DMP Final Performance

This project was really interesting to work on as I really got to know my classmates on a much deeper level than I have all semester. This project helped create me connections with others and truly understand their views on life and how they came to discover their true selves and accepting their identity. We also really focused on the journey we take during our lives and how it easy it is to get caught up on what is going on around us and we forget about ourselves and start to fall into what the world wants of us. We need to remember that our own thoughts and ideas are just as important and we need to fight to be heard. Our view of ourselves and being true to yourself is what makes life enjoyable, it may not always be easy to go against the crowd but you will always be happier knowing that you are being honest to yourself and not lying to yourself just so that others will like you better.

I think this can be useful to my future students as this type of performance really helps you explore your beliefs and solidify your ideas on a topic. Before doing this assignment I wasn't really sure how I felt about our topic but as we continued to explore and converse I found that I actually did have an opinion and a strong belief on how people try to mold our identities. I would love to use this type of a project to help my students discover their own identities in a similar way. Their projects don't have to reflect the performance that we did but I feel that choosing to explore a topic that is important to you really helps you learn more about yourself and your own belief system.

Throughout the devising process I provided some ideas that made it into our final performance. One thing I gave was one of our key texts. We chose a quote that talked about continuously changing that helped influence us as we decided to have things moving a changing throughout the whole performance. It was also my idea to use the clothes to communicate pushing our identities on to a person. When we first started working on this performance we discussed having our own pieces and I would talk about gender roles. I came up with the idea of the clothes using our Key text of "You are Special" and using feminine and masculine clothes to represent those roles. When we decided to make it one big project I shared my idea with the group and they felt like it would really work on the large scale. I actually felt really proud of this idea as it became the main focus of our project.

Link to our script.

DMP Visual and Mediascape Draft

In our group we discussed using media to make even more clear divides between insiders and outsider. We will use video recorded interviews to play on the computers in order to show that they outsiders are different and aren't able to push themselves in with the insiders. The sound will also sound differently coming through the speakers adding to the quality that the outsiders are different. But the audience is also used to hearing sounds from speakers so I think even though they will be different from the words we actually speak they will be able to see the connection from the words to what is being performed.

DMP Soundscape Draft

Sound ideas are made in the comments.

DMP Script Draft

Script Draft

DMP Core Idea

Our project is how we have felt like outsiders in our families and/or communities and how we have evolved based on that conflict.

Devised Script Draft

Link to Google Doc

Audio Interview

Kenzie's Interview

Have you ever felt like an outsider?
What traits have you kept and rejected from your communities?
How has your family shaped your identity over time?

Kenzie was my roommate Winter 2018. We are close friends. She has many opinions and tends to analyze and think a lot about different topics.

Personal Story

Click here to listen to my story on how my family pushed the idea of gender roles and little bit on how it has affected my identity.

DMP Key Texts

Boys Play Trumpet and Girls Play Flute, but Why?

"“Women cannot possibly play brass instruments and look pretty, and why should they spoil their good looks?” said Gustave Kerker in a 1904 edition of Musical Standard."

https://www.bsomusic.org/stories/boys-play-trumpet-and-girls-play-flute-but-why.aspx

Gender Stereotypes Poem

http://www.teenink.com/poetry/free_verse/article/655209/Gender-Stereotypes/

“I don't really care if people forget me. My legacy wasn't about me. It was about everything I could do for another. When that sinks in...well you try a little harder. You dream a little broader. Your heart stretches a little farther and you find that you can't go back to the same place and make it fit. You become a person of ideas and seek out your own kind. And then it happens: One day you discover that staying the same is scary and changing has become your new home.” 
― Shannon L. Alder

------> Works if we want to talk about finding your identity through Us VS Them.

Technology Infused Lesson Plan

Speak - From Page to Stage

Unit 2, Lesson 2

Creating Soundscapes

Abbie Craig and Emily Trejo

Intermediate Theatre Class

National State Theatre Standards

TH:Cr1.1.II.b. Understand and apply technology to design solutions for a drama/theatre work.

