live music

On Nov. 5, in Jackson at a church, the" Andes Manta" band played. They are four brothers who learned to play an instrument each, which is traditional in South America, but later developed a love and they now play 35 musical instruments!! The instrument is taught from father to son traditionally in the Ecudorian Andes, and also from brother to brother. The show blew me away. The soft playing of some version of a flute reminded me of my Feng Shue cd. I really enjoyed it, it was both relaxing and invigorating!! The idea that people are so talented is inspiring. I would recommend the show to anyone who has a chance to see it.

art at school

This is the picture of one of my students, we made scarecrow cupcakes, what a fun day. I pre-baked the cupcakes, and provided the students with the material such as candy corn, all-bran(hair, straw), licorice, chocolate chips, and the vanilla cookies(hats). I told them very general instructions on how to make it and took pics of all of their creations. They got really creative, he made eyelashes and a bow tie. Great fun!!

Disney on ice

This was an extremely interesting performance. The show that we saw was "Beauty and the Beast". The characters were dressed in amazing costumes, let along they performed the show on ice skates!! THe show contained many different sets, which were skated on the ice by people in black suits while the lights were dimed--usually when another performer such as Belle was performing a solo. The costumes, I believe, caught my eye more than anything. They even had Mrs. Potts and the grandfather clock. I hope to get my pics posted so that you can share. I was surprised at how much the lighting had to do with the mood of the show. If it was happy, the music was lively and upbeat and the lights were bright, usually yellow and pink. If something such as the wolves attacking Belle's dad, the lighting was very dim and the music was low and scary. This show really brings the story to life, it was three hours long, and my son set through all of it!! The costumes such as those of the beast were huge, I don't know how they could skate as gracefully as they did with those heavy heads!!

High School Musical

Last year, I was privileged to attend a play put on by the juniors and seniors in our high school. They performed "High School Musical", I believe I was more impressed with it than with the original on Disney. Of course the students were more genuine. I don't think that I realized what all goes into putting on a play, especially a muscial. The stage settings were in themselves very creative. The backstage people did a wonderful job at being discreet when changing scenes. The end was really neat, because they were going back and forth between a quiz show setting and a basketball game. The acting, remembering lines, costumes, makeup, all quite a bit of work. But then there is the singing, picking out songs, music, choreagraphy--there was a lot of dancing involved in the play, and as it was performed on a stage-- it was important to remember exactly where they were. There was about 25 actors involved in the main sections of the play. All of the songs in the play were sung by the students with handset microphones. The girl that played Gabriella had an amazing voice!! She almost brought me to tears--because I knew her and I knew that she was only 16 years old. The girl that played the prissy and spoiled Shar-pei also did an outstanding job. It became hard to seperate the fact that this child is really not Sharpei!!I really enjoyed the play and I know that I will attend the one next spring.

Artistic Film

Last weekend, I was privileged to see the new movie, "The Bee Movie". I understand that most of you would not consider this an "artistic film", but I am a great fan of animation. The new computer animation that has become the most recent version is amazing! The colors are so bold and intense. There are many views that are so 3-D that you almost believe that you are there. The point of view-wow. When the "pollen jocks" fly from the comb in order to collect pollen, it is as if you are right on their shoulders. You fly in and out, up and down, past people, under signs, trees, cars until you finally reach a flower in which you collect the pollen, which each piece is almost half the size of the bee. I love animation, for my whole life it has impressed me. To be able to draw enough pictures to sense the movement is a feat. The computer animation brings a whole new life to the old art.

Ohillco Art Show

The Ohillco Art Show takes place during the Coal Festival in Wellston. It was held at the old train depot in the middle of town. The show was small, but mighty. Most of the people who submitted art were from that area, so it is great to see your neighbor's talent!! The show included paintings--oil, watercolor, and pastel-sketches-pencil and ink, photographs-both color and black and white, crafts, woodworking, and individual dioramas (cool!!) . The Best of Show went to a vibrant Picasso-ish painting--not really my style. I am more of a realist-but to each his own. My son enjoyed the pig painting--I will post a picture. I myself enjoyed the sketches and photographs. My son is a big fan of anything military--the diorama was his absolute fave! I was surprised to see the 9 year olds entries---Pictures on the blog---What do you think?

Tecumseh

I experienced the live drama Tecumseh! during its 35th anniversary year. It is performed at the Sugarloaf Mountain ampitheatre near Chillicothe, Ohio. The playwright, Allan W. Eckert, is a 7 time Pulitzer Prize winner and an Emmy Award winner.My initial reaction was overwhelming. The 3 hour drama does an amazing job at holding your attention. There were wyoundg children in the audience who were just as enthrawled as I was, including my son! Act one begins with Tecumseh's first battle as his older brother ambushes Simon Kenton's party. Although many people on both side were killed, after Kenton's retreat, Tecumseh demonstrates his valor by refusing to torture the leftover "white man". As the play moves on, it very well explains the positions of both the Indian and the white man. The different sevtions go back and forth between the Kenton's group and the various Indian tribes as Tecumseh attempts to unite them against the colonists. This provides the audience with foreshadowing into the future scenes.The setting of the outdoor ampitheatre at Sugarloaf Mountain really adds to the drama. The amitheatre is surrounded gy a forest, which provides adequate coverage and realistic scenes. There is also part of the Scioto River which depicts their use and travel on the river. As for characters, the actors and actresses were very convincing. Tecumseh and Simon Kenton play the protagonist and the antagonist with great repect for one another. Everything that occurs in the drama is extremely close to life. The horses that were used by the Indians were well trained, considering the gunfire and cannon fire being used during the battle scenes. The forest that runs alonside the seats conceals movement, so when it was the colonists turn to ambush the Indians--BAM! with no warning, cannons right beside of you were shooting!Thes lighting played an important role in the emotions provoked in the drama. It directed the audienc's focal point, sometimes drawing them away from one area to prepare for the next scene. The plot of the story left me feelling unsettled about American history. Knowing America's unclean history only reiterated throughout this drama. I felt guilty about the actions of our ancestors. In conclusion, I was completely floored by the performance and the atmosphere of this theatre production. I will be attending next season's performance as well as researching other outdoor dramas. I was taken in by the reality and the raw emotion displayed by this drama.
Labels: last section of semester
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