is where we are. How about that? That was a very long winded way of , uh , of , uh , of the journey , uh , to this exact moment in time.
Speaker 3:
Well no, I appreciate hearing the story cause I have, when I was in the classroom, I, I w I use things from theater folk all the time. Um, and , and as a, as a teacher who had been doing it 15, 16 years, I still found things very useful from the site. Um, and I, from the guests that I've had on this show, you drama teacher Academy has been a lifesaver for , for many of them. And so I am very grateful personally for the work that you all have done and , and the , and what you all are providing for theater teachers out there. So , um, it's been really, it was really interesting to hear kind of the journey of how we got to that. Um, so thank you. Thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 4:
Listening to teachers, that's at that, if I had to, if I had to give any one piece of advice to anybody who is looking to write for this market, looking to help , looking to help teachers is listen, just listen cause they cause cause they'll tell you and then then you go help them into what they need. Right. So it's what specifically they need ,
Speaker 3:
um, cause and cause it's cause of what you all have done and what you provided and you're continuing to do as has it has helped with that feeling of, of isolation. It has helped with that , that math teacher who's been struggling and it's helped. It's helped with the, again, like the veteran teacher who's just needing something new to, to kind of revamp things and to look at something in a different way and , and to reenergize them. So , um, that you all listened and , and, and I know you continually listen cause I , um , my conversations with Matt Webster , um, just about the work that you all are doing. I know you're , you still listen, so thank you for that. And you're out there. You're, you're, you're teaching workshops. You're, you're giving feedback to new playwrights and , and students and teachers and established playwrights. So I mean you, all that you're doing all over the place is , is very, very welcome and very needed and very appreciated. So thank you. Thank you. Um, I want to talk a little bit about [inaudible] cause there's a couple of different paths. I can go with this right now, but I want to talk a little bit more about your, your work as a playwright. Um, you've got over 60 plays you've written. Um, and like most playwrights, you probably have 10 or 12 on your computer that you're working on at the moment anyway. In addition to that , um,
Speaker 4:
my goal, my goal for the end of August is I have four in the middle so that I can go out this fall and , um, workshop themselves . So that's the goal anyway. We'll see
Speaker 3:
what w what about that? Uh, and I know you talked about seeing your work produced by the people who you're writing it for. Is , is so rewarding. Um, what, what challenges and , and what things do you have you experienced as a playwright as far as getting your work out there? Um, getting your work? Um, not just seen but like from the, it's finalized on my computer screen to getting it staged, produced somewhere. Um, talk a little bit about that experience for you and , and, and how that worked out for you.
Speaker 4:
Okay . Well, I'm lucky because it's something that, because I've been doing it for 25 years, there's a, there's a certainly a pattern in PR and a procedure , um, that I'm, that I follow. And I also am very lucky that I have a, a list of, of drama teachers who are , um, not only willing to take something on tested , um, but also , um, uh, produce , uh, in a way that is very helpful when you just sort of, I cause literally I just hand over a script sometimes. Then I say, okay, I'll see you a week before it goes up because I want, I want, I want to have that experience of what's working and what's not. And when a , when a script is , is, is published and it goes into that, the hands of a, of a school, of a teacher , um, somewhere, let's say in, in Wyoming and they're dealing with a , uh , cafetorium and 30 middle schoolers. I have to know that what's on the page , uh, is, can be translated into their space and their , um, with their students. Uh, so , uh, so that sometimes is a challenge is when, when it's something is not working and it, depending on the, on the subject matter. I did a play last year called dark light on , uh , depression and anxiety because that topic was so, it was so important to me to get right. I was, I was, it went into three different schools , uh, before I want it, before I got it published and I was there and one, one production, I was there. Um, I'll constantly over three months, you know, just to, to make sure things , um, that things were being spoken, not only , uh, in their voice, in a teen voice.
