5/1/11.

I had a great memorial weekend! I hope everyone had one as good as mine, I got to catch up with good friends and relax. Anyways, Tuesday started like any Monday would start. I went to my mentor meeting with Ms. Perl. But she was out, since there was a substitute. I won't be in school Wednesday, so I wont see her till Thursday.

Then, we had my last WISE class ever! We discussed Carrie Hasse's performance, and reflected upon it. Then, Ms. Gergely gave us an inspirtional poem, about summer time.

Interview.

Today, I called Beth Milles, an associate professor at Cornell, in the department of Theatre, Film, Dance. It took me like, 10 minutes to finally suck up the nerve and call. I'm terrible on the phone. At the beginning of the call, we talked about film, and my project. She was very kind, and interested, and was curious to see what she could do to help. She recommended a book to gander at, Laughter by Henri Bergson.

She said that it was controversial, but I would like it. After this, I proceeded to interview her, asking numerous questions nervously, as I am extremely awkward on the phone.

Here's all the information I garnered:

-She began acting at the age of 9.

-She started directing at the age of 16

-Grew up in LA, interested in the Commedia dell'arte (comedy of the craft)

-She doesn't consider herself a funny person, rather a more serious person, and likes comedy because it is "Tragedy to the greatest extension"

-Her least favorite thing about directing is sitting through the show, watching all the things she could have done, while her favorite thing is watching it all come together, in sync, everyone doing their part.

-Moliere is one of her favorites, directed several of his plays, most recently, The Learned Ladies, which was very hard for her, and the actors, but incorperated a lot of good changes in it.

-Worked for HBO when it was just starting, they needed to hire good writers with a lot of theatre writing experience, directors of play to provide structure, it was a sign of the importance of theatre, even in mainstream TV. She worked on 16 projects for HBO.

-Formed The Banter Co., which is a theatre group. She stated that working with friends and the best way to make the best skits.

-Big fan of improv, states that it is the purest form of theatre.

Reaction:

While I was nervous and awkward about this interview, It was very pleasant. I learned a lot and Beth is very nice. She seemed very interested in my project, and obviously is an expert on film and theatre. I invited her to my WISE presentation.

The Learned Ladies.

Ms. Gergely recommended that I read this play for a research component piece. It is titled, The Learned Ladies, or Les Femmes Savantes (it's a french play). It was written by the legendary french playwright and actor, Moliere. The play is essentially a satire of academic pretention, female education and preciousness. It first premiered in the Theatre du Plaias-Royal on March 11, 1672.

Summary:

Henriette and Clitandre are two young adults in love with one another, and they want to marry. But, before they are to marry and live happily ever after, they must overcome a challenge. The attitude of Henriette's family, like her mother, Philmante. Her uncle and father are supportive of the marriage, but both are under the influence of the mother. Philmante, along with the sister and aunt of Henriette, want her to marry Trissotin, a poet and a scholar, with quite large teeth. Those three are all obsessed with him. These ladies are all "learned", which means their understanding of life is pretentious.

Characters:

Philante: The mother, discovered Trissotin, flattered by his intellectual pride, and intimidates her husband.

Belise: The aunt, never married, most likely why she has become a "Learned" lady, but still irresistile to men.

Armande: The eldest daughter, once courted by Clitandre, but she rejected him and so he fell inlove with her sister.

Trissotin: The Learned Ladies favorite. While seemingly intelligent in literature in science, he is actually pretentious, and writes terrible poetry.

Vadius: A greek scholar, comrade of Trissotin.

Chrysale: The father, claims to make all the decisions of the household, but greatly intimidated by his wife.

Henriette: Youngest daughter, wants to marry Clitandre.

Clitandre: Henriette's fiance

Reaction:

This was an interesting play. I thought it was interesting to look at what was considered a comedy in the 1600's compared to the comedy we now see in 2011. Aside from that, the play was pretty good, the language is more sophisticated, a little harder to understand at times. The story is a common love story plot line.

