"Our Town" Rehearsal

Since break is over, it's expected that we've learned all of our lines and we're ready to start major character work. It's very important to consider HOW we deliver lines. We did an amazing exercise in IB Theatre Class, where we had to lay down on the floor and just breathe. After several minutes, Ms. Bingham told us to picture ourselves standing in a room with a door in front of us. After several breaths, we were told to open the door. Behind the door was a room, with our character (I play Mrs. Gibbs) sitting in the far left corner. At first we could only see their outlines, but we slowly approached our characters and were eventually face to face with them. We were told to take in what they were wearing, how they were sitting, their facial expression. This was very easy for me and I can clearly remember the images that came to mind. I picture Mrs. Gibbs in a light blue skirt with a white shirt on. She is smiling and has rosy cheeks. She is sitting up straight, with her hands in her lap. She is very content just being who she is. We were then told to turn around, and take a seat, and become this character. This felt very awkward for me as I felt as though I had just formed a connection with someone and then I proceeded to sit in/on them. However, after several moments, I grew accustomed to it.

Ms. Bingham then told us to think like this character thinks. "What is she thinking about?" "Why is she thinking about those things?" "What is the most important thing to her?" "What is her life-long dream?" "What are her fears?" "What is she proud of?"

These are all extremely important questions to process and answer. Being able to let a character completely take over, means that you have to become that person. You have to think about who they are, why they are the way they are, what are their fears, hopes, and dreams? If these questions aren't answered, there is no way to truly understand a character's intention. Having the opportunity to play Mrs. Gibbs in "Our Town" is amazing. I've never done such extensive character work, and I am so grateful I can do so now.

Writer's Club

A friend of mine recently had the idea to start a writer's club at ISK. Since he knows writing is a passion of mine, he asked if I wanted to join, and naturally I said yes. We had our first meeting today, and I'm happy to say I'm surrounded by a great group of people. We're all very passionate about writing and I think we're all excited to share our pieces and try new things. We're planning on meeting once a month, and every meeting we'll get a new 'assignment'. This month's assignment is "Why do you write?" I love to write, and I have very concrete reasons why, so this one should be easy.

We have a lot of ways to express our creativity at ISK, and there are definitely ways to write, but there has never really been a "Writer's Club". There is a journalism club, but creative writing and journalism are very different. I'm taking part in the club in order to improve on my creative writing by getting feedback from my peers. I know they'll be honest and give good constructive criticism without being negative or harsh. I'm also excited to have to opportunity to read my peers' work and help them get better and better. This club should be educational, fun, and make sure I make time to write through all the craziness that is the IB.

Book Club (update)

I'm very excited for book club this year. We are reading so many great books. So far we've read "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green, which is absolutely fabulous. I had read it before and suggested we take the time to read it this year. It is a romantic novel with comedic elements and a lot of serious issues, but I think it's a great read for teens. Most people in the club weren't as crazy about this novel as I was, but I think it really allowed people to venture outside of their comfort zone.

What I really enjoy about book club is that there is such a variety of different people, and everyone is so dedicated to reading, we'll try just about anything. We have a huge mix of books this year, including sic-fi, short stories, poetry,WWII novels, and American classics. Being part of a club, that truly allows me to express my interests and thoughts, has been amazing. We've assembled a great group of people this year, and I can't wait to share more reading experiences with them. Next up - Jack Kerouac's "On the Road".

"Our Town" Rehearsal

I've been cast as Mrs. Gibbs in Thorton Wilder's play, "Our Town". It's a phenomenal play, and I truly appreciate his wonderful writing. Being cast as such a big part is extremely challenging, and very rewarding at the same time. I fully enjoy rehearsals and getting to know my fellow cast members. The cast of "Our Town" is relatively small, so it's nice to be able to get to know new people and make new friendships. I work closely with certain people - in particular those playing my husband, good friend (Mrs. Webb), and son. What's been really amazing is experiencing how a new director takes point. Ms. Bingham has worked closely with each of us and made it clear that we can go to her if we need any help character or play wise. As an actress, I find it very important to form a good connection with my director and receive good constructive criticism. I find that I make quite a few mistakes at the beginning of the process, but this only makes me want to improve more and more.

I am so very excited about this production and can't wait to continue learning more about "Our Town" and Mrs. Gibbs. However, learning lines has been a challenge. As I have quite a large role, I have quite a few lines and most of them aren't very problematic, but some of them give me a hard time. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. I have break to run and memorize every line to perfection.

Marich Crepe Sale

To raise money for "Friends of Marich", we thought it would be a good idea to have a crepe sale. Because of the dietary restrictions ISK has set in place, we began to realize that bake sales are probably going to be making more and more money. However, we didn't want to do the usual bake sale, so we decided on a crepe sale.

Everyone participated by bringing in nutella, bananas, strawberries and peanut butter. We raise quite a bit of money, but unfortunately we ran out of crepes too quickly. We decided to have another sale next week, with more crepes and more advertisement.