portfolios are in!!!!!!

OMG! U CN RLX NOW!!!

YES!!!

E3H: Do the aforementioned relaxing. And read Oedipus the King, due Tuesday.

E2H: Work on scenes and books. Book due Monday; scenes Wednesday. For the new conference schedule, click here.

Drama: Reflections on the scene revisions; catch up on everything this weekend!!!

random thought of the day: (keep this one in mind now that I have your portfolios and you want them graded) What is worth having is worth waiting for.

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shout out!

Hey hey! A huge shout-out to Jonathan Grum, who spent ten minutes of his own time today filling Danielle Springer in on the entire history of Western Theatre and the story of Oedipus the King. If I had the "wave" smiley here, I'd use it. Thanks, Jon!

Today's the exciting penultimate day of Junior Portfolio Drive To Achieve 2008. So far I have portfolios from both Danielles and from Maggie and Ashley. Everyone else's is coming tomorrow. Fun fun fun!

E3H: see above! bring food!

E2H: this film lasts forever! we'll finish it tomorrow...I promise!

Drama: kaaaaaleeeeigh...you can't escape forevvvvvvvver...and everyone: we're redoing our scenes tomorrow with new choices and focus on what we learned in class.

random thought of the day: I used to have a very open mind . . . but my brains kept falling out

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this is the fun part

Really! When the countdown calendar says two more days, when three portfolios are already in, when the Portfolio Progress Box on my web page has been engaged, it must be the Fun Part!

But for those who are wondering...

E3H: um...there are portfolios due in 2 days (in case you haven't heard), and it's time to start reading Oedipus the King.

E2H: we're watching DOAS on video...keep working on your scenes and books...

Drama: three monologues remain, and then we get to do 'em again on Friday!

random thought of the day: Yesterday today was tomorrow yet tomorrow today will be yesterday.

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another ugly monday

Oh yay. It's snowing. We haven't seen that much this year. Whoopee.

My enthusiasm overwhelms, doesn't it?

E3H: The countdown said 4 today. It will say 3 tomorrow...

E2H: DOAS scenes continue...

Drama: Book exercises (both makeup and Chapter 3) continue, as do monologue performances. We will need to reselect the Secret Stalker project...

random thought for the day: where does the white go when the snow melts? (not that we'll ever find out this year...)

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adjourning early

Well, I'm leaving early for the weekend, so I thought I'd let you all in on what the heck is going on. Here is the big update for everyone:

E2H: The scene selections are as follows:

Alex and Vicki: Scene 2 Happy/Biff 20- 23 (from Happy: “Funny, Biff” to Happy: “Still goddammit I’m lonely”)

Jonathan (and whoever your partner is...and thanks for being flexible): Scene 3 Happy/Biff 23-26 (from Biff: “Listen, why don’t you come” to Biff: “lock up the place”)

Emma and Claire: Scene 5 Linda/Biff 53-56 (from Biff: “What is he doing out there” to Linda; “The man is exhausted”)

Christian and partner: Scene 7 Willy/Howard 76-80 (from Howard: “Hello, Willy, Come in” to Howard: “Business is business”)

Brian and James: Scene 8 Willy/Howard 80-84 (from Willy: “God knows, Howard” to Howard: “there’s people outside”)

Cecilia and Emily: Scene 9 Willy/Bernard 91-95 (from Bernard: “Hello, Uncle Willy” to Willy: “Goodbye, boy”)

Colin and partner: Scene 10 Willy/Charley 95-98 (from Willy: “The Supreme Court!” to Charley: “Jesus”)

In class today you will (have) read throught the scenes with your partner and decide(d) on how and when to get together this weekend. Over the weekend, several things should happen:

• you should read through the scene aloud many, many times to familiarize yourselves with speaking the words
• you should help each other to understand more fully what these characters are saying
• following the guidelines found on the assignment page, you should begin the research and analysis process that will lead to the construction of your scene's "book"

All of this will not be "due" at least until late next week. The earliest due date is next Thursday. I may extend it over the weekend, depending purely upon the amount of effort I see between now and then and whether I feel it will help the final product.

Note also that we have to finish discussion of the final scenes of the play, as well as finish the movie. I do know that. :-)

E3H: Ultra portfolio if-you-don't-do-it-now-when-the-heck-are-you-going-to-do-it? mode! Countdown stands at 7. When I see you next it will stand at 4.

