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.