TH:Cr2-II.b. Cooperate as a creative team to make interpretive choices for a drama/theatre work.

TH:Pr4.1.II.a. Discover how unique choices shape believable and sustainable drama/ theatre work.

TH: Re7.1.II. a. Demonstrate an understanding of multiple interpretations of artistic criteria and how each might be used to influence future artistic choices of a drama/theatre work.

Utah Effective Teaching Standards

3.e Extends the learning environment using technology, media, and local and global resources.

7.g Supports content and skill development by using multiple media and technology resources and knows how to evaluate these resources for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness.

Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the elements of sound design by creating a multilayered soundscape using Garageband for a scene in Speak.

Materials:

• Computer for each student with either Garageband, Pro Tools, Audacity, or iMovie
• Soundscapes/music for movement activity
• Hospital (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQENbCBEhHk)
• New York City (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QutLo5RsVHM)
• Haunted House (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrzCctUYttY)
• Disney’s Paint the Night Parade (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQTPpevlOhQ)
• The XX Intro (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9pkJrBZDMo)
• Everdream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCMXO9sBIcU)
• Roller Coaster (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8mcZlLXPpw)

1. Hook: Interacting with Soundscapes - 10 min

1. Do this activity with a song first, and then with a soundscape.
2. Play a song. Have students move around that space, letting the sounds influence your movement and interactions.
3. Once students feel comfortable moving to the music begin playing soundscapes and allowing students to continue moving to it.
4. Dialogue how different sounds and songs influence the mood, tones, etc.?
5. Keep this in mind as we move on today.
1. Class Soundscapes with Images - 20 min

a)    Last class we went to a different location, listened to the ambient sounds, and wrote down what we heard. There were so many sounds that made up the surroundings. Varying volumes, distances, repetitions, and tones come together to create a complex background to the space.

b)    We’re going to pull up an image and, as a class, create a soundscape for it. We will use our mouths and voices, hands and bodies, while staying in our seats, creating layers, to match what we see.

c)    Bring up the images, create sounds, maybe have people share songs that come to mind, layer it, and discuss.

a.    https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ai7GYYnR9sBLWF73kt6CU8vL5FTZvS6psrAgygeGvcE/edit?usp=sharing

                                          i.    If technical difficulties occur:

1.    describe and draw a basic images of the landscapes. Proceed with the rest of the activity as written.

3. Group Soundscapes - 45 min

a)    As a class, list scenes in Speak and their varying locations and write them on the board.

a.    This list may include school hallways, Melinda’s room, the library, the cafeteria, etc.

b.    If students need prompting begin the list with School Library, School Gym, Melinda’s Room, and Mom’s Store.

b)    Explain to students that for the next activity we will be using Garageband to create a multilayered soundscape for a scene of their choosing from Speak.

a.    Pull up screenshots of Garageband and provide a short tutorial on how to use the software through step by step examples.

b.    Show students how to upload, edit, and layer sounds.

c)    Put students in groups of 3-5 and have each group pick a scene on the board. Once picking the scene they will find a specific moment or event that occured in the space. For example, they could choose the school hallway, but to be more specific they could do the hallway on the first day of school, or the hallway after Melinda beats up Andy. They will then create a soundscape for the specific scene location.

a.    These soundscapes must:

                                          i.    Be 30 seconds long

                                         ii.    Include at least 5 different layers of sound

                                        iii.    You must use at least 3 different sources

1.    Sources may include your mouth/body, YouTube, sounds in the space, music, etc.

d)    Gather your sounds and layer them in Garageband. Be prepared to share with the class at the end of the class period.

a.    For teachers: This is work that students could go on to create in film, theatre, or other production work. Technology is prevalent all around us and sound is a part of this world we live in, so touching on these resources broadens horizons for the future.

b.    In case of technical difficulties, have the groups create soundscapes with their mouths, bodies, and classroom materials. Instead of recording them, just perform them live for the other groups.