Drama: Work on monologues. Finish catching up. Start working on the Ch 3 inventory exercises. :-)

random thought of the day: what if the hokie-pokie really is what it's all about?

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it's not debatable

Tonight is the nineteenth Democratic debate (the second with just the two Big Guns) and, coming one night after the lunar eclipse, that makes the second consecutive evening in which we mere mortals can turn to the cosmos and marvel at the wonder of it all.

Maybe that's a bit heavy-handed for a political debate. OTOH, have you heard the rhetoric lately? I'm pretty sure that Obama is the Second Coming. Or at the very least a tremendously gifted interstellar traveler.

:-)

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT:

If you desire your writing to be considered for Young Idea, tomorrow (Friday) is the LAST DAY that you may submit it to Mrs. Forst or Mrs. D Clark. Forms are in my room, but you'll have to get it to them yourself. If you have done major revisions of previously submitted work, GET IT IN NOW!!!

E3H: We are in full-blown portfolio wing-ding blow-out mode. Countdown reads 8 days. Do you know where your portfolio is?

E2H: DOAS posts tonight concern the last scene. While we won't be talking about it in class tomorrow (I won't be there), you will have the chance to discuss things online and I will post more there (or here) about what is revealed in the confrontations of those final moments. Tomorrow you'll be doing workshop and starting on your scene work. There will be more on that later... If I can get it done I'll post it her tonight; otherwise you'll get it in class tomorrow.

Drama: We've lost Ian. :-( He will be missed, but he had to drop the class due to health concerns. So we will need to reshuffle today's I Spy assignment a bit. Still, you are working on monologues and the personal inventory exercises in Ch 3. Also, it's Major Catch-Up time for assignments so that you are not left with eligibility issues or parental awkwardness...

Don't forget: Jodi Picoult B&B 3/11 with a field trip to hear her at Gorton on 3/12! Sign up in the library!

random thought of the day: “An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be”

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if it's tuesday, this must be...

...well, looking around I know it isn't Belgium...

Welcome back from a frigid and rainy four-day weekend during which even I managed to get at least a modicum of rest. Here is the run-down on what's happening in the Wonderful World of Topham this fine overly chilled Tuesday afternoon:

E3H: Today we heard from the booklady, and I have to say that a few of you were a tad rude; if you can't listen to her better then I won't invite her back. And also...if you know she's coming, why aren't more of you ready to take new books?

Enough of that.

Tomorrow is registration for Period 5; Thursday for Period 3. The other day (plus Friday) will be Writing Workshop. We will also have at least two Writing Workshops next week; there should be plenty of time to finish things up.

The deadine for the Portrait Final is today. Email it to e3h@sunspark.com.

E2H: Today we talked about Bernard and Charley and we just started on Howard and the "a man is not a piece of fruit" scene. We'll be discussing it tomorrow; chat about it online tonight. Another place to examine is the final confrontation with Biff and Willy.

Your DOAS scene projects should choose from the following scenes:

1. Linda/Willy 12-16 (from start through Linda: “Never”)
2. Happy/Biff 20- 23 (from Happy: “Funny, Biff” to Happy: “Still goddammit I’m lonely”)
3. Happy/Biff 23-26 (from Biff: “Listen, why don’t you come” to Biff: “lock up the place”)
4. Willy/Linda 34-37 (from Linda: “Did you sell anything?” to Linda: “idolized by their children the way you are”)
5. Linda/Biff 53-56 (from Biff: “What is he doing out there” to Linda; “The man is exhausted”)
6. Linda/Willy 71-75 (From start to Linda: “Be careful”)
7. Willy/Howard 76-80 (from Howard: “Hello, Willy, Come in” to Howard: “Business is business”)
8. Willy/Howard 80-84 (from Willy: “God knows, Howard” to Howard: “there’s people outside”)
9. Willy/Bernard 91-95 (from Bernard: “Hello, Uncle Willy” to Willy: “Goodbye, boy”)
10. Willy/Charley 95-98 (from Willy: “The Supreme Court!” to Charley: “Jesus”)

I'll need to know your partners and your top three selections ASAP. For a detailed description of the full project, you may check here.

Drama: You will be working toward a graded performance of these monologues during this week. Tomorrow you will continue to work in small groups on character development. Thursday and Friday you will move on to performance issues. Monday the monologues will be performed for grades. Note that there is going to be a new assignment given during the week as well...

random thought of the day: Ever been scared half to death? Well don't do it twice.

