Queen Mab was a hit--particularly when hinting that she could be the one to blame for those unseemly nocturnal emissions. I think I saw some relief on the faces of confused boys. At any rate, they certainly enjoy the sword and torch jokes and the girls seem to tune in now and then as well. Listening to professional actors read the parts is really helping the kids pick up on the subtext and the plot.

The new "mastery works" v. "practice and effort" seems to be working too. A few kids seem to actually be keeping up with maintaining their points and looking to see what has been assigned and what, if anything, they are missing. I like it because the turn-around time is so quick and as I glance over the work, I can see who is on the ball and who is not.

I like the spring semester. It is filled with teaching artists and theater and fun stuff to read and do. The kids are more mature and trained (after a season on routines) and they seem to b responding well to all the positive feedback that I am coating them in. I am working very hard to stress the positive and ignore or at least respond much less to the poo-pooers of the class.

We're almost finished with act one. We're nearly on schedule. Woah.