The Last Blog Post : We are the Magi!

The final project for lit&perf class is done. Even though I do not think that it was as perfect as I wanted it to be, at least, there were no major mistakes and no storage problem. We did our best and I think the outcome turned out to be quite satisfying. However, as we were watching our scene a few times, we discussed whether or not we should redo it. Our scene seemed like it had a lot of problems . This is my little evaluation on our scene.

Our scene was good in terms of volume of the background music and flowing of the scene changes. We actually recorded the Christmas carols so that it could automatically go to the next song and luckily at the actual taking, it was pretty smooth and fitted to the scenes. In addition, I was happy that the tech crew raised the volume at a right time in scene two. Also, even though we did not have a thorough dress rehearsal using all the props, the scene changes were smooth (it just took some time because we only had two people). The biggest and noticeable improvements of ourselves were, I think, line delivery and volume of our voices. Compared to the last time when my tone and pronunciation were somewhat unclear, I was loud enough to beat the volume of background music and I could clearly understand what I said. We successfully used the bell sound, knocking sound, paper snow, and Christmas tree picture. We fully took Ms. Guarino's comments on the first draft into account and improved it such as putting emotional ending and eliminating Jim's appearance on the back. 

Problems were lighting and some line mistakes. I actually do not care that much about the line mistakes because they were not really serious; they were all just a few words missing and some stammering issues. Lighting was very discouraging us. I do not know who did the light, but honestly, I think the person could have done much better job on that. We made the cue sheet very straightforward and there was no reason to turn the light up just to check if we were ready. Although we asked to turn the light off by snapping fingers, we had our light turned on when we were setting the house scene and changing our costumes. In addition, When we saw the video, that part was really weird and was the major reason that made us think if we should redo it. 

Everything was pretty fine. Nothing big happened. I think that is why we are thinking about redoing it. Because the scene could have been perfect and we only need a little more of something to make it perfect, we keep on considering it. However, we decided not to redo it and thus we must be satisfied with this. Anyhow, I am now pleased about the fact that I am "wisely" done like the Magi, and I am kinda melancholy that this course has ended. I do not think I will act again in the next English course.  Thank you Ms. Guarino!



https://youtu.be/_dQy7N1TT7A

Never Ending Journey - Acting

Two days ago, our group has finished the first draft for the final project. I guess we are in a fine shape, but certainly we have a lot of things to improve. I think our scene’s level of completion is pretty high. The aspects that need to be improved are mostly acting parts such as emotions and movements. Throughout the course, we all have improved very much, so for the final one, it will be good to put all our potential out so that we can end the year strong. As Ms. Guarino commented on us, I want to talk about the way to improve our scene. 

First, the most important thing to resolve would be the scene 3, where Della thinks what would be good for Jim’s Christmas gift. Our choice, at first, was that Jim comes out to the stage and stands in diagonal to Della to indicate that they are not in the same place. Followed by my movements, she says lines about the watch. This scene was actually for us to eliminate some boredom that audience might feel because we thought our scene overall was a little depressed and serious. I thought that this could be funny because when Della says “He adore [the watch]”, Jim actually rubs the watch on his cheek. Sadly, a few people said that this was a little confusing. However, we decided not to delete this part as we thought this is a pretty important part . I also think this would be better with the actual watch and more exaggerated motions. Secondly, we might need someone to check our music (I think that is not a problem). Third, for the flashback where Jim and Della went shopping and saw the comb, we should wear different clothes and turn off the music (or different song that is not a Christmas carol) to show it is a different time. 

The other two groups seem interesting for me. Both are doing my favorite pieces; especially Slumdog Millionaire I watched for two times. I may have a little high expectation on them because not only do they have more people but also it is natural that it is harder to adapt something that is already “perfect”. The Little Prince group was interesting as they tried to come up with a different interpretation using songs to be comedic. Also, it was good that they chose three important characters other than the little prince to show the long story as briefly as possible. The Slumdog Millionaire group was also good. It would be very hard to perform in the black box but they somehow did it. I think because the main character figures out the answer using his memory, so I want them to be clearer how the experiences are related to the questions. I think that will help them add a little more drama. I would suggest Ben to put more emotion especially when a person got shot and died. 