4. Share - 5 min

a)    Have each group share their soundscape, describe their process and sources, and discuss how the soundscape influences and informs the scene. Remind students that there are people who do soundscapes for a living, in theater and in film. Reemphasize the fact that putting this play on a stage would require a soundscape similar to ones they have been creating.

b)    Assessment- Have students write a short reflection on their soundscape and their experience with Garageband (or whichever platform they use). They must include what sounds they used, from what sources they got them, and how it would impact or create the scene.

ELL Accommodations:

Peirce’s Firstness, Secondness, Thirdness (Throughout the two lessons): The EL students are engaging with sounds identifying with what they are, they then engage with different sounds and reflect on how they respond to them, The students then take these sounds and begin to create their own meaning with them by exploring and creating sounds and applying them to the text.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory: EL students are being introduced to sounds and their meanings in the context of our culture. This is helpful as students become more familiar with the sounds of the culture and can observe how it has affected it.

Zone of Proximal Development: In groups the students will be creating their soundscapes. The teacher will walk around and help with using the technology and teach the students how to use it. The EL students can then use the others in their group to help them learn and be able to participate in the project. This is helpful to them as it stretches them to use materials they don’t often get to use but are provided with assistance so they won’t feel completely helpless and give up.

Provide a copy of the novel in the EL student’s primary language if they get stuck in translation. They can then refer to the translation if they don’t understand a scene and need more ideas for their project.

Culturally Diverse Students Accommodations:

Have students take note of Melinda’s personality traits and think of how she might react in certain situations. How can you have her behavior reflect through the sound? This is useful so that the students can compare Melinda’s culture to their own. They then need to continue drawing on this culture rather than reflecting their own in the project.

Provide Feedback- Regularly check in with the student and their group. Reflect on their decisions and why they are appropriate within the context of the scene. These check ins can be used to gauge the student’s understanding of how Melinda’s culture work. If they are pushing too much of their own culture on to the project, begin a dialogue with the student to help them come to the conclusion that these choices are not appropriate for this project.  

Sensory-Friendly Accommodations:

Have students draw or write how the music and sounds make them feel during the warm up activity. This will be helpful to student who are unable to move about the room easily.

When the class is working on the group projects have the student focus on one specific sound, decided by the group, to give them more control and focus for the project.

Deaf Student Accommodations:

Discuss “visual noise” and how that changes scenes. When students are creating a soundscape for a specific scene and location, a group with a Deaf student (or students) could create a 30 second video about the “visual noise”--what is Melinda seeing? What are the tones? How are the feelings communicated? Etc.

Multimedia Artifact

Catalog of Critical Creativity

Creating with Words: I think the "Resume Rational" activity would be a great one for a characterization project. In my own theatre classes my teachers would have me write a background story on m character but I always found it difficult because I didn't know where to start. I feel like this activity has many of the same outcomes but narrows the field a little making it easier for students to make decisions. I also have a half baked idea with the "Blackout Poetry" activity. I think it could be fun to create a new text using an existing text fro a play. I feel like this can be used with subtext and maybe having students decide what the characters might really be saying in a conversation. Or using it as a playwriting exercise to help students get rolling with their script. Like I said, it's a half baked idea so I'm not really sure where I would be going with it.

Creating with Images: The "Color Palette" activity would be a great one to use when working on costume design. I often feel like it is easy to get caught up in the traditional meanings of colors (green=knowledge & growth, purple= royalty, blue= calm & peace, etc) but this way students can identify more with the color and discover the meaning it represents. They can then use the colors to help represent a three dimensional character. The "Mondrian-ify" activity can help make this a little deeper as we add shapes to the assignment. The shapes of a costume can also add to the way the audience may view the character.

Creating with Sound: The "Audio Landscape" activity is a great one to use when teaching sound design. For me sound design that is often something that is forgotten because it isn't as visual as all the other design elements. But by giving students explore how sounds can transport you the will begin to have a better understanding of the need for sound designers.

Creating with Body: The "Dallowinian Party" would be a great exercise to use to explore objectives and tactics. Students could use characters from the show they are currently working on or improved characters. By giving them an objective throughout the scene they can explore using different tactics to try an achieve their objective.

