In the first 10 minutes of this week’s “Lights Up” podcast, Neil Schleifer and Tom Beck from Pelham Memorial High School in Pelham, New York, dig into the work they do to make sure that their actors create fully formed characters every time out. Schleifer says that work begins on Day One of rehearsal, with a character circle, in which each actor answers the question -- “Who am I?” -- in as many ways as they can, based on what they know from the script. The next conversation, Beck says, answers the question “What do I want?” Then, Schleifer says, the conversations go deeper. “Are they willing to lie to get what they want? Cheat? Bribe? Steal? Kill? Are they willing to listen? Are they willing to learn? Do they apply sincerity, honesty, trust to get what they want? These are all choices and there are dozens of possibilities. Rehearsal is for deciding which choice works best.”

Deb Toteda, choreographer and director of dance at Harrison High School, and Dr. Gerry Micera, director at Putnam Valley High School, talk about how they give feedback to their young actors and dancers. It's a dance of its own, balancing trust and sensitivity and the realization that feedback is part of the process of making art.

Dan McCarter is music director, conductor, technical director, and producer of Suffern High School’s acclaimed theater program. He joins Pete Kramer of Pete Kramer Media to talk theater tech and what it's like to lead a pit orchestra of 55 high school students. Yes. Fifty-five!

Voice teacher Celeste Simone has coached some of Broadway's greats, from Kristin Chenoweth to Chita Rivera. She joins Pete Kramer on "Lights Up: The High School Theater Podcast" to share real-world advice for young singers and their parents, about troubling things she sees when singers come for their first lesson. And she tells some great stories, including how Chita Rivera got the leg up on her teacher in their first voice lesson.

Pete Kramer of Pete Kramer Media chats with Brandon Salerno about social-media campaigns for high school theater productions. For four years, Salerno has handled social media for the Eastchester High School Players Club fall comedy. He is a working actor (currently appearing in "Drunk Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet" Off-Broadway) who also handles social media outreach for Penguin Rep Theater in Stony Point, New York.