Tuesday Nights

Every Tuesday my dad makes dinner...or at least orders salads from Garry's Grill. Its funny because for the longest time we would order Caesar Salad's with two sides of chicken (my grandma and myself) and two sides of Salmon (my mom and dad). But now... my dad has taken an interest in cooking! It began with shifting from buying salads with chicken to actually making  them! They were delicious. Ever since then, my dad has gotten very excited about making something new each Tuesday. At the beginning of the month he made a delicious vegetable soup that had been sitting on the stove for four hours! It is a family recipe that my Bubbie use to make... it's one of my favorites. I was shocked when I walked in the door that night because normally we have salads, so I asked "what did mom come home early?" Nope. Dad spent all day shopping and preparing this meal. I didn't think this would last, but last week on Tuesday, my dad sent me a snapchat while I was at rehearsal for the musical, and he was showing off two Lasagnas! One was ALL veggie, and the other was a regular lasagna. I personally chose to eat the all veggie one and it was amazing. I can't wait to see what my dad comes up with tonight.

Once Upon A Mattress

After four years of being a Water Street Player, I continue to say that the Severn School stage is my home. The relationships built through the preforming arts are invaluable, along with the chance to passion with the community. Once Upon A Mattress was a show unique to Severn, as the character development, comedic storyline and "Silly" aspect of the show has not been showcased in over five years. The character, Queen Aggravain, is a pompous, self-centered royal mess. Obsessed with the idea that she must conjure up impossible tests for princesses seeking her sons hand, Aggravain was such a fun character to play in the musical. Her attitude, words, and the way she carried herself felt as though she commanded the entire room every time I stepped on stage. Throughout the nearly 25 shows that I have participated in, I have never had as many lines to memorize. The several monologs were most definitely the greatest aspect of this character. Her rants to the wizard, "advice" to her son, and her attempt to get the princess to sleep were exciting to learn, as it presented opportunity to showcase my acting rather than my singing. While it took a long time to fully memorize the lines, it was more important to figure out which specific words I should accent, emphasize, speed up and slow down. I was fortunate enough to work with someone outside of school to workshop my character's attitude and how to expose the "mean" side of Aggravain. Reflecting upon the show, the cast and crew could not have put on a more wonderful show to end my high school.

Why Read Shakespeare

In the lecture Why Read Shakespeare, spoken by Dr. Michael Mack,  he speaks primarily regarding the importance of Shakespeare's writing. Throughout the lecture, Mack touches on the idea that Shakespeare is difficult to comprehend for a variety of reasons. For a college student or a student in general, reading Shakespeare is "hard-work and not particularly rewarding." In addition, as Mack states, students claim that "[they] don't get it; is it really worth the effort?" In essence, this confusing language of Shakespeare is seemingly not applicable to his/her desired study in college and beyond. To address this specific difficulty, Dr. Michael Mack outlines throughout his lecture the reasons why students should read Shakespeare. The gratification of thoroughly understanding the language of Shakespeare is rewarding because the student has broken down the once "complexity" of his writing. Moreover, he uses the comparison of music, as we as humans learn something new each time we listen to a song...similarly to Shakespeare, as we re-read and fully comprehend the storyline we can more easily connect difficult abstract ideas into one understanding of his writing. In addition, Dr. Mack also explains that once a student "gets" Shakespeare, it provides him/her with a "lens on the real world" and even deeper, helps a student seek certain truths about their selves. Shakespeare's writing provides a deeper meaning of the world surrounding us, the hardships, joy, emotions, etc. Throughout Dr. Michael Mack's article, he presents five persuasive and convincing arguments to answer the question "Why read Shakespeare." The first argument is that it is "A Time for Developing Interests." In this section, Dr. Mack entails that college students should broaden their interest in Shakespeare because each time he/she analyzes Shakespeare's writing, he/she will discover something new and intriguing. While the storyline may be complex, the tidbits on information that are pieced together through a few read-throughs can be extremely appealing. The second argument that Mack states are that reading Shakespeare is "A Time for Exploring." Throughout this argument, Mack explains that Shakespeare provides students with writing that opens the eyes to the real world, and provides students the time to explore and analyze themselves. Moreover, this section specifies the importance of the beauty of Shakespeare and how this mirrors the idea that it is "proving ground" for exploring beauty in an individuals life. The third argument of Mack is that it is "A Time for Self-Knowledge" and concludes that Shakespeare grants a student the ability to understand themselves, as a student can borrow and develop ideas and thoughts from Shakespeare's writing. The fourth argument is that reading Shakespeare is "A Different Take on Skills" and emphasizes that Shakespeare's writing gives tools and skills that are useful in any career... he presents students with "soft skills" that provide the foundation for any job a student wishes to pursue. A baseline in liberal arts "teaches us to identify these natural tendencies and to correct them." The fifth and final argument is "There is Knowledge, and there is Knowledge" which explains that when a student understands their emotion connection between physical characteristics and emotional characteristics, this presents a full, well-rounded person; Shakespeare's writing offers a way to connect this complex idea of connecting thoughts to feelings. My favorite argument is "A Time for Exploring"mainly because I find that when I analyze Shakespeare, I have seen that he cleverly presents this mirror of society and societal aspects of the world. It intrigues me to the point where I find that each story I have read relates in some fashion to an event or emotion or place or group of people that exist or have existed in the world. In addition, I particularly enjoy the idea of how a reader can connect the beauty of Shakespeare to the beauty of life; Since literature is so intertwined with emotions, I sought that as an extremely fitting and valid argument.