Speaker 5:
Um ,
Speaker 4:
but that the whole, the whole piece as a whole , uh, with speaking well, and I guess that's kind of a challenge too, is to making sure it , just to make sure that the characters that I have are not speaking in my voice, but in their voice. Um , I'm not writing for me. Um, I'm writing for ,
Speaker 5:
uh ,
Speaker 4:
no, 12, no , let's say 1111 to 17 year olds. So it's really important that they're, they're being heard and that they're , they're speaking in a way which is , um, uh , applicable and authentic. And we're actually, I'm looking for, so that's something that I always do is I'm going into schools. I'm like, is this, would you say this? Is this authentic? Would this happen? And I'll tell you, that doesn't always work. I wrote a, I wrote a play also last year on the , the fear of missing out phenomenon. I took that into three schools and they didn't know what on earth I was talking about. Different schools were like, I don't know what this is. I don't have it. So where did they do or not? Whether this is, whether social media has decided they have it or not, they're telling me they don't, so I'm not going to , so that credit , that play went into the, the clay of last to figure out what I'm going to do with it. But they're , what they say is, we more is of utmost importance. And it doesn't matter if I spent a month writing a play, if they are more, if they are saying it's not authentic, it goes no further.
Speaker 3:
Well that's important. And that , that not only listening to the teachers, but listening to the, the students as well and , and how that helped shape your work. So that's super important. Um, I know this is probably a very loaded question I'm about to ask because I know you can teach multiple workshops and days on end about what I'm about to ask. But I am a horrible play , right ? I, I think I'm a horrible playwright. It's a horrible play , right? Well, I have, I have interesting stories in my head, but when they get to the screen, something happens and there's a disconnect. So, but for me, for those teachers out there who have always pondered writing something or getting something on its feet with , with their students, how would you recommend them getting started with that and taking their story and turning it into something quality?
Speaker 4:
Well, I have the, again, I have the most awful as hallmark answer is, unfortunately, you must do it. There is no secret answer. There's no secret code. Um , the only way to get better at it is to actually write it down and then give it to your students and go, okay, here we go. And, and to let it, let it happen, the good and the bad. So, so what if it's what happened? What's, what is horrible? So what make it be horrible. And then the next one will be less and then the next one will be less. It's something that it is a, it gets better. The more you do it, it gets better, the more you and the more listen. That's the other part of it is you actually have to , which is sometimes really hard to listen to feedback like when three different schools told me they have no idea what FOMO was. And when, you know, like you have to, you have to, you don't have to listen and then you have to apply that feedback just like you do in the classroom. Right? You have to apply that feedback to your next draft or your next play or your next , um , whatever. Um , I always suggest start short . Start with a 10 minute play. If you've never done before, we'll start with a 10 minute play. Um , start with three 10 minute plays. Now you've got an evening of theater. Um, and start with something small. Start with a two character. Uh, if you, if that is still too big for you, you start with two characters , um, and they don't and one location and then whatever . There's one conflict that has to be , um , resolved either poorly or with success. If it's poorly, then it's your tragedy if it's with success and your comedy. Um, but start, just don't start with a full length. If it overwhelms, you start with , um, two pages and then three pages and then 10, and then whatever. Um, just start and accomplish. You want to finish something. It's, I'm in the business world , uh, they often call it, you have to ship it. That means it has to be done and it has to be in the world. You don't let it wait for it to be perfect. You in particularly in , in our world now it's show easy to fix things. Like, you know, we don't , um, we read plays when they're ready, getting ready for publication three, four or five times. My eyes are not the only ones on it. My eyes. Um, the other person who does the proof size and then the playwrights. So there's at least at least three sets of eyes on a play and still still typos get through still. There are like tiny miss days. Um , but we're at the , we're at a wonderful, wonderful technology, technology, technology, technological , uh, I don't have an English degree , uh, age where when that thing happens we respond and we'll just fix it. But if you, if it's not out in the world than it can never be fixed, it can never be changed. If it's always just, well , I'm just not going to let other people see it or let other people respond. I'll just keep it inside. That's not right .