Clown Doctors, the best doctors.

This article was pretty positive. The article is about the growing number of so called "Clown Doctors." There is no medical back round required for these positions, and their main goal is to bring a smile to the sick. As the article states, they are truly out to prove that "laughter is the best medicine"

They originated in New Zealand, and eventually caught on with popularity in Europe, and now picking up in the United States. The teams of Clown Doctors have helped over 11,000 children.

The results of these Clown Doctors have been far from negative. As said in the article, “Through their use of humour they can sometimes broach subjects or feelings that they may otherwise not wish to share" and that it gives children a bit of light to a dark hour. The Clown Doctors are now expanding into rehabilitation clinics and elderly clinics.

Reaction:

I think that this was a very heart warming article about laughter. While it doesn't prove that laughter has any biological benefits to yourself in times of sickness, it was nice to see other people doing great things for human well being. Spreading happiness and joy (which is a goal of my skits) is always a good sign, and a good source from my bibliography.

Source:

News, 3. "Clown Doctors out to Prove Laughter Is Best Medicine - Story - National - 3 News."3 News - Latest Breaking News from New Zealand and the World. Web. 24 May 2011. .

History of Sketch Comedy, Improvisational Comedy.

Following Ms. Gergely's advice to seek more history of comedy, I've decided to gander at my style of my project, which would be sketch comedy, and improvisational comedy.

Definition of sketch comedy: Sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long.

-It is typically performed by comedians, on stage, radio, or on television.

-Skits are usually to be a dramatized joke, while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation.

-Origins are from the entertainment style of vaudeville.

-Vaudeville: Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill.

-Exploded in the 1970's in North America from the rise of improvisational comedy

Improvisational theatre: "Improvisational theatre (also known as improv or impro) is a form of theatrein which the improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously"

Brief History: Improvisational theatre is one of the oldest arts of performances. The two largest progressions of the art though was the Italian Commedia dell'arte performers in the 16th-18th centuries, and with theatrical theorists like Konstantin Stantislavski and Jacques Coupou, who'm heavily acting theory with training of improv and rehearsal. It also was helped pioneered by the comedy scene of Chicago, where it was said that the current "rules of improv" were formed, in around roughly the 70's. With the take off of skit comedy shows like SNL, the art it's self have engulfed itself in the entertainment/comedic industry.

Source:

"Short History of Improvisation." ImprovComedy.Org. Web. 24 May 2011. .

Sorry Ms. Perl

I typically write down my research blog posts on paper before posting them up here, and I didn't blog them last weekend because I had to work for the entire weekend. I promised to post them yesterday after school, but I was called into work last minute, so I was unable. But, here they are Ms. Perl. Sorry about that, and everyone else who reads my blog expecting research components...

Weekly Update Questions.

How much time have you spent on your project?

This week, I have spent about 5 hours so far. It is typical for me to be around that mark this far into the week. I am consistent in hitting the 8 hour minimum mark by Sunday.

What did you do for Hands on?

For hands on work, I am to film part of a skit tomorrow, after school. To gear up for this, the finalizing of a script was required. After the skit is made, editing will be required.

What did you do for Research?

For research, I have been reading articles so I can hit my goal of 3 articles for this week. This includes surfing the web and consulting my bilbiography. Hopefully my community contacts will get back to me for an interview.

Were you in class this week?

Yes, I was in class on Monday, and I plan to attend the red flag meeting tomorrow.

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?

Yes, I met with Ms. Perl on Monday. We talked about mostly my research component, and how my skits are going. She also has more confidence that I will pass this class and graduate.

What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?

I'd say my work for this week was good. I've been doing adequate research, and my hands on this week will be significant progress on skit making. By sunday, this should week should be successful, due to well planning on hands on.

What are your plans for next week?

My plans for next week are the usual. Blog post every single day but make sure I have 3 research posts, finish the 3rd skit, start my paper, and get out of red flag.