Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Self Discovery poetry slam prompt #3

Please use one of the following lines and create a poem to perform.

Remember to use metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, repetition, alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme (if you wish), and figurative language to improve your imagery.

Prompts:
1. My poetry...

2. This poem...

3. I am writing a poem...

Save Somebody's Life NJ

Copy, paste and go to this video link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPd_YuXgjn4

Monday, December 15, 2008

Slam Poem - Assignment #2

Choose a line. Any line. Use this line as an anchor, a repetition of idea or theme.

Some sample lines might be:

I believe...
When I die, I want...
The world I live in...
This is for...
Tomorrow I will go...

or pick any other line starter you'd like.

Use metaphor or simile or allusion or personification to help explore your theme.

Slam Nation

Slam poetry has become a "literary sport" in the past decade. Please view the film: Slamnation. As you watch this film consider the following:

Learn the history of the form. Where did it come from? Why? Who was involved?

Watch professional performance poets. Examine their technique and performance style. What do you notice? Which performers in your opinion are the best? Why?

What are the poets writing about? If you like any of the themes, try writing your own poems using similar themes.

Finally, after the film, please post a comment on the blog about what you thought of the movie and the sport "Slam".

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Slam Poetry - Intro

A Brief Guide to Slam Poetry

Taken from Poets.org.

"One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized interest in poetry in performance. Poetry began as part of an oral tradition, and movements like the Beats and the poets of Negritude were devoted to the spoken and performed aspects of their poems. This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, slam was well received among young poets and poets of diverse backgrounds as a democratizing force. This generation of spoken word poetry is often highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject manner.

A slam itself is simply a poetry competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams before an audience, which serves as judge. The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style, and many slam poems are not intended to be read silently from the page. The structure of the traditional slam was started by construction worker and poet Marc Smith in 1986 at a reading series in a Chicago jazz club. The competition quickly spread across the country, finding a notable home in New York City at the Nuyorican Poets Café."

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Zoo Story - Play project

Read and follow the steps below to complete this project:

1. Plays are meant to be performed by live actors (the dead ones are not as animate).

2. Playwrights (play wright, as in wheel wright or crafter) craft their plays around intense CONFLICT.

3. As stated previously, there are four types of conflict:
a. Person versus Person
b. Person versus Self
c. Person versus Nature
d. Person versus Society or God (a force larger than themselves)

4. The best plays include conflict type A and D. Types B & C are common, but type C is not as effectual in a play script. Type B is also used frequently and can be very effective. Usually, characters who are in conflict with themselves struggle with their own morals or beliefs about a situation, trying to work it out verbally in the presence of other characters. But they must speak! At different times in the play, The Zoo Story includes many conflict types: A, B, and D, specifically.

5. You are going to create your own short play following the standard playwriting format. The standard playwriting format is the following:

a. Stage directions are usually italicized and enclosed in (parenthesis).
b. A character who speaks a line has their name in CAPITAL LETTERS.
c. The character’s name is centered on the page.
d. Lines that are spoken (dialogue) are NOT centered.
e. A directional comment is placed in italics and parenthesis next to the name of the character speaking, if relevant. Many playwrights try to avoid these unless the dialogue is cryptic. Technically, the dialogue needs to indicate the emotion, not the stage direction.
f. Short actions or stage directions that indicate physical activity are enclosed in parenthesis and italicized when the action occurs during the spoken line (usually the beginning).
g. Long or complex actions that include technical information can either be off-set as its own stage direction (in parenthesis and italicized) or embedded in the line of dialogue.
h. Scripts are NOT double spaced. There is always a skipped blank line (one of these only) between lines of dialogue.

If you get lost or confused, take a look at the format in the book you are reading. Being observant helps.

6. Your “play” should be fewer than 10 pages and longer than 4. (7-8 is preferable.)

7. You should set your play in one setting only. Do not change scenes yet.

8. Pick a setting that reflects your characters, their motivation or what they want or desire, the conflict (see #3), or the mood of your scene.

9. Include no more than four (4) characters.

10. For each character you add, give a short description about them in the beginning of the script. See pg. 11 as an example.

11. Describe the initial action and situation of the play. What is happening when the lights go up or the curtain rises? Again an example of this can be found on page 11-12.

12. Your play MUST include at least one monologue. Monologues are effective in developing characters. For a good example of this, see the story of Jerry and the Dog (pages 36-44).

13. Due date is set for Tuesday, Dec.9.

Homework: Please go ahead and read The Death of Bessie Smith and the Sandbox as other examples of absurdist theatre.

