Theatre

NOTICE: NO FURTHER UPDATES With much sadness I must announce that this is the Final Curtain for the Theatre Page here on the Husky Pawper. There will be no further updates, however it will still remain open as a matter of record fo the theatre in 2008.

Curtain Call: The Theatre Year in Review Well folks, it has been a phenomenal year for theatre here in Trussville. With great plays like //A Little Princess// and //Godspell// as well as all the great mini-plays that we have seen, this could be one of the most exciting years in theatre that HTMS has ever seen. For my Final Article, we will take a look at all the great things that have happened this year. When coming into the 2008 year, I was a little disdained. I didn’t know what to expect, and whether it would be good enough to top past plays like //Aladdin// or //Suesicall the Musical.// I began the year with a poll article about what movie you would like to see turned into a school play. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers’ Stone, one of my favorite movies won. I continued with an article about the types of theatre, but I was still doubtful about whether or not the year would be a good one for actually plays. Then there was //A Little Princess//. Although it was kind of a girlish play, I manned up and went, and it was executed really well. Of course, since most of the actors were in fifth grade, this is an especially amazing feat. It was a really amazing play, although I was disappointed that you never got to see the monkey. With no other plays, but a rekindled hope of 2008 being a good year, I wrote an article about medieval theatre and its sister article about Japanese theatre. Then, while researching theatre in Canada, I found Fringe theatre. I wrote an article about it. Of course many other plays came into view that I couldn’t write an article about. “Noises Off” an ACTA sponsored play as well as many mini-plays performed by Mrs. Hutchens theatre class. Of course, I had to become distracted from the “Types of Theatre” articles when Godspell Tryouts rolled around. Many tried out, but only and elite few made it into the play. After the Tryout Article, I wrote about a revolutionary new troupe called “The Neo Futurists.” Those guys are crazy. Just looking at the tryouts and rehearsals, it looks like Godspell is going to be a great play that will send 2008 out with a bang. It will be performed at the Methodist Church this Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 both nights. I will definitely be there. Before I go, I’d like to thank a few of the Big Wigs of Trussville. Mrs. Hutchens, who provided all the materials the actors needed to make amazing plays. Also, I’d like to thank ACTA for making more plays than necessary. Finally, the Actors in each and every play deserve huge thanks, because without them, plays would be really boring. In conclusion, 2008 was an amazing year for theatre. I really will miss writing about it, all the hectic deadline days and worry about grades. But I must, sadly, sign off for good (sniff, sniff) because the year is winding down and everyone is excited to leave school. Hopefully late 2008 (and 2009!) will be just as good a year as this one was. Signing Off, Sam West Fine Arts Department, Theatre

Welcome to the New Future! If you haven’t been paying much attention to Chicago off-off Broadway theatre, then you probably have never heard of the Neo-Futurists. If not, which considering the circumstances is probably the case, then you won’t know that they are an innovative group of performers that showcase just-plain-weird performances that are extremely hilarious. These performers believe in stranging the Theatre society. One of their plays, //Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go blind: 30 Plays in 60 minutes// is an attempt to perform thirty plays in only an hour. Some of the antics in that play are just plain strange. For example, instead of having a set price, they roll a dice to determine how much you pay. As you walk into the play, you are handed a menu of thirty plays that will be performed for you. Each week, a number of plays is removed (new ones get added back in) according to, you guessed it, a dice roll. Another interesting feature is the slogan, //“When we sell out, we order out.”// This means that if the play sells all of its tickets, they order a pizza, and slice it into tiny pieces, one for each audience member. As you walk in, one of the performers asks your name, and gives you a random name such as “Beat Box.” Several versions of this play have been released, including a collection of 100 of their plays. When asked about the non illusory nature of the plays that they write, Greg Allen, the creator of TMLMTBGB says, “all of our plays are ‘set’ on the stage in front of the audience. All of the ‘characters’ are ourselves… we don’t aim to ‘suspend the audiences disbelief’ but to create a world where the stage is a continuation of daily life.”  The Neo Futurists are a very busy troupe, and have been going for 30 years; I couldn’t fit into an article all of the mold breaking plays that these guys have performed. So, if you’re ever in the Chicago area, come see this play, you’ll be glad you did.

The cast of //Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind//

Godspell? Do tell.

