Mentor: Mr. Mark Miles

Summary: 

For my senior capstone I co-directed and managed the stage design for a play written by Julia Boyer.

Abstract: 

My role comprised of rehearsing with Julia and the cast of the play, blacking out the windows in the drama studio, moving the stages from the school cafeteria to the third floor drama studio, hanging up curtains, and managing the stage lighting. My responsibilities differed from Julia’s as I worked behind the scenes while she managed the actors and the props. Originally, Julia and I planned to sell tickets to the play, titled Office 309, but in the end chose to make the three performances free to the SLA community during two Friday lunch periods and one final performance after school on the same day.

"How To Direct a Play." Squidoo. Home Entertainment and Theater, 2010. Web. 1 Feb 2012

This website gives helpful insight on how to direct one’s first play. Helpful ideas include finding the cast as soon as possible, hiring a crew of at least three people, depending on how large the set is, and creating a production concept. The most important piece of information I received from this website is the importance of a production concept. To do so, the director or writer needs to think of a piece of artwork or writing piece that ties to the core of the entire play and explain it to the cast and crew. This artwork or writing piece should make everyone understand the ideas behind the play and what types of feelings to create during the production.

"Martenson Edward." Theater Management. Yale School of Drama, 2010. Web.

This website incorporates the idea of audience involvement with the characters’ points of view. It gives the example of giving a brief survey to the audience in advance, before completion of the writing of the play so the writing is relatable and draws people in.

Chaikelson, Steven. "Theater Management and Production Concentration." . Columbia University: School of the Arts , 24 September 2010. Web.

This website talks about process goals needed during the production of a musical or play. A key concept that is mentioned several times in the document is the importance of collaboration. The writers explain that collaboration is important because directing a play takes an ample amount of time and the work should be split in half to avoid stress. Also, more than one opinion tends to be helpful when working on a play or musical because theoretically “Two heads work better than one.”

Brookes, Fran. "The Production Manager." Theater Education. Education Theater Association, 27 December 2009. Web

The article, “The Production Manager” is a detailed step by step process on everything from set crews, characters, to guidelines for directors and writers of play productions. The article also tells the story of two people who work together to make scripts and produce them in front of a live audience. One of the writers also works as the manager while the second doubles as the stage manager. Together they have created an amazing duo that produces up to six plays a year. The two are interviewed by Fran Brookes where they talk about their strengths and weaknesses while working together.

"Behind The Scenes: Production Management." . Shakespeare Production Management, January 2012. Web.

This source is a brief explanation and step by step guide book on how to produce the greatest theater production possible. The first step is to hire and work with people you trust and can rely on. The second step is to find a space that is cost effective and that will also gain valuable customers and audience members. The third and final step is to create something concrete that you are proud of and want to share with the world.

Ingredients needed:

3 organic eggs

6 tablespoons of organic butter

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 cup of lemon juice

One small package of whole grain graham crackers

2 oz. can of condensed milk

7 small lemons

1 cup of cream cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 11inch pan with butter or vegetable oil cooking spray.

2. Lay graham crackers across 11 inch pan and lightly pour one of the three tablespoons of sugar over the crackers.

3. Place the pan with graham crackers and sugar in the oven for 20 minutes. Do not turn off the oven after baking the crust.

4. In a medium sized bowl, stir the lemon juice, 3 eggs, condensed milk, organic butter, and cream cheese until smooth. 

5. Pour the filling over the crust and smoothen with a spatula. Bake the filling and crust in 11 inch pan for 20 more minutes.

6. After baking, cover the pan and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

Analysis:

I would say about 60% of this meal is organic while the remaining 40% is processed. The healthy/organic portion would be the whole grain graham crackers, organic eggs, lemon juice, condensed milk, and the organic butter. The unhealthy/processed portion of the ingredients would be the cream cheese, sugar, and maybe the graham crackers. I did a majority of my shopping for the ingredients at Whole Foods in Philadelphia in the section of the store that is local so the eggs, butter, sugar, lemons, and cream cheese are all from local farmers. The ingredients I am not sure about are the graham crackers, condensed milk, lemon juice, and sugar. Looking at the maps and date from the Whole Foods website, it seems the food that traveled the furthest was from California while the closest was from a farm in a Philadelphia suburb. In total, the cost of the ingredients for this meal was about $26. Had I purchased the ingredients from a grocery store that serves more processed foods like PathMark or ACME, the price would have been cheaper, maybe around $15-20. Purchasing foods from nearby farms is good for the environment because the food has less distant to travel, which means The only problem with purchasing organically grown ingredients and foods is the lack of pesticides and fertilizers. While this seems like a healthy alternative because there is less poison, there is a higher risk of insects getting into the foods. For obvious reasons, the food would have been MUCH cheaper had I grown it myself since lemon seeds are cheaper than actual lemons and supermarket groceries are always going to cost more because of the third party needing to make a profit. 

Process:

The three of us stumbled upon our topic when the assignment was first given by our eleventh grade American History teacher, Ms. Diana Laufenberg. Our topic, Segregation In Schools, deals with the negatives, and also the positives of how schools came to be segregated and why they were useful and also racist and unfair. The three of us have always been interested in the ways segregated schools worked and how the white schools differed from the black schools. Since the three of us had this common interest, we chose to base our National History Day project around this topic.