Creating with Stuff: "Metaphorical Architecture" would be a wonderful activity to use to teach set design. It can help students think more deeply and critically about how the set can affect the story line. The house is not just a house but it is filled with clutter to show how the character is always a jumbled mess, hopping from one thing to the next. The elements of the structure are not just presentational but representational of what is happening within the scene.

Creating with Social Media: "GIF Story" is a great way to get students more involved in playwriting. When you say playwriting students will automatically start thinking about writing down conversations between people but you can get them started in telling a story by using this activity. By starting off a playwriting unit they may become more engaged with the stories they are trying to tell.

Things to explore more:
Director's Concepts
Faux Media accounts- What a character would be feeling in that moment.
Two Images One Word- Help focus research and descriptions.

An Identity Remix

Mariachi As Sisters in Zion

Sheet Music

I was very excited to do this project because it is one of the first ones where I was able to come up with an idea pretty quickly. I began this project by listing the things that I identify with. The ones that I felt the strongest connection with were being a musician, a woman, a Latina, and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. From here I decided that I wanted to arrange a church hymn into a mariachi piece. I then chose As Sister in Zion because it is in the key of c and it talks about being a woman in the church. I felt that all of these represented me pretty well. The process was a long and hard one because I have never composed music before, but I worked with a lot of people and felt really proud of the piece that I composed. I used the Noteflight software to help me write out the music and it also gave the ability to listen to the instruments playing my piece. It did take some work and imagination though because this software focuses on classical music and doesn’t carry the same Mariachi sound. I had to figure out how to get the strumming patterns from the guitars instead of having it play individual notes. I also had to find an instrument that sounded like a Guitarron and would be a good substitute. I ended up using the sound of a Double Bass to get a similar sound. I feel that each of these elements corresponded because they are all musical aspects and can work together to share the same message. They are also very traditional forms of music that people within the culture tend to hold very dear to them. However, they are very different in style. Hymns are usually soft and carry a lightness to them. Using the Mariachi instruments makes it sound very different, especially since we normally aren’t allowed to use brass instruments in the chapel. I think this piece can help show people that there isn’t one right way to do something. Just because it is traditionally done one way doesn’t mean it can’t end up being just as beautiful another way. It can also add to the current conversation going on in our country in regard to separation of race. People are afraid to mix together and try new things but if we just open ourselves to their ideas we might be able to create stronger identities and become more unified as a nation.

Metaphorical Fashion

We are constantly being separated because of our race, gender, and social class. By continuing to ignore the problems we will never fix them.

Seat Assignment Response

Allie's Assignment

1.     Find something on the main floor of the HFAC and look at it until you have connected it to something deeply rooted in your soul. It must be something you find in a physical location, not something you search for on a device. (Is it a piece of art that parallels your religious beliefs? Is it an askew tile in the ceiling that coincides with how you feel in social situations? Is it a person showing such earnestness in his or her actions that you feel inspired to be better or different?) Study this thing until you’ve really given all your emotions to it.

2.     Now write exactly ten words that come close to showing a) how you feel and b) what you’re seeing.

My Response:

The Market. Looks are deceiving, you never know their life.

Process Piece

Tuning the Violin

For this project I decided to do an audio recording of me trying to tune my violin. When I first saw this assignment, I originally wanted to do a silent video of someone playing the violin. I just kept thinking of the different angles I could get of the bow on the strings and of the person playing. But then I began to think about the reading where the teacher asked his students why they chose a specific platform to share their story. There needed to be more of a deliberate choice and reason as to why I chose the platform. I realized that the point of the violin is listen to it. The person playing isn’t as important as what is being played. So, I knew I had to do an audio recording of it. I chose to record the tuning process rather than me playing a song because I felt that tuning is more of a process and shows a little more of what a person has to do as they prepare to play (I also just didn’t want everyone in the class listening to me play horribly, but that went into my decision a little less). A violin player needs to have a good listening ear to listen for the small changes that need to be made for the violin to be in tune. Personally, I am not great at tuning by ear, but I know when it is out of tune, I just need some assistance from a tuner to get it right on. Violinists also need to have a great connection with their instrument, violins can react differently to strings and may need to be tuned by the pegs or the fine tuners. My own violin works best with the fine tuners but there are times when I need to use the pegs, but it is always a fight to get it just right by using those things. The violin isn’t as much as a visual instrument as others are. When a person is play guitar or drums part of the performance is watching them play, where you mostly just sit a listen to the violin. I believe all of this is demonstrated very well by using the audio recording. People say when you lose one of your senses the others intensify. In this case you lose your sight so you must listen carefully to what is being played. And even though the listener may not have a violin in their hands you can hear the violinist working carefully with her hands to get the pitches just right. By choosing to record the audio the audience focuses more deeply on the beautiful sounds the violin can create.

