Step into my parlour!

Thanks to all the parents who came to visit today.  It was so nice to meet you all and talk to you about the courses in which your children are enrolled.  Please feel free to communicate with me by email if any of you want to discuss issues which are more relevant to your own child.

No journals this week -- because . . . no Friday!!

Grade 8's:  you should be studying your lines from "The Creation of the World".  I think we will perform on Wednesday, instead of Tuesday, because I don't think any of you are ready yet.  This is a challenging project so it is incumbent on all of you to cooperate in your groups.  If you have a good idea, share it!  If someone else has an idea, listen to it.  Before you reject any idea, try it out.  It might actually be terrific.

Grade 9's:  Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue.  But if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town crier spoke my lines.  Nor do not saw the air too much with your hands, thus.  But use all gently.  For in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness.

Think about what your heritage projects need to push them to the next level.  You need to find out details of the time periods and the places your stories come from.  You can't just say, "the war is coming!"  The audience, which includes me, wants to know which war and where you are.

Senior Drama:  Your bullying plays will be performed on Monday, except for the group which performed today.  Congratulations to all of the lads who performed their "it's not like it matters to us" play -- it was beautifully and subtly performed and a great pleasure to watch.

Rest, Drink Plenty of Fluids and Take It Easy

I know a lot of you are sick and so I wanted to keep you all apprised of what we're up to in the theatre these days:

Grade 8's:  We are working on "The Creation of the World" -- study your scripts and learn your lines.  We will perform on Monday or Tuesday.  We are also reciting "All the world's stage" today and tomorrow.  Make sure you know the lines exactly and practice.  Check the previous blogs for journals.  If you're missing any, now's the time to catch up.

Grade 9's:  We're working on the heritage projects and will continue that work for a week or more!  Have you written your heritage story and handed it in?  Check the previous blogs for journal topics.  We will be reciting "Speak the speech" next week, so you should practice and be ready to recite with expression in your voice and appropriate gestures.  Think about what you're saying.

Senior Drama:  We are beginning to work on plays based on the bullying play that we read yesterday.  If you missed performing your news story, please include a description of what you contributed to the rehearsal and planning process of the project in your journal.  Practice "To be or not to be".  Make sure you know what you're talking about.  Check the blog for journal topics.  Lots of you aren't keeping up!

Expect Respect and a Safe Education!

Tomorrow is Anti-Bullying Day.  Wear pink to show your solidarity with all the people who have felt excluded or teased or left out.  That's almost all of us, I think.  For the most part, I think all of you do your best to treat others with respect, but you have to try to do that for everyone, whether you like them or not.  Sometimes, when people say or do things that are disrespectful, I hear the excuse, "but she's so ANNOYING."  But that's only an excuse.  If someone you know is irritating, you still need to treat them respectfully.  If I put that person in your group, you shouldn't say, "I don't want to work with him" in front of the class.  Think about how you're making that person feel.  How would you feel in that circumstance?  All through your life, you'll find yourself working with people who "rub you the wrong way".  In the theatre, people like that are really common.  You still have to figure out how to get the best out of that person.  I promise you, you won't get a person's best if you shame and humiliate them.  Recently, I posted about the movies "Jobs" and "The Social Network".  Both movies depict people who have changed the world and created extraordinary technological advances, but they might have been "irritating" in high school.  If you treat people with patience and respect, they might be able to accomplish great things.  And you might benefit from their efforts as well!

E.R.A.S.E. Bullying!

Let It Snow!

I wonder what it's doing where you are.  We've had snow coming down for two days, but there isn't much on the ground.  It's amazing how bright it is.  Our house is full of light thanks to the reflective quality of the snow.  Our bird feeder is quite popular with all the little birds -- I think it might be harder to find seeds and things when the ground is covered with wet snow.

We got up at four to watch the hockey game and we weren't disappointed, although the score doesn't reflect how well the Swedes played in the early part of the game.  I didn't watch the closing ceremonies.  I'm not big on ceremonial stuff but I have really enjoyed the athletic contests.  There's something basic and very dramatic there that you can't help admiring, I think.

