Shakespearean - Enrichment Experience Opportunities

This academic year the HYSA Middle Year theatre students have had the opportunity to explore Shakespeare from various angles.  They have been introduced to inventive vocal and physical actions, to the relevance of William Shakespeare's art to the human experience, and to the basic elements of Elizabethan performance and production. Various works have been considered to generate an appreciation of the significance of the Bard to reveal human motivation and consequence.

Exploring Shakespeare's Language

In Richard II Shakespeare wrote a single-sentence monologue that many scholars have noted as one of "the most stirring paeans to England ever written".

"This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise,

This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war,

This happy breed of men, this little world,

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands,

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm this England...."

During World War II Churchill quoted the monologue on his radio broadcast to spark the English people to "never surrender "and to hold fast against overwhelming actions. In class the students explored this speech and others in preparation for performing the World War II based production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. 

Shakespeare - Live Theatre Fieldtrip 

A recent National Endowment of the Arts and the US Department of Education article highlighted an Arts and Education Partnership study that demonstrated "there can be lasting and sustainable outcomes, educational outcomes that are produced through students participating in these one-time, culturally enriching experiences. These kinds of enriching experiences actually connect students and the school to the community in very meaningful ways.”

In February a school-wide fieldtrip afforded HYSA students the chance to expand their understanding of Shakespeare’s language at a live performance of the comedy "As You Like It". The production was staged by the Southwest Shakespeare Company at the Mesa Arts Center. This is annual live theatre event has introduced the HYSA scholars to Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and The Merchant of Venice.

Courtyard Shakespeare - Public Space Experience

Courtyard theatre was all about throwing open your shop windows and being drawn into the performance experience as you glimpsed a traveling troupe come into the village on a cart.

Using an open air space reflects facets of both the early English public playhouses as well as the courtyards of inns that had been temporarily converted into theaters. These are some of the roots of The Bard. Roots that might have inspired his deep commitment to his workshop-style of writing and his love of the theatre.

Middle Year theatre students offered just such an experience complete with food, Facepaint, music, and snippets from Shakespeare's works to a warm and welcoming audience. Public Space and early Shakespearean theater performance relied heavily on the relationship between the people onstage and off. As the backdrop for this experience is the audience, the presence of the audience is critical to a successful outcome. To see additional pictures from the aforementioned events go the HYSA Thespian Society Events and Photo Gallery Webpage.

A Quick Glimpse into FLIGHT

Artistry and Accolades. Playwrights and... Penguins?  What is running through our minds as we stand at the ready to “act”? What makes you ready to take FLIGHT? What possessed artists and scientists to risk embarrassment by creating “art”?

Using the works of Shakespeare, Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”, and Randy Pausch's “The Last Lecture” as a backdrop, FLIGHT (Fulfilling Life in Galvanizing Humanist Theatre) theatre students began their investigation into individuals who are willing to take risks. 

The first semester of the course culminated in a service learning experience that included the staging of  "The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe".

The play was selected because it applied the themes the class had been exploring and provided the students an opportunity to delve into the various aspects of stagecraft. 

Central to “The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe” is the story of four children faced with the unimaginable – a world at war. Their journey is one wherein the imagination tempers evil so that one may meet it by awakening personal fortitude, mustering courage, facing mortality, and finally embracing forgiveness. Their transformation mirrors that of a soldier at wartime. Such a moment is not the norm for most. Narnia is a galvanizing moment for each of them to find victory. They are no longer powerless children sent to the country. Each is a future king or queen of Narnia capable of acting with wisdom and strength.

To see additional pictures and read the student reflections about the experience go to the HYSA Thespian Society Mainstage Productions webpage. 

Poetry Highlights at HYSA

With March 2018 being named "Arizona Youth Arts Month" and National Poetry Month just around the corner, it seemed an appropriate time to take a moment to highlight some of the HYSA thespians' poetry experiences.

