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.