Speaker 5:
Being , um,
Speaker 4:
an artist in whichever way or, or a an inventor or a creator or a , you know, science is all about , um, things going wrong, right? Science all day, every day is getting something out there and trying something and, and seeing what happens in using failure as a data point and, and making it, making it work. Um, I have a , uh , a book , uh , a resource book that I , I wrote , um, called the 32nd monologue project. I'm pretty sure that's the title , but the whole idea of it is you don't start students off with a two minute monologue to prepare. You start them off with a nonverbal monologue, right? You don't just throw them into the deep end of the pool. You want them to be successful at every step along the way. So we start them with a nonverbal than a one line than a three line than a 32nd. And then you're at a point where you're going to have this whole group of , of students who are gonna prepare and execute wonderful monologues because they have done every little step along the way. It's the exact same thing with playwriting, whether you're a student or whether you're a teacher. Start with the one page moment and then make it five pages and then make a 10 and then they get a one act and then make it a full one . With your experience as a playwright and seeing your work produced , what has been one of your favorite moments that you can think of from those experiences? Oh, there's so many. I just, it's just you always, you always learn there's always a story because they are using the play for, for a lot of different reasons. Um, sometimes it says a simple reason as it's a, it's a community builder. You know, it's just, they're just there and they're there. They're using the play to, to make a friend , um, which is so, it's so wonderfully valuable. It's why I don't, I don't have any, I don't judge my, my, I have so many very light fluffy plays . I don't judge them any, any, I need weight less stronger. I don't judge them for being fluffy as some people would cause it's not serious. It's not, it's not a serious play. It's not professional. You know, I've had that sort of flung at me and I'm like, it doesn't matter because the experience that a student has being in a fluffy pit , fluffy play is exactly the same as being in a serious place if their , if their goal is community. Um, I watched a , uh , I was , uh , I have this set relationship with the school so I that I've been at this school
Speaker 5:
that yeah ,
Speaker 4:
but at least once a year over, I think, I think I started going in 2010 so I've been at the school for many years and so I've been able to see students grow and change over a number of years. And there was a school where there was a student who was on the spectrum , um, and the teacher was telling me in grade nine she was having to have conversations with him about , um, did you shower today? Like just the basics. And then I went, they were doing a premiere of a show of mine and he was in it. You had a major role in his senior year, so four years later in his senior year. And it was very clear that he was mentoring younger students. And it was because he had that community. He had an opportunity to be in a safe space for his entire high school life and change. And my clay is a minuscule part of that experience. What it's, it means the world to me that I was able to play a minuscule called heart , that being in place , um, made him find out himself and find out who we really was. Um, I've had teachers tell me ,
Speaker 5:
um ,
Speaker 4:
they've had students who have read monologues and went, I thought I was the only one who felt like this and was able to, I've , if there's a specific situation where a student went to a , her teacher and said, by after reading, reading a monologue that I just happened to have that I have two . I , I've written that she connected with so strongly and she realized she was , um, she was in deep trouble and wanted help. And again, very, very tiny part. But it was, it was the whole idea of, of not letting students kind of see that they're not alone in whatever it is that they're going through. I have a play called the bright blue mailbox suicide note, which is, which is, it takes a look at , um, at students realistic how people, different people react, how people react differently to suicide. And that one just over years and years. Uh, I hear that, that what being in that play helps them sort of come to terms with suicide, our own communities and their own experiences. Uh, I had a , a teacher tell me that the parents, they, they bright blue and the parents tried to shut the show down because they said this play is making our students sat at now our kids sad and the students stood up and they said, no, we won't. We won't let you shut this down. Cause it's not that we're sad, it's that we're talking about sadness. So it's those kinds of, I mean, it's a, it , the power of theater and the power of , uh , um, the life changing aspects of theater at the school level are huge. And I , I take my role , uh , pretty seriously in with that, with that I'm acknowledging how powerful it can be and how important it is to be , uh , responsive and responsible to that.