 The casting for the school play, Godspell, took place the week before Spring Break. It was hosted by Ms. Hutchens (as well as judged by Mrs. Hutchens) in the upstairs theatre room. Many hopefuls participated in this competition. They found some real stars for the play.  Each person auditioned was asked for the tryout to sing one song of their choice. These songs ranged from Disney classics to new hits like “Teardrops on my Guitar,” and of course, some students went a little avant-garde. Other students even sang “Happy Birthday to You”, but that was OK with Mrs. Hutchens. Many that tried out were asked to return the next day, but some just couldn’t make it to the next audition.  For the second audition, those that advanced from the past audition were asked to perform a different selection of their choice. Many who made it to the second day of auditions were good enough to make it into the cast. The official final list was posted outside of Mrs. Hutchens room, and many hopefuls were glad to see that they had gotten parts in the play. Whether they made it or not, there were some pretty hilarious moments out there in tryouts. At one point, an auditioned person forgot the words to their song and had the whole class and other hopefuls singing out with them to help.  In case you don’t know, Godspell was a play released in the 70’s that was a modern day look at the death and resurrection of Christ. (The gospel according to St. Matthew.) It was highly controversial in the 70’s, but it was so successful that it was made into a movie and many smaller spinoff plays. This will be a tough one to pull off, but I’m confident that the Drama team can do it. So, in the end, the tryouts found some real stars for the play, and I can’t wait to see how Godspell turns out. A Godspell Playbill The Godspell Logo

Theatre on the fringe of crazy!!!! What kind of theatre is so avant-garde, so off-kilter and weirdly strange that they would give it a name like fringe theatre? Well… uh, fringe theatre! Really, this stuff is not for one who wants to see a mainstream performance. But if you want to see a strange wacky performance made for the non-conformist, then you’re in the right place, since Fringe theatre has a huge following in Canada and the US!  Unlike regular performances, a fringe theatre performance usually consists of one to five people doing a performance on stage. Since this makes it hard to have really epic plots, Fringe theatre performances usually have one act and last for about an hour. Also, most of the time, fringe theatre performers travel in troupes, allowing many different people to see their performances, which is a great thing for the fringe theatre lover. As well as this, the troupes usually don’t have the technological power of regular theater, making their performances quite bootleg and shoddy. This adds even more to the hilarity. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"> So, where can I see such an off-kilter performance? Well, there are many Fringe theatre festivals, but the largest in North America is the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, which takes place in Edmonton, Alberta each year. If you don’t happen to have two tickets to Canada, pack your bags because the Orlando Fringe is the largest festival of Fringe in the US, and it is the closest to Alabama. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"> So, next time you see some odd performers performing a wacky, hilarious play, thank Fringe Theatre! A snapshot from the Edmonton Fringe in 2006.

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">**Kabuki+Noh=Manga!?** <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> So, have you ever wondered where the outlandish and crazy plots of Japanese manga and anime come from? Well, it all dates back to ancient Japan in the 300’s, since all of this comes from Japanese theatre. The main types of this theatre are Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku, and each of these types are vastly different. Let’s take a look at the ancient Japanese theatre. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> First off are Noh performances. Noh are mainly drama performed in a strict and incredibly stylized way. This type can be divided into two categories, Mugen Noh, which are plays about the supernatural, and Genzai Noh, which depicts everyday events. Often, during Noh performances, an intermission performance called a Kyogen would be performed. Kyogen performances are often comedy, especially farce. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> On the opposite side of the table, Kabuki performances are outlandish, lively stories that shocked the audience. This type was made in a direct rebellion to Noh, and often includes large swordfights, loud noises and wild, insane costumes. In fact, the ancient Japanese translation of the word Kabuki means “bizarre” or “avant-garde.” Sounds like the kind of play that I would want to see! <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> Finally, the last of the types of theatre is Bunraku, or, in modern speak, puppet shows. In these puppet shows, all of the puppets are controlled by puppeteers in black clothing that are in full view of the audience. The lead puppeteer wears, instead of black, an extremely colorful costume. This type of theatre might have lead to modern puppet shows today. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> So now you know that the wild plots of manga and anime came from the rebellious Kabuki performances. So, next time you read the new manga of your favorite series, thank the ancient Japanese. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> -Sam West

Medieval Theatre History

Medieval theatre was English theatre that started the theatre in America today. Without this type of theatre, we here in America would have never gotten to see plays, which would later give the idea of TV shows, and even video games with complex stories! So here is how the story goes. At the start of the middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church banned all theatrical performances, to make sure not to have a repeat of the very ludicrous Roman Theatre. However some eager performers rebelled. Masses of jugglers, actors and actresses, bards, storytellers, mimes and other performers traveled in search of an audience. This eventually became the medieval theatre that would start theatre in the U.S. centuries in the future. But what types of genres did these ancient theatres have? Mostly, these ancient plays were attempts to educate illiterate people about the bible, or to convey a Christian message. Many of these types of plays told about the lives of saints, or the Virgin Mary. There were also many secular plays including comedy, especially farce. However, this type of theatre, like many other arts, would have its decline. This type of theatre began to get more and more secular and began to mutate from rag-tag workers touring around, using inns and restaurants as performance stages, to highly paid, upscale members of society performing in non-mobile establishments made for plays. Eventually, the Brits sought to explore America, and they took their play houses with them. These plays eventually became TV shows, movies, and even inspired the idea for video games with complex storylines. But I said that this type of theatre declined? Didn’t all of the poor, shoddy plays become upscale, proper plays? How is that a declination? Well, everyone has their own opinion about whether it was a decline or evolution. That is one of the oldest arguments in theatre history. For more info on Meideval, Roman or any type of theatre, click [|here].