Seat Assignment

In 22 minutes in class today, you will design a costume for a mythical creature by taking photographs of clothing items that are being worn by peers throughout the HFAC and post your images to your blog as a collage.

A Walk Around my Neighborhood

Medium Specificity

In this image I used photoshop to change the appearance of the ice cream. For me ice cream is a magical treat that escapes all reality. I decided to use photoshop to make the ice cream become more cartoon like, the way I imagine it to look in my head. I feel that the photoshop really helped me add my personal feelings of what ice cream is to the image. The limitations of this photoshop work is that it loses all its sense of reality. You lose the shadows and dimension that an actual object has. You also miss out on its taste. It may look delicious, but you don’t get the chance to taste it and experience its chocolatey goodness. I decided to use photoshop because I have always found it intriguing how you can take a photo and alter it in order to have the audience look at what you see. I also find it interesting how you can take a simple, boring picture and through photoshop you can make it a beautiful piece of art by simply changing a few things. Though, in this project I didn’t use photoshop in the same way most photographers do. I wanted to use its editing software to create my dreamland in reality. I enjoy living in a world of imagination and photoshop allows me to share my perspective of life with everyone else. Using photoshop in this way also allows me to demonstrate my escape from reality. I am well aware that I am in a real place but there are many times when I like to escape and forget the world around me. Ideas like this are some ways a teacher can help their students respond to works of art. Having them think of their own lives and how they view them. By being able to connect to the world around the and comparing them to their own emotions they will be able to have a stronger response to it. This connection may take some work at first but if the students are able to connect with their emotions and become vulnerable to the work of art, I believe their own art work will become more inspirational and touching. A teacher can also aid their students in responding to media by having them practice working with different mediums. It can be difficult to connect with something you’re not familiar with because you are just trying to figure it out at first. But once you become familiar with it’s easier to see the art and not the strangeness behind it. That is one thing that I have appreciated from this class. The opportunity I’ve had to try new things and become familiar with different works of art so I can then create stronger connections with them.

Ode to an Orange Rewrite

Students will work in groups to to collaborate and create a media adaptation of Larry Woiwode's "An Ode to an Orange". They will collaborate with the class to come up with ideas and discuss throughout the process to come up with ideas and refine their projects. Once the project is completed students will engage in a class conversation to see how the media may connect with an audience.

Digital and Social Media Adaption

This project helped me relate to the terms used by Thevenin by forcing to actually engage in them. I really learned a lot from the word “text”. As I read the story, An Ode to an Orange, I was looking for something I could engage with. There were so many visual elements in this story that my mind was moving quick to try and keep up with it all. But once I caught on to something that was visually interesting to me, I kept coming back to it as I continued to read the text. I think this is a really neat idea to think about in my theatre classroom. There is usually a couple of things from a text that stick out to students. Having a connection to a piece is important in theatre but having a connection to the lesson is important for students to learn. If we have students keep an open mind to the lesson and they are able to connect with something their learning will increase tenfold. Another important term brought up by Thevenin is “literacies”. In my Second Language Acquisition class we discussed the idea of literacy and what is it means to be ill-literate. In schools students are categorized as ill-literate if they can’t read and comprehend or if they aren’t doing as well as their classmates. But there are many types of literacies and just because you aren’t good at one doesn’t mean you are totally ill-literate. In theatre you not only need to be able to read and understand a script, but you also need to be able to read facial expressions, body language, personality types, color meanings, and many many more things. To be a successful theatre maker you need to be literate in most of these areas, but not all. That is the beautiful thing about theatre, there is so much collaboration that if you aren’t strong in one area more than likely someone else is and can help you fill that gap. This project was super helpful in getting me to become literate in media. Media is one area that I’m not quite familiar with but getting to know a little bit more each day. But even with having it in my life I am just familiar with how to use it but not how to make it. I really enjoyed thinking about the story I wanted to create based on the story we read and then getting to create it with an art form I’m not used to using. By pushing students, a little bit out of their comfort zones, they getting to experience so many new things and acquire great skills that will help them in the long run.

