Selecting plays to strengthen your drama department If this is your first year of teaching, I have some helpful hints in chapter three of my book The Drama Teacher’s Survival Guide. One of the things I didn’t mention when developing your drama department is to always keep in mind the size of the cast when choosing your plays for a season. We all love to work with a small group, but having a limited number of roles does not allow you to encourage more students to get involved with your drama department. Try to pick one show a year with a cast between 15 and 20. On page 72 of my book, I talk about double casting, another way of engaging more students: This is when you cast two people in the same role. It is a mixed bag. It certainly allows many more students to become involved in your drama program. It does, however, foster jealousy because of the, “Our show is better than yours” syndrome. It also only allows you one-half the time to work with each actor. Plays with blackouts I recently attended a production that had many scenes consisting of flashbacks, but it only required one set. I’m sure the blackouts were given in the script so the actors could prepare for the flashbacks or to tell the audience that they were being transported back in time. But as an audience member, every time the lights went out I was immediately taken out of the flow of the story. When you are confronted with this dilemma, or one that does not contain flashbacks but many short scenes separated by blackouts, try to avoid a complete blackout and come up with a common thread. One suggestion would be to use music as the bridge between the present and the past. When I produced I Remember Mama I used that as my link between Katrina’s talking to us and her memories. Another suggestion might be to use a change of light — if you’re lucky enough to have sophisticated lighting facilities. Even if we have to see the characters add a costume or prop before the scene begins it indicates that we have another flashback/memory. Yet another suggestion might be to combine some of the scenes. Having one scene flow into another can eliminate many blackouts, David and Lisa is a prime example. Also, if you have a large stage, indicating one area for your memory/flashback can add to the flow of the show. I guess what I am saying is use your imagination and always keep your audience’s attention in mind. Anytime they are sitting in total darkness takes them away from the action and the story. | 