So now it's all over and we go back to our normal lives, if there is anything really like that.  There's always something going on, isn't there?

Last night, the boys and I watched "The Social Network" about Mark Zuckerberg creating Facebook.  This summer we went to the movie about Steve Jobs.   It is interesting that these two guys who revolutionized our lives were rather similar in their personality -- both were socially inept and narcissistic, it seems.  I really liked the end of the movie with "Baby, You're a Rich Man" playing and Zuckerberg refreshing his Facebook page, after asking his pretty lawyer to "befriend" him.  A nice little bit of irony, there, I thought.

Journal #3

Senior Drama:  Explain what you know (or have learned) about the news story you're using as the basis of your play.  What comments do you have about the story?  Describe how your group plans to stage your play.

Drama 9:  Which heritage story (not your own) was your favourite?  Explain why.  Be specific.  Mention the story, the performances, how it was staged.

Drama 8:  What is your favourite genre of movie?  (Mystery, comedy, suspense, horror, romance, etc.)  Describe a movie that fits into this genre.  What do you like about the movie you've chosen?

Remember -- if your performance doesn't go well, you may perform again.  However, you must practice and try to improve on the original.  Listen carefully to my comments and try to take my suggestions to heart.  One important thing to remember is that you need to incorporate the criteria I give when I describe what I want you to do.  If I ask you to include tableaus and mime, you need to try to do that.  You must always be aware of the importance of communicating with the audience.  If you can't be heard, you are making it difficult for the audience -- that is not what a theatre artist wants.  You can challenge your audience with ideas and imagination, but you don't want them asking "what did she say?"

Trust a woman's instinct!

“I would rather trust a woman's instinct than a man's reason.”
― Stanley Baldwin

 

Stanley Baldwin was a British prime minister.  In this case, I'm using his quote not because I dispute the power of rational thought, but because sometimes instinct is all you have.  It has been a tough day because the day the cast list comes out is always tough.  Some people are happy, but usually more people aren't.  I hate it, because I don't want any of you to be sad or disappointed.  Some people say high school is a place that prepares you for the harshness of the real world, but I want it to be a place where you are still safe to be a kid. 

 

I know lots of you were hoping you'd get a bigger part, but really hold that talisman to your heart -- "there is no such thing as a small part, just small actors".  Take what you get and run with it.  You can work miracles on stage and so you can make your character, however small or large, live for the people who come to watch the show.  You need to trust me.  I know it is hard to trust people.  They might betray you.  They might disappoint you.  They might hurt you.  But you have to trust them.  Otherwise, you might live your life in fear and suspicion.

 

I take my role as a teacher really seriously.  When I sometimes say I'm not your friend, it is because, as your teacher, I feel like my responsibility reaches further.  I want you to embrace your opportunities and learn things and have experiences here at school that you might never have again.  Being on stage is one of those experiences.  For me, being on stage has been one of the great things in my life.  It can be scary.  It can be exhilarating.  It can shine a light on things you haven't considered before.  It can make you feel powerful.  It can make you feel very small or like a giant.  I can't play any sports with skill, but I think it must be like when you play sports -- you feel like you might be able to do anything. 

 

I have confidence in all of you.  I want all of you to be great in the play and have a wonderful time rehearsing and performing.  Most of you know how great it is to create a character and perform a play for people who'll laugh and be surprised and maybe shocked and maybe educated by what we do and say.  For those of you who haven't done it before, "hold onto your hats!  We're in for a bumpy, [but exciting] ride!  (That's my hero, the great Bette Davis!)

“The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” ― J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count.  You go outside for 15 minutes (minimum) and count all the birds you see and then send your count in to them.  People all over North America send in their lists and it helps the bird experts monitor the state of wild birds which is quite a concern these days in the face of climate change and habitat loss.  How many birds can you recognize?  If we want to take good care of the world in which we live, we should probably know a little bit about it.  So take 15 minutes away from your computers and go outside.