Speaker 3:
Well, I think that's, that's really important that we, we are able to, as theater teachers, provide spaces for those conversations to happen. Um, and it doesn't, it doesn't always have to be through a production. I mean, it can be just with the work that you're doing in class with them and , and the a monologue that the teacher can share that , you know. So I think, I think that's really important for not only teachers that are out there to hear that, but for my students who I will , um , bring their attention to this part of the podcast when it, when it airs. But I think that's super important that we all need to keep in mind that it doesn't always have to be a, a production and with, with the big production values and drawing an audience. And sometimes it's just those conversations we have in our classroom.
Speaker 4:
It's the whole notion of , of it's the things , it's safe space. And how a safe space for students is, is it's amazing how impactful that can be. And it's amazing how, and this is why drama teachers need all the support, any support that we can give them. They need it because they are doing the work that will send students out into the real world. They actually will give them the skills to handle it. That whole notion of being able to, being able to communicate, being able to , to think critically, to think creatively in whatever situation they happen to end up in or whatever job they end happened to him end up in. They're not, they're not learning it in math class. You know, absolutely math has a , has a place for so many people, but the ability to, to communicate and work with others and to express whatever is happening inside of them, I think as a has seen value that , um , that often isn't seen as a value.
Speaker 3:
Well I think you have a unique , uh , lens that you get to look through as you, as I ask these next couple of questions. Um, cause you are , um, not only a playwright, not only cofounder of drama teacher Academy and theater folk, but you, you are out there, you're, you're working with students all the time. You're, you're teaching, you're , you're leading workshops. And , um, so with all that work that you're doing with students, what, what are you seeing as , um, some of the greatest needs that our students have right now, or just young people in general have? And how can we as theater teachers help them with that?
Speaker 4:
Well, the first thing I'd like to say is I see a lot of hope and a , I think that we're bombarded with this notion that as a generation , um, teenagers are somehow worse than they used to be. Um, which I don't believe at all. Um, I think that, I think there's a lot of smart and insightful and , um , really, really , uh, aware of the world in a way that I was not aware of. I'm gonna stay maybe till I was 30. I assert I had 17. I certainly was not aware of the world. Um, as so many students that I come across , uh , today are, I really think anxiety is the, is the big one. Anxiety and perfection are two of the biggest , um, concerns that I see to the point where a lot of students aren't there. They're there , they're back pedaling so much cause they don't want to do something because it's not going to turn out perfect or their anxiety is just something that is overtaking them in a, in a manner in which , um, perhaps is, is deeper and greater than , uh, I've seen in other students , other generations and students before and I don't think it's something to be taken lightly. So I think that's something that's I see constantly.
Speaker 3:
And what about, what about the greatest needs you see with theater teachers?
Speaker 4:
Oh, well, that they are, they don't, are , they're not taken seriously, that their programs aren't taken seriously and that they don't have, that they're alone, that they're doing it all alone or the only drama teacher in their school, they're the only drama teacher. Sometimes in their district. They're being told that their classes , uh, uh, I talked to a teacher two weeks ago and there's someone in the math department declared what she was doing in drama classes and loosey goosey , um, or frivolous or games, you know, it's just games and uh, none of that is true. None of that is, is anywhere close to the truth. I think the problem is, is that there are other, other subjects have defined lines, right? If you're , you know, math is a great example, there is a right answer and there is a wrong answer and uh , you work towards the right