The creation of a scene can originate from almost any genesis. Real life experiences, wonderful imaginations, or amalgams of other works have created some of the most exciting stories in the world. Recently, we had an assignment in which we were split into two groups and given parameters to construct a scene. Our group, Lauren, Jake, and myself, decided to split three of these necessities: One for each of us. Jake chose the written dialogue, Lauren chose the picture, and I chose the music. At this point in any creative process, Serendipity descends and takes control of the outcome. Our selected items however, turned out to not only compliment but also were able to work of off the other rather well. The picture detailed a man helping his lover escape from an asylum. The quote the Jake chose described a sentiment entailing that the bond of friendship goes beyond words. The song that I chose, “St. James Infirmary” by Louis Armstrong depicts a man whose lover has died. All three of these pieces of media include two people, more specifically, two lovers, or two people of a certain level of intimacy. Upon our revealing to the others our selected items, I found it rather odd that they fit so well with the others. How could it be that three seemingly random pieces were able to come together so neatly? I chose the song simply because I had been listening to a lot of blues over those few days, and “St. James Infirmary” is one of my favorite songs. Maybe it’s a comment upon that ability of actors to feed of each other, even before creation has begun. The development continued until we arrived at the conclusion that the scene should be done in a Film noir style. Before that, we decided that the topic of “Is capital punishment justice?” would encompass the three selected items quite nicely. We then went on to format the scene into three smaller vignettes, with the outcome changing for each one. The first outcome, Lauren, playing the one in trouble, dies, put to death by Jake and myself, those executing justice. The second outcome, I was killed, in a betrayal by Jake to save his lover, Lauren. The third outcome, the betrayal of #2 takes place, but Lauren ends up killing Jake too.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Serendipity
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Outline
I. History of Sports associated with Social Classes
A. The beginning of organized sports began in the US in the 1840s. It began with an organization called the New York Knickerbockers which was a group of upper class professionals consisting of doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. It was a very exclusive group based on class. The first organized sport to develop out of this group was baseball. It wasn’t until winning took precedence over exclusive club membership, that the Knickerbockers began allowing members of different social classes to join the organization with free membership (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
B. Organized sports then continued their development in the university environment. Since only the privileged could afford to attend college in the 1840s-1850s, the development of organized sports remained in the hands of the upper class. Also, since mainly only white males were allowed attendance to universities at this time, different ethnicities and females were excluded from the development and engagement of organized sports (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
C. Most ethnicities were denied access to sports as well as working class white members of society. The wealthier members of society who organized sports met to discuss, play, and watch sports during weekday afternoons. Since working class members had to work at that time they were denied participation in sports. It wasn’t until the 1920s when the 8 hour workday was upheld, that working-class citizens largely became involved in sports (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
D. Basketball was developed as an American sport in 1892. It was dominated by white males and played at universities across the US. However, post-Civil War brought about the playing of basketball in the slums and ghettos of the US and became a vital form of expression for members of the inner-city.
II. Gender’s role in Sports and Social Classes
A. “In the mid-nineteenth century, sports outside the collegiate world for upper-class girls and women consisted primarily of proper activities, such as croquet, archery, and tennis. Women’s sports were acceptable to society only if they were considered social affairs, promoted health, were noncompetitive, and were not strenuous enough to require a special costume” (Beginning of Organized Sports in America). Women began to break free from these restrictions with the bicycle. The bicycle required women to break from their strict dress code of dresses or skirts and allowed women the freedom to travel alone without a male escort. The bicycle prompted women not needing an escort and prompted a more flexible dress code needed for other sports (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
B. Collegiate sports grew in the 1920s and 1930s for women. However, there still remained sports which society did not believe women should participate in. Track and field, basketball, and softball were seen as too masculine for females and only women belonging to the working-class participated in these sports. Therefore, these sports became associated with the working-class. And women belonging to the upper class were restricted to safer and more feminine sports such as golf and tennis. And golf and tennis were then associated with members of upper class society (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
III. Race’s role in Sports and Social Classes
A. African Americans were largely excluded form sports due to racism and discrimination.
B. Jim Crow laws restricted sports teams that consisted of white and black players, so African Americans began forming their own teams in the 1880s (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
C. It wasn’t until 1976 that professional sports teams began to integrate, starting with baseball (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
D. Basketball became an integral part of black culture and to members of the inner-city. Today, “sixty-one percent of NCAA Division I college basketball players are black. Eighty percent of NBA players are black. Basketball, especially in these areas, teaches social skills, rights of passage, creativity and cultural identity” (Basketball: The Black Game).
