Homeschool Shakespeare Contest

Homeschoolers may be interested to visit 
William Ordway Partridge's statue of a
seated William Shakespeare (1894);
moved to Lincoln Park after being on
display at the World's Columbian Exposition
in Chicago in 1893.  
Children (and teenagers too,
have been known to climb atop 
him to sit in his lap!

SELAH hosted it's first Shakespeare Recitation Contest on Monday night with three contestants, three judges, and 13 audience members in attendance.  But the size of the event did not underestimate the proportion of work that went into this event for the contestants or SELAH.  The three students that participated had to prepare and memorize a speech which would include a monologue from one of Shakespeare's plays and a sonnet.  Criteria for this contest stated that they demonstrate to the judges their ability to portray:

~ the sophisticated meaning of their speech and it's context
~ an excellent understanding of all words, metaphor or imagery in the speech as well as the poetic elements (rhythm, rhyme, etc.)
~ an accurate portrayal of the character with a detailed understanding their point of view, status and emotional state
~ a clear appropriate physical expression filled with choices that fully reflect the character and his/her intentions
~ impressive confidence/poise with a skillful use of performance energy that both constantly maintains a connection to their character and captivates the audience.

Students performed monologues from Twelfth Night, Othello, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

It should be noted that these students undertook the challenge to compete with just four weeks notice to prepare and execute the above standards.  Besides their own personal research on this project, they also met for two weeks after a full day of classes at SELAH and practiced before each other, acting as a peer review, critiquing each other and improving their work.

(from left to right:)
Emma Knabe, 3rd Place
Kirsten Baity, Runner Up
Hannah Bielicki, 1st Place Winner

Meanwhile, SELAH secured a location for the contest at Family of Faith Church in Monee.  They also recruited two judges from the Drama Group, in Chicago Heights and utilized a board member as the third judge.  All judges had a knowledge of the above criteria having studied, directed or acted in Shakespeare productions. 

When the results were announced, Hannah Bielicki with her monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream took the first place rank and will advance on the Roosevelt University to compete in the regional branch of the Shakespeare competition.  At this next level, she will compete for a chance to win cash prizes and possibly a trip to the finals at the ESU branch in New York.

Follow this post for updates on the next leg of this competition and also consider competing next year as SELAH will once again host a "Homeschool Shakespeare Recitation Contest" in the fall of 2013, more details to come!

Giving their best "Delsaret" pose! 

This competition was a considered a local school competition to qualify students to advance to the local English-Speaking Union Branch Competition.  See information about the Homeschool Shakespeare Contest and The English-Speaking Union at their website. 

Keeping a Character Journal

In The Stanislavski System, The Professional Training of an Actor by Sonia Moore, she describes method acting as taught by Konstantin Stanislavski.  In this system, actors are encouraged to consider certain elements of action.  Specifically, using questions "What would I do if I were in Hermia's position?" This "magic if," as Stanislavski called it, transforms the character's aim into the actor's action.

"Puck" stated that she found this journal
in the forest.  From the first page, it appears
to be a lost journal from another character
in the play, Helena!  

To encourage this exercise in character development, Spotlight students were assigned the task of creating a "character journal."  This journal should include only entries written from their characters perspective.  Last week two brave cast members shared examples from their journals.  The first example cited here was inspired through a circumstance where the actor wrote from their characters perspective after experiencing some of our unusual Chicago area weather:

"The weather keeps changing... my boss and the queen must be fighting again!  Don't get me wrong, I do love to see a healthy 'spat,' as humans say, between couples, but the constant weather change is exhausting. 

Just today, on a trip through a village  it was sunny and cold, then it started drizzling, then pouring, then out of nowhere it started snowing, then it turned into a full out blizzard!   

Oh, today I caught one of the Queen's fairies out stringing cobwebs up on the farmers barns.  I sneaked up behind her and changed the design.  When she turned around, she squealed in surprise to see her work changed.  It was awesome!"  ~ Puck

In a desire to expand the use of female cast members and provide another female member in Theseus court, the character of Philostrate was cast as a woman.  The thoughtful young actor cast in this role wrote the following example from the actor's experience in rehearsal and clues taken from the text:

"Tonight my royal mistress summoned me to her chamber once again. But she did not speak right away. Instead she stood at the window for a long time, until the summer sky had turned black and the moon had risen quite high. It was a crescent moon; I remember because she said that its shape reminded her of a silver bow. She is always saying things like that. I don't know that I will ever quite understand Hippolyta and her love of wild and manly things, but she has chosen me as her friend, and I must do my duty.  

When she finally did speak, after turning in her abrupt way from the window, she told me of a certain man Egeus who had come to the Duke earlier today. This Egeus, she said, was accompanied by his daughter Hermia by name, and two young men, Hermia's rival suitors. Egeus favors one man to marry her, but the daughter loves the other--quite adamantly, the way Hippolyta described it. Apparently Egeus asked the Duke either to force his daughter to marry the favored man, or to let him dispose of her life.  