As many of you know, I walk my dog, Daisy, every day and on the weekends we give ourselves a treat and walk down to Rocky Point Park which is right on the Burrard Inlet, so you get the sea and the trees and a little marshy area.  It's a good spot to see birds and of course, some birds put themselves right out there -- the big tough guys who aren't afraid of a woman and a nervous dog.  I saw lots of Canada Geese, of course, pigeons and seagulls (which are really hard to distinguish -- there are lots of different kinds of gull and it is so hard to figure out which kind you're looking at) and my favourite bird, crows (called "feathered primates" because they're so smart -- did you know they can make tools?), and starlings (they are interlopers from Europe, but it's not their fault -- it's ours).  There were lots of buffleheads out on the water.  They're lovely little water birds with sharp black and white markings -- they're called buffleheads because the males have a big white feathery "buffle" on the back of their heads.  They're small birds but very spritely and dive down into the water to get their meals.  I heard other birds, but didn't see them.  Mike saw a robin the other day -- my mother was always happy to see the first robin of the year, because it was a sign of spring.  Their call is "spring is here"!

Anyway, it's a nice day for it, and it is good for the soul to watch a bird (or any wild creature).  Wouldn't you like to be able to fly?

"Love Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry"

That's a quote from an old movie called "Love Story" which was really popular when I was young.  If you want "cheese", that's a movie to watch!  The line was really iconic and everybody used to say it in all sorts of circumstances.

It comes to mind when people like Patrick Chan and Spencer O'Brien apologize to Canada when they don't do as well as everyone hoped they would at the Olympics.  I really wish some "spinmaster" responsible for the Canadian team would instill in the athletes that they aren't responsible for fulfilling Canadians' hopes and dreams.  Of course, we would like to see them do well, but obviously they are doing their best and obviously they want to succeed and if, on that particular moment, their athletic performance isn't quite as good as someone else's, well, that's just the way it is.  We're a small country with very few people and so for someone here to be the second best figure skater IN THE WORLD at a given moment is quite an achievement.  I know that he can skate much better than he did yesterday, but what he has accomplished is amazing and he has provided us with an outstanding example -- he has worked hard to achieve greatness, he performed admirably in front of the whole world, and he was a gentleman throughout the whole process.  He has nothing to apologize for.

I heard a movie critic talking about movies about the Olympics on the radio a couple of days ago.  There aren't many good ones.  I remember "Chariots of Fire" which focused on two British runners.  It is the only really great Olympic movie I've seen.  I have a vague recollection of "Jim Thorpe: All American" about the aboriginal athlete, Jim Thorpe (played in this movie by Burt Lancaster, who was not aboriginal) and he won medals (more than one, I think) in the Olympics, but then they were all taken away from him, because he had played semi-professional football while he was in college, or something.  There used to be a rule that Olympic athletes had to be pure amateurs but obviously that rule has fallen by the wayside.  Anyway,  Burt Lancaster was a terrific actor and that's probably why I remember that movie.  Perhaps the Olympics is already dramatic enough -- it can't be dramatized.  (I don't think I really believe that.)

Anyway, on a more local note,  we have auditioned everyone who was interested in a role in "The Wars of 1812" and then Ms. Levin, Rachel, Karina and I discussed how to cast it.  It is really hard because you were all so terrific.  Obviously, you younger aspirants understand that the older kids get priority since they will not be able to perform with us again, but that being said, some of the "little 'uns" were really spectacular.  I believe we will understudy the leads and do one show in the evening that features the understudies.  In addition, there are non-speaking roles for the two armies and the crews of the Shannon and the Chesapeake.  We were unable to finalize the cast on Friday, so we are meeting again on Monday.  The cast list WILL be up on Tuesday!

Journal #2: Thief of Time

Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time 

Grade 12's:  Do you think this quote is true?  What makes us human beings? What play/movie/book best explores the frailties of humanity?  (Maybe not "best" if it's too hard to choose.)  I think Shakespeare's tragedies attempt to address our frailties -- each of the big ones attack one aspect of human weakness; for example, "Othello" supposedly deals with our propensity for jealousy, but I think it looks at how our feelings of inadequacy can make us behave dangerously.  Othello lives in a society that makes use of his good qualities, but doesn't honour him as a man and this attitude has dire consequences for everyone around him.  It reminds me of what happened to Muhammed Ali.  He won the gold medal for boxing at the Olympics and then, when he returned to the United States, he discovered that he still had to deal with racism and that people didn't treat him as an equal.  "Romeo and Juliet", I think, addresses the danger of behaving impetuously ("Hamlet" does this, too, I think.)  Young people sometimes don't think about the consequences of their actions and that can also have dire consequences!

