Brad Rackers

Due to the classes he teaches being theatre, an insane amount of memorization is required. It doesn't matter if you're in theatre 1, theatre 2, repertory theatre, etc, it takes a lot of effort to make it through his classes. It's all based on project grades - most assignments are group projects, many of them being scenes from plays or presentations. If you don't do well with public speaking or have an issue with socializing, DO NOT take his classes. Theatre is not an easy A, in fact, it can be quite difficult at times. Just look out.

Always plan ahead in this class, and go above and beyond as much as possible because there are often things you will be expected to do that are not clearly stated or explained. Expect to struggle a lot because you will not get much help in areas you likely have little experience in such as lighting/sound design or other crew areas. Make friends and don’t turn on the other students, we’re all trying to get through the class alive. It will be the most stressful class you take at West.

The environment in Mr. Rackers's class is really comforting and nice to be in. It's an open discussion "call out if you know the answer" dynamic, which gives everyone the chance to speak their thoughts and have conversations with others while doing so. There are a lot of group projects but they're very loose and open, giving everyone in the project space to do their own thing while also working with their partners. Memorization is required but it's a theatre class, to that's to be expected. Most quizzes are open-note and easy. All around, it's an easy and fun class to go to, while also being informational.