Anne of Green Gables

So ever since the summer started, I have started reading books for fun again--AND IT'S THE BEST THING EVER!!! I don't really have time for pleasure reading during the school year, so I take advantage of my free time in the summer. One of my favorite books as a kid was Anne of Green Gables. I always wanted to be like her and I read that entire series. So, when I saw I could read it for free on my phone, I got it and started reading it. Anne is an outgoing girl, and she gets into doing recitations, one of which she performs in front a lot of people in town. Her experiences reminded me a lot of what we do in theatre, especially our monologues. We have much of the same process: memorizing the excerpt, interpreting it, and performing it, which is just what Anne did. It made me happy that Anne and I have something in common after all. :)

Rhinos Everywhere

Today my dad was listening to NPR, and when I came downstairs they were talking about rhinos and the exploitation of rhino horns. Of course, it reminded me of when we studied and produced Rhinoceros!

Pride and Prejudice Monologue

My favorite movie/book of all time is Pride and Prejudice. I was watching it for the millionth time this past weekend, and I decided that I wanted to do Elizabeth's monologue when she refuses Mr. Darcy. I did that today, June 4, 2013 during class. For my setting, I projected a picture of Mr. Darcy in the rain onto the screen and had the class sit with facing me with their backs to him, so it was like I was talking to him but they could still see my face. I thought it went really well because I love the character of Elizabeth and I'm able to channel her personality. Yet, the one thing I noticed with this, that Mrs. Burke pointed out as well, is that I often portray strong characters. Next year, I'm going to work on trying act outside my comfort zone, by being someone wish-washy or not as confident. I think that'll be a good experience for me to experiment with other types of characters. In fact, we talked in class about possibly doing some monologues or some initiation into theatre on the first day of school. Mrs. Burke was telling us how up at Penn State, the first day of Theatre 100, 2 grad students always stage a fight, so we were thinking something like that might be really fun! We're going to try to plan it out of the summer.

This is the picture of Mr. Darcy I used:

booksteame.com

Rhinoceros Reflection

On  April 1, 2013 (April Fool's Day) our IB Theatre class produced Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco. It was really fun! We got all ready in our costumes and everything before first period, and then we blocked off the stairwell, so people wouldn't interrupt our show. The second show went a lot better than our first show. In our first show, I think we were still really nervous and working out the kinks. We hadn't had a full technical rehearsal, so we also didn't really know how it was going to work. We had a few minor problems, and a bit of line skipping, but we didn't let that ruin the show. I was really impressed with how we were able to recover and keep the show going to make it really good. After the first show, we looked over the lines where we had problems, and the second show went really smoothly. I also think it helped that the audience was more responsive second period and seemed to understand the gist of the play better. They asked a lot of questions about design choices, especially the use of red. It was also funny because they asked us some questions that we hadn't really thought of before, such as the symbolism of the cat. Not only did we teach them through our play, but they also opened our eyes to new possibilities. That was a really cool experience. I also liked how we did part memorized and part staged reading because I thought that showed the audience that there are many types of theatrical productions and not everything has to be the standard memorized and on a stage. I think our setting was also interesting for both the audience and actors to experience. It gave the audience a new understanding of how to watch theatre, as well as it gave us a new experience of acting in different settings where it can still be theatre. And it was great to later get compliments from people on how they liked the show! :)

Grease

On Saturday April 13, 2013 I attended CV High school's production of the musical Grease. It was amazing!!! Everyone was so talented, the dances and singing were great! I really noticed how the actors had worked so hard to coordinate with each other. My favorite part of the musical, of course, was "Hand Jive" because it involved so many different people. I had brought my theatre glasses (binoculars) so I used them to look at specific people. It was really cool to see how each cast member put so much effort into their work. They were all focused, but they also made sure to keep acting. Even in a big crowd, it was important for each, single person to be doing everything correctly. The costumes were also really well done. There was so much color to convey the vibrancy of the musical, and some of the costume changes for the main characters were pretty impressive (they could change costumes in basically 60 seconds flat), Also, the set was incredibly elaborate! We had gone down in theatre class that week to see the set. We walked around it a little bit (even though I was scared to go up on it because I'm afraid of heights and I thought it was going to collapse and kill me). Mr. McGuire pointed out the different aspects. WOW!! It must have taken SO much work to construct it. Also, there were kids dancing on top of the structure thingy so they had to make sure it was incredibly safe. I was so impressed. Of course, they have a big budget for their shows (budget is incredibly important in theatre), but I was still really impressed. I was really impressed by the car they had for Greased Lightning because it just exemplified the fact that they had thought of everything. He also showed us some lighting techniques and sequences. For example, they had a white sheet behind the set, so other light colors could show and convey the mood of different scenes. We had a professional lighting designer who has worked on Broadway shows show us a few of the many lighting sequences. He also showed us how they could light up the jukebox with all different colors which was really cool. It was amazing to go see the show and watch as everything could be put together into a spectacular production.

