For Thespian Scenic Designers

I've been researching a bit (to put together a basic power point presentation) and came across this, which might be useful.

There's great stuff on the scenography website, including a bit on MODEL MAKING TECHNIQUES, a glossary of lines used for technical drawing, and a link to their blog. It comes from Great Britain, so also has articles about what's happening in Europe.




Some famous scenic designers include:
Edward Gordon Craig
Jack Notman


There is also an interesting read on architects moving into theatrical stage design from the Washington Post.

For a collection of links--that take you to all types of topics on designing for theatre, see this artslynx site!



And finally, for some basic information on scenic design for "children's theatre" (as opposed to theatre for adults), this article has some tips.

NFL

From Harold Easton--NFL:

Prose - Top 200 - 3
Impromptu - Top 200 - 2
Poetry - Top 170 - 3
Expository - Top 100 - 1
Story Telling - Top 75 - 2

Ryan Ortizo - Quarterfinals - Story Telling
Ryan Ortizo - Qualified for National Qualifier Events 4 years in a Row, 1 of only 23 to do so.

Over all data - Students at Nationals are competing with the Top 1% in the Nation.


Report from Midori Nishida:

"I attend Calvary Christian Academy as a sophomore. This NFL trip was my first time to compete in Nationals, as well as my first trip to the USA. Before this, the longest trip I ever had was a three hour flight to Japan. You could say that the twenty hour flight to Kansas City, Missouri was a LONG one! Luckily, this long flight gave us an opportunity to get close to each other.

The NFL CNMI team consisted of ten girls and four boys from five schools. At first, I felt a bit out of place since everybody else sort of knew each other either from past NFL/NJFL competitions or from school. But I soon found myself getting very close to them, to the point that we could tell each other anything.

When we heard that Nationals were being held in Missouri, we weren't so keen on it. We thought--boring, flat, and cornfields. But let me tell you, some of the places we visited were amazing--especially this dainty little town, which we able to tour while riding on a horse carriage. Probably the only thing we didn't really enjoy was the unpredictable weather. One minute, it would be super sunny and the next, it would be raining cats and dogs.

Since we stayed there longer than previous competitions, we were able to go places such as Worlds of Fun (an amusement park), shopping malls, and restaurants. We were able to get in some fun before the competition started, as well as practice in the motel.

As far as the competition goes, it was TOUGH. Everybody there is the real deal. This was my first time, so I was a bit nervous to compete in Expository. But everybody was so supportive of each other that a lot of us broke to the next round.

Competing in Nationals gave us valuable tools to succeed in NFL Regionals. We met interesting people in the Nationals. We even got to do community service by packing food for Haiti.

This NFL trip was one of the best experiences I've had. I was able to meet great people and get close to them. Probably the best thing about this trip was being around each other. I love everyone on the CNMI team. We had so many laughs! If you're thinking of joining NFL I definitely encourage you. It's a great program that provides plenty of opportunities. I miss everything about the trip, except maybe for the jet lag...and sales tax."

And some photos (courtesy of Heather and Asia).






Sightseeing on a carriage ride









At the competition





Packing food for Haiti relief


CNMI and Guam teams

NJFL

Great reports on NJFL in the Saipan Tribune and the Marianas Variety.





Some additional comments from the participants:
From Esther Manzano—GCA coach. Said they went to Living History Farms-a living museum of 300 years of how early Americans live. “We saw their farms, houses, how they lived, clothes they wore.” Also went to Adventure Land, an amusement park with different rides, gift shop, restaurants, water park; the Iowa State Capitol where they saw the architecture, library, Supreme Court Office, legislative offices, etc.

June 25, 2010 was the first day of the competition, held at Dowling Catholic High School. The students competed in Pattern A events: Dramatic Interpretation (DI), Humorous Interpretation (HI), Duo Interpretation, Prose, Poetry, etc. Students were busy doing three rounds in their events, while the coaches were busy judging other students.

June 26 was the second day of competition. Pattern B events included Original Oratory (OO), Extemporaneous, Impromptu Speech, etc. Students competed in three rounds; coaches judged.

June 27 was the final day of competition. Those who advanced competed in quarterfinals, semifinals and some students in storytelling. This was also Awards day: Kanata Omari-semifinalist in Extemp; Hye Young Oh-quarterfinalist Impromptu; Matthew Lopez-quartefinalist, dramatic Interp; Arianne Narvaez-quarterfinalist-poetry; Darvhan Moses and Devonne Dotts—second places in storytelling.

Esther also said this was her first time to judge in a national competition. “The students are really good performers. Sometimes it is hard to rank them from the best to the last.”


Sang Hyuk Park, 14 year old at MBA. “When I was on the plane, I looked down through the window and it tells me that the world is big.” “I was so nervous before I competed in the NJFL, but after that I got confidence. I want to do better next year. I really had a good experience." Also missed rice at the restaurants!


Kimiko Tenorio, 12, GCA. Had never been to the mainland before and found it exciting, even to ride in the plane. "The competitions were exciting. I got to meet new people and make some new friends. Even though we were kind of nervous to speak in front of faces we haven’t seen, it was exciting and fun!” She said Iowa was cold, windy and there was thunder and lightning. The competitors were tall!


Kanata Omari, 12, MBA “At first I was disappointed when I did not go to the next round on the first day. Then my coach told me that there was tomorrow for more competition.” Also missed rice—“No rice for one week--I almost died.”


Kimberly Camacho, 12, GTC—“The NJFL trip to Des Moines, Iowa was really exciting and fun. It took 24 hours to get there…The places we went to were really cool…The competition day was tough…Overall the trip was awesome!!”


Hye Young Oh, 13, MBA—Commented on how the NJFL team members were supportive to each other.