IV. Education and Sports
A. Football was the biggest collegiate sport during the rise of organized sports. Colleges opposed the development of professional football teams due to the threat it posed against college teams. Baseball and boxing were considered lower class sports since members of those sports were not required to attend college. However, before professional football leagues were created, if you wanted to play football, you had to attend college, and therefore the sports was considered higher on the social ladder than baseball and boxing. Colleges feared with the creation of the professional football league, less talented players would attend college, and the sport would gain a bad reputation (Beginning of Organized Sports in America).
V. An International Perspective of Sports and Social Class
A. Soccer began as a sport that was played for the elite at elite universities in England. It began to spread to lower class universities and then the church adopted it to help evangelize and build their congregation. Many of these teams that began in the church still exist today. Players and fans of football spanned across many social classes in the 20th century (Keyes).
B. There was a rise in violence in the football stadiums in the late 20th century and many associated hooliganism with working-class males (Keyes). Wikipedia states that “Hooliganism” refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. At the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, 400 people were injured and 96 died due to being crushed inside pens when violence and hooliganism broke out (Smith). The violence at the games gave football a bad reputation in England and many of the middle and upper class fans stopped attending games. Therefore, hooliganism had a large effect on football having the stigma of a lower class sport. The attendance of the upper class did not return until around 1992. Football in England is climbing back up the social ladder since the ticket prices are becoming much more expensive and only the working class and wealthy can afford the high ticket prices (Keyes).
C. Soccer in the US began as an immigrant sport. It was played in the slums of New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Universities refused to add soccer to their curriculum due to its association to immigrants and the poor (Smith).
VI. The Continued Stigma of Sports and Social Classes
A. Golf still remains a sport for the upper class due to country club dues, expensive equipment, and the high rates to play on golf courses. Tennis also is still seen as a sport for the upper class due to its country club membership dues.
B. Soccer remains seen as a lower class sport with its limited equipment and space to play. Also, it is still seen as a sport that is widely played in slums.
C. Football, basketball, and baseball fall in the middle of the social ladder due to the organizers of these sports being members of the upper-class, the sports players themselves being paid the big bucks, and its fans ranging from the lower to upper classes.
D. Since the development of organized sports in the 1840s, sports have crossed both race and gender borders.
Works Cited
Basketball: The Black Game. The University of Virginia. Web. 3 Oct. 2011.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am483_97/projects/walters/mjbball.html.
Beginning of Organized Sports in America. Texas State University. Web. 3 Oct. 2011.
http://www.hhp.txstate.edu/hper/faculty/pankey/1310/ch17Bread.htm.
“Hooliganism.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004.
Web. 3 Oct. 2011.
Keyes, David. Shifts in the Class Identity of English Soccer. Culture of Soccer. 28 Oct. 2007. Web.
3 Oct. 2011. http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/10/28/shifts-in-the-class-identity-of-english-soccer/.
Smith, Brandon J. History of Soccer/ Association Football. The People History. Web. 3 Oct. 2011.
Mascots - Research Presentation
Mascot -n. A person, animal or thing considered to bring good luck.
Etymology - 1881 - from provincial French 'mascotte': "sorcerer's charm, 'faerie friend,' good luck piece," from Prov. 'mascoto': "sorcery, fetish."
