The 24 Hour Plays in the Schools: New Design High School Intercession 2011: Sponsored by Montblanc

09 Feb 2011, 12:36 PM by frank

This year’s The 24 Hour Plays in the Schools: New Design High School Intercession 2011 was an incredible mixture of learning, chaos and excitement as the writers, actors and directors unified to again pull of a flawlessly executed performance. Over the course of 4 days, (6 hours a day, a true 24 hours) the writers wrote and tweaked, the directors read and staged and the actors memorized and performed.

All of this started off with some warm up games in preparation for the work ahead: Sound in Motion, Free Flow, Categories, Yes. Then, the first step of The 24 Hour Plays, The Orientation process took place at the Urban Arts office, uniting the actors and writers. Just like in The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, the writers and actors present props, costumes and skills, talents and stage aspirations. 

                             The actors, writers and mentors warm up for the Orientation

Afterwards, the writers headed off to a quick playwriting class with Zac Kline while the actors went to a Master Class at Stella Adler Studios for an improvisation class with renowned teacher Noel Wilson. Some of the exercises included Kitty Wants a Corner, Gibberish, Working with the Invisible, and Relationship Discovery. Meanwhile, the writers hunkered down for short form writing based on the information (and inspired by props and costumes) given to them by the actors. Several tweaks and rewrites later at 6pm, after a whole day of working, the writers turned in their plays: Tha Catholic Skewl Gurlz by Maxine Batchler, Date Night by John Martinez and As Friends by Jorge Garzon. Manny Minaya and Maynor Alas, both alum of New Design High School, Urban Arts Partnership LifeStories program and of The 24 Hour Plays in the School program, served as mentors to the new writers.

                           Writer Jorge Garzon and mentor Maynor Alas work on their play

    Day Two had the writers and actors reuniting for a script reading, questions, clarification and more revision which yielded final scripts. Theater Teaching Artist, Michelle Slonim lead the following activities to help the actors hone their improvisation techniques and embody their characters in preparation for the directors: Count Down, Yes, Tableaus inspired by Scripts, Character Creation, Park Bench, Character Interview, and Scene Improvisation.  All participants then went to see The Fantasticks at the Snapple Theater. Students completed a worksheet on character exploration, marked down the character work and skills used on stage that they wanted to replicate in their performances.

                         The writers, actors and mentors work through their scripts on Day 2

    This year’s guest directors, Rosie Perez, Justin Bartha and Linus Roache came in early on Day Three and begin work-shopping the plays, putting the students through the wringer. The staging, blocking and of course, memorization are key in this stage and the directors wasted no time in drilling the plays non-stop for the next 6 hours.

                  Director Justin Bartha works on the play, Tha Catholic Skool Gurlz by Maxine Batchler

                                   Director Rosie Perez makes adjustments to Date Night

                                                     Linus Roache directing As Friends

Day Four, the final day and only 6 hours from the performance at New Design High School, the actors came in with the appropriate wardrobe and props (presented during Orientation) and lines crammed into their minds. The plays are finalized and staged vigorously through the home stretch. In true The 24 Hour Plays fashion, rehearsal lasts up to and over the minute. Then finally, at long last and after 4 grueling days, the plays get their world premiere. Tha Catholic Skewl Gurlz, directed by Justin Bartha, featured a pair of students attempting to start up their own pop group, (the plays namesake) but one member is a neurotic mess with a phobia of betrayal and unsealed water, while the other scrambles for a third member, one hopefully more emotionally stable and reliable. As Friends, directed by Linus Roache, pitted one girl against another with a misunderstood boy in between them, with the two girls vying for his love and attention, even as he explains that his friendship to them is nothing deeper and the supposed dates and anniversary gifts are nothing more than friendship. The final play, Date Night was directed by Rosie Perez and has two slackers cleaning up and talking girls as they close the store they work at. When two girls come back to recover their purse, the guys attempt to make a move on them, with mixed results. In between each performance, we had some incredible performances by the New Design Cabaret Club.

The final performance of Tha Catholic Skool Gurlz, with Director Justin Bartha on the wing with lines

                                  Linus Roache sets the scene for Jorge Garzons As Friends

                                     Rosie Perez introduces the final play, Date Night

Each year gets better and better, and this year was no different. Some of the young actors from this years Intercession have never acted before, but they blew us away all the same. Below you’ll find the young actors names and other details in the program. There are plenty more The 24 Hour Plays events to come this year, so stay tuned!
 

