Once on This Island Audition

Auditions for Once on This Island will take place on Wednesday, 12/2 and Thursday, 12/3 in room B2 from 3:15 pm to 5:15 pm. Students in all grades are encouraged to try out. Those who wish to participate must have a signed permission slip. All students must arrive promptly and be prepared to sing and act out a dramatic dialogue. No food or drink will be allowed in B2.

Synopsis
There is a violent storm raging around a small Caribbean island in the French Antilles. A frightened child is being comforted by the storytellers. The island is inhabited by the Grands Hommes, who are the rich landowners, and the peasants, who are poor and have to scrape for a living. An orphan girl named Ti Moune is adopted by two old peasants, Mama Euralie and Tonton Julian. She is then chosen for a special fate by Erzulie, goddess of love and saved for a special destiny by Asaka, mother of the Earth. Now a grown-up, Ti Moune sees the handsome Daniel Beauxhomme passing by in his fine car. In a storm created by Agwe, god of water, the car crashes and Ti Moune rushes to Daniel’s rescue. By cheating the Demon of Death, Papa Ge, Ti Moune saves Daniel's life, but pays a terrible price- her soul.

Ti Moune wants to marry Daniel, but Mama Euralie points out the impossibility of this as they are from different social classes. Nevertheless, they become lovers. As Daniel recovers, he realizes his responsibilities; his bride-to-be is the rich Andrea Devereaux and the announcement of their engagement is made at a grand ball. Papa Ge arrives to claim Ti Moune. It is only by killing Daniel that she can save herself from her part in the Devil's bargain. Of course, she is unable to do the only thing that can save her.
After Daniel and Andrea are married, they appear at the front of the hotel and throw coins to the peasants. Daniel gives a coin to Ti Moune but she is dying. Her life and untimely death leave a positive ending to the story - the power of love conquers the fear of death.

Lead Roles:
Ti Moune: a girl who saves Daniel and falls in love with him.
Daniel: Rich guy who crashed his car and gets saved by Ti Moune
Mama Euralie: Ti Moune's Aunt
Tonton Julien: Ti Moune's Uncle
Asaka: goddess of the earth
Agwe: god of water
Erzulie: goddess of love
Papa Ge: god of death
Andrea: Daniel's betrothed
Gatekeeper: guard at Daniel's mansion

Good luck to all who audition.

LOST Season 6: Can. Not. Wait.

Check out this video for an extremely truncated recap of seasons 1-5:



The final season of LOST (the best TV show ever) begins early January, 2010.
OMG! (a la Ms. H.)

Pass The Peas!!!

OK so tomorrow is Thanksgiving which got me to thinking about one of the funniest Martin episodes ever: the one in which Martin's mother and her cousin come over to help Gina and Pam cook Thanksgiving dinner. I remember watching this episode on VHS with my friends back in the days about 3 times in a row. The audio quality is not the greatest but enjoy this clip anyway. LOL at 0:25 and 1:55! LOLOLOL

Auditorium Upgrade!!!

We're getting an auditorium upgrade! The curtains will mimic the uniform colors (khaki and green) and the lighting system will be brand new. Look out for the improvements.

Precious

I publish this post reluctantly because I don't want to encourage students to see this film. I'm just responding to it as a piece of art, therefore I won't get into particulars. The movie really lived up to the hype. The two lead actresses deserve Academy Award nominations.

Random Thoughts

1. I hope the Yankees lose.
2. I'm exhausted.
3. I didn't vote and I'm fine with that.
4. Thank you to all the SHSAT kids who came in on their day off.
5. I've accumulated 106 sick days in 12 years and I need to take a few.
6. I love bacon.
7. I can't afford the BMW X5.
8. Music has healing power.
9. Can't wait for the last season of LOST.
10. See #2

This Is It

I never got around to submitting a post when Michael Jackson unexpectedly passed away in June. It was the last week of school and I was running around getting ready for summer school doing a million things just like I usually do that time of year. As a dancer, I have always been in awe of MJ. A music video vanguard, MJ created choreography/movement imagery that is indelible and causes you to do the steps in your head when you hear a particular song. This Is It is a reminder of his sheer brilliance in style, technique and execution. I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary which captured rehearsal performances for what would have been a 50 date concert in London. Undoubtedly, the show would have been awesome.



The film genuinely documents MJ's good health, unwavering talent and incredible work ethic before his untimely demise. His rehearsals were better and more entertaining than some artists' live performances before an audience. There were more live vocals than I would have predicted. In fact, there were no vocal tracks. The highlight / most memorable moment for me was Billie Jean. It was sick. Awesome. A testament to what an artist should be. All in all, it was great to get a glimpse into MJ's creative process as he and the wonderfully talented dancers, singers and musicians ran through the set list in conjunction with Kenny Ortega's direction.



So before the year is out, I will put forth my best effort to work with some students to mount a proper tribute to MJ on the Bildersee stage.