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four day weekend (updated)

(I wish I had one!)

Hey all you E3H-ers (and you know who you are): you've got your work cut out for you. First of all, you have your Portrait Final due on Tuesday. Then you are registering for classes next week, so you need to consider carefully your options. The info I gave you today is located here, and of course you should also check the English Department's Guide to Courses. Then, if you are interested in taking Creative Writing, you'll need to submit a writing sample to Mrs. Forst. The prompt is located on the Edline English page.

Whew!

E2H-ers: after that, anything I could say to you is going to sound easy! And this is going to be the easiest possible thing: post more and rest up: we're attacking this play full force this week and looking at it from various angles. Next weekend you'll be working on the start of a project that will include acting and deep reading of a specific scene. So enjoy this weekend. :-)

Drama: you know what to do: your monologues are due on Tuesday. You need to be ready to perform them, and that means that you need to determine what your character's objectives are throughout the scene, what you will do with your instrument to play your character, how (if you happen to be Giselle) you'll stay awake long enough to perform, how (if you happen to be Johnny) your character works without hair, and how (if you happen to be Kayleigh) you will manage to keep that instrument from overwhelming the character with fidgety movement. ;-)

random thought for the day: I don't suffer from insanity . . . I enjoy every minute of it.

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they call it hump day

I don't know..."hump day" always sounded a bit crude to me...maybe there were camels...

Today was a bit weird, since I did not actually arrive at school until moments before third period ended. Therefore, seventh period received the benefit of a lesson on Portrait that third period has not had.

Here is the gist:

Stephen's aesthetic theories (yesterday's basket case) may seem utterly esoteric and probably myopic and insane--and maybe they are--but they lead him to his understanding of the nature of writing and his breakdown of all artistic writing into three categories:

Lyrical (poetry): writing done by the author for himself as the main and only audience, and therefore highly personal

Epical (stories): writing done by the author with the intention of sharing with an outside audience; i.e. to tell a story to someone else in the author's own voice

Dramatic (plays): writing done by the author knowing full well that, in order for an audience to perceive his words, he will have to give up authority over them entirely to a third party (actors) who will interpret them for that audience...therefore the kind of writing that must be the least personal of all forms

From this discussion we talked about Stephen's relationship with women, specifically Emma. He notes that he has been thinking about that day on the tram for ten years; it has haunted him. And he is more than a bit peeved at the attentions she is showing to the young priest who is her professor. At last we see the poem "Are You Not Weary of Ardent Ways?" This villanelle seems to be written to Emma, but it might as well be written directly to himself; by his own previously stated theories, he should be the audience of his poem, and besides, he is clearly the one obsessed, not Emma. With the poem he seems finally able to shake her (though not entirely, as we see in the diary/journal section later).

After that, the movement of the chapter shows us three more examples of the religious imagery we saw at the start (though more serious this time), and that seems to bookend that concept and bring it to a close. Stephen's statement that he "will not serve" the Catholic faith slams the door shut on his relationship with the church, and then we have a very poignant final scene between him and Cranly, in which he tells his friend that he does not fear to be alone in the world, but we can see that Cranly plainly does.

OK, third period: that's what you missed.

Now, all of you E3H-ers... one more time to the boards! This is the last board posting assignment before the final Portrait essays, so it's probably time to bring up any last issues. Tomorrow we're talking about registration and senior electives.

E2H: We're back to DOAS tomorrow; if you did not post yesterday (and even if you did), do so tonight!

Drama: Monologues! Bring 'em in half-memorized and marked up with ideas for performance. You'll be working on them with partners tomorrow.

random thought of the day: Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right.

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tuesday afternoon...

I'm just beginning to see, now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me, chasing the clouds away.
Something, calls to me,
The trees are drawing me near, I've got to find out why.
Those gentle voices I hear, explain it all with a sigh.

I'm looking at myself reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind.
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love,
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of
Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon. (Moody Blues)

I'm not sure that anything about today qualifies as a "fairyland of love," but what the heck. Obama may win a few more primaries, anyway, so that's at least something. Meanwhile, there is work to be done...

E3H: here's your board challenge tonight: can you make any sense at all of stephen's theories we discussed today? (don't forget the wikicab poll that ends today!)