History-
The use of mascots goes back to antiquity but they were not always called mascot. The word "mascot" itself suggests a connection with the occult. How the word entered the English language is a story in itself. At the turn of the century, a French composer, Edmond Audran (1842-1901) wrote a series of operettas. One of the most popular was called "La Mascotte" (1880), a light-hearted plot about a farm girl who brought good luck to whoever possessed her, provided that she remained wholesome. This ran for over 1,000 performances between 1800 and 1882. Its popularity was so great that it was translated into English and staged in England (Comedy Theatre, London, October 15, 1881), and staged in the United States (Gaiety Theatre, Boston, April 11, 1882). The translated title became "The Mascot" and the concept of a mascot as a person, animal, or thing bringing luck was thus established.
Man has always admired the wild beasts he used to hunt, the grace and power of the big cats, the speed and persistence of the wolf, the intelligence of the fox and the sheer power of the bear. All of these animals made fearsome opponents and early humans must have had a fair amount of guts to tackle them without today's weapons. It was this awe and respect that probably led to
the adoption of these animals as tribal symbols or totems and the belief that by communing with these animals, some of these powers will magically transfer to the their tribe. They used likenesses of these animals in their ceremonies, both in primitive costume form and as models and statues to bring good fortune in battle, a bountiful harvest, protection against misfortune, to heal the sick and to bring misfortune on their enemies. Some of their gods were, in fact, mascots. The earliest example of mascots in graphical and model form has to be the cave paintings in various parts of the world and the tribal statues and totem poles in existence even today
Performance -
Entrance - Set your mark. Whether it's a football game or a store opening, with a big entrance.
Exaggeration - You need to double or even triple the actions you would normal do so your costume doesn't hide what you're doing. Use your whole body.
Emotion - Think about how emotional sporting events can get. Shivering, slow motion, trudging feet, tantrums, kowtowing, jumping up and down, skipping, and elation are great actions to try. And remembering that the costume will hide a lot of your gestures, make sure you exaggerate.
Hall of Fame -
The mission of the Mascot Hall of Fame is to honor great mascot performers, performance, and programs that have inspired tradition and positively affected their communities. Each year, mascots and mascot performers will be elected to the Mascot Hall of Fame and inducted celebrating their achievement.
Characters are as much a part of the game as the players themselves. They are even by many standards the true face of the team. Players come and go but the mascot is there to stay. They entertain fans time after time developing deep rooted relationships with their community.
Pro Characters -
Professional characters are those characters that represent professional sports franchises and are the team's official mascot. This includes all sports at every professional level. Professional level is determined by the fact that the athletes that are participating in the sport are being paid a salary.
Collegiate Characters -
Collegiate Characters are those mascots that are the official costume character representing the college or university. This includes all institutions of higher learning above high school.
Controversy -
According to the National Coalition on Race and Sports Media, which is part of the American Indian Movement (AIM), there are more than 3,000 racists or offensive mascots/nicknames used in high school, college, or professional sports teams. They use Native American symbols such as braves, warriors, chiefs, or Indians. These nicknames and mascots are false portrayals that encourage biases and prejudices that have a negative effect on contemporary Indian people.
In the controversy, the nickname "redskins" is particularly offensive. Historically, the term was used to refer to the scalps of dead Native Americans that were exchanged for money as bounties. When it became too difficult to bring in the bodies of dead Indians to get the money (usually under one dollar per person), bounty hunters exchanged bloody scalps or "redskins" as evidence of the dead Indian.
Resources:
Emert, Phyllis R., and Barbara Sheehan. “Respect: A Newsletter About Law and Diversity.” The New Jersey State Bar Foundation. 2 (2 Nov. 2003): 1; 4-5. Digital.
"Mascot - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus –Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.
"Mascothalloffame.com: History of Mascots." Mascothalloffame.com: Home. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.
"Mascothalloffame.com: Our Mission." Mascothalloffame.com: Home. Web. 06 Oct. 2011.
"Promascot.com: What's New?" Promascot.com: Home. Web. 06 Oct. 2011.
Welcome to MascotNet! Web. 06 Oct. 2011.