A Little Princess <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">Performed at: ACTA Directed by: Clifton Keen Genre: Drama <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">It’s time for the coverage of the first official play of the 2008 year, //A Little Princess.// This play is directed by Clifton Keen, and performances of this play are on the 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th at 7:30 p.m. and on the 10th and 17th at 2:00p.m. The play is actually based off of a 1905 children’s novel of the same name, which actually was an expanded version of an 1888 novella (a short novel). It has been reproduced for large and small plays many a time and is truly a great classic. In 1995, Warner Bros. even made the story into a movie. When I heard it had came to ACTA I had no clue about it (other than that it involved a girl and a monkey) but after a little research I thought it would be interesting to see if ACTA could pull it off. Well, here goes. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> So the story goes: A seven year old girl named Sara Crewe who was raised in India by her highly affluent father moves to New York City, New York to go to a boarding school for girls. Impressed by the affluence, power and fortune of her father, Sara gets treated like the eponymous little princess at the school. She gains such perks as a private dorm room with a maid, and then rises to fame in the school as its star pupil. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who wants to see the play, but when one of her father’s friends shows up with some very unfortunate news, the tables get turned on poor Sara. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> Mean while, a young boy named Rama tries to rescue a young princess named Seita from the evil twelve-headed demon Ravana. Told through a story-book-reading narrator, this plot twists ever so delicately through Sara’s story, and offers an interesting accompanier to the main plot. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> But how did ACTA pull it off? Brilliantly. From the story of Sara, to the storybook tale of the young boy named Rama, every facet of the play was pulled of greatly. The entire play actually had such a funny element to it; you could almost call it a comedy. The entire story was done excellently, everyone knew there lines perfectly, and if you consider the fact that nearly all of the actors were 5th graders, that’s a great feat. Many of the actors of the play were from HTMS, including Hannah Allen and Emma Benedict, and they represented the school well in the play. In a final conclusion, //A Little Princess// was a great play, and even if it is aimed at a girl audience, it’s funny enough to make any guy laugh. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">The cover of the Warner Bros. Movie.

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">Types of Theatre <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> So, we know there are genres for movies like action, comedy or romance, and we know there are genres for games, like shooter, RPG or platformer. But have you ever thought about plays having genres, too? Here at the newspaper site today, I’ll help you take a look at the main types of theatrical genres so that you can know what I mean for future articles. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> Drama: Drama (translated from action, meaning to do) is the type of theatrical work where either written of improvised speech is of key importance. These were the first types of theatre that defined the art. Often, these types involve more than what you see on stage, also including the attempts of lighting and music to make the entire work more believable. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> Political Theatre: Political theatre is a work that tries to convey a political message or a message about social issues and encourage social changes. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">Comedy: Comedy includes any play that involves merriment or humor. It may not necessarily be funny; it could just be a story with a happy ending. Also, this can include Black Comedy, comedy that pushes the boundaries of good taste by turning depressing or sad images into funny ones. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">Tragedy: A theatrical work that treats the sorrowful of depressing events encountered or caused by a main character with full seriousness. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">Of course, there are many other types of theatrical works, but they can all fit under one of these four. Now, the next time you go to a theatre, you can know what genre the performance fits into. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'">The classic symbol of Drama, two masks wearing opposite expressions.

Movie Magic!

So, you know the school plays right? Mrs. Hutchins is usually the one who picks them, but what if you were the one that could? That’s what I asked the students of HTMS. So, in the past two weeks, I went around the school used the Husky Pawper site to get the students votes in this poll. Why would we do this? So that we can find the opinion of the school and show what you guys think.

Their choices were: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Home Alone, Star Wars, 13 going On 30, or Bridge to Terabithia, all big ticket movies. In fact, according to movies.com, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Home Alone are in the top 150 list of highest grossing movies of all time (just a little movie trivia for you). Now I know that these movies wouldn’t be quite the same as the theater experience on a school budget, so let’s pretend that we have enough money for amazing lighting, sound and special effects. Well, the response we got from the students was overwhelming; (I myself voted for Mr. Potter…) so, here are the winners.

Well, it looks like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone won by a long shot! Coming in at second was Home Alone, with Star Wars pulling in at 3rd! No matter who won, though, these would all make great plays, and some movie magic!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone got 1st place!