answer. Sometimes in the general ed classroom, the wrong answer is actually the one you need in one. You needed to get to in order to find out what the right answer is. And sometimes the drama classroom can, can come across as chaotic. Um, but in actual fact, it's just like five groups all working on scenes and they're like, they are working together or someone is acting in a leadership role or someone's acting as a, you know, a stage manager and overseeing everything. You know, that doesn't translate into a, a test quite so easily. Yeah. Yeah. What , um, what great things, new things are you all working on at theater folk and drama teacher Academy that we should keep our eyes out for coming up? Um, we are , um, we're really thrilled with what's going to come up on the, on the drum teacher Academy and the in the next, in the next six months we're working on curriculums. So we are are launching the first half of a uh , middle school curriculum. Um, this month we are launching a stagecraft without a theater curriculum, which we are so thrilled about the , again, this whole idea that so many drama teachers aren't working with traditional theater spaces. They're not working with lighting systems. They don't have a soundboard, they don't have, they don't have any of the traditional spaces and equipment that one often is often associates with learning the technical theater arts. So we have a, a former teacher who, she basically taught stagecraft in a cortical for four years with a full portable, the 25 with 25 students. So we have this wonderful curriculum up looking at all of the technical theater arts where you do not need any traditional theater space. You don't need any traditional equipment. So this is drama teacher academy.com. Just find out information on this and then to , uh, to further add to our tech elements. Um, we will be , uh, that's basically what we're going to be focusing on on 2020 is a whole bunch of , uh, um, tech theater , um, that , uh, that's the thing that, the missing piece that we have had at the gym teacher Academy and we had some missing no longer. So that's very, very exciting. Um, theater folk is, is really focusing on. Um, we have some really wonderful new plays , um, that have just come out. Uh , Steven Greg who is a long time , um, theater , uh , either for youth writer, he wrote this as a task , which has continues to be an amazing , um, uh , piece throughout the years. Uh, we just published by his new place, something to keep us warm , which I just adore. I think it's so wonderful. Um, we're doing a lot of classical adaptations. Uh, one by a teacher in , uh , Montana Laramie Dean. Uh , it's the Gorgon sisters . So it's Greek myth, but it's Greek myth the way you've never seen it before, which I just, that's what I love. Adaptation is my absolute favorite, favorite type of theater to write. Um, I did one last year on , um, Victorian ghost stories and I just, I love taking one. It's like critical thinking piece, right? You gotta take one something in one form and put it into another. And , uh, and then resources were the whole notion, not just of , uh , resources as eBooks were , uh , resources for the classroom that you can buy in hard copy . We're , we're moving down that road. So that's something that I'm , uh, it's , it's very, it's all very , um, it's all very exciting because it's important to, to, again, to keep listening and keep changing on what people want and what people want people need. That's how , uh, all of this stays exciting. Drum teacher Academy has been around this, this, this summer marks its fifth anniversary. Um, that we've been doing this and it has changed so much since we first launched with three little courses in 30 , uh , 30 lesson plans. And a theater focus has been around for 25 years and we have been changing since we S you know, we started out as a production company and here we are down the road. I'm really focusing on being solely focused on schools and student performers. So I think that's how you, that's how you, that's how you grow and that's how you um , keep it good. She did good. Keep it interesting and, and an exciting experience from the inside too.
Speaker 3:
Well, what is , um, cause you all have amazing resources that you, you , you're providing every one. But what is a resource that you , um, are currently using or would currently recommend for new teachers or even veteran teachers who are just looking to spice some things up in their classroom?