Considering this was the first draft, I think, we are not in a bad shape. However, considering that we only have a week left until the final draft, we might not be in a good shape. I want to work on mostly on my emotion, and hopefully, it turns out to be better with actual props and smooth scene changes. 

Comedy Tonight Made By Cheshire Academy

Last night, I watched the opening show of Comedy Tonight by Cheshire Academy. Honestly, I did not expect that this would be this funny. However, it made me laugh for almost three hours. It was a very long show which was about the length of two shows, but I would say it was worth it. All the actors showed their best. I also did not notice any major mistakes! Most of all, I was so impressed with the fact that all the skits were made by Cheshire Academy. Their creativity and sense of humor were so impressive. I think this show showed our Cheshire Academy drama program's potential and talent. We can even make our own scenes!

The basic structure of the show was one skit and one musical piece, and they repeat. After opening monolog, a few actors came out to the stage and started singing a very lively song "Comedy Tonight". It heightened my excitement. Then, the first skit started. It was like modified spelling bee. It  reminded of my memory of last winter. My favorite part of it was Jack's dressed up as a woman and John's Donald Trump act. Jack did not even shave his beard and acted as a woman, and it made me could not stop laughing. Also, John's loud voice fitted to Trump so much and they overlapped somehow. Musical pieces were funny too. I liked when singers changed their lyrics to make it funnier. For example, putting Ms. Guarino for "Whatever Happened to My Part?" was hilarious. I tried to look at Ms. Guarino upon the soundboard to check her face.

My favorite skit was definitely the "Morning Meeting Gone Wrong". This was, in my opinion, only understandable for Cheshire Academy faculty members and students as I found that parents were a little confused and do not find it hilarious. Anyhow, students did very well on mocking and catching unique motions for each individual and even for the appearance, they copied so similarly. #msminahan. Also, the "John Jiang, the Latte Boy".... It made John Jiang a star!

Unlike Once On This Island, this show required very frequent costume changes and complex movements. I could not only enjoy watching but also feel how hard they worked for this long show and thought about the script. I want to really thank them for making this possible. Great Job!

Prop, costume, sound and light effects lists

Prop list

• Two chairs
• One table
• Wine cups and some wine bottles
• A table cover
• A watch and two chains (one for old one and the other for new one)
  A comb with a small and ribboned box
• Money and coins
• A couch

Costume list

• A blue-sky color long skirt
• A White blouse
  A hat
• A scarf
• A winter coat
• Navy blazer
• White shirt for Jim
• Dark colored pants
• Shoes for both Jim and Della

Sound effect

• Opening a door
• Opening a door that has a bell
  Footstep sound
• Knocking
• Christmas carols
• Carol of the Bells - 1904
• Do You Hear What I Hear? - 1962
• The Little Drummer Boy - 1957
• O Christmas Tree
• Santa Claus is comin to town
• Have yourself a merry little Christmas
• Let it snow
• Christmas time is here
• Holly Jolly Christmas
• It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
• Baby it’s cold outside
• Happy Village

Light effect

• Just lights on and off; no spotlight or anything needed
• Only for the scene 3, spotlight for each character needed
  
  

How are we doing?

My project called "Christmas in May" is going well so far. Our story "The Gift of The Magi" by O Henry is about a poor couple Della and Jim on a Christmas eve. They bought a gift for each other by selling their valuable things. In this project, Julie is going to act Della and I am going to act Jim. 

This week, my group worked on the script. Mostly, we tried to emphasize on a cute love between Della and Jim. Firstly, because this story has a third person view and tells the story of Della all the time, there was no scene for Jim himself. Thus, we had to make one for him. When we were making the scene, we realized that it was very important to dramatize it to connect with the ending. The ending of this story is somewhat twisting, so we had to make the audience not notice what is going to happen and make the scene very sneaky. We used flashback to show it. We knew if we show that Jim buys a comb by selling his watch, the twisting ending would be no use. Therefore, we only show that Jim gets an idea what to buy for Della's gift. Then, at last, after they know what happened to each other's gift, we use flashback to show what has happened to Jim.

Also, we thought that the cold weather, snow, and the atmosphere of Christmas helped develop characters' cute love. Therefore, we decided to add some Christmas carols throughout the scene (quiet but noticeable). In addition, in the beginning, we may use some extra people just to make them walk around the street; they may act a family, a couple, or friends. Then, only Della left and she starts the scene.