Blood Wedding Monoluge

So during second marking period, I had taken notes in my Blood Wedding book for extra credit, but I didn't need, so I asked Mrs. Burke if I could so something in relation to it for extra credit. She said yes, and I chose one of the bride's monologues from the end of the play when the bridegroom's mother discovers her. I thought it was interesting because the bride was so clearly trying to deceive the woman, yet she was almost convincing. I wore a white dress with sneakers because she was a "runaway" bride. I took the class outside to a wig willow tree. I stood next to the tree, and the class either sat or stood nearby. I wanted to do this to give it the woodsy feel because this scene took place after the bride is discovered in the woods. I think it went really well. I felt more comfortable with everyone being immediately in front of me in a fairly casual setting. Also, I really felt like I could actually get into the character of the bride because I understood this scene, and I really liked it. Overall, it was a fun experience with theatre in a different setting, which often adds to the quality of the work.

Romeo and Juliet

On May 29, 2013, we got to see Gamut Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare in the PAC.

• they had AWESOME flight choreography--I remember when Mrs. Burke's husband came in freshman and id a presentation about flight choreography, and it was really cool to see it reflected on stage. Maybe we can have a workshop on it next year :)
• they used rock music--in fact, mostly modern music--HOW COOL! It reminds me a little of what we did with Rhinoceros.
• I got a little confused about who is what character, as well as who some of the characters are, their familial ties, etc.--I probably need a refresher on the play since I haven't read it since freshman year.
• the interactions between the nurse and mother were HILARIOUS!!
• I thought the dancing was cute :) and it didn't look too difficult--maybe something to do with people who aren't great dancers that is fun and looks cool to have within the production
• they added narration to parts to make it more understandable
• they had a minimal set and no changes with it  except moving around the boxes to signal a different location
• when they started Romeo and Juliet's monologues, I actually remembered a lot of it from doing it freshman year! WOW!!
• I wrote down "freshmen..." because they were really immature and would freak out and laugh or wolf-whistle during any of the kissing scenes--typical
• in the scene where Juliette doesn't want to marry Paris, her father "slapped" her--I did not remember that or even her father being abusive at all, and I did not like it!! I know each rendition is different and takes different approaches, but that was one change which I did not like because I don't like the perpetuation of the idea/image of violence
• in the wedding night scene, there was a lot of white, which I noticed--possibly to symbolize the innocence and purity of their love.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good play!! It's been a while since I've studied Romeo and Juliet so it was fun to see, and another experience of theatre. I'm learning more about what to look for in productions, instead of just deciding whether I like it or not. I also try to take into account acting choices, lighting, set design, and all aspects of theatrical productions.

Summer Work

As a class, we formulate the ideas for the summer assignment for next year. Katherine, Gwen, and I will be facilitating a lot of it to catch the other students up to speed with what we did this past year. I will specifically be in charge of the Greek/Shakespeare element of the assignment. The meeting was May 31, 2013 at 7:30 in the morning.
Here is what we came up with:

IB Theatre – Summer Assignment

for the 2013 – 2013 School Year

 

Greetings, returning and incoming IB Theatre students!  As we embark on the second year of the existence of this course, we look forward to challenges, successes, frustrations, and aha! moments.  Before you delve into this summer assignment, I want you to know that I am available any and all the time via email:  aburke@cvschools.org to answer your questions, to encourage your research and thought, and to guide you to be successful.  What a great year we are going to have together!  Again, welcome!

