Gina Dukes NHD Project

Below is a hyper link to my NHD project that includes the process paper, annotated bibliography and the script of my performance.

Battling Bastard of Bataan: An account of a P.O.W.

Benchmark Reflection

I chose this topic because there weren't any other topics that interested me, and after reading the book, Ghost Soldiers,  I was so intrigued by this story that I never heard of before. I decided that the Bataan Death March would be something worth researching and would meet the topic of Diplomacy, Debate and Successes & Failures.

I knew that I wanted to perform long before I had picked my topic and that is because in school I've done a lot of projects similar to the other choices such as websites, papers, and documentaries. I wanted to do something different and I was attracted to the idea of performing because I knew that not many people would pick it, therefore my project might have a good chance of standing out.

I ran into trouble with the actual acting. I've  written many different pieces that were meant to be performed, but I've rarely had to embody a character and act. In Drama class, I would always struggle with characterization, so I figured that this project would probably help me be a stronger actor. However, now I feel as thought I've bitten off more than I could chew and while I am confident that I'll be able to perform in front of others, I'm not sure if it'll be the best quality. 

What went well with this project was the timing. I had a lot of time to write my script and because I chose to do a performance there wasn't much for me to work on except for practicing, which I think I could've done more of.

If I had to do it over I would maybe just have picked the easy way out and would've created another documentary, or I would've picked a different topic. I think that my topic was okay, but it wasn't anything that I felt particularly passionate about and it didn't stir my bones when I thought of it. I would probably pick a topic that I felt more connected to. I would also take my work more seriously. Because I chose a performance, I don't think I worked as hard as I should've and I spent a lot of my time slacking when I could've been rehearsing.

Throughout this project, I learned a lot about World War 2. I'm not sure if I was absent from school during that part of history class( I was sick a lot in elementary school), but I had a vague set of information on World War 2. Since researching the Bataan Death March, I learned  about America's past relationship with the Japanese and America's history in the Philippines. I also learned of some courageous men who survived the war and the horrible prison camps.