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"Friday Night Lights meets Glee-the incredible and true story of an extraordinary drama teacher who has changed the lives of thousands of students and inspired a town. Why would the multimillionaire producer of Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon take his limo from Manhattan to the struggling former steel town of Levittown, Pennsylvania, to see a high school production of Les Miserables? To see the show performed by the astoundingly successful theater company at Harry S Truman High School, run by its legendary director, Lou Volpe. Broadway turns to Truman High when trying out controversial shows like Rent and Spring Awakening before they move on to high school theater programs across the nation. Volpe's students from this blue-collar town go on to become Emmy-winning producers, entertainment executives, newscasters, and community-theater founders. Michael Sokolove, a Levittown native and former student of Volpe's, chronicles the drama director's last school years and follows a group of student actors as they work through riveting dramas both on and off the stage. This is a story of an economically depressed but proud town finding hope in a gifted teacher and the magic of theater. "--… (more)
User reviews
As a high-school teacher and as a former member of several high-school pit orchestras, I wanted to love this
Here is the mistake, I think: Mr. Sokolove should have followed only one of the productions to its triumphant end. He could then use the natural progression in mounting a difficult show as his main plot, spinning sidebars about Mr. Volpe's remarkable career and highlighting the student actors. Then, when the tension mounts as the premier approaches, so does the tension in the book. This would have made the book more compelling reading.
Nevertheless, if you want to see why arts education is so important in high school, you must read this book.
I loved my drama teacher as much as Volpe's students loved him, but reading this made me so
The narrative goes a little of course when the author rails about the evils of testing and the common core, but overall this was a highly enjoyable read.
The descriptions of Volpe’s directing and interacting with students are by far the best parts of the book, and the obvious affection and respect that Sokolove has for his subjects are evident in his writing. Even though the organization of these sections can seem disjointed (for instance, the way Sokolove ends some chapters is abrupt and unsatisfying), the raw excitement of the students and Volpe that Sokolove captures in his writing helps compensate for any structural missteps. At its peak, “Drama High” is a compulsive read that makes it easy to become immersed in the world of drama at Truman High.
However, the book falters when Sokolove leaves Truman, Volpe, and the students and attempts to connect their narrative to a larger context. The most egregious example of this occurs in the chapter on Mariela’s struggles as she wrestles with portraying the mother in Good Boys and True. Sokolove uses this specific example as an entry point for his argument that the arts are an integral part of education. The sections on Mariela’s learning challenges and the confidence she gets from theatre are effective and would be more than enough to convince the skeptics reading the book. However, Sokolove then pivots to address the educational landscape in general, including the cuts in funding and time allocated to the arts because of a renewed emphasis on testing and test scores and because of the Common Core State Standards. The 14 pages devoted to this topic shouldn’t seem overly long given that they are in a book with over 300 pages, but they did feel shoehorned in and they also seemed unfocused. The mix of anecdotes culled from other sources, information regarding the CCSS (which Sokolove somewhat misinterprets), statistics from reports and research, and other sources make these 14 pages seem like an interminable and disorganized, if passionate, slog. The other tangents are similar in length, and all disrupt the flow of the unfolding (and much more interesting) narrative of Volpe, Krause, Bobby, and the other students.
All in all, “Drama High” is an engaging, if flawed, look at a truly dedicated and gifted educator. Although the book would have been strengthened by a greater sense of focus and by crisper organization, the parts that are successful allow readers to be in the moment with Volpe and students. Getting a chance to witness their struggles in rehearsals and the celebration that ensues during their triumphs makes up for the weaker parts of the book, and this allows readers to experience the power of arts education in a way far more convincing and meaningful than any list of statistics or abstract arguments against standardized testing ever could be.
Do what makes famed Broadway producers, writers and directors make the long trip from Manhattan to see high school productions of their plays and musicals at local Truman High School? It's a remarkable teacher named Lou Volpe who has taken an under funded theater department and turned it into a national award-winning powerhouse.
Along the way, his working class students have moved on after high school to become Emmy Award-winning producers, newscasters and community theater founders - a track record that more affluent schools would envy.
Told with heart by Mew York Times writer, Michael Sokolove, who attended Truman High School himself, and had Lou Volpe as a teacher, this book shows the power of an engaged and dedicated teaher to change the lives of those around him.
Volpe is an inspiring teacher who challenges and gets the most from his
In addition to Volpe’s personal and professional story, the book also stresses the importance of the arts in education. So much research reinforces the cognitive benefits of creative thinking and how it expands the brain’s capabilities. It’s sad that when funds are low, the high school music and drama programs are the first on the chopping block.
We probably all have had a teacher who made a difference in our life. Lou Volpe made a difference in the lives of many.