Before creating our website to display school segregation, we each wrote an essay about a topic that had to do with another topic we found interesting. Aaron wrote his essay about segregation in schools so we were able to use some of his sources when it came time to create our website. We used numerous links from outside sources, along with the sources Aaron used for his essay.

When it came time to put all of the details and pictures into the website, we had to take a minute to decide what type of website we were going to use. In the end, the three of us agreed to make a tumblr blog because it was the best and most accessible way to display our information and pictures. The tumblr blog has numerous pictures with citations and also several excerpts that give details about school segregation. 

In the end, we enjoyed working together on this project. We were able to work together and come to a consensus and complete the task at hand. The link to our blog is schoolsegregation.tumblr.com

For the second quarter of our advanced art class, students were given more freedom and were told that they could create just about anything desired. At first I wasn't sure what I wanted to create. I knew I wanted it to be something interesting and intriguing, but I didn't have any ideas on what I wanted to create, the materials I wanted to use, or anything that would help with my selections. After some researching and serious consideration, I had a small idea. 

After completing numerous projects for other classes and studying for vocabulary quizzes, I knew I wanted a break from school and work. I started to think about where I wanted to go to relax and unwind. I began to picture a nice, quiet, and deserted beach. In my imagination the beach had nice white sand, cool blue water, and full green trees off at a distance. I knew this was the scenery I wanted to create for my second quarter art project. 

The next step in my creation, after finally thinking of what to do, was finding the appropriate materials. I chose to use a small white canvas and my friend and fellow classmate, Uyen Nguyen convinced me to use a simple bucket of chalk because it had the biggest variety of colors. I knew I didn't want to use just a few colors, but to mix up several colors to show somewhat of a contrast, so I knew chalk would make this easier than crayons, paint, or markers. 

When I finally started to create my getaway, I began with the ocean. I used three different shades of blue to make the water. Two were a lighter color and a darker one to show the waves. I also added a white color to try and show reflection in the water. Next I started to make the sand on the beach. In total, I used four different colors for the sand: dark brown, light brown, gold, and tan. I would say there is more sand than anything else in the picture so I didn't want all of it to be the same shade because it would get boring. 

My next step was creating the trees. I simply drew a small brown line across the top of the sand to show some of the bark. Above the bark I didn't want to put too much detail into the leaves themselves, I just wanted it to be obvious that they were trees. So I added a few different shades of green and made curves and waves to show movement in the trees due to wind. The final step was creating a clear blue sky above the trees. To create the sky, I used a dark blue, a lighter blue, and the color white to help contrast them. Then my getaway was completed with a beach, trees, and a clear blue sky.

I enjoyed creating this art project. I was able to make something simple but still insert plenty of details into it. 

For my "Building History" benchmark project, I chose to study the Martin Luther King High School. I learned a lot of interesting facts about the building and I found out that it has a very unique structure. To learn more, click on the link above.

In my advanced art class, my teacher Mrs. Hull assigned a project where students had to recycle everyday materials and use them in a creative way. Our class was inspired by the artist Aurora Robson, who used bottle caps to create unique sculptures. She used her creativity not only to make something interesting and unique, but also to create something environmentally friendly. Our art class wanted to produce something that was not only imaginative, but that also did something positive for the environment.

For my first quarter art project, I decided to make a picture frame with a picture inside of it. The picture frame itself is made out of an Abercrombie and Fitch shopping bag, while the inside of the frame is made out of the tissue paper used to cover the inside of presents. People are always recycling bags, so I wanted to do something different and recycle tissue paper. The inside of the picture frame is a picture of how the earth will look if we don't recycle: empty and ruined. I constructed the globe by cutting up the bottom of several water bottles and then taping them all together, making a somewhat round figure or sphere. 

The tissue paper in the project is around the globe and is supposed to represent the space. The tissue paper is loose and colorful, and even though space is dark, I wanted it to be bright and colorful, to show a contrast between it and the darkness of the earth in a non-recycled future. Basically I switched the roles so the earth is dark and dismal, while space is colorful and vibrant. 

Overall I very much enjoyed working on this art project. I try to be as environmentally friendly as possible and creating this picture frame was a way to incorporate school work and the environment.

A: It's my right and by voiting for a person who shares my views, I feel that my view is being represented.

Q: What would you like to see changed in our political system?

A: I would like for the healthcare system to be improved. Especially for seniors and retired individuals. I think seniors should have a free healthcare program because they helped as much as they could while they were working. 

Q: Do you vote in every election? 

A: No. I usually vote for president, senator, and governor.

Q: Do you know why we vote on Tuesdays?

A: Not a clue! But I think less people would vote on weekends because they may be away, and some people who work Mondays through Fridays will be too lazy to do so.

Q: Where have you encountered the highest amount of ad campaigning? 

A: I would say I've encountered the highest amount of ad campaigning on radio stations and also television commercials.

Q: What was the most memorable campaign that you have encountered?

A: I remember an ad campaign that said something about one of the candidates only caring about the Chinese. It just seemed so ridiculous and outspoken to me. 

Q: Are you always sure of who you are going to vote for when you walk into the booth or are you still deliberating?

A: Absolutely! I always think pretty carefully before I vote. I've always had a clear decision as I walked into the booth. 

Q: What changes do you hope to see in Philadelphia as a result of this election?

A: I would like to encounter street repairs, housing for homeless, and guns off the street.

Q: Did you learn about voting in school? If yes, did that impact your willingness to vote today?

A: I don't remember learning about voting in school. I guess that means it didn't impact my willingness to vote today.