Mrs. Amy Burke

 

Get pumped!  Seeing as we are the last survivors of Generation One, that makes you guys “The Next Generation.”  Don’t wear red shirts.  J  Seriously dudes, you will experience a new type of classroom.  This course will include ALL aspects of theatre – research, history, production, technical / design, etc.  Yes, writing and research doesn’t sound so great, but you will become innovative, and you will learn to think on your feet.  This class will entail a significant workload, but we always make sure to have fun, so don’t worry.  It’s going to be a ball!  Woo!

 

Katherine Campbell        Frida Centerskog              Sam Marino        Hali McKinley Lester       Aishwarya Singh               Gwen Strom

Your summer work includes two online components:

[Facebook link / site] – This site is your first line of defense to contact fellow class members, ask questions, keep up with the classwork for the summer and beyond, etc.  This site is for YOUR BENEFIT.  Posts on this site are NOT GRADED.

Mrs. Burke’s site – [enter link here] – The major aspect of your summer work will be online posts to the previously stated link.  The topics vary from the curriculum of the previous year.  The purpose of these posts is to get you caught up with our returning students’ areas of study.  These assignments will be GRADED.

*Your posts should be original and creative at ALL TIMES

**If you have any issues with due dates / times (vacations, camps, going out of the country, not having access to online facilities), you will need to contact Mrs. Burke at least five (5) days prior to your conflict.  Emergencies will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.  Remember – COMMUNICATE with me J

Your Message Board Assignments / Posts (185 points total):

1.       “Get to know you” post – AT LEAST a 100 word post – Why you picked this course / who you are – DUE by MIDNIGHT, June 12^th  (15 points)

 

2.       Greek and Shakespeare post – 350 – 500 word post PLUS link(s) to research – Background research on Greek theatre and Shakespearean theatre plus a post that explains and synthesizes your research and ties what you learned to a recent / contemporary aspect of our world – DUE by MIDNIGHT, June 26^th  (30 points) 

3.       Rhinoceros / Absurdist Theatre / Theatre of Cruelty – 350 – 500 word post PLUS link(s) to research – Research Absurdism / Theatre of Cruelty (as theatre practices) as well as the play, Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco.  Post a blog response that explains and synthesizes your research and argues in favor of or against the use of Theatre of Cruelty as a practice – DUE by MIDNIGHT, July 10^th (30 points)

 

4.       Hansel and Gretel adaptation and Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lorca – 350 – 500 word post PLUS link(s) to research AND design links / scanned photos / drawings / sketches.  Take a scene from Hansel and Gretel and edit it.  Take a scene from EACH script and mark it as a director might mark it.  Take a scene from EACH script and design some sort of technical aspect (lighting, set, costumes, props, etc.) – DUE by MIDNIGHT, July 24^th (30 points)

5.       Research Investigation, PPProposal, TPPP Examples – 350 – 500 word post PLUS at least five (5) references to the example projects.  Read and respond to each of these project examples – DUE by MIDNIGHT, August 7^th (30 points)

6.       Looking Forward to our 2013 – 2014 IB Theatre Curriculum – 500 – 750 word post PLUS link(s) to research on the following topics:  - DUE by MIDNIGHT, August 21^st (50 points)

 

a.       The American Musical

b.      Critique / Reviews of Plays

c.       Japanese Theatre

d.      Contemporary Greek Theatre

e.      Playwriting

 

Hansel and Gretel Reflection

On May 17th, 2013, we had our final production of Hansel and Gretel in the Big City in the PAC during periods 1 and 2. I actually thought it went really well. We didn't have a big group for the first period, but we got a lot more audience members second period, and it was great to have the talk-back with all of them because it was really interesting to hear other people's perspectives. Personally, I thought it went well. Of course, we had a very minor bit of line-flubbing, but I really don't think it negatively affected our show because we were able to recover quickly and keep the show going. Also, I think since we had written the show ourselves, we basically knew what we needed to say. I tried to focus on keeping up my volume because we didn't have mikes and we were in the big PAC, as well as really getting into character. I thought I did a fairly good job. I remember when I did my Henry V monologue on that stage and I froze up so much because I was so nervous. I think this show really demonstrated how far I've come because I didn't get so much stage fright. It's all about getting used to it and not letting it bother you. We did have a few problems of course, and I think a lot of that stemmed from not having a lot of full rehearsals prior. The show came right in the middle of AP/IB testing, so people were missing classes and it was tough to practice without everyone here. We were also unable to have a full tech rehearsal because Katherine was sick that day. I think this taught us to really plan ahead for what time we make the show because we probably should've realized it was going to be really hectic at the time and planned ahead more. Also, I think next year we should plan to have more than one full tech rehearsal beforehand, just in case we encounter problems with sickness or other last minute conflicts. Better to be safe than sorry! Yet, I was really please with how everything went, and I was really proud of us that our "last hurrah" of the year was something we'd invested so much effort into and I felt like it really paid off!