E2H: focus tonight on specifics: be sure you are quoting from the play to support your thoughts online (don't forget the wikicab poll that ends today!)

Drama: can you come in tomorrow almost memorized? can you come in with all back online work completed? that's the goal!

random thought of the day: Always keep to a well balanced diet . . . a cookie in each hand

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here in siberia

just me and the polar bears, sittin' around the ice flow, chillin'...

E3H: We're still talking about Portrait 5: tomorrow we will be working on Stephen's theories. The posting should work now, so you can discuss them online. Also: wikipoll ends tomorrow.

E2H: We're back to DOAS, maybe to the movie tomorrow. Also, wikipoll ends tomorrow.

Drama: Finish what you should have finished over the weekend. Select a monologue and bring it in tomorrow. Begin working on memorization. (How much can you get down for tomorrow?) See earlier post for memorization tricks.

ooo, i'm terse today...

random thought of the day: i try to take one day at a time . . . but sometimes several days attack me at once.

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the weekend approaches

Hi, all, and welcome to the weekend edition of the blog.

Today's notes will be brief, as it's Friday afternoon and, frankly, I want to go home. Or maybe out to the Lantern.

Anyway...

Having survived this most surly of weeks, we all deserve a rest this weekend, but there are still boards to work on and portfolios to work on and life to live, so without any further ado:

E3H: on the Portrait boards, the discussion should center on Stephen's artistic theories; also look for a new wikicab poll

E2H: on the DOAS boards, take off on any of the discussions you'd like to; look for a new wikicab board here also

Drama: you are working on the chapter two exercises from the past two days. If you'd like some help finding monologue sources from plays--and remember that they do not have to be from plays--here is a whole page full of links for you: http://sunspark.com/general%20school/links.html.

random thought of the day: It is risky not to take risk. If you don't take risk, risk will take you.

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on the (very bumpy) road again

On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

That's how Willy Nelson sang it. Today I think it would be more appropriate to sing something like:

On the road again
There's ice and potholes on the road again
My car keeps telling me, "go back to school, my friend,
cause I don't want to be on the road again."
On the road again
These vibrations just might be my end
And it's so slow I wish I had Depends
I wish I weren't on the road again.

Something like that.

Anyway...

e3h: we were talking about stephen's reasons for leaving the catholic church; discuss them online, but also take a look at other critical things he discusses with his friends and how their conversations catalyze these decisions

e2h: we're in WW tomorrow; be ready for conferences, especially those who have in-class conferences either week; posting is on lots of DOAS topics...

drama: exercises 2.1, 2,2, and 2.3 (-the monologue) online by weekend's end. prepare the monologue for performance. first, of course, you'll have to find one. read the directions: it does not need to be from a play. i know i said you could write one, but i am rescinding that; don't write it yourself; instead, follow the directions and find something appropriate. then use the steps we have already learned to figure out how to play it, and practice, practice, practice. out loud. the more you read it out loud, the more you will find yourself memorizing it.

for full memorization, simply take it a paragraph at a time: read one sentence again and again until it comes out easily and correctly every time. then move to the next one. then do them together. repeat until you have a paragraph. repeat the paragraph several times. then work on the second paragraph. go back and do both paragraphs together. repeat until the monologue is fully memorized.

one additional trick: a mini tape recorder is useful. record your monologue and have it handy for playback; that way you cannot see the next lines, but you can double-check your accuracy.

random thought of the day: Time is the best healer . . . unfortunately, it kills all its patients.

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oops...

ah, february, that crazy month that can't make up its mind as to how many days it has, in which the weather goes bonkers, the rodents pop out and look for shadows, important presidents seem to be born, elections are held, snow days come (and don't come), and most of us are struggling just to keep out eyes ahead, hoping to make it through to march...

ah, february, the month of portfolios, of registration, of musical auditions, of talent show rehearsals...

ah, february, the month in which i bloody forgot to post my blog!

{oops}

{sorry!}

e3h: posting! it's all about the friends tonight! and it's time to get specific, to quote from the text, to show rather than tell (and all that jazz)

e2h: posting! it's all about the lies tonight! and it's time to get specific, to quote from the text, to show rather than tell (and all that jazz)

drama: posting! it's all about the reflections tonight! and it's also time to start reading into chapter 2 and working on the early exercises (1-6) in that chapter, the answers to which you will post in the "assignments" board...

random thought of the day: The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.

