Last Play

Jacob's last one-act play was at the end of April.  He took part in something they call a night of one acts.  These were student-directed plays.  There were 4 plays, each lasting around 25 minutes each.

Here's the one Jacob was in, called "Line."  They changed up a lot of the play, especially the ending which was a bit sad really.  I don't expect everyone to see this all the way; it's long.  Mostly this is for my family - die-dard Jacob fans.  :)

Also: SOME ADULT LANGUAGE AND CONTENT

Jacob plays Flemming, the first guy you see in the baseball cap and colorful shirt.


PS - half an hour before the play, I ATE the prop.  I did not know he needed it, so we swiftly ran to the grocery store to buy another!!

Last Full Play of the Year

This is the last full play for the year. It's also the last play of many students' high school career; more than half the kids in the troupe are seniors, Jacob included.

In the Middle of Grand Central Station

This time, instead of acting, Jacob was the sound designer.  Sitting in the orchestra pit, Jacob was hidden from the audience as he selected and played the music that the main character listened to throughout the play.  A lot of the music he played was his own and he'd switch up what he played from night to night (3 nights).

Peek-a-boo.  Time for a quick sound check before opening the doors.

On night 2, I volunteered my time and car/gas to drive to get the pizza that would be sold at intermission and donated my time and cupcakes for their fundraiser, then I helped set up and helped during intermission concessions.  All the money goes to getting the acts that made it to State over to the competition in March; hotel, transportation, food.  Jacob's going to State.  On night 3, since I did not get to see the play on night 2, I watched the play.

I love the Arts in schools.  Jacob found his passion for music though piano classes offered in school.  This led to his joining the several choirs and ensembles he's in, which led him to join the drama troupe as well.  I really wish other parents, especially the parents of the kids IN the arts, would volunteer more of their time and money to help out these talented kids in these programs.  We don't live in a wealthy county and don't have the resources that other counties do.  It's up to us parents to lend a hand.  I am so proud of these kids.

Day Two of "District Three: The Thespians Strike Back"

Technically, it's Day 3 of the Festival, we just did not have to be there on Friday.

Saturday and we're at our high school at 7:30 a.m. to pick up the kids riding in my car for the festival. It was going to be a LONG day.  Closing ceremonies were not until 7-9:30 p.m. that night!!  Ugh!

This day was filled with all the individual acts I mentioned in my previous post.  Our Troupe had entries in Duet Acting, Publicity Design, Duet Musical, Ensemble Acting, Student Directed Act, Solo Song, Monologue, Costume Construction and Costume Design; in all we had 22 separate events.  I made a spreadsheet for myself so I knew where each kid was during the day.

Two students put finishing touches to their costume
 construction for "Chicago."

The chaperones had to man a room all day.  Our Troupe chaperones got to be in the Duet Musical room.  We had 4 ladies, but only needed to fill 3 positions, so every once in a while, once of us would skip out to see our kids in other areas.  In our room, we needed a time keeper (5 minutes per performance), an outside door person (who would not let anyone in during the performances) and an indoor person (who would not let anyone out during the performances.)  75% of the time, I was time keeper.

It was SO much fun. SO much fun.  I got to see duets perform songs from all kinds of musicals including "Spamalot," "Phantom," "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," "Chicago," "Wicked," Tick Tick Boom," "Guys and Dolls," "Sweeney Todd," Spring Awakening," etc. etc. etc.

We were a finely tuned machine.  Each act had a specific time to be on, with usually 3 minutes before to set up and turn in their evaluation sheets.  Once they were done, I would walk to the judges (3) and show them the timer so they could log the time.  I kept my own time log as well.

We got a break for lunch and headed out to the main area.  The kids were stressed but having a ball.

Jacob, Ezequiel and John run lines

Jacob, Hunter and Ezequiel

To add the pin craziness, we had a new addition: balloon hats - Star Wars style.

The balloon artist, wearing his tauntaun creation.

Princess Lea balloon buns.

C3PO and R2D2

X-Wing Fighter

Darth Maul's Light Saber

TIE Fighter. 

Boba Fett hat

Me and my Saber with a Storm Trooper
Chewbacca hat in the background.

I was able to leave my post to see Jacob, John, Bobby and Ezequiel perform an act from "Waiting for Godot."



And the Student-Directed performance of a scene from "Red."

Please note: There is cursing in this video below.



After everyone was done, we met back out for dinner from the various vendors in the courtyard.  The results slowly started coming in.  You need a "Superior" to move on to State (Superior, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor.)  The troupe was receiving "Excellents" and "Goods."  Our One-Act Play that Jacob stage-managed got "Excellent," but we were waiting and waiting for the results of two.  The Student-Directed play Melissa (director), John, Bobby and Julian called "Lend Me a Tenor," and the Student-Directed play by John (director), Jacob and DJ, video above.  What was taking so long?

Suddenly, one of the girls yells out! She got a Tweet (yep, she subscribed to the districts Twitter feed because they were tweeting the results.)  Both of our student-directed plays got SUPERIOR!  We're heading to State in 2012 and Jacob's included!!

The kids react to the news.

The evening ended with the closing ceremonies.



Awards were handed out.  Us parents/teachers were EXHAUSTED.  Fifteen hours later, and we could finally head home!

Oh, and how did we fare with our pin hunt, Jacob and I?

Wampa, Akbar, Fett, Vader, Maul, Frozen Han, Imperial Guard,
 Ewok,  Jabba, Palpatine and Lando!

