African Dance at PS 112

30 Nov 2010, 2:12 PM by kaya, Elementary School

The girls at PS 112 are working on a dance called Doundounba for their winter holiday presentation on Dec.18!  They have accomplished many new movements and songs, despite the short time we have been learning.  Best of all, they are full of energy and are excited to be shoeless!

Master Class at IS 528

29 Nov 2010, 3:33 PM by Lisa LH, Middle School

On Friday November 19th, students in the video afterschool program at IS 528 participated in a Master Class with actors Grant Chang and Vanessa Kai.  These actors worked with teaching artist Theresa Wu on her latest film, Smoke and Mirrors, which the video students watched and discussed earlier that week.  At the Master Class, Grant and Vanessa worked with students to identify ways in which acting for stage differs from acting for film. 

Grant leads a physical warm-up with the students.

Vanessa discusses the importance of warming up the face and vocal muscles.

Vanessa acts out a scene with Kristalyn.  The class then had to guess if they were demonstrating stage acting or film acting.

The students pose with Theresa, Vanessa, and Grant.

On Wed, Dec 01, 2010 at 2:54 PM, Kiara wrote:
I was excited because it was my first time meeting actors. I thought the class was doing a good job listening to Vanessa and Grant. The class was most fun when everyone started to act - especially the imaginary color ball game.
On Wed, Dec 01, 2010 at 2:56 PM, Ami wrote:
I thought that the class was fun because we got to see two actors from Ms. Theresa's movie, Smoke and Mirrors. I thought the exercise that we did together, was fun.
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Story by Jemima Osea-Asante
Photographed by Marlin Almonte and Ihor Hrynivetskiy

Ricardo Castro sits down for an exclusive interview.
 
One of the reasons I believe the MediaLab documentary Type Cast has been so successful in empowering people to take better care of themselves is because of the personal experiences the filmmakers have contributed to it. There is a sense of emotion in every segment of the film—from the b-roll to the call-to-action moments to the soundtrack.
 
In “God Bless,” a heartrending song by recording artist Ricardo Castro, the fourteen-year-old Queens resident raps about his direct experience with diabetes. In an exclusive interview, Ricardo shared with us that the lyrics were inspired by watching his great-grandmother and grandmother suffer from the disease. When asked how it made him feel to know that diabetes has taken a toll on his family, he responded with concern toward his own health: “It’s upsetting because it puts me and other members of my family in danger of developing diabetes.”
 
Many people with family members who suffer from diabetes share Ricardo's concerns, including me. Ricardo’s call to action is to play basketball and exercise. I find it really admirable that he shared a private memoir of his life through song to help spread the message of diabetes prevention and to empower those who have it to be proactive about their health.
 
Ricardo shares a picture of his great-grandmother.
 
Ricardo’s artistry comes from the obstacles he faces in life. There is no fiction in his music, and rapper Eminem is a strong influence. “Eminem uses his personal experiences and puts them down on paper instead of writing about things that don’t really matter,” says Ricardo, who appeared upbeat and humorous throughout our interview.
 
 
This friendly and poised young man added that he got connected with Urban Arts to lay down the track after participating in a music production workshop led by teaching artist Johnny Voltik: “I came in, made the beat and recorded the song here.” 
 
We hope to see more of Ricardo around the Urban Arts offices, making music and expressing himself. He’s even considering joining the MediaLab team.  Stay tuned to find out if he does...

 

This years Life Stories Playwrights started off the year with a special epistolary writing Master Class sponsored by Mont Blanc. Students examined the 'Open Letter to Commodore Vanderbilt' written by Mark Twain and used it as a framework for their own open letters. Students quickly found antagonists in their life and used Twains sharp language and wits to inform their writing of a letter denouncing their bosses, teachers, school Chancellors and more.

Once the letters entered the drafting stage, the scholars from Laphams Quarterly were kind enough to lend their time to help the students hone their letters. Louis Lapham, Terry McDonnell, Francine Prose and Mont Blanc CEO Jan-Patrick Schmitz workshopped the pieces of writing and the students took away notes to re-write.

Finally, this past Monday, the students came in with their completed works, which they presented to the Master Artist Panel in hopes of winning the prizes-Mont Blanc's very own Limited Edition Mark Twain writing instrument, a trip to the Mark Twain House and Museum in Connecticut, and the distinction of having the Playwriting program named after them for a year.

The stellar letters read, the four judges deliberated on the 8 contestants. The competition was close; so close in fact, that the judges had to pick two winners. In the end, it was Anthony Naranjo's piercing letter to the financial powers that be of the United States and Anurahda Golder's wry epistle to HP Customer Service that became the two winners, both of which you can read below. And thus the Naranjo-Golder Playwriting Program for 2010-2011 kicks off! Our accomplished epistolary experts and upcoming playwrights now begin to draft their short plays, and we look forward to updating you on their progress!

 

  

Story by Omar Cyrille
Photographed by Craig Wallace
 
On Saturday afternoon, October 30th, I walked in to an unusually empty Urban Arts office to discover that our crew from high schools across New York City had been divided up into editing rotations by school.  The afternoon block was devoted to the Kurt Hahn editors.  Producer Joshua Davis and Teaching Artist Elizabeth Rodd were already going over the groundwork for editing our Type Cast interview with Senator Eric Adams.  Captured over the summer, the interview focused on the impact of the diabetes epidemic in his Brooklyn district.  Craig Wallace, another Kurt Hahn student, arrived shortly thereafter.  Before the work started, we all enjoyed some food and discussed our strategy for the rough cut ahead.
 
Editing the Senator Eric Adams interview.
 
We began to go through the clips and rotated roles so that we all got a feel for the editing equipment.  As I was playing the "backseat driver" so to speak, contributing ideas while Josh manipulated the footage, I started to think: editors have amazing vision and creativity.  Their skills are crucial to making the project a complete success.  An editor can make someone sound really smart or really dumb.  Of course everyone has a say, but at the end of the day, the editor is the main guy or girl.  They have the project at their fingertips and can decide which way it goes.
 
The Kurt Hahn crew had done editing before but had never gone to this level.  The growing pains were short, which allowed us to put together a solid rough cut. The new skills we acquired really pushed our versatility up another notch.
 
 Editors Joshua Davis and Omar Cyrille.
 
The guidance of our teacher and the chemistry in the room were the x-factors. This was a great opportunity to polish our work.  For me, just knowing that what I was doing was so important to this response piece was a great feeling, and it continues to drive me to learn more.
 
Photographer Craig Wallace on the other side of the camera.
 
Thanks for reading the MediaLab blog.  Check out Craig’s pictures of the session, and keep checking back for more updates on the Type Cast Response Project.
 

 

On Thu, Nov 04, 2010 at 8:51 PM, Cmac wrote:
Omar, Josh, and Craig-- so cool that work you are doing! You are establishing a high bar for the Kurt Hahn students who will follow in your footsteps! I can't wait to see the final product! all the best, Mr. Maciejewski
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