"What Is a Mascot? About Face Mascots Ltd." Home About Face Mascots Ltd. Web. 06 Oct. 2011.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Split Down the Middle
Our class recently had a discussion about Anna Deavere Smith. I had never heard of her before we were assigned to read her introduction to Fires in the Mirror. After reading that, then seeing a video of an interview she gave on 60 Minutes, raised a lot of questions about racial communities in my mind. Though learning about Anna Deavere Smith did really focus my thoughts, it was a friend in one of my classes who really inspired most of my questions.
My main question is: Why have I never heard any biracial person describe themselves as “half-white?” I’ve only ever heard them say that they are “Half-something else.”
Case in point, my friend Sarah told me recently that she was half-Vietnamese, her father is white. I didn’t even think about it until she mentioned later that she’d traveled to Vietnam with her mother. That got me thinking… In Vietnam, when meeting new people, did she describe herself as half-white? Or did she say something like, “I’m only half-Vietnamese?” Here in America, which is supposed to be one of the most racially and culturally diverse nations on the planet, why in “white” automatically the default? Why does our terminology make it sound like any other ethnicity added to “white” depreciates it? Why does “white” take precedence?
Is it different in other countries, I wonder, or in other languages? If Sarah’s white father had lived in Vietnam with her mother, would she grow up considering herself half-white? It sounds logical… Surely in China or India, “white” isn’t considered the default or natural skin color. What about in other countries where a majority of the population is white, life France or Sweden? Is America the only country that still seems to place “white” above all other races?
And, in America, why does the “half-white” community seem so much larger than anything else, such as the “half-Vietnamese” category? At least, it does to me, if we place more emphasis on being half-white, is just feels like there would be more people than if we selected another half-ethnicity.
But why do I feel that way? Is it American culture? The fact that I’m white? I want to understand!!
It’s something interesting to think about, right? It also moves my train of thought onto other “half” communities. Well, “mixtures of communities” would be more accurate.
Like, for the purposes of this class, a mixture of sports communities and theatre communities. I wonder how many crazy obsessed sports fans are also adamant theatre-goers. Or what about athletes? How large is the “theatre jock” community?
What about other unlikely mixtures?
For example, I’m not a huge sports fan, but until I came to college, my philosophy had always been: “I live in Louisville and I live in Kentucky. So, whether UofL or UK wins, I can celebrate either way.” That’s kind of a lackadaisical point of view though… What if there are people who are huge fans of both the Cards and the Cats? What do they do during the UofL/UK game?
What about conservatives with many liberal values? Liberals with some conservative values? Are there men who enjoy wearing both boxers and briefs? Who knows?
What about you? Can you think of any communities you are a part of that are a little contradictory? Are you a mixture?
The Ensemble Composition
Hi all!
So, our class recently had to do an assignment called an “ensemble composition.” Basically, we had to put on a performance of no more than 10 minutes, with just a few days of rehearsal. We divided up into two groups and got a paper that detailed everything that we needed to include in out composition (for example: a song, a work of art, and embrace, a moment of violence, etc.). With all those elements we needed to create something that posed a question that was relevant to all members of the group.
My group (Cara, Grace, Jocelyn and I) had a little adventure while trying to decide on a topic. We started off with the idea to do something with reality TV shows. We had a good jam session and spun out some really great ideas… But as we talked, a bunch of stories would pop up about the stars of those reality TV stars. And most of those stories had to do with plastic surgery. As more and more of those stories piled on, we started talking about how we could include them in our composition. Finally, we had so much more work focusing on plastic surgery than we did on reality TV, which is how we finally arrived at out final topic.
Now, one of the problems we had with this assignment (and one of the problems I’m thinking we’ll have all semester in this class) is that we all had so many great ideas, we couldn’t possible fit them all into the same composition. Almost everything that was said got an “Ohhh, yeah! I like that! Let’s use that!” And the worst part was, they were all incredible ideas. We spent a lot of time working out how to really show the physical change caused by cosmetic surgery.