Grade 9's:  Why is it important for us to know about our history?  What does your heritage story tell us about how people lived in the past?

Grade 8's:  Are you good at working in groups?  Why or why not?  What qualities do you have that could make you a good team member?  Are you a good leader?  Why or why not?  Write about an experience you had working in a group (it could be in school or at camp or anywhere).  Was it a good experience or a bad one?  What did you learn from it? 

Remember, your journals are due on Tuesday.  Please try to stay on top of this.  It's nice to reflect on what's going on in the world and in class.

Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Hope you're all spending some good, old fashioned family time on Family Day!  It is very icy, so it's a chance to teach your family some of those good old drama warmups, which are great for any occasion.  Have a competitive round of the geography game, or work cooperatively on a "Martha" activity!  (One of you goes in and says "I'm a sea star on the beach" and then someone else goes in and says "I'm a rock covered in barnacles" and so on, until everyone is in the scene and you have a nice little picture.)

Are you watching the Olympics?  I am not big on the ceremonial stuff, lots of you had concerns about Vladimir Putin's attitude to the LGBT community and I hate the huge expense when there are so many things in the world that need our attention and our money -- I think the Olympic committee should choose one place to have the summer games and one place to have the winter games (like Athens for the summer, for obvious reasons and Lillehammer, in Norway because if you remember the Olympics that were held there, the town was idyllic and everything was picture perfect) and they would have all the venues ready and the athletes' village and so they wouldn't have to build everything from scratch every time.  All the countries who participate would pay into the upkeep of the place and so it wouldn't all fall on Norway's or Greece's shoulders.  BUT the individual stories and the desire of the athletes to put it on the line and go "further, higher and stronger" can inspire all of us to do our best in whatever field we choose.

Here are some general thoughts about the Olympics:

1.  There shouldn't be any judged sports.  Just the sports where there is a clear winner without any "style points" or things like that.  I liked Mark McMorris's attitude (he's the Sasktachewan kid who won a bronze medal in Slopestyle snowboarding).  He said his sport is a judged sport and so he just goes out and does his best and tries not to think too much about what the judges do.  He said this when the interviewer pointed out that his routine was more difficult than the person's who won the gold medal.

2.  I think the athletes should just represent themselves.  (This was what the Greeks wanted when they started the Olympics -- they'd stop all their political and warlike posturing for the time of the Olympics and the people would participate as individuals and not as representatives of their "polis" or  city-state.)  Then maybe they wouldn't feel like they'd disappointed their entire country if they didn't perform as well as they hoped.  It is hard enough to do your best when it's just you without having to carry the entire country's hopes and dreams as well.

3.  I like hockey and curling but I don't think their should be any team sports, just because of what I said in #2.  Just everyone doing his or her best for him or herself.

Lots of you commented that you thought the Olympics shouldn't be politicized, and I think my three above points could really get us beyond the politics, but maybe it's too idealistic to think we could do that -- people are political animals, after all.   Did you know that "politics" is from the Greek and means "relating to citizens"?  So maybe we can't help ourselves.

If you're wondering about homework, you can always practice your Shakespeare recitation.  You should know it perfectly, word for word, and if you want to do it really well, you need to think about what it means and try to communicate that to the audience.

Your first communique with Ms. Kosar!

Journals:

Grade 8's:  What should Ms. Kosar know about you?  Write about any past drama experience, whether you have stage fright, why you took drama, what you want to get out of the class, whether you have performed before, and anything else you might want to share with me.

Practice "All the world's a stage".

Grade 9's:  Write your heritage story.  Provide details and write it like an actual story.  (A sentence isn't enough.)

Senior Drama:   Choose one of the "family secret" plays.  Write about it as if you were a theatre critic.  Comment on performances, the plot, the setting, how you reacted to it.  Did you like it?  or not?  How could it improve?  (Nobody's perfect.)

