Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

The presentation went really well. I made time and everyone seemed really engaged in my presentation.  I remembered everything I was supposed to say. I'm probably most proud of my room set up actually. It tied in really well with my presentation and Amanda's presentation. It was also really different. 

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your 2-Hour Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE/P

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

The mentorship and the connections I made throughout the year with Chino Community Theater. I could get a ton of hours and learn something new everyday. I improved greatly in my acting abilities which showed at Fullerton Festival with my high scores. 

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

The submission of my interviews. It's not that I procrastinated persay, it's just that we never had time to sit down and do it. When at my mentorship, we were both busy doing something (set painting, sound programming, running shows) so we rarely had enough time to really get interviewed. 
Also, I would improve my presentations. I know I can do better than the grades I got. Either a.) I slacked off or B.) I got nervous (Probably both). And I know if I tried that much harder, I would get higher grades. 

(5) Finding Value

Unfortunately, I will not be pursuing theater as a career. I love it to death but with the world as it is, it won't put food on the table. I will indeed do it as a hobby and during the summers. I'm able to find a creative outlet for myself. I will use the connections I received working at Chino Community Theater and continue working there during the summer and my time off. Perform on their future shows and continue to learn more and more from them as a valued hobby of mine. 

Last Improv Show!

So the last thing left to finish is improv. Improv is what started my high school career in Drama as a small freshmen and I think it's the perfect way to end it.
Since I've been in it for so long, I never really took pictures. I wish I did. Improv is when you act without a script. Spontaneous. Sort of like BS but cool and more entertaining. This year was my third and final year competing in Fullerton Festival as the Flying Pigs. We didn't bring in anything this year but we are slowly but surely getting better and better.

June 11th is the FINAL IMPROV SHOW so please come down for laughs and the seniors to say goodbye to Mr. Hogan.

I'm going to cry. Tears. Waterfalls... Oceans.

Fullerton Festival Scores

Alright, so it was oddly really difficult with my current scanner to get the WHOLE sheet but I'll break it down with what you're missing from each sheet. These are my official score sheets from Fullerton Festival.

This one was from Jessica Kuhnr. She gave me 3 out of 4 on Choice of Material, Insight, and General Effectiveness and a perfect 4 on Voice. 

"Great dialect work, always understandable and great coloring. A little bit more volume would have helped your presentation without taking away from the story. Great work."

This was Dale Jones. He gave me 4's all across the board. 

"Scene builds excellently. Great timing and focus."

And my last judge was Jim Landis. He also gave me 4's all across the board on the 4 categories

"Nice Dialect, but you need to project. Great work-I really connected with you.

Solid work!!"

When they say dialect, they meant the accent I used to execute my monologue. My monologue is set in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a woman telling her story of how her baby died and how she was rapped and kidnapped by soldiers. I had the reference of a West Nigerian accent and they loved it. My VOLUME! I THINK I COULD'VE GONE TO FINALS IF I JUST SPOKE UP. AHGIUAFNDUOYGH 

The Great American Trailer Park: Musical Backstage

Now, for Chino Community Theater, I worked in the booth BUT I want to show you how cool theater is from the backstage. 

Oh, look at those sexy lights. It was actually really difficult for us to get it at those colors.

This play is a musical and we have a wicked cool live band backstage. They did an amazing job and a lot of people legit thought that all the music was recorded. They were THAT good.

Where the pianist and bassist sat.

The glory of the backstage

The cubbies for the cast and the set up for the stage manager(s)

The view when waiting for cues.

Okay, so we have this dressing room but because it's a trailer park, we need to make some changes. Took the whole rehearsal period and the whole production crew to cover this wall with awesome graffiti.

Bruce Hutchins is the man. He's a painter and he PAINTED the WHOLE set. Even small things like the logo with slight mold and age, he does an amazing job on. 

He made that sign in 15 minutes. Like... talent. Give me some.

New Kids at Vampire High

New Kids at Vampire High was the second semester elective play. It was pretty much a spoof off of all the Twilight, vampire, pop-culture you could possibly have in an hour. It was such a ridiculous play and I loved working on it, even if I was only the ensemble. 

The whole cast. 

The fantastic cheerleaders.

We actually had to learn a cheerleading routine from the lovely Priscilla West. It was a lot of blood, sweat, and more blood, but the end result of the routine was awesome.  

Deval Divas

Deval Divas, the senior showcase play for the non-singing girls. It's a play about a couple of fabulous women in prison and all the shenanigans that go on when their prison is about to close. It was a fun play to work on and it was even better working with some wonderful people.

Fullerton Festival

Basically, Fullerton Festival is a two day event in the middle of March when all of iPoly's Drama Club take their pieces of theater of different genres and formats to competition.

Not only did I represent iPoly in their opening ceremonies, I competed in two categories:

• Improv
• Contemporary Dramatic Monologue 

Oh yeah! Look at me holding the wonderful iPoly flag at opening ceremonies. 

iPoly at the opening ceremonies.

I swear I had the tallest pole and I was the shortest flag bearer there. 

Look at me go!

When not in competition, it gets a bit weird at Fullerton Festival.

There's one game called "Ride the Pony", where you ride people like ponies. (Not really.) One of the few games we play to pass the time when not all nervous for competition. 

Our stage crew guys and pillow pets. "Pillow Pet Partay~"