We spent some time considering the markings drawn on the skin, showing where the doctor would be cutting. I certainly thought it would be an interesting image, having someone’s face nearly blacked out with things they wanted to change about themselves. But, as we worked, we realized that it would be messy, and whoever was marked would need to get cleaned up fast, so we abandoned the idea. After some more talk, we stumbled onto another great idea: paper bags. Everyone got a hold of a paper back and drew a face on it, a ridiculous, horrific face that not even plastic surgery could create. For example, one thing I said during the performance was that I’d gotten an eyelift (blepharoplasty). So, on my bag, I drew two huge, uneven, misshapen eyes.
The final product was amazing. There we were, looking like monsters, chattering on about how great we all looked. I didn’t realize this until after we’d already done ours, but the only actual human face that’s seen is Cara’s (the only one who, until we finished with her, hadn’t had any work done), and once we get our hands on her, she got a bag of her own.
I’ll end with a quick summary of our composition:
Our question, “How much can you change about yourself and still be you?”
Our anchor, “A plastic surgery party!”
Our structure, “Rehab.”
Jocelyn, Grace and I are all together, bagged, whispering to each other when Cara enters. We hug, reminisce, and have a seat. Things get increasingly awkward as we point out to Cara all the work we’ve had done. As we ready to pounce, she tries to make a run for it. But she’s out of luck, we grab her, hold her down and get to work, sucking and implanting and doing all sorts of crazy things to her until, finally, a bag is thrust upon her head and the transformation is complete! The three of us back off and begin to sing “I Feel Pretty,” from West Side Story as Cara (who’s not looking so pretty), tries to dance around the stage. As the song ends, Cara tries to pick up her chair. POP! POP! Her implants explode and she slowly sinks to the ground, deflating and very dead. The three of us then make a very quick exit (better get out of there to avoid a malpractice suit, right?), leaving Cara alone onstage.
Curtain.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Sports Injuries are the worst.
So here's the outline of my research project on Sports injuries that I will be presenting on Thursday! :)
“In the United States, about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and there are more than 3.5 million injuries each year... By far, the most common injuries are sprains and strains.”
In an article by New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital titled, “Sports Injury Statistics,” football is explained to be one of the most dangerous sports. The most common kind of injuries in contact sports are those from contact trauma. But, there are also plenty of injuries in non-contact sports, such as swimming, and those injuries are mostly related to overusing and straining your muscles or body parts to the point of injury.
Some interesting statistics by National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): “Although death from a sports injury is rare, the leading cause of death from a sports-related injury is a brain injury... Sports and recreational activities contribute to approximately 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries... More than 775,000 teens are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year.” The article goes on to say that the highest rate of sports injuries involve contact collisions, but the more severe injuries happen in individual sports, and often at practice, about 62%. Another interesting statistic, “Sports-related injury severity increases with age.”
As the article gets more specific into the specific sports where injuries are common, things get a little more scary when baseball is mentioned. “Nearly 117,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for baseball-related injuries. Baseball also has the highest fatality rate, with three to four children dying from baseball injuries each year.” Baseball may have the highest fatality rate, but football still takes the lead with almost 194,000 teens hospitalized a year.
My younger sister has been among the 100,000 persons that need ACL reconstruction surgery a year. “About 80% of sports-related ACL tears are ‘non-contact’ injuries. This means that the injury occurs without the contact of another athlete, such as a tackle in football. Most often ACL tears occur when pivoting or landing from a jump. The knee gives-out from under the athlete when the ACL is torn (Cluett, 2011), ” What You Need to Know About ACL Tears explains.
When interviewing my little sister Blair, a volleyball player who tore her ACL, and meniscus, she remembers the experience with anxiety. She was a sophomore in high school, and it was during the summer practices, just weeks before the season began. “We were running a drill where two of us chased the ball down the court to see who could recover it first. When I twisted slightly to the direction of the ball, I just heard a pop and then I was on the ground screaming.” Blair explained her ACL tearing as the most painful injury she had ever had in her life. She was out of practice, and in physical therapy for nearly a month before the doctor decided to order ACL reconstruction surgery. At this point, the season had already started, and Blair was watching her team play from the bench.