At this point in the tale Hippolyta became upset--that is, she stopped talking and swept to the window again. I know what troubles her. She finds a kindred heart in this Hermia, who will not marry someone she claims not to love. As for me? I pity the girl, but she is foolhardy. Who is she to resist out strong Athenian law? ~ Philostrate

Most of our students have begun character journals, and were instructed to make at least one entry per week, (although the more they write, the more they expand their characterization).  Sonia Moore went on to describe Stanislavski's theory by saying: "A rich imagination will also contribute to characterization when an actor interprets the lines and fills them with the meaning that lies behind - the 'subtext.'  The lines of the author are dead until and actor analyzes and brings out the sense that the author intended.  If an actor with the help of his imagination finds interesting meaning behind the words, his intonations also will be expressive and interesting  'Spectators come to the theater to hear the subtext," said Stanislavski.  'They can read the text at home.'"

Art in the Classroom, in Exhibit, and on Stage!

SELAH is currently in their 4th semester of offering art classes to homeschool students.  In the fall semester of 2012, SELAH added a teen art class which brought great excitement from parents as well as students.  The focus last semester was on the elements of art. These building blocks of art include: color, value, texture, shape, line, and form. As the semester progressed, teacher Barb Czaja, built upon these elements by applying them to the principles of design: composition, balance, emphasis, unity, repetition, etc. Each class included a project of various media to develop and creatively apply the art skills being taught and demonstrated.

Examples from art history were shown to further the student's knowledge of art and visual understanding.  One very ambitious project involved the study of the art movement, Regionalism, that embraced rural America during the Great Depression era.

"In a time of despair across our nation, Regionalism took on an American spirit that helped pioneer a can-do attitude of pride and inspired optimism during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Regionalism, or the American Scene, focused on rural values, enshrining the Midwest values of the farmer, small-town America, and the working class folk. This art movement encompassed only a handful of artists and was clearly just an American art movement with its attention on the heartland of America. It promoted rural values as the essence of America, and was often seen as a rebellion against art from the East coast, which focused on the people of urban America and city life. Regionalism’s most prominent artists were Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry." 

Students were instructed to create their own murals in the style of Thomas Hart Benton, 1889-1975, who is known for his strong, colorful, larger-than-life paintings of landscapes, farmlands and people hard at work. The students paired up to create life-size murals by tracing themselves and painting their own interpretation of an heroic-type figure(s).  These "epic" size murals were used to grace the stage and performance hall at SELAH's Fall Variety show,

SELAH offers an exhibit of the students projects at least twice a year.  This is a great opportunity not only for parents to enjoy the work done in class beautifully displayed, but for the community at large to enjoy. Eagle Rock Community Church, (currently SELAH's meeting place) has even asked that the art be left on display for the weekend following our programs for their church members to enjoy!

Here at SELAH we feel that the study and display of art is an important element in the development of language arts.  We recognize that great art not only employs the visual senses, but creates inspiration, discussion, and possibly even debate!  In the following video montage, students are pictured creating their murals while utilizing the skills of communication and teamwork, other elements important to the SELAH mission.

Photo's by SELAH student Micah Romanek

As we continue our studies this semester, we are encouraged by the fresh new students enrolled in our program.  As it is one of SELAH's goals to "support the family unit through the direct involvement of each family member’s talents, interests and abilities" we are excited to see them already helping out in theater and art classes!  One student recently offered this testimony of her experience in art class:

"This is my first time being enrolled at SELAH, and as I am a lover of creativity, I decided to join art. In art we come across the very important things a person must know. From the elements of art: mixing colors, understanding colors, learning about how complementary colors work, to learning how to use a paint brush. It's been fun painting on acrylic boards, using different ideas to demonstrate a color wheel, and last week we even got to paint using complementary colors. It's really fun and relaxing. I can't wait for what's next."  Dominique Davie

"The Tempest" in the 22nd Century?

To begin, I’d like to start off with admittance. I am a massive nerd. Shakespeare, sci-fi, classic film, superheroes, you name it. That being said, last year- when we were studying The Tempest at SELAH- I couldn't help but think I’d heard that story somewhere before. It bothered me.

I looked around for a while, but gave up my search to find out where I heard it. A few weeks later, after we had gone to see the play, it finally clicked. The revelation came on my couch, while I was watching the 1956 film, Forbidden Planet, one of my favorites. That was it! The story I had been searching for- right in front of me! After the movie was over, I got my notes from the play study and started my comparison.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself… I imagine a lot of you have never seen this movie- so I will answer the question you've been asking yourself. What is this film about, anyways?!