The top layer is the story of Harry S Truman High School in Levittown,
Most high school productions are those that have been playing for decades. At Truman, the program goes for the plays that have relevance for today’s society even if they may appear to be less safe and more edgy. It provides the students with a degree of sophistication above that of their contemporaries from most other high schools. Sir Cameron Mackintosh has brought Broadway dignitaries to see its shows and had it pilot Broadway blockbusters adapted for high school actors. The Drama Club did not have much financial backing, but presented five Main Show performances at the International Thespian Festival (the shows were Telemachus Clay, Equus, Pageant, The Rimers of Eldritch, and Good Boys and True). It was the first high school to produce Rent, Les Miserables, and Spring Awankening, all for Music Theater International. Obviously, it is not a typical high school Drama Club.
The next layer is Lou Volpe, the teacher. Sokolove wrote “Everyone in life needs to have had at least one brilliant, inspiring teacher.” For the students involved in the theater program at Truman, Volpe is that teacher. With the support of the administration, he is able to help the students become extremely talented actors even though most had never been able to afford acting, voice, or dancing lessons. The book tells both his professional and personal stories. As I write this, I am aware that he has not read the book. Michael Sokolove, a Truman graduate, followed him for two years to get the background for DRAMA HIGH. He notes that Volpe did not want to see the book until the hard cover edition came out. My copy is an uncorrected proof.
Sokolove brings the entire process necessary to produce a high school play to light as he describes the numerous steps from choosing a play, casting, rehearsing, setting it up, and actually putting it on.
The third layer is psychological. We learn the stories of the students, how they react to life and to the plays, and how Volpe knows when to step in and when to let the students find their own paths, discovering their skills and aspects of themselves they hadn’t recognized or appreciated previously. As one student, Courtney Meyer, observed, “If you’re in the theater program, you’re changed. You accept. You are exposed to people and ideas that, if you were a close-minded or bigoted person, you can’t be anymore. You change without knowing it or even thinking about it necessarily.”
From a sociological perspective, Levittown was hit hard by changing economic times. Chicago Steppenwolf Theater’s artistic director Martha Lavey stated “To be born into privilege is to be given the tools to replicate that privilege” regardless of the children’s intelligence or ability. Levittown was originally built as a planned community built in 1952. On the whole, the residents were middle class with some professionals mixed in. As time went on, local steel mill closed, the neighborhood deteriorated, and the income level dropped. At Truman, many families rely on food stamps, Head Start, and free lunch program. The students no longer looked toward a future of going to college and getting good jobs. Life became stagnant. The students did not perform well on standardized tests compared with those in other schools.
The education layer is also very important. Visitors to Truman were greeted with trophy cases for athletics teams as well as lists of colleges graduates attend and the amounts of the scholarships they receive. Today almost everything is measured by its economic value. Nobel Prize winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz said, “All markets are shaped by laws and regulations, and unfortunately, are laws and regulations are shaped in order to create more inequality and less opportunity.” The book discusses the importance of the arts in the lives of students and how current philosophy has moved to teaching for the test rather than encouraging creativity. He notes that the poorest schools are the ones hit hardest by this. Nearly thirty percent of California public schools have no arts programs. While math and science do get priority, English is also an important subject in that it is used as a measurement. Sadly, the Common Core set of standards used in forty-six states and the District of Columbia, require fourth grade students to devote half their reading to non-fiction. By the senior year, it has jumped to seventy percent. Non-fiction includes maps, train schedules, and recipes, subjects which will not help students hear about other ideas and experiences. The effects and benefits of arts programs cannot be measured by standardized tests.
In some ways, DRAMA HIGH is similar to the popular television show, “Glee,” except the students do not insert their personal lives into the program nor are they the victims of bullies. The star in one play might be in the ensemble or working stage crew in the next. Newcomers could get major roles. They don’t have the classy costumes and were focused on one play the entire semester. There was a Sue Sylvester-type character at one time who told a star wrestler that he had to chose between the team and the play. Even when Volpe arranged rehearsals so the student could do both, the coach refused to budge.
This is the first book review for which I sent the draft to people because I was so sure they would love the book. I’ll be sending it to all my theater friends.
I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
My high school had resources to spare, but the
Sokolove was a student of Volpe's so he provides an insight that compares and contrasts Volpe, the program, and Levittown itself over 30 years. The book is a fascinating look at what was once a blue collar town, its mores and values, and how it all affects the young students.
I wanted to learn more of how Volpe inspires his students and what he does differently from other inspiring teachers, but didn't come up with much. I was hoping for more information on his production choices and adaptations as well. Drama High was a fast read, but not terribly compelling. I liked this one, but didn't love it.
This book caught my eye because I was a theater kid in high school. The head of our drama department had a very particular idea of what shows were worthwhile and appropriate for high schoolers to perform. Partway through my own
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