Darvhan Augustine V. Moses, 13, MCS—“It was my first time to go to the states…We had a long layover in Houston, where the airport is really big. ... When we got to the competition, I felt nervous because of all the tall people. I didn’t know middle school people could be so tall! But when I started, I didn’t feel that nervous anymore.” Also said, “I was happy with a 2nd place finish in storytelling.”


Eron Constante, 14, SCS. “Considering the competition that’s here on Saipan, there’s a chance for anyone who puts in some sort of effort to get a free ticket to the states. All the practices, showcases, and experiences after the CNMI regional competition were helpful. However, once we stepped from the airport, we knew what we were getting ourselves into…On competition day, we knew the next three days were going to be extremely tedious. When I got to the school, I found myself as a small fish thrown into a big pond. Competition here made me feel as if I was stupid, but it taught me what I needed to do when I watched the competitors in the Finals. At least during the Award Ceremony, it was a relief to see four of my teammates had made the break.” “All in all, it was a good trip.”


Matthew Lopez, 14, HJHS. “The NJFL trip was a success. I had a great time in Des Moines, Iowa. I had the opportunity to compete against the best people of the US. It was a great experience.” Says he had jet lag, dizzy and tired a lot. “I was really scared and nervous at the competition. Competition there was tight and difficult. I really didn’t expect them to be that good. “ “We were successful, though, getting into quarterfinals and semifinals. Our team was really supportive and watched the quarterfinalists and semifinalists in their performances.”


Alina Ishikawa, 14, MBA. Her first time going to the mainland USA. She noticed that the daylight hours were longer and it was still bright at 8 PM. And mentioned that the students there “talked professional.”

News & Notes #21-2010 Festival-junior thespians, Rochelle's photos

Dowen, Rochelle, Ann Mariel



Jabbawockies in Lincoln?




Addie




Miki & Dowen

Mrs. Barja, 3 Junior Thespians & Ann Mariel

News & Notes #20-2010 Festival-More photos from Tina Foster

Tina Foster went as a coach. We catch a glimpse of her experience at Festival (and of the students' experience, too) from her photographic portfolio of the event--some of which is included here.

Students running lines in Japan:





Yay! Red Lobster (Lincoln, Nebraska)



Some sights walking around the UNL campus.



...including the famous Lied Center.



And then nerves set in--sleeping before auditions:




Senior Thespians at the Lied.




Tina Foster and Matt Wheat.


Wesley Foster, Dowen Jocson, Matt Wheat.


Miki Nadia Dela Cruz and Wilden Mangahis.



Also time to enjoy others' performing and learn some things--the Tech Challenge.







Having a meeting


Prep before show.


The long wait for showtime.


After the show with representatives from Samuel French


Our student team.

NJFL-more photos

Photos courtesy of Kristie Myhrum

News & Notes #19-2010 Festival-more on college callbacks

The tech students each got 22 callbacks; while there was a lot of overlap, they also each got individual callbacks from different schools. The schools giving them callbacks included the same six that called back performance students (1. Florida International University, 2. Saint Louis University, 3. Savannah School of Art and Design, 4. University of Southern Illinois, 5. Texas Christian University and 6. University of Wyoming) plus these schools:


Central Washington University
Coastal Carolina University
College of Santa Fe
Loyola University New Orleans
Marquette University
Murray State University
Ohio Northern University
Rockford College
Rowan University
Saint Mary's University
South Dakota University
Southwestern College
University of the Arts in Philadelphia
University of Cincinnati
University of Oklahoma School of Drama
University of Nebraska Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film
University of Southern California
University of Wisconsin
Wake Forest University
Viterbo University of Theatre and Music Theatre

More on this later.

NJFL-photos

Photos courtesy of Esther Manzano.

News & Notes #18-2010 Festival-wrap up

The students had an amazing experience at the 2010 International Thespian Festival. They were interviewed by journalist and playwright Elgin Zulueta of the Asian Journal.

They met representatives of Samuel French who watched their performance of PULLMAN CAR HIAWATHA and praised them, including sending an e-mail Wednesday June 30 after the Festival saying, "We are still applauding you today!"

They competed in individual events and have received written comments to help them improve their performances in the future. (We'll have more summary and wrap up on the overall ratings after this information is reviewed thoroughly by the coaches and Thespian Chapter Director.)

The high school juniors went to college auditions. The performance auditions garnered callbacks (colleges who are now recruiting our students) from Florida International University, St. Louis Universtiy, Savanah School of Art and Design, Southern Illinois University, Texas Christian University, and University of Wyoming. The technical theatre students had more callbacks from an even wider range of colleges and universities.

All of the students and coaches saw many plays, attended workshops, and generally got to savor theatre in all its glory for an entire week.

Thanks to the coaches, PSS, and all who made this possible. Really--THANKS!

News & Notes #17-2010 Festival-More Photos with Elgin Zulueta

The TWPI Team 2010 students were interviewed by Elgin Zulueta of the Asian Journal.

So far no news of whether our students will be featured in the Asian Journal (a Filipino-American newspaper) or not!

Photos courtesy of Kathy Barja and Sibylla Leon Guerrero.

News & Notes #16-2010 Festival-More Photos

The TWPI Team 2010 stages PULLMAN CAR HIAWATHA, a one act play written by Thornton Wilder. This production was played on the Howell Theatre stage on Saturday late afternoon.

In the dressing room, before PULLMAN CAR HIAWATHA (by Thornton Wilder)

Wilden and Ann Mariel (relaxing their faces!)

Jenella

Matt and Kevin (and Sibylla)

Miki Nadia and Ann Mariel

The TWPI Team 2010 was thrilled to meet with representatives of Samuel French, the company that holds the rights to PULLMAN CAR HIAWATHA. They (Katherine DiSavino and another) came to the play and gave positive feedback to the students.