Speaker 4:
Well I use, I don't know if this is something that is uh , um, it's changing the world, but I have moved pretty much primarily to doing a lot of work. Um, not even just on my laptop and on my phone cause I have that all the time. So I use Google keep. Uh, and that is the thing that's open up , uh , that is open on my phone all the time. Uh , cause another thing in terms of being a writer, you want to make sure you're , when you see something or hear something, it goes, it goes into the written form as soon as possible. You don't leave it to remember it. Uh , and I used to carry around a notebook with me all the time and it's really interesting how in the past couple of years that because the phone is with me all the time and more so than other things getting used to. Just the idea of using that app , um, to , um, record and get that down as much as possible. Um, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a C I use a lot of the, anything that I'm using in terms of websites or, or apps or wealth , the source.com and I don't rely on my spelling anymore. I always, I'm, and it's the most wonderful thing in terms of a playwright. This is the, another thing I'll actually, I said that flippantly. Uh , source dot competence, it's actually quite true is what, what happens sometimes is that when you're writing something in a first draft, it's not exactly the way you know that you want to say something kind of like XYZ , but you don't have X , Y , Z in your brain just yet. So sometimes what happens with writers is they, as they stop writing and they go, okay, until I figure out what X , Y , Z is, I can't go any further. And it's like, no, you do something like X , Y , Z. And you just keep going. And then when you go back to it, you know, you write out the wrong thing, write out the thing that isn't quite right. And then when it's in front of, you can go, you know what, this guy is a , this is like a brain surgeon. So I need to figure out brain surgeon words. Or this guy uses 10 letter words when he's defining something instead of the three letter words that normal humans use. And I use all of those. I use rhyme zone. I use the source.com. I use , um, uh, Wikipedia all the time because they helped me figure out the dialogue that's going to be character specific. Um, and in sometimes it doesn't have to end . It doesn't always suck cause we as human beings, we say wrong things all the time. So I'm not tear unless I'm, unless this character is an expert , um, you know, I'm not, I , I kind of like it when people say things that are, are not quite right or they're kind of off. So I have like for example , um, I have a character who likes to count , uh , in a new play I'm writing. And so I'm mixing it up so that they are counting, counting in Spanish, but they're not, it's not quite right. So it's like the right word, but what it is pronounced, you know what I mean? There's just things that are not quite right. So I find what it is supposed to be and then you sort of fix it. So use all of those. This is a very, again, very long way to say the internet is your friends. The internet is an amazing tool. Find ways for your students to use their phones cause that's what's comfortable for them. Um, in writing processes, whether it's through research or research projects , um, you know, as long as you make sure they're going to cite their sources. But whether it's using , um, word help tools, whether it's using tools that help them where they're writing in a way that's comfortable for them instead of with a pen and paper instead of , um , on a laptop, whether it's it using a different researches reached search tools to get them where they need to be, to be comfortable with their writing. And that's kind of what it's, that's what it should be all about. Anything you can do to make them write in a way which is comfortable for them is gonna get them writing. What are your parting words of wisdom for new teachers coming into educational theater? Well, the first thing I would say is go to new JAMA teacher.com, because you're going to find , um, a , uh , a wonderful little booklet that's got classroom management stuff, a whole bunch of articles, have a whole bunch of um, uh, emergency lesson plan prompts. Uh, in other words, get the help, get help, talk to other teachers. Um, don't go into , um, don't go into this situation. Um , thinking that , uh, that if things go wrong that it's always going to be wrong. You know, there's help that helped me get help is always around the corner. So Matt Webster was on this podcast a while ago and he loves to say that the first year of the two new teachers, you basically find out where the bathrooms are, right? So if you do that, you are so successful, you're going to be awesome. And then the next year you can learn one more new thing. And then the next year you can learn. One more thing. I think going into a classroom is, is so different than learning about what it's like to go into a classroom that you really can't know until you get into it. And you do it. And Jen, let's end this whole again on this whole notion of failure. Never feel that failure is a negative or that when things go wrong, you're, your whole teaching experience is over. It's just beginning. And use those, use any mistakes that happen, use any negative feelings and use them as a wonderful experience, a wonderful opportunity to go in, try something new, try again. Um, keep learning and you will , uh, you are really necessary. You weren't you, all of you teachers out there, you're so valuable. You are so necessary. And I know that these are not the words that are often spoken to you, but I don't think there's anything more valuable, not only than a teacher, what our drama teacher, and we need you, we need you to keep, keep going into the classroom. And he keep learning and keep finding new ways to, to get students where they need to be in terms of going out into, into the world. So thank you for taking on this job. Thank you , um , for doing what it is you do and uh , keep doing it.
Speaker 3:
Well , Lindsay , is there anything else you would like to talk about on, just from your perspective or anything that I may not have hit on that you'd like to like to talk about a little bit?