After Blair had surgery on her leg, she missed weeks of school, and more weeks of practice. “Not one of my teammates came to visit me in the hospital or at my home. It was like because I wasn’t playing, I didn’t exist to them.” As she explains the aftermath of her surgery, she becomes choked up, and even though it’s been a year since her injury, she is obviously still hurt about it. The injury ended up ending Blair’s volleyball career, and for her junior year in high school she went out for the cheerleading squad instead. “At the first practice, I threw a backhand spring and broke my knee cap on the same freaking knee.” This injury was nowhere near severe as the ACL and didn’t require surgery, but it showed Blair how difficult and long recovery is. Recovery from an ACL injury can be anywhere from 9 months to over a year.
Blair, myself, and hundreds of athletes around Louisville, and Lexington have visited Max Performance Physical Therapy, located in Shelbyville, KY. The establishment is known for their caring staff, and unbelievable success rate, getting athletes back to their sports and healthy. Alice, is a Licensed Physical Therapist and a co-owner of Max Performance says, “I love having the opportunity to work with people on a daily basis and help to improve their quality of life. It is so rewarding to see someone return to the activities they enjoy without pain. I also enjoy helping middle school, high school and college athletes recover from injuries and return to playing. It is very fulfilling to see the athletes back out on the court or field after sustaining injuries.”
To be involved with sports medicine and sports rehabilitation, you have to be strong, and steadfast. “As with my former EMS job, I get to work with people on a personal basis helping them with their medical problems. However, at Max Performance, unlike EMS, I get to continue helping people throughout their whole recovery. It’s not just treating their injuries; it’s getting to know them, being there for them, even if it’s just offering a listening ear. Hopefully I can make their day a little brighter,” Les, another physical therapist at Max says. It’s a long and anxious process for the athletes, knowing that they are injured and their teammates are out there still playing. It can be depressing for the athletes, so having physical therapists like Alice and Les helping them along in their process, it makes a world of difference. People like them can change lives, just by being supportive.
The research of sports injuries and sports medicine has been an interesting search. The most intense thing to me is actually talking to the athletes that have gone their horrific experiences, and not knowing if they will ever play again. And when these athletes make their sport their life, losing the ability to play can have extensive effects on their well being. It can be a very scary thing.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Everyday Life Performance and the Development of Character
First, here are two videos. The first is a 60 Minutes interview with Anna Deavere Smith from 1994, I think, in which she talks with Ed Bradley about her work in Twilight: Los Angeles and Fires in the Mirror.
The second is a video of a performance assignment from a class I taught in 2009, in which students took a community based approach to developing character. They interviewed members of the community to build characters who were, in some way, completely different from who they imagined themselves to be, either in terms of race or gender or temprament. They were encouraged to include pieces of the interviews they conducted along with their own performances of those people to give the audience a sense of both how they were different from those people, and how they were able to empathize with them through performing their words:
One of the reasons this work seems useful when working with communities of people outside the classroom to develop a play is that it offers a different kind of research, that is, research that is qualitatively different than what's done using books and articles and the Internet. It's a physical kind of research that, I hope, results in a new kind of engagement with and empathy for other people, and a kind of embodied experience of the community.
Also, as I wrote on the blog for a previous semester of a class similar to this one, I appreciate the focus Deavere Smith's work gives both to empathy and difference. In her introduction to Fires in the Mirror, she writes, "Character lives in the obvious gap between the real person and my attempt to seem like them. I try to close the gap between us, but I applaud the gap between us. I am willing to display my own unlikeness" (xxxvii-xxxviii). Training actors for professional careers is so frequently internally focused and intent on emphasizing an actor's ability to be "natural," and actors in mainstream theatre, television and film are so often limited to roles "like them" into which they can conveniently and believably be cast, the value of listening, observing and behaving differently doesn't get enough time or attention. On a very basic level, it helps with certain important skills for an actor. In another sense, it helps with skills that are useful as a citizen and human being!