Epistolary Master Class with Laphams Quarterly and Mont Blanc!

12 Nov 2010, 11:11 AM by UrbanArtsAdmin

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!

Multimedia Master Class - Follow Up

17 Mar 2010, 1:26 PM by Lisa LH

The Master Class on Monday, March 8th was great!!  David Weiner shared information about how he got involved with online journalism, some of the stories he wrote that had a big impact, and how the Huffington Post functions.  We'll be in touch with David throughout the rest of the year as we work on our final project, the school's yearbook.

Here are some of the students' reflections:

Hip Hop Master Class with Adesola Osakalumi at the Heritage School

05 Mar 2010, 5:49 PM by Lisa LH

During the fall semester, students in this class focused on the 5 elements of Hip Hop dance: Popping, B-Boy/B-Girl (Breakdance), Locking, House, and mainstream Hip Hop. Students studied the origin of each style from across the country, how the character of each community contributed to the creation of the five main styles, and the crews that made each style more mainstream.

This semester students are exploring stereotypes surrounding Hip Hop and Hip Hop dance.  Students are discussing ways they can present Hip Hop that could alter negative misconceptions. The class is exploring positive ways to impact the community using Hip Hop dance.  Students are continuing to ask and answer various guiding questions, including:  How does Hip Hop dance define my community?  How does Hip Hop and Hip Hop dance affect my life? How can a community affect the way you express yourself?  What defines culture?  What defines a community?  How is Hip Hop a culture?  How am I a part of it?

In the Master Class on Tuesday March 9th, Adesola Osakalumi will give students feedback on their work so far and add to existing choreography. Students will get the chance to ask for specific feedback on their pieces.

Adesola Osakalumi is an award-winning dancer, choreographer and member of the GhettOriginal Productions Dance Company (f/k/a Rhythm Technicians). He helped create Jam on the Groove which premiered Off-Broadway, toured around the world and won a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Choreography. Adesola has choreographed for and/or been a featured dancer with Mariah Carey, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, N'Sync, Joe, Dru Hill, and Amber. His credits also include: ABC Television's Double Platinum (with Brandy and Diana Ross); choreography for the 2002 MTV Video Awards segment with Ja Rule, the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards segment with Jamie Foxx,  the Nike segment of BET's Rip the Runway Fashion Show, commercials for PBS Kids, as well as Old Navy, Intel, and Levis. For film, he has choreographed for School of Rock, Marci X, and he is a principal dancer in Enchanted, Across the Universe and Idlewild. He has created dance for Eyewitness Blues and Mister at the New York Theatre Workshop, Hip Hop Wonderland at the New Victory Theater, Mo Moves at the Serious Fun Festival at Lincoln Center, Echo Park: The Hip Hop Musical at the Apollo Theater, and with the Doug Elkins Dance Company at the Joyce Theater. When not on stage or in front of the camera, Adesola is teaching or giving lecture/demonstrations about his craft. He has also taught Master Classes around the world and with Darrin Henson's Dance Grooves - Part II.

Multimedia Master Class at the Heritage School

05 Mar 2010, 2:26 PM by Lisa LH

At the Heritage School next week, students in the Multimedia class will have a Master Class with David Weiner, the New York Editor for the Huffington Post.  Students in this class spent their first semester learning the basics of graphic design and journalism, including: conducting online research; taking digital photographs; writing and conducting interviews from a journalistic perspective; creating digital media using InDesign and uploading that media to blog sites. This semester, students are taking on various roles-- creating, designing and producing the school’s yearbook and on-line magazine. The focus will be on identifying and reporting on issues of importance to their community and peers; and how to use technology to enhance their own media literacy as well as make them more effective communicators.

Check out their online magazine:

In preparation of the Master Class, students have read a selection of articles David has written.  During the class, David will discuss these articles and how they affected change.  He will also discuss some tips for researching, interviewing and writing for on-line media sources, as well as ways to engage readers around an issue.

 David Weiner is the New York Editor of The Huffington Post and an accomplished writer. The Huffington Post launched in 2005 as an American news website and aggregated blog, featuring various news sources and columnists. The site offers progressive coverage of politics, media, business, entertainment, living, style, the green movement, world news, and comedy, and is a top destination for news, blogs, and original content.