Draft of Media Policies

1. Students will use specified media devices when appropriate to the assignment objectives.
2. If a student would like to use their device during class they will ask the teacher for permission and specify what they will be using it for.
3. Media use will be monitored throughout class time.
4. If a student is found using technology incorrectly they will be asked to put the device away and will use an alternate method to complete the assignment.
5. Students will be instructed in the use of technology to help prepare them for real life social media rules.

https://k12techintegration.pressbooks.com/chapter/online-professionalism/
https://k12techintegration.pressbooks.com/chapter/copyright/

Questions:
1. Does the school district monitor copyright and fair use?
2. When someone creates something that they want everyone to use but isn't familiar with copyright, would that affect how you go about using it?

To Do List:
1. Look at creative commons and check what is available.
2. Look through MTI and their policies on copyright for their productions

Thinking and Writing about Digital Media

After thinking about my own media consumption, I think there are three main purposes to my use of media. The first purpose of my media use is connection. Since moving away for college, I don’t talk to many of my old friends any more. I use social media as a means of staying connected and staying involved in their lives. There have been many times where I find out big life events from social media and not the person themselves. For this reason, I really appreciate media and how helpful it is to me.

The second reason I use media is for “pleasure”. I put pleasure in quotations because I feel like the pleasure it gives me is not necessarily happiness every time. I use media to take me out of the world. There are many times when I don’t want to focus on whatever needs to be done so I use media as an escape. Sometimes I read or play games to bring my self joy and just have fun. But most of the time I just sit on my phone and scroll through random things or watch TV, wasting my time. This is the aspect of media that I feel like I need to be more aware of my choices. Frequently I do this type of activity during classes, late at night, or during homework time. All that scrolling and watching is counterproductive and then causes me to fall behind and feel more stressed than I already am. I don’t feel like what I am looking at is bad or in any way out of line with the teachings of the church but it ends up hurting me because I allow it to consume my life.

The last main purpose of my media consumption is work. I use media all the time for school, work, and researching things in my everyday life. The only way to do school now a days is by fully embracing media, technologically based or not. Learning Suite, books, power points, they are crucial media we use in our education. For my job I use media all the time to send emails to all of my students. And in my normal life I use media to find recipes and to answer those random questions that come up at the dinner table. This type of media usage is great and is completely ingrained in our culture. This is type of usage that becomes helpful in a secondary classroom. Using media to teach helps engage our students because they are familiar with it. It also makes our lives a little easier as we can connect with other educators that can help us with creating lesson plans. Media is a huge part of our students’ culture and by embracing it in their education they will be able to better succeed.

Media is a large part of my life and to deny its presence would be wrong. However, I need to be more proactive in my media consumption decisions.

Agency Photography

Sometimes you need to decide quickly. Go faster and get there sooner or slow down and be safe. That decision can drastically effect your life.

10 Most Significant

1. Gilmore Girls- Netflix
2. Gossip Girl- Netflix
3. Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America- Roberto G. Gonzales, Book
4. Sudoku- App
5. Without Me- Halsey, Song
6. Hank R Smith- Twitter
7. Streak with Robby- Snapchat
8. Amor Eterno- Rocio Durcal, Song
9. Los Peces En El Rio- Reyna de Los Angeles, Song
10. Simplynailogical- YouTube
11. Google Maps