Roy -- Scared and Afraid

For a man with so much power and influence, it is surprising to see him in such a fearful state of mind when he is admitted to the hospital for AIDS. Moreover, it is shocking that for the duration of the play thus far, that no one but his doctor knows that he is dying of AIDS. What I found particularly interesting in this hospital scene was Belize's selfless act of kindness to help out Roy. While showering Belize with racist and homophobic slurs, not once does he let this affect his attitude toward the patient at hand. I believe that Roy's actions toward Belize are out of fear that he is going to die. It is as if this is when he fully realizes the seriousness of his illness and begins to accept his feelings for men. In addition, I think that Belize sees this fear from with Roy and recognizes that he is calling desperately for someone to help him stay alive. It was a brave scene for Belize, as he is confronted face on with someone who is crippling right in front of his eyes and while he is offended by Roy's words, he still chooses to help him by saying not to accept radiation for cancer. When this confrontation occurs, Roy, in a sense knows that he can not contain his secret much longer. His power can only take him so far and now he is faced with a decision to expose himself, knowing that his career could be shattered. During this era it was common for people to hid their true sexuality because it was not accepted in society. For this reason, a big lawyer like Roy feared that this image of him would be seen as weak, thus his desperation to get the experimental medicine proves he is trying to save his own life.

A Short Getaway

In a prior post, I was discussing the dysfunctional aspect of the character Harper in Angels In America. This week I wanted to revisit her, and her perspective of life particularly in the scene where she travels with Mr. Lies to Antartica. At first, I thought that it was quite odd to have an escape to somewhere so frigid and desolate. However, the more that I pondered over it I began to realize that this setting was perfect for her character. Desolation is what she needed...complete aloneness with the whole world open to her. In addition, the idea of Antartica being completely white/covered in snow is a symbol of purity and innocence to the audience, almost as if she is cleansing herself of all the twisted lies and terrible aspects of her real-life situation. Her all-white outfit too can be representative of this idea of stripping herself of her identity and reconnecting and reinventing herself. Harper is such a unique character because her true feelings and thoughts are heard primarily in these hallucinations. One thing that struck me as an audience member was when she felt that she needed a companion (i.e., the Eskimo). This companion, played by Joe's character, was incredibly fascinating to me. I believe that the pairing of Harper with the Eskimo could symbolize her lack of direction in the future coupled with her desire to salvage a dissipating marriage. I am eager to see what will happen with Joe and Harper's relationship as we move through this play. If I had to make assumptions, I would gather that this idea of aloneness foreshadows the future.

A Father Figure

In Act Two Scene Four of Angels In America, Roy explains to Joe the importance of a Father-Son relationship. As Roy lectures to Joe about the importance of having someone older than you believe in you, we quickly learn that Joe's father was not a man that he felt any sort of connection with him as an adolescent. It is heartbreaking to Joe particularly as he ponders over the idea that he fails to have such support in his life, and immediately ties this sense of support to the idea that he is holding in a huge secret about his sexuality. We do not know for sure, but a reader could potentially assume that due to the idea that Joe's father did not love him might relate to the fact that he had to suppress his true feelings for men. In the conversation when Hannah and Joe speak over the phone, we learn that his mother does not approve of his sexuality and that his father never loved him. This conversation provides insight into the closed-minded, arrogant, and un-loving parents that Joe was raised by. Unfortunately, the two most valued people in the world ( a mother and father) are not the human beings Joe can run to in a crisis. It is comforting to see that Roy, in some ways, is trying to act as a fatherly figure, in my opinion. Some might say that Roy is sexually attracted to Joe, but I believe the vulnerability lies in the fact that Joe feels so alone and unwanted by a vast array of individuals that surround his everyday life.

Glimpse into Act Two Scene Nine

Throughout the play Angels In America, most of the scenes have been divided into specific conversations that exist between Harper and Joe and between Louis and Prior. The second to the final scene, however, provides the reader with all four characters talking as rapidly as possible in two separate locations. It is an interesting stylistic choice for the writer of this play to combine two climactic scenes of two completely different relationships. In my own opinion, it creates a sense of chaos, as if we as an audience are witnessing the most critical "fights" that have existed between Harper and Joe and Prior and Louis thus far. For Harper and Joe, Joe is deciding he needs to leave his wife. For Prior and Louis, it is Louis deciding to leave Prior. In this way, I believe the combination of these two scenes are incredibly effective at drawing the attention toward how drastically different, yet similar all four characters can be. In addition, it shines a light on the desire of freedom amongst one of the partners, while the other has a feeling of being trapped. Prior, literally confined within a hospital room, desperately wishes Louis would leave him to die. As an audience we see how much this pains him, sincerely hoping that Louis does not leave. To mimic this situation, Harper also wishes to get away as she asks Mr. Lies to take her far away from this confrontation of Joe admitting that he needs to leave, and never has loved her because he is gay. It is one of my favorite scenes in this play so far, as it is packed with underlying emotions such as Louis, who holds in a deep burning passion for love yet puts on a facade because he is frightened by the idea of death.