Semester 2

Arts TRYathlon #1: Choose Your Own Adventure

1-27-24, Gildenhorn Theater, Three Sisters Who are not Sisters

#music #theater #opera

I attended this performance to support my friend, Isabelle Marcus, and can say with confidence that this was one of the strangest shows I've ever watched. The plot consisted of five orphan children, three girls and two boys, playing pretend murderers. This was my first opera, but I've watched a lot of musical theater, so I thought it would be similar. While it is similar, opera has more of a focus on clarity and emotion over flashy dance scenes. While the plot seems like a shallow playtime activity, the underlying message was actually about girlhood. The main character, a mischievous girl named Jenny, suggests that they play a game where they get murdered. All of the children scamped off the stage, and one of the boys decided to start "killing" his siblings. Jenny hid around the stage and watched her sisters and brother get "murdered" by their other brother. However, the "corpses" of her siblings kept saying "she killed me." To me, this represented a resentment of Jenny for suggesting the game in the first place, even though they all agreed to play the game. It was only after Jenny got the murderer brother to confess that they all forgot about the game and went to sleep. I was frustrated with the children because they were playing into societies ideal of micromanaging a woman's every action and then once it is discovered that a man did it, the action is insignificant. This pattern shows up in school, work, and playtime. Who knew a thirty minute opera could dissect sexism?

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

3-1-24, Kay Theater, Men on Boats

#theater #visualarts

The TDPS production of Men on Boats was an insightful look at how to ironically portray history. The "semi" true story about exploring the Grand Canyon is told by cross dressing women and people who would not be considered renowned explorers in the 19th century. The actors shared the story of the explorers naming land after themselves, getting into squabbles, and eventually being forgotten. While this story was very entertaining, the part about the play that intrigued me was the design of the whole show. 

The set was massive textured walls made to look like the sides of the grand canyon. The walls moved to create new landscapes so it felt like the audience was being taken through the canyon with the explorers. Since the name of the show is literally "Men on Boats" the actors were on boats. But, the boats were just the gunnels, stern, and bow. Just like Fred Flintstone in his car, the actors steered the boats with their arms holding the sides and legs sticking out of the bottom. The blue flashing lights added to the effect of the raging Colorado River and emphasized when the actors were in water scenes and when they were on a bank. The sounds for the show were also amazing.

I am taking the sound designer’s class right now, so I saw some of the behind the scenes of the production. There were speakers everywhere that were programmed with different effects like birds up in the catwalks. There were also river rapids panning across the audience depending on the script and how the actors were leaning. The sfx line up was very impressive. Usually for plays, there aren’t many background noises (maybe a telephone or a bird), but this play had over 200 ques. Overall, the show was truly impressive and I hope I have the privilege to see it again.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

Event Logistics  2-22-24, Art Scholar's Lounge, Scratch Your (He)Art Away

#visualart

This event brought back childhood memories. Anything with a rainbow background will look cool, which makes colorful scratch offs perfect for introducing young artists to the concept of negative space. While scratching intricate designs on a paper made for a second grader, I sat at a table with three other people chatting about childhood, tests, and life.

It was cool to see people who usually draw experimenting with their art style. I am not a drawer, so I don’t have many skills in my drawing arsenal, but I definitely took inspiration from the person sitting next to me who was making intricate mosaics. 

There was no real rhyme or reason to my art, I was just trying to make something that flowed. I had a pretty stressful week with lots of tests and homework, so it was refreshing to just be able to focus on a small and simple task. I hung my two masterpieces over my desk as a reminder to take breaks and go with the flow. Art can be a way to relax and ground yourself, which I definitely did during this workshop.