“When an Earth mission arrives on Altair IV, they find that Dr. Edward Morbius and his beautiful daughter Altaira are the only survivors from the original expedition that had arrived some 20 years before. Morbius isn't exactly pleased to see them and would have preferred that they not even land their spaceship. He does his best to get them on their way but Commander Abrams and his men soon face an invisible force leading them to believe that Morbius and the girl are in danger. Morbius claims to know nothing of other life on the planet but does reveal there once existed a far superior race, now extinct, that left a huge subterranean industrial and scientific complex.” (~IMBb)

Prosper and Airel; Miranda sleeps.

So what do we have? An intelligent group of people stranded in a foreign environment. Commander Abrams, the Ferdinand character, sets out to find other humans. He is contacted by a robot, Robby (representing Ariel). Abrams and his closest friends (Ferdinand’s court) are taken to meet Robby’s creator, Dr. Morbius (Prospero) and his daughter, Alta (Miranda). Robby was created by Morbius- though Ariel was captured by Prospero, and both characters can be easily terminated by their “owners”.

We also have the comic relief. Stefano and Trinculo, the silly and perpetually plastered duo from The Tempest are represented by the cook- who just as Stefano and Trinculo- has the first brush with the supernatural monster in our story.

Caliban is shown as “The Monster from the Id” and is a mental extension of Dr. Morbius. The Monster attempts to destroy Commander Abrams (and in turn, ends up killing a few members of the crew) as a result of the secret but very present hate that Morbius has for him.

If you know The Tempest you will already know that Abrams and Alta will ultimately wind up with each other. The way they are joined, however, differs from The Tempest - but not without some subtle similarities. In the play, Prospero sacrifices the one thing he really, loves - Miranda - to Ferdinand. In the movie, Morbius makes a different kind of sacrifice. With his subconscious monster destroying and killing all in sight, he allows his own death so the survivors, including his daughter, can leave safely.

The only major differing theme between these stories is the replacement of magic with graduated science. Morbius is trying to rediscover the sciences of the extinct civilization that lived on the planet before him. Robby is created using this method, and Ariel is controlled and manipulated with Prospero’s magic. Most of the characters in The Tempest are manipulated by Prospero's magic at some point, and in the film Morbius's sciences affect and inhibit the abilities of the crew.

This all goes to show you that Shakespeare really is timeless, and will go on to inspire generations and generations.

Submitted by Spotlights student, Emma Knabe

Pride and Prejudice, 200 Year Anniversary!

A Spotlight student recently pointed out in class the similarities between Shakespeare's The Tempest and The Forbidden Planet. I've always thought that Pride and Prejudice shows quite marked plot and thematic similarities to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Both stories revolve around the courtship of two couples, one couple naive and besotted with each other (Hero-Claudio and Jane-Bingley) and the other who start out extremely disdainful of each other but gradually grow to see each other's qualities and fall in love by the end (Beatrice-Benedick and Elizabeth-Darcy).

Last year, the Spotlight Performers presented their own adaptation of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, which just happens to have celebrated it's 200 year anniversary:



Here is a slideshow of the Spotlight's in their performance from May 10 & 11, 2012.  You can also visit us on Flickr to view the 700+ photos of the remarkable play!

"Note"able News from a Guitar Student:

Guitar Worship Class for me, after 3 weeks, is a very impacting learning experience. Learning the different basic chords, scales and strings can be a lot of fun and also a lot of practice at home!  We even learned a way to remember the names of the six strings on the guitar: "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie."  Which is a poem for the six strings: E, A, D, G, B and E.  Our teacher, Nicole Hopman, has also been teaching us wonderful worship songs to play on the guitar and sing. We have been learning these songs:

• Revelation Song, Micah 6:8
• Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord
• Amaizing Love
• I Will Follow
• Here I Am To Worship
• Healing Is In Your Hands
• And lots more to come!

In the Bible it says in Psalm 33:2-3, "Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." Also, in Ephesians 5:19 it says, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the LORD." After reading these two scriptures, we can realize that God loves when we worship him. While using our guitars, or using our God-given voices to sing to him, we are honoring and pleasing God in these great ways.

Submitted by student, Corrinne Toth

"Dream" Auditions

The Spotlights production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is under way; auditions are over, casting is complete and we even finished the all important process of a first "read-through."  With a cast of 24 students, we were able to cast all of Shakespeare's original characters with exception of the "Changeling" child, or as he was referred to at the read-through, the "challenging child."  One curious observation from the auditions - the most auditioned for parts for this play were "Helena, Demetrius" and "Puck."  That made the casting quite difficult as there was a lot of talent demonstrated there on the stage!

Either way, the actors have received their parts and already began the process of developing characterization.  We can't wait to get started with rehearsals and look forward to an epic production!  So please mark your calendars for April 25 & 26 for the performance of a life time! 

(Pictures provided by cast member, Micah Romanek)