Jacob's Favorite

My Favorite

Isabel's Favorite

Baddies!

We had a BLAST! We're going to State!  Woo Hoo!

Day One of "District Three: The Thespians Strike Back"

We (Jacob and I) have just survived an intense, yet gratifying 2 of 3 days at the 2011 District Three Thespian Festival.

This was a long, long weekend and yet, it was so much fun.  SO well done!  With 32 schools in 4 counties signed up, and over 1,000 participants in 29 one-act plays and 490 individual evens in 18 categories (Costume Construction, Costume Design, Duet Acting, Duet Musical, Ensemble Acting,  Large Group Musicals, Monologues, Pantomime, Playwriting, Publicity Design, Scene Design, Small Group Musical, Solo Musical, Student Directed Scenes and Senior Scholarship performance.)  It was A LOT to take in and so very well organized by the District Chair and the high school and its troupe that hosted the event.  Kudos!!

The theme for this year's Drama Festival?

Yes!!

Everything from our T-Shirts

to our badges were Star Wars themed.

We arrived at the host school around 11 a.m.  Days 1 and 2 were for the schools' One-Act performances; one-act plays lasting exactly 40 minutes or less.  Ours was set for Day 1, Thursday at 6:15 p.m., so we had the entire day, pretty much, to watch other One-Acts, eat lunch and mingle.

The kids get a talking to by their drama teacher.

We ate lunch, watched a few performances (and got completely blown away by one show called "Emotional Baggage."  (The last 8 pictures on the bottom right of this link are from the school that performed the play but not actual players that performed that night. Might be a previous years' cast, but you can see the masks.)  No talking, all done with beautiful/horrible face masks and body language.  Fantastic!  I'm getting goose bumps just thinking on it!)

Yet, the number one activity for the kids on day one, beside their one-act?

Pins.



As in these.

The District 3 Mascot is a Penguin (in Florida.  I know.)  To raise money for "Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids" Joe Norton of said organization, along with illustrator Dawn Schreiner and tons of other sponsors came up with the memorabilia for the festival, including these $1 pins.  Every dollar went to "Broadway Cares."

The kids. went. nuts.

NUTS for these pins.  Some you could outright buy, others you have to take a chance in the "Mystery Bucket," and yet others you had to know the "secret" to getting them. (Jacob and I never got the illusive District 3 one.)

Kids were spending their lunch money on these! They were trading, bartering, begging for these pins.

Ewok penguin and Admiral Akbar penguin.

I got Han Penguin frozen in carbonite and the Imperial Royal Guard penguin

SO CUTE!

Five forty and the kids had to start getting set up to go on at 6:15 p.m.  We chaperones/teachers headed into the 900-seat capacity auditorium to get ready for the show.  It's 40 minutes long so I won't post it here, but eventually I will upload it to my YouTube account.

Jacob was the stage manager and nervous as all get-out.  He had an assistant stage manager, a sound guy and a lighting guy.  Our show, "Shoes Along the Highway" is a very slow, sweet story, not a high energy one like "Godspell Junior," "Iliad, Iliad, Iliad" or not to the level of the amazing "Emotional Baggage," and we had some technical difficulties along the way with equipment and cues.  Jacob was upset.  Some of the kids were very distraught, others mad, others just took it as "oh well, we'll get them next year."  They were heroes in my book.

We could not load out until the last performance was done; 8:45 p.m.  Isabel had arrived on site at around 5 p.m. so she got to see her brother on stage after the performance getting critiqued.  She also ate with us. I ended up getting 5 pizzas for the kids - well discounted at $5 each because I know some people at the store (*grin*) because half these crazy kids either did not bring lunch money or spent it on the pins.  We ate outside in the courtyard and all the kids helped load up and home we went.  I think I got to bed at 11:30 p.m.  Ouch! Long day!

Day 2: Friday was the second day of One-Acts, and so we did not have to be there for it.  Saturday was the day for the 490 individual evens in 18 categories.   Jacob was to be in an Ensemble Act (Waiting for Godot) and a Student Directed Duet (Red.) So excited for it! 

Part 3 of Play is Not up!

UPDATE:  Jacob's teacher asked us to take down the play.  Something about legal bladdy bladdy.

Booooooo!

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - a High School Production

As I stated earlier, Jacob was in a production of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," by Tom Stoppard.  A seriously funny play dealing with the back story of two minor characters in Shakespeare's "Hamlet."  The play intertwines small scenes, word for word,  from "Hamlet" within it, so there are some scenes you might be familiar with if you've read the bard's tome.

After weeks of nights and weekend rehearsals, the kids performed on Wednesday through Friday, October 12-14, 2011.

 Jacob played Hamlet, a man falling deeper and deeper into madness.  When the play starts, Jacob's hair is pretty normal.  We came up with the idea of Jacob's hair getting messier and messier as the scenes progressed, to show Hamlet's descent into madness.

Nice hair

 The play is so darned witty and the language so fast-paced, that sometimes things get lost in the telling.  I had several people, young and old, as me "Do you know what the heck is going on?"    Yep.  Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are bumbling idiots who have no idea why they're in Denmark, why they were summoned or what they're supposed to be doing.  It's wicked fun.

Jacob as Hamlet and The Player, played by Leon D.

Alfred the Tragedian, played hysterically by Richard R.

The group worked hard and are hoping for high scores; they were being judged one evening in hopes of moving the production to a state-level competition.