The purpose of absurdist theatre is to metaphorically or figuratively comment on some aspect of the human condition in symbolic terms. Often, in absurd plays, the meaning reflects the existential philosophy of the playwright (which can be bleak sometimes). Part of the fun of Absurdism is the dream-like quality of the story (which doesn’t always make sense at the moment). After reading these two plays, respond to them as a reader and writer. Consider what surprised or pleased you, what frustrated you with the style or characters, what you would do differently, what you understood and got out of the play, etc. Your response will be due also on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Monday, December 1, 2008

The Zoo Story

1. Research Edward Albee. Take brief notes about his career and style of writing.

2. Go the library and check out the play: Zoo Story by Edward Albee.

3. Get together in the following reading groups:
a. Adeline, Alex, Brianna
b. Monica, Jerry, Zach
c. Justice, Alaina, Whitney
d. Khari, Tashae, Kennethea
e. Nautica, Victoria, Wade
f. Aubrey, Shayla, Valerie
g. Jenee, Nancy, Lawrence, Marissa

4. Read “The Zoo Story” together in your groups. Assign parts as follows:

a. 3 students: one play Jerry, one play Peter, one read the stage directions where appropriate (only the longer directions).
b. 2 students: one play Jerry, the other play Peter, read the stage directions silently.
c. If you are alone, you may either join a group of your choice or read alone.

5. Answer the following questions – discuss first with your group, then individually write down:
a. Plays are based on conflict. Conflict can come in 4 “flavors”:
i. Person vs. Person
ii. Person vs. Self
iii. Person vs. Nature
iv. Person vs. Society or God

Largely, what kind of conflict does Albee use in this play?

Are there other kinds of conflict that occur within the story? If so, where are they found?

6. What seems to be the significance of Jerry’s story of the dog?

7. What might be symbolic about the Zoo? Why do you think Albee called his play “The Zoo Story”?

Monday, November 24, 2008

Journal - Due 12/3

Just a reminder that the end of the marking period is Dec. 5. Your journals are due on Wednesday, 12/3.

As you read your selected novel, please look for ideas or characters that move you, or inspire you in your own work. Jot down these ideas in your journal as you read.

You may wish to comment on:

--Which character is most intriguing in the novel? Why? What is the author doing to present the character in an interesting way? How is the character tied to the plot or setting of the book?

--What event or plot event is the most interesting to you? Why? How does the event fit into the story at (hopefully) just the right time?

--Choose a particularly well written passage in the book. What about the writing is well crafted? (Notice the use of specific grammar, syntax, or style techniques).

--Write a chapter that your author did not include for his/her characters.

--What did you like about the opening of the book? What did you NOT like about the opening of the book? What would you have done differently, had YOU written the novel?

--What did you like or dislike about the ending of the novel? What would you have done differently, had you written the novel?

--If any words or sentences strike you, use them as a way to inspire your own poem, story, play, or essay.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Break.

Katherine Lederer - Masterclass (11/25)

Occasionally in the Creative Writing department we have guest speakers or special events to enrich your writing experience and knowledge. These masterclasses are a specific priviledge for our creative writing students. Please plan on bringing a journal and writing utensil to the Ensemble Theatre tomorrow. Furthermore, please research our guest poet and write down any questions you would like to ask her.

Tomorrow we are going to have a masterclass (2 & 3rd) period with poet Katie Lederer. Please read about Ms. Lederer and the four poems at the link provided.

After you have search the website, please turn your attention to the packet of poems I have provided for you.

With a partner, please read the packet of her poems. You will have to look up a variety of words. Please highlight or circle the words you do not know and look them up. (We are helping you develop your vocabulary--a necessary tool for any writer). I will collect your vocabulary list at the end of class.

As you read, notice the following motifs Ms. Lederer uses in her poetry:
Water imagery, nature, money, opposites, relationships. Many of Ms. Lederer's poems rely on sound or play with similar sounding words. Try to notice where the poet is being "playful."

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Independent Novel Project

Choose a novel that you would like to read. Make sure that it is a novel that meets your reading level. The novel can be from any author and can be any genre. We will be completing a series of journal-type questions regarding it and writing about your experience reading the book. More instructions to follow.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Rehearsal

Today, during 3rd period, please rehearse your speech. Your speech should be written on notecards (to be turned in after you deliver your speech) and your written speech should be turned in today by the end of class.

4th period we will be delivering our speeches.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

2 - Minute Oratory

Sometime in your life, you will probably need to deliver an original speech. Most speech topics are given because you have a specific interest. Speeches are meant to be spoken to a specific audience. Knowing who you are speaking to, is an important component to delivering an effective speech.

Use the handout directions to brainstorm ideas for a short informational speech.

Check above for examples of speeches.

The 2 minute oratory is due next class. Your outline (notecards) and speech are also due next class. Turn in your notecards and draft of speech at the end of that class.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Thief of Always - Journal - Part IV

Journal Exercises:

Chp. