Musical Productions

I served as the artistic director and producer for the following musicals at Northbrook Junior High School:

• Wizard of Oz Jr.

• Rock of Ages, Middle School Edition

• Little Mermaid, Jr.

• Influencer Nation (Virtual Show)

At Beardsley, I was fortunate to have administrative support in creating a new drama program. Two other teachers joined me, and we created a student-centered program designed to develop creativity and confidence in participants. Students not only learned about all aspects of musical theater, but they also developed communication and collaboration skills. They learned to voice their ideas, support the ideas of others, and take pride in working with dedication on a major project.

Students had a voice in staging, costumes, sets, props, promotions, and t-shirt design. The team of actors and the backstage crew worked together and formed a theater family.

I served as the artistic director for the following musicals at Hannah Beardsley:

• Wizard of Oz

• Bye Bye Birdie

• Aladdin

• Peter Pan

In 2009, I transitioned from teaching elementary school to teaching middle school. When I arrived, I realized that my new school did not have a theater program. I teamed up with another teacher and together, we built a new musical program.

Our goal was to give every student who wanted to experience theater a place in our program. With a cast of over eighty students and a tech crew of twenty, we had to rely on other staff members to help with management and supervision. Several teachers joined our team to help with vocal coaching, choreography, production tasks like managing the budget and making programs, and supervising the crew meetings.

We even had parent volunteers step in to provide costumed, sew curtains, and advertise the show.

The first show that we performed at Lundahl was an original, written by my directing partner, and it celebrated Lundahl’s 50th anniversary. The musical, titled “Celebration,” was a time travel story and had our actors landing in five decades leading to the present day. In each decade, we referenced pop culture and important historical events as well as significant school events. We included retired staff members in our scenes and had our kids singing Styx and Simon and Garfunkel songs. We went on to produce two more musicals after Celebration, and then our directing team split to explore other professional opportunities away from Lundahl.

I was part of the directing team for the following musicals at Lundahl:

• Celebration

• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

• Grease, School Edition

During my second year teaching at Glacier Ridge, a colleague asked if I would help launch the school’s first ever theater program. Together with two other staff members, we established program goals and guidelines and successfully held our first school musical for our fourth and fifth students, Cinderella. The program is still running at Glacier Ridge today.

I was part of the directing team for the following musicals at Glacier Ridge:

• Cinderella

• Jungle Book

• Aristocats

• Aladdin