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super duper fat tsunami tuesday

while i am getting ready to take off for home, so that i can get ready to come back in the blizzard we all expect tomorrow morning, here are a few words about what you should expect on this insane mardi gras:

snow
ice
sleet
wind
election returns
100% chance of darkness toward evening, continuing until morning
apparently, almost no chance of a snow day :-)

with all that in mind:

e3h: we're in portrait tomorrow, so get on with those posts!

e2h: we'll cover more of doas tomorrow and do our workshops thursday and friday...post!

drama: two more behavior scenes and then it's on to some other topic...post in your reflection journals...

random thought of the day: A politician is the one who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after.

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back again

It's February and the Patriots have lost their perfect season by 39 seconds.

The Bulls and Blackhawks both are doing poorly.

Go Celtics!

:-)

Tonight's stuff:

e2h: If you have not finished DOAS yet, do so. In any case, there are lots of new boards for your posting enjoyment!

e3h: WW tomorrow (25 days and counting). PoA boards are open and waiting for your insights.

drama: Daily posts, of course, plus Friday's assignment (see "snow day" post in this blog if you didn't get it)

Random Thought For the Day: People are made to be loved and things are made to be used. There is much chaos in this world because things are being loved and people are being used.

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snow day

You know, this is my 25th year at Lake Forest High School. In the first 23, I cannot recall a single time when I was awakened to the news that school had been canceled because of inclement weather. We had to go home early a couple of times due to weather. We even had to go home early due to a power outage. But I don't remember a snow day. And now, we've had two years in a row with them.

Go ahead: tell me there isn't global climate change going on.

(Just kidding: we all know that individual weather patterns have nothing to do with long-term trends.)

Anyway:

Because I missed yesterday--the Dickens seminar was illuminating, BTW, and makes me want to add Great Expectations or A Tale of Two Cities or something to our reading list--we have a bit of a conundrum. So here's what I'm going to do:

E3H: I am torn between two very powerful desires. I really want to finish Portrait next week, and I do not want to lose workshop time so close to the portfolio due date. My solution is this: I am going to put a few specific topics about Chapter Five on the boards today for you to discuss over the next few days in the hope that these discussions will inform our in-class conversations next week. I hope that everyone will be highly involved. We will go back to our normal workshop-first weekly schedule next week.

E2H: I don't know how far you got in the movie yesterday but it would have been nice to have some time today to discuss it and talk about some specifics re: characters and themes. I'm going to introduce a few specific topics for you also. Please discuss them on the boards and we will try to dive into this play next week. In your class, we are going to push the workshops to the end of the week: Thursday and Friday. That way our opening of DOAS is not as choppy and disorienting. Please finish reading the play over the weekend.

Drama: You guys are so much harder than the others in a situation like this! We are not yet in scene work territory, so I can't say "work on your scenes." But I can give you a performance-prep assignment, and here it is:

I want you to come to class on Monday ready to show us two solo scenes. These scenes, in which you will portray yourself (and, if your scene involves anyone else, simply speak to an unseen "offstage" character), will illustrate for us behaviors that are either typical or completely atypical of you. In your "typical behavior" scene, show us something that you do when you are acting normally; in your "atypical behavior" scene, show us a scene (preferably that same scenario) in which you are acting in a manner that is just not the way you respond to things. (This is sometimes an opportunity for humor or wish-fulfillment.)

Now here is the kicker:

In these scenes, I want you to show us a part of you we don't know. I want you to take a risk. It doesn't have to be a huge risk. (I have seen some very uncomfortable behaviors in some years--I'm not really looking for Drama Class As Group Therapy here.) You risk what you're comfortable risking. The boy who knelt down and said a nightly prayer by his bedside felt as much risk showing that, or maybe more, than the girl who showed us the horrific way she used to treat her mother (the reason she had been in a group home for violent children for three years).

Decide what you want to play. Improvise it. Script it out. Analyze it according to the nine elements we've been discussing; perhaps some don't apply, as may not be a true theatrical beat, but which do? Make any comments that seem appropriate, as in a journal, but don't post this one on the board. Then...

Practice it. Practice it. Practice it.

Did I mention practice it?

Before Monday, email me the "script" and analysis/commentary.

Meanwhile...

Enjoy the snow.

Random thought for the day: If you need time alone, try cleaning the house.

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