Your scenes today were absolutely stellar.  I have great expectations of what work we'll  be able to do this semester.

Curtain's up, light the lights!

Senior Drama:  You need to give Tim a scenario, so he knows how to run your light and sound!  Get someone responsible to compose something clear that spells out what you want him to do.  It can't be anything complicated, because he is running both light and sound!  I will give you fifteen minutes at the start of class for you to prepare your scenes.

If you are interested in the play, make sure you sign up for an audition time!

Creeping like snail, unwillingly to school

Shakespeare knew how hard it was to get up, get your backpack and haul yourself to school.  Sometimes I think Shakespeare knew everything!  Starting the new semester is tough, but resolve to do your best and follow through.  Really, from my perspective, school is a great opportunity.  You have the chance to learn a whole variety of things, all of which are of value, so even the things you don't like are worthwhile.  Push yourself to be curious!

We had a good first day and it was a great joy to see you all engaged and participating.  Keep that up.  Get a decent amount of sleep.  Make a nice nutritious lunch for yourself.  Introduce yourself to someone you haven't spoken to before!  You might make a nice friend or curry favour with someone who will later own a fortune 500 company or run a theatre group you want to act in!  (You never know!)

Grade 8's:  This is your recitation.  We will use it for warmups and in a few weeks, you'll be expected to recite it for the class:

All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man, in his time, plays many parts.

It is from "As You Like It", one of Shakespeare's comedies.  It describes all the stages of a person's life (including the time we spend in school -- "the whining school-boy, with his satchel, and shining morning face, creeping like snail unwillingly to school".  Just like us!)

One of the things we will work on this term is developing a clear strong speaking voice and Shakespeare provides us with lots of beautiful language to practice with. 

See you all tomorrow!

The Super Football Game

That's what my mom used to call the Super Bowl.  She didn't really care about it and neither do I, but it is a good excuse for a Sunday misspent in front of the tv eating food that I don't usually eat (like potato chips which I wish were on Canada's Food Guide in their own category!)  I like watching sports on television and like observing special occasions, and so even though I am a CFL fan (Go Riders, Go!) and don't give a hoot about the NFL, I can still appreciate that the players are great athletes and can enjoy the game without caring about who wins.

Horrible to read this morning that Philip Seymour Hoffman is dead.  He was an outstanding actor (I last saw him as the priest in "Doubt" but he played Truman Capote in "Capote" and was always great.)  He was only 46.  He was found on the floor of his bathroom and it is suspected that it was a drug overdose.  It is so hard to imagine how such a thing could happen.  He had a very successful and creative career, a wife and three children, and was admired by lots of people.  What would make a person like that resort to drugs?  He was in rehab and had said he had a problem with prescription drugs and had started to snort heroin.  It just demonstrates that drugs can be such a scourge.  Your life is so precious -- don't risk it by becoming enslaved to something that can kill you, no matter how smart or talented or powerful you are.

We're starting the new semester tomorrow.  For some of you, it will be your last semester of high school!  How time flies, huh?  Grab the gusto!  Do your best and enjoy every moment (if you can).  Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!  Miss Frizzell's advice still holds true.  We're still on the magic school bus - let's ride it for all it's worth!

Quantum of Solace

Just saw this movie!  It is the first James Bond movie I have ever watched!  I found it interesting in that it showed all these exotic locales, and I like Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Giancarlo Giannini as actors -- they are interesting to watch even when they don't appear to be doing anything.  Some of the images will stay with me -- the Bolivian desert, the oil soaked woman on the pristine white bed, the snow falling softly in Russia.  I found the story a bit dense -- what in heaven's name is going on? I found myself thinking on a number of occasions.  The opening music is always good in these James Bond films -- Jack White wrote this song -- and partly that is what made me want to watch the rest of the movie.  The chase sequences were as interesting as they could possibly be -- in a plane, on a motorcycle, in cars through tunnels and of course, the chase on foot through Siena, but I do find myself bored quickly by seeing one person pursue another person, no matter what vehicle they use!  (Horse chases are always the best, because the horse is so beautiful that there is always something worth looking at.)