Welcome to History of Modern American Music / Drama

Welcome Students!

This year-long course actually consists of two one-semester courses: 

• The History of Modern American Music (basically, the history of rock and roll); and
• Introduction to Drama & Theatre. 

Each semester is graded as a separate course on your grade card, but you must enroll in both courses for the year (you can't elect for just one) and will receive in total one fine arts credit towards graduation for successful completion of both courses.

During the first semester, we will explore the history of Rock 'n Roll from the 1950's through today. We will not only study the movers and shakers of rock and their music, but will also learn about rock in relation to American culture, our growth as a nation and important social issues. Students will watch videos, read texts, work online, complete worksheets and work on various rock and roll projects throughout the course.  I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, so I can give you my perspective on rock history and give you some first hand observations. I never thought I would end up teaching a course to high school students about the music I listened to as a teenager!

The second semester will be an introduction to theatre and drama. We will cover all aspects of theatre, including directing, producing, acting and technical theatre (lights, sets, sound, etc.). There is less written work for this segment of the course and more emphasis on class participation. I have a professional acting background, but this course will take its focus on the aspect(s) of theatre that most appeal to the various members of the class.

One of the best aspects of both courses is that you often have a choice of assignments to complete so that you can choose something that interests you and reflects your personal strengths and learning styles.

I try to keep homework to a minimum in this class, so you will be given time in the Resource Lab and in class to work on worksheets and assignments.  Please do not use this time to surf the web, socialize and watch silly videos.  Trust me, you will quickly fall behind and be sorry later. If you goof off during the given independent work time, you will just be creating homework for yourself!

So, welcome to my classroom!  Sometimes you will love what we're studying, and sometimes you might not like it or be bored, but in the end I hope that you will enjoy the work we do together and will learn to appreciate how rock and roll became such an important part of American culture.  

Who knows, you might even just learn something . . .

Where is Jazz Today?

Jazz was once the most popular music in America.  For years, it was the hippest, hottest, coolest music to listen to.  Think of hip hop today.  Hip hop is the most current, most relevant music of the majority of our youth.  Hip hop permeates television commercials, kids shows, prime time television and basically every aspect of today's media.  Although you might think of jazz as "old people's music", it was once THE music of America's youth.

In the 1950s and 1960s, rock replaced jazz as the music of America's youth.  Today, it can be argued that rock is going down the same road: hip-hop is outpacing its popularity.  But jazz is still here -- it lives on in today's hip hop and rock, and even today remains in "purer" forms through the music of such artists as Nora Jones.  It is ironic that jazz -- the only music that we can call exclusively American  -- is much more popular overseas than it is at home in the U.S.

Students, read the following articles about the future of jazz and post below (in 2-3 complete sentences) your thoughts on the future of jazz in America and the world.  Do you think rock will go the way of jazz?

"Where is Jazz Today? Right Where It "Aught" To Be!" by Victor Magnani
"Where is Jazz Today?" by Jeremy Shepard
"Rock is the New Jazz. Sorry, Rock." by Will Layman
"A 'Dear John' Letter to Jazz: To Hell with Loving You" by Will Layman