The lesson of this story is the pleasure of giving. As mentioned at the last of this story, the Magi is a wise man who shows up on a Christmas day and gives a gift. In this story, Della and Jim were very wise to give a gift to each other and did not expect to receive a gift. They know what the happiness is that comes from giving. We added that at the last of our script too. Because it was our purpose to give a lesson to the audience rather than just giving them an entertainment.

A group of two, in my opinion, works very efficiently. We did not have that many conflicts while we were making the script. I am looking forward to actually staging our scene. 

The Final Scene Proposal : One of the Greatest Short Stories of All

After the IB exam, we faced another fun challenge; it is the free topic project. We can choose any novel or short story and have to stage it, just like what we have done for this year. Because there are too many choices, it was so hard to pick only one that will be not only fun to do but also creative. After a while, I heard that an author O Henry is quite well-known as a short story writer, and I began to search more about him. Then, I found a short story called The Gift of the Magi, which is about a married couple Della and Jim in a Christmas time. It was called as many people's favorite and there was even a song about it by Squirrel Nut Zippers (music credit : Ms. Guarino). All the resources were enough for me to provoke my curiosity, and thus I found the original piece and read it.
It was good. While I was reading, I could imagine how the scenes could be adapted. I do not know whether or not this story have already been adapted, but I thought this story is well-qualified for my final project.

The story is set in New York in the early 1900s. In Christmas Eve, Della and Jim want to buy a present for each other but they are short of money. Especially Della, who is mainly described in the story, has only $1.87. She decides to sell her hair and eventually could afford the present for Jim which is a new watch wire. However at night, she realized that Jim has bought a comb set for her by selling his watch. This is the basic plot and it seems a little tragic as no one's present meets one's need. However, at the same time, it is cute and lovely that they decided to buy a present by selling their most precious things, which shows how much they love and care each other.

First, I thought it would be important to set up the unique atmosphere of Christmas. It could be shown perhaps using a bell jingling sound, fireplace, winter costumes, snow, some Christmas carol songs or a Chrismas tree (If possible). Second, I think two actors for Della and Jim will be enough even though there are some other characters such as Madame Sofronie; I think they do not necessarily have to appear in the scene. Instead, actors could act and talk looking at the audience as if they are looking at the mirror. Third, most importantly, there is no scene for Jim himself. This book is focused on Della's story. Therefore, I would have to make a scene for Jim buying a present for Della, so that two actors can have an equal amount. In the stage, I would like to employ each character act their own scene. For example, when Della buys her present, I want Della to come up to the stage alone and act, and same for Jim (like there are two stories going on). They will have to act back and forth because otherwise it will be boring. After that, they come back to their home and act together.
Props and costumes that I need will be an old watch with an old wire, a set of combs (better if they look fancy), an old but neat winter coat, a table, chairs, and a wig.

This story will be really fun and cool if we work hard as it requires a good emotion and interpretation. Also, it will be fun to act Christmas in June.

The First IB Exam I've Ever Done

The toughest time has passed. Now I feel a little relaxed. One of my biggest challenge in May is done so I have one less thing to care. For now, I do not really want to think about how the exam went. The exam was not realllly hard as I worried. Questions were pretty much like we have prepared for this entire year so we knew how to write and to format it. The only problem was the time. As Ms. Guarino had been telling us, I thought I would have more than enough time to outline and to write in a full structure. However, it was not really sufficient, although I somehow finished it on time. I think it was because of a nervousness due to the somewhat overwhelming fact that this is the actual test. I had a hard time to organize my thoughts and put them in a right order. I felt like I answered questions in an unorganized way that my ideas were scattered around. Other people's stories made me feel worried too. I only wrote three and four pages with drawing, but they said that they wrote six or even more. This makes me feel very uncomfortable and nervous. Nonetheless, I am satisfied with the fact that I tried my best to answer the questions.
It was a good experience before upcoming AP test and a good preparation for next year's IB test. As a junior, I think this experience will help me when I become a senior and take another IB test. I can remind me of this experience as I have already gone through this and thus I am familiar with the atmosphere. The first time can never be perfect. If I could learn from this, it is good enough in my opinion. Fortunately, I learned from this and got the sense of IB exam.