H & G Flyer and Ticket

Here are our adorable flyer and ticket :)

Major props to Frida! I think these are adorable and hopefully they'll make people want to come to our show :)

Production Meeting 3/1

We had another production meeting today. We all wore black to take our lovely cast picture that will be in the program. We wrapped up mostly everything with the costume situation. I also need to send Frida the program template I used for Rhinoceros. We also talked about having spotlights at certain moments.

Production Meeting 4/23

On April 23, 2013, we had a production meeting about what each person could bring for Hansel and Gretel. We had decided what acting and technical roles we would play. I am the step-mother and evil homeless woman, Courtney. For design, I am in charge of costumes and sound in conjunction with Aishwarya. We made a list of costumes we will need:

Costume Ideas:

Father: Jeans and Plaid Shirt- Gwen can bring in a plaid shirt / Sam has jeans and will look into suspenders, black boots

Stepmother: power suit and pumps--looks expensive- Gwen can bring in pumps and jacket; fur coat in the costume room; Hali has a black jacket / jewelry / hair up

Hansel and Gretel: Overalls / plaid shirt / Hali has boots possibly overalls; Aishwarya has NYU sweatshirt; Gwen has a NY Yankees hat and red plaid shirt -

Clara: ratty white sweatshirt and jeans- Gwen has jeans and a white sweatshirt / white shirt - says “Etown” on it, tattered Converse; Sam has a white sweatshirt ; Gwen to find white undershirt / camisole;

Courtney: brown tattered clothing and big coat - Hali has the coat, black sweatpants; Mrs. Burke to bring in ratty shoes; Gwen to bring in ratty shoes ; Mrs. Burke to bring in ratty black / brown / something pink?

Narrator: Jeans and black t-shirt - Frida to bring Jeans and a black T-shirt; black shoes

 

For sounds, we also plan to use city noises and the Skype ringtone.

 

I agreed I could bring in monopoly money and a NYC map for props, as well as the costume items above.

We also agreed to take a class picture for the program on May 1, 2013.

Writing the Hansel and Gretel Script

On April 17, 2013 we planned out the script for Hansel and Gretel.
Part 1: Frida--the discussion between the father and step-mother to Hansel and Gretel's departure to the city
Part 2: Gwen--Arrival in the city to meeting the innocent
Part 3: Aishwarya--the interactions with the homeless woman
Part 4: Sam--Hansel and Gretel's discussion about what to do to the innocent coming back
Part 5: Katherine--Innocent has change of heart and helps them to being back in the dorm room
Part 6: Me--video chat with Father to him agreeing to help them pay for college.
Each person is supposed to write about 2 pages for their section, and Mrs. Burke gave us this website for help with script-writing: http://www.playwriting101.com/chapter12. Using this, we could all have the same format for script so it would be easier when we put it all together to edit it.
I actually really enjoyed writing my portion! It was pretty easy since it was modern day, and I kind of just let it flow like how I would imagine a normal conversation going. Then, it was great to see everyone's put together. It ended up actually turning out pretty well for having the whole thing to flow together. The next class, we all sat down and edited the script together to make sure that everything made sense. Obviously, changes had to be made, but there really weren't any major problems. I also created a Google doc that everyone could access so we could all make edits to the same document so that everyone could see the changes as soon as they were made. That was helpful for us so we all had a uniform script and knew what changes other people were making. In fact, when we finished the whole script, my mom was reading it over and was really impressed. She is a writer and a college professor, so to have her tell me that something that high school students wrote was really good was an honor! I think it was also easy and fun because we each only wrote a small portion, so put together it worked really well without someone being swamped with having to write an entire script.