Speaker 4:
I don't think so. I feel like I've been very, I feel like I've talked a lot and I feel like I've, I've , but , uh , um, as always, I , uh, I, I love what I do so much. I love being a playwright for schools and student performers. You can find all our stuff at theater, folk.com and resources for the drama classroom place specifically for the gem McLeod or for drama students. Uh, we kinda like to stay that , uh , with our stuff. You can do it with two cubes, but you really had to, you could take away one cube and it would be fine. Um, but there's also plays that have opportunities for students , um, creativity and particularly in the tech areas and costume and light sound. Um, if you're a JAMA teacher's feeling alone, who checkout [inaudible] trauma teacher academy.com. Uh, we have, I'm so proud, actually, mostly proud of our community , um, in terms of how our , uh, our Facebook group responds to each other and helps each other out. And uh, the , uh , the teachers who always come onto our panels for our professional learning community events , um , none of this gets done alone and nothing I do gets done alone. Nothing ever happens in a vacuum. And , uh, in anything that we can do to , um , make your life easier, that's what we're going to do. That's kind of , that's the goal. That's the, that's the whole, that's the purpose is that , uh, um, we're not alone. You're not alone. Um, and uh, we can make it happen.
Speaker 3:
Well, you are definitely, you have done that, you're doing that and I know you will continue to do that for , for teachers out there. So thank you for all you do. Thank you for joining me in chatting with me today. It was , it was really nice to finally get to meet you and put a voice and a face , uh , to everything that I've seen online. And, and uh, I just, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your summer and uh, knock those four plays out that your , you've got working , uh , working on , on your desktop. So , uh, but thank you for joining me. It was really nice meeting you and chatting with you. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you so much Lindsay . Price for joining me. If you are at the talks listener and have not checked out , um, theater folk or the drama teacher Academy, you've been living under a rock for one and number two, you need to check it out immediately. They have amazing resources on that website and uh , they provide amazing , uh, plays for you too that you can , um, Bisons and produced with your students. And , uh , we've had , uh , Matt Webster on the show, my mentor from my undergrad who is a playwright for them and as a consultant and works for them. And next week we'll featuring a interview with Krista Vogt who is a another contributor to theater folk and the drama teacher Academy. So get on the website, check that out and uh, and put to use what they're putting out there for us. And speaking of Krista vote when she and I uh , chatted over the summer , um, she and I began to stay in touch quite a bit over social media. Uh , so I encourage you to check out all of our social media and interact with me on there on the regular. Um, we're on twitter@theateredtalksontumblerfedtalksdottumblrdotcomonfacebookandthefedtalksgroupinstagramattedtalkspodcastandyoucanalwayscheckoutourwebsitewwwdotfedtalks.com where you have all of the archives of our past episodes, resource lists from all the teachers who've been on the show and a place where you can sign up to submit topics and stories for hour . So this just happened segment coming up soon. So check all of that out. You can email me@fedtalkspodcastatgmail.com if you'd like to be a guest on the show, have some suggestions for me to keep making the show better or some suggestions for topics on the show. I'd love to hear from you. So please interact with us on email and all our social media and always check out our website. You can find the podcast on all your favorite podcast providers , uh, Apple podcasts, iTunes, Google podcasts, Google play, Spotify, Stitcher, any pod and tune in so you can find us anywhere. So go on, subscribe to the show, rate us, review us and share it with those theater educators in your life you think you could benefit from what we're doing here on the show. These last couple of weeks have had super busy for me and my students at ISU. We have general auditions going on. My seniors have just produced their a one acts in the local schools. My student teachers have finished up ed, TPA and are kicking butt in the classroom. And my freshman actually have their scenes , uh, purring at the local junior high featuring my daughter. And one of them. So I'm excited to check that out this week. So there's just a lot going on. I know you all are busy, you've got your state festivals and competitions and
Speaker 2:
everything going on where you're just showcasing and featuring your students left and right. So I wish you all the broken legs and , uh, I just hope you all put the best, best effort forward and show everybody where , um , your best work in representing your schools . So all the best to you. I wish you all a wonderful week. Thank you, Joel Hamlin and Joshua Schusterman for the use of your original music magnetize and flip the record for the show. I really appreciate it and I appreciate you for listening. Okay . Have a wonderful week and take care of yourselves.