POETRY OUT LOUD


"Reciting poetry fills my heart with happiness. Poetry out loud has been an exhilarating experience full of surprises. I love being able to move people with my words." - Drew









HYSA has been active with Poetry Out Loud for six years. The competition begins as a school-wide event each fall. Finalists from the first tier go on to compete for the title and the opportunity to represent HYSA at the Central Region POL competition. The last two years HYSA winners have won first and second place at the regional level.

Poetry Out Loud encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.

Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 3 million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 schools in every state, Washington, DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.



ASU SPARKY SLAM

This year the HYSA Thespian Society hosted the Second Annual Sparkly Slam event in the Black Box Theatre.

Arizona State University’s Sparky Slam was a valley-wide spoken word poetry contest featuring original work by students in grades 5–12.  Sparky Slam debuted in the spring of 2017.  Dr. Wendy Williams, of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts developed the spoken word event for the purpose of welcoming young people onto a college campus, celebrating youth voices, and providing young artists with writing support from ASU faculty and students.

This year, a writing workshop for the youth performers took place right before the slam. ASU students worked with these performing poets in small groups to offer encouragement and advice. ASU's Sparky Slam was co-sponsored by the Herberger Young Scholars Academy of ASU's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and by ASU's College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

"While Sparky got the audience smiling, it was the young poets who brought the crowd to their feet. Fourteen valley schools competed in the 2018 Sparky Slam, This intercollegiate event included faculty members from Barrett Honors College, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (and the Institute for Humanities Research), College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, New College, WP Carey School of Business, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and MLF Teachers College. 

The HYSA Thespian Society was well represented at the competition.  Executive Board members, Carly and Ben, and Secondary One thespian, Drew, offered their unique poetry to the event. Offstage the poets were supported by the technical production team of Joseph, Robert, and Royce. In addition, HYSA alumni and 2016-2017 Thespian Society co-president Isabel Greenberg acted as one of the ASU undergraduate Writer's Workshop mentors." -- HYSA Thespian Society Event Stream  

THE HYSA THESPIAN SOCIETY MUSICAL INTERLUDE SERIES

"A dash of theatrical lighting, sixty black chairs, a grand piano, and the musical and poetic talents of the HYSA thespians made the inaugural "Musical Interlude Series" performance a wonderful way to launch the HYSA Black Box Theatre."  - HYSA Thespian Society Event Stream 

This was how the launch of the Musical Interlude Series was announced.  The series afforded HYSA students the opportunity to share their musical and spoke word skills with peers and family. The success of the 2017 - 2018 series assures its spot as a HYSA Thespian Society ongoing event.

UPCOMING POETRY

The HYSA Thespian Performance Outreach Program will be combining poetry and sculpture for a service learning outreach this spring. The outreach will be at a Title One art classroom and will explore how what we create speaks to one in many ways.

For additional information about the aforementioned events:

Poetry Out Loud Website
ASU Sparky Slam
HYSA Thespian Society Event Stream Webpage

Upcoming Theatrical Events

Wednesday, March 14th - Outreach Production Rehearsal
Wednesday, March 21st - HYSA Thespian Society Meeting
Friday - March 23rd - IGCSE Drama (0411) - Recording
Friday, March 23rd - HYSA Thespian Society Literacy & Theatre Outreach  
Wednesday, March 28th - HYSA Thespian Society Meeting "Trivia Bowl Event"

Shakespeare - Food for Thought

Working from authentic 16th century recipes Secondary One scholars created Shakespearean/Elizabethan Era dishes as part of a series of projects exploring the culinary aspects of The Bard's writings.

The recipes were prepared at home and brought to the Theatre of the Mind class to share with peers. Each scholar researched the dish and its elements. The project afforded scholars the opportunity to explain the history of his or her recipe, what connection Shakespeare's plays might have had to the dish, and a chance to "taste" something "new."

“And, most dear actors, eat no onions or garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words: Away! Go, away!”

                             -  "Henry IV, Pt. II"

For Additional Feast and Preparation Photos 

HYSA Thespian Society - Secondary One "Exploring Shakespeare"

Student Research:  Food Facts

Apple Puffins were a favorite Fall dish usually served to the nobility.

Apples are mentioned in "Shakespeare's Love’s Labour Lost.“

"Ripe as a pomewater, who now hangeth like a jewel.”(Try writing that with spell check).  A pomewater is a juicy and firm apple, and one of England's best apples. They are also mentioned in “The Taming the Shrew.”  “There is little choice in rotten apples.” (I didn’t use rotten apples in my recipe). 

Sugar was very pricey in 16th century England, as it had to be imported. So, most people used honey to sweeten their food.

It is often thought that the stereotype of English people having bad teeth comes from Queen Elizabeth I’s love for sugar. As a royal figure, she had access to the best ingredients and food of the time. Perhaps the queen and her court suffered from their intense love for sugar, as their teeth decayed, yellowed and perhaps even blackened.  Some scholars thought this became a status symbol, and people would purposely blacken their teeth. Another interesting myth about sugar in Elizabethan England was that it had medicinal properties, and could actually clean teeth. When in practice, rubbing the teeth with sugar paste only worsened the condition of the teeth of Englishmen.  

 
Buttered cauliflower, isn't mentioned in any of Shakespeare’s plays, but there is a line that may refer to a cauliflower itself in "Henry IV Part 1," “Nor more shall trenching war channel her fields, Nor bruise her​ flow'rets with the armed hoofs Of hostile paces.”

Spinach Fritters was considered extravagant (some people used one gallon of butter to fry it.) The dish can be made using other vegetables. Spinach fritters were popular because they were easy to make and were useful for filling out menus.  Spinach is thought to have originated in ancient Persia. 

This salad recipe was first published in 1660, around the time when beets where first becoming popular in salads. The Babylonians first used oil and vinegar on greens to make salad, but the Greeks and the Romans spread it across Europe. 

Spices were an expensive luxury. A royal charter issued in 1600 by Queen Elizabeth I created the East India Company.  Slowly, the English saw the rise in affordable spices.

In some cities the word spice became synonymous with poison. Supporting this thought is the quote, "she'll first receive thee, but will spice thy bread with flowery poison."

There are many different types of spice bread, such as orange, cranberry, and apple.

Pippins are dessert applies.  Apple coils can be a source of great

annoyance.

During Shakespeare's time England was becoming a great power and part of its power was based on the diversity of its food stores.

Quince pie is a royalty dish because of its unique taste and the rarity of the quince fruit (now it is not). It was the type of dish that could be served to Queen Elizabeth. The quince is a fruit that grows in western Asia and is harvested during the fall and is said to be very delicious. Fun fact if you don't know what a quince looks like or is it's like the shape of a pear with the skin of a orange and the color of a lemon and the taste of a pear mixed with a apple mixed with a lemon or orange. Basically, it is a acidic pear with the skin of an orange.

Shrewsbury Cakes were first known to be made in the 1500s around the same time William Shakespeare was born.  “Short [meaning rich] as a Shrewsbury cake” was a popular saying in England. 

One of the main ingredients is rosewater – which is created by simmering rose petals until the water turns pink. The first use of cakes and ale with that allusion is made by Sir Toby Belch in William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."

Upcoming Theatrical Events

Wednesday, February 21st - HYSA Thespian Society Meeting
Thursday, February 22nd -  A-Level and IGCSE HUM Theatre Fieldtrip to the "The Hobbit"
Friday, February 23rd - HYSA Thespian Society Outreach (Theatre & Robotics )
Saturday, February 24th - Hosting the Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition Wednesday, February 28th - HYSA Thespian Society Meeting "Tech Challenge" Games

For Additional HYSA Theatre Info:  HYSA Thespian Society