In this episode, I sat down with A.J. Johnson, Head Coach for Speech and One-Acts at Hartington-Newcastle in northeast Nebraska, and also the school's Superintendent.  A.J.'s teams have dominated the ranks of Class C2 over the last several years, winning 6 State Championships in One-Act and 5 in Speech.  As of this release, they have qualified for State again in Play Production, going for #7 this year. His shows have a reputation for utilizing a huge chorus and huge facial expressions.Some of the topics we covered are:

*How he balances being an administrator and a coach*Understanding the strain on kids who try to do everything*How he finds time to practice in a small school*A unique warm-up that his teams do to improve facial expressions*A rival school's production that helped things "click" for his team*A.J.'s least favorite part of directing*The biggest mistakes that he has made as a director*Common mistakes he sees other teams making when he judges*What the average director could do today to get better

...and much more!

Show Notes available at: http://www.speechanddramacoach.com/podcast-006/