H&G Decision

On April 15, 2013, we discussed in class about finalizing our decision for District Arts Festival. The general consensus was that Hansel and Gretel would be the story we would adapt. Then, we read through it as a class. I jotted down my notes about my observations of the story:

• 4 characters: mom, dad, Hansel and Gretel
• poor family-starving
• background story is important: narrator in our play?
• flint vs. pebbles for leaving trail
• can't share food of parents with children
• setting: woods, house of bread, cake, sugar
• white bird-5th character?
• wicked witch-6th character?
• white duck-7th character?--could combine with duck
• witch and mother characters are similar--could use same actor?

Then, we discussed how we would adapt it to be modern-day. It could be a poor family where the twins were accepted to NYU or Columbia and get lost in NYC or Central Park. The witch could be a possibility of people--scam artist, a business/institution, a worker or leader at a business, a mob member, a homeless person, or a college student trying to divert Hansel and Gretel from their studies. We decided that the witch would be a homeless person, so we came up with the following character list:

• Hansel
• Gretel
• Father
• Stepmother
• Homless Person
• Naarator
• White Bird/White Duck-could be water taxi/swan paddle boat, subway, young child/innocent--we decided on innocent

We also decided we needed the script to be written by the end of the week.

District Arts Festival Discussion

On April 11, 2013 we discussed the possibility of a performance in conjunction with our high school's District Arts Festival.

• performance would be first and second period--possibly May 14th and May 16th
• Ideas for possibilities:
• could do scenes and/or monologues
• songs from musicals that CV performed over last 4 years-tribute to seniors
• adaptaitions of inspirational works (PPP?)
• Disney-Grimm Fairy Tales (don't need permission for rights to those)

We decided on an adaptation of a Grimm Fairy tale because they are public domain so we have a lot of freedom with that. Our homework is to research the Grimm Fairy Tales and pick our top three, so we can talk about it next class and everyone can vote on which one to do.

Production Meeting 3/7

On March 7, 2013 We had another production meeting for Rhinoceros.
SET (Gwen):

• corkboard material worked out with Mr. Bomboy
• going to cover it with canvas from art and use acrylics to decorate it

SOUND (Katherine):

• want music that the audience knows
• doesn't actually musically match the show--maybe DISNEY?!?!
• adds to absurd with contrast but helps audience understand it better because they know the connotations of Disney music
• 3 songs and rhinoceros sounds (orchestral)
• Ideas?! "Kiss the Girl" from Little Mermaid or "Beauty and the Beast"

PR (Me):

• contact IB, Humanities, administration--CC Mrs. Burke--students will need passes to attend
• need a proof of the program for 3/13
• bring in red dress, shoes, plastic wine glass, stuffed animal cat

Annoyed

I am currently quite annoyed with Blogger because apparently if you try to update a post from earlier, it changes the date. Ugh. I just wanted to add some stuff to previous entries and now it's not in the correct month and this is really going to bug me...

Poetry Out Loud

On Feburary 5, 2013 I participated in the Poetry Out Loud competition at our school. For POL, I had to pick two poems: one that was fewer than 25 lines and the other that is pre 20th century. We had to memorize these poems and then perform them for judges in the PAC. There were nine other competitors. I chose the poems "September 1918" by Amy Lowell and "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I chose my poems because they offered a really insightful look at the reality of war. The first one more focused on the home-life during war, whereas the second described the heat of the battle. On my first poem, I was really nervous, so it didn't go as well. At one point, I had to pause for a little because I lost my concentration. Luckily, I was able to get it back fairly quickly, and did a decent job on my performance. After the first round, we took a little break, which was good for me to calm myself down and regain my poise for my second poem. The second poem was actually the one I was most excited for because it was so powerful, especially when it is recited aloud. I got up there and just went for. My nerves just floated away as soon as I started, and I just got really into it. It was a fairly long poem, but I barely even noticed. I had a blast. After we finished, we all waited around for the results. It was really fun talking to the other participants because it wasn't like a cutthroat atmosphere or anything, it was just people supporting each other. It was also really great that we watched everyone else do their poems because everyone had something different and a different approach to it. I really enjoyed everyone's presentations! When they announced, the results, I was nervous, but I also realized that no matter what happened, I was proud of myself for getting up there and doing it. I actually placed second! I was so excited, and people kept telling me what a good job I'd done, especially with "Charge of the Light Brigade." I was honored and proud of myself. It made me realize that I really enjoy presenting in front of people and just having fun with it. It was a little dab in theatre, especially since it was something that counted for memorization, as well as acting throughout my memorization. For a good performance, you need both of those key aspects.

Senior Goodbyes and Fun Games

Yesterday, May 31, 2013, was our last IB Theatre class with our seniors, Frida and Sam. It was actually sadder than I thought it would be. They've been with us all year, and even though I didn't know them at the beginning of this year, I've gotten to know them a lot better. They are an integral part of our class, and it will be so weird without them. Especially since our class only has 6 people in it, every person impacts the class in a different way and brings something new to the table. For example, Sam was always so upbeat and open to do anything. Frida offered a fascinating international perspective since she is from Sweden. I'm going to miss them a lot! After we said some parting words to our seniors, we went outside to play some games that were related to theatre. We played a game where we stood in a circle and one person went in the middle and either sang or talked, and then whenever someone else got inspiration from something the person in the middle said, they would go in the middle instead and pick up talking or singing. It was really fun and taught us how to make connections between different things. Then, we played Freeze, where 2 people start acting out a scene, and then another person can say "freeze" and jump into one of the positions already established, but they have to start a whole new scene that is completely unrelated. It was really fun and also taught us to really get into it and make connections to unrelated scenes. It also emphasized a need to think on your feet. Then we played big booty, where you get a number and say someone else's number and then they have to say their own number and then another person's number and it goes around until you mess up. It was really funny because we were all terrible at it and kept messing up. It taught us to respond really quickly and listen well, which apparently we weren't too good at :) Then we played the alphabet/number game where you try to get as far through the alphabet as you can without two people saying a letter at the same time because then you have to start over. It taught us to anticipate other people, as well as to just go for it and hope it works. Finally, we played my favorite activity of the day. We stood in a circle, and a person would go in the middle and everyone would just say nice things about them all at once. It was not only a great feeling to be the person in the middle getting complimented, but it was also good to be on the outside. It was fun to compliment other people and realize how many great qualities everyone has. It's just kind of a reminder that sometimes we need to refocus our lives and realize that more often we need to recognize people's positive attributes, rather than constantly criticize and find people's faults.

Theatre in my IO

On May 13, 2013 I had to do my Interactive Oral for IB English for my class. We have to teach the class about a cultural context of a world lit novel. I chose to focus on the Dutch Underground Resistance in The Assault by Harry Mulisch. This presentation reminded me of theatre because I essentially had to think on my feet, similar to improve. When teaching the class, you can't exactly prepare for how students will respond, so I had to be careful to listen to what each student said and respond according. This reminded me of theatre because it was a sort of production. Also, Mrs. Burke was always emphasizing to us that we work on listening to the other actors lines so it looked like we were actually have a real conversation instead of just spitting out lines. In this situation, I couldn't just spit out responses, I actually had to listen to what other people were saying. It was actually a blast! I felt like I was up there for only 2 minutes, but it ended up being 15 minutes! I really think my preparation in theatre helped, and maybe I could become a teacher :) When you think about it, teaching is kind of like acting because you're up in front of a group of people and you have to prepare, but you also to have to be ready to roll with anything that happens. Thinking about it, I think a lot of jobs incorporate theatre, especially in terms of presentations and interactions with other people.

R&G in SATs

So today I took the SAT Subject Tests. One of them was the Literature test, and one of the passages was an excerpt from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. I immediately thought of Theatre because our school produced R&G this spring. I was really disappointed I didn't get to go, but I did see it last year at Gamut Theatre. I remember being really confused, but this year when we talked about absurdism and theatre of the absurd I realized why it was so confusing. I actually think my knowledge of these practices and the play itself helped me understand and analyze the passage better. Who knew theatre class was also SAT prep class?! :)