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Arts May 2016
An OCSA Prize at OC RYSE
Nina Cereno Staff Writer
For 12 straight hours ( the total time a show spends in a tech week ) on April 9 , close to 100 student competitors in the Orange County Regional Youth Slam Event ( OC RYSE ) let their voices ring out in the Webb Theater , reciting poems full of energy and precision .
Rising up to hold OC- SA ’ s first place title was Team That Fleurs de Malheurs Vibe .
Team members from the Creative Writing conservatory -- seniors Alex Chasteen , Blue Fay , and Lily Spira , and juniors Cassandra Hsiao , Julia Jorgensen , and Lily Williams -- took home the $ 1,000 top prize .
Williams said , “ What I like to do is think about having the poem as a conversation . Even though it ’ s basically written in one voice .”
Her group performance was the only one in the final round to receive all perfect 10s .
“ We just break it to however it will sound best ... I think everybody has two different ‘ faces ’ inside them . When I ’ m writing I feel those personalities come out , and I try to break it up to what aspect of my personality is speaking it . Plus , it sounds nice ,” said Williams .
The purpose of OC RYSE is to showcase students from across the Orange and LA counties and display great poetry to the public .
This year , the nearly 100 participants came from high schools like La Quinta , Pacifica , Sage Hill , SOCHSA , and Westminster . The first round was split into two heats on two stages - the Webb Theatre stage and Cabaret Lounge stage - so everyone could perform .
Josh Wood , director of Creative Writing and coordinator of OC RYSE , said , “ When I used to go to poetry readings as a kid , I would think ‘ This is so boring ,’ but I loved poetry . I wanted to create a venue where something I loved , poetry , could be as moving and engaging as I knew it could be .”
For the compeition , teams must memorize a classic poem by an existing poet , then perform one of their own original works .
Junior Axl Avenido ( IA ) said , “ The original and already-owned poems recited by solo participants and teams were spectacular . Everyone did an amazing job--very passionate ! The poet culture is so much different than I expected , a lot of soft vocal applauses and snaps and such . It was very very interesting . I think despite it being a competition , there ’ s definitely a bond .”
OC RYSE also linked writers from different conservatories . Junior Amelia Newett from the Integreated Arts Conservatory that placed second .
Newett said , “ I ’ ve been doing spoken and slam poetry outside of school for two years now , and Mr . Wood suggested that I find a team to join . It was such a neat experience ... and I can ’ t wait to do it again next year !”
Such initiative sets an example for other people , including younger performers . This year elementary school kids came and gave additional poetry performance Allison Rodri-
Audience Sees Heaven
Dan Shields Staff Writer
“ Dog Sees God : Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead ” by Bert V . Royal is a play in which the kids from the “ The Peanuts ” gang are all grown up and beginning to face real-world issues such as drug abuse , rebellion , and identity .
Produced entirely by a group of seniors in the Acting Conservatory , the show premiered the weekend of April 29th at The Performer ’ s Academy in Lake Forest . Because “ Dog Sees God ” was an independent production , the students were collectively in charge of renting a performance space , creating a set and props , and curating wardrobe .
Unlike the original comics , the play reveals the darker side of “ The Peanuts .”
“ The play begins when a traumatic incident in Charlie Brown ’ s life occurs ,” says Senior Rochelle Gluzman ( ACT ) . Without revealing too much , “ The play continues when he deals with the repercussions of [ this trauma ] and how he discovers his identity without the most important part of his life ,” said Gluzman , who was also the production coordinator .
With her connections and networking , she was able to reserve their space at The Performer ’ s Academy as well as hire a director , Paris Arrowsmith , for a short amount of time for technique and character refinement .
Gluzman remembers when she first saw the play , put on by the OCSA class of 2013 . She fell in love with it and knew she had to do the same in her senior year .
Over the course of seven months the actors were cast : Kyle Bode as CB ( based on Charlie Brown ), Jeremy Garcia as Beethoven ( Schroeder ), Tamar Rubin as CB ’ s Sister ( Sally ), Dominic LeDuc as Van ( Linus ), Sarah Rochelle Gluzman as Van ’ s Sister ( Lucy ), and Bella Urbani as Tricia ( Peppermint Patty ).
Being friends , the chemistry of the aspiring actors was vibrant .
“ It ’ s a fun show to do , and it ’ s a show that applies to us . It ’ s not like we ’ re playing 40 year olds . These are teenagers who go through their lives , so it ’ s very [ relatable ],” says Garcia .
After their first performance , Senior Grace Durham ( MT ) exclaimed ,“ I have seen ‘ Dog Sees God ’ many times and have never seen it as raw , real , and captivating as this version .” Of the cast Durham said , “ Their chemistry was undeniable and created one of the most put-together productions of any show I ’ ve seen thus far .”
“ It was pretty intense to go into it right off the bat ” says Senior Jack Irvine ( IA ) who was the marketing coordinator and set / prop master for the show , “ It ’ s been a really fun show . It really has a lot to say .” Audience members left the performance knowing what these young , seasoned actors can accomplish when they pour all their effort , passion , and heart into a production . The result was absolutely incredible .
CW Juniors Cassandra Hsiao and Julia Jorgensen helped their team take first place at OC RYSE Photo Courtesy : Cheryl Walsh
guez , a fifth grader from OCEAA , the elementary school across Sycamore from OCSA , was invited by eventual winner Jorgensen to perform in the first half .
“ Something that was special particularly to me was that one of the 5th graders I teach at Community Arts Outreach [ a class in Creative Writing ] came to perform at one of the breaks as an exhibition and to represent
actual assembly on Friday impacted everyone because you saw everyone that got pulled out of class so you knew exactly who they were . It was almost one person from every conservatory . Everyone at least knew someone there pretty well . So , I think that hit everyone pretty hard .”
Then Sirset ’ s parents came up to the stage to read a eulogy for their daughter . This brought many students to tears . Sirset ’ s father read aloud that Teagan was an incredible part of their lives who would be missed greatly . The emotional state of her parents could be felt by everyone in the audience .
After , Sirset walked on stage to read what her last words to her parents would have been . “ That was really hard for me ,” said Sirset , “ The writing of it and reading of it in front of the class because I was already vulnerable the next generation of poets ,” said Jorgensen .
The world of poetry can seem like a completely different realm and it ’ s always a surprise to listen how others interpret one piece compared to the next .
There aren ’ t always going to be opportunities for people to share their responses in poetry , but thankfully OC RYSE gives new writers and poets a chance to do so .
Every 15 Minutes cont .
enough but then I was put in front of all these people . Crying on stage was a really hard thing for me .”
Then Sarah Harrod ’ s eulogy from her parents was read aloud by Mrs . Leimkhuler , Leadership teacher and organizer of the assembly . “ I couldn ’ t listen tp my parents read it ” said Harrod “ so I had to have someone else read it .”
Amy Lemp , mother of Rachel , who played one of the living dead , said “ It was , of course , different and sad . She brings a lot of energy and life to the house . So when she was gone , she was missed .”
Sirset said , “ For me , the most moving part was my mom and my dad reading the eulogy . They say they love me and stuff like that but I never really hear all of that on a day to day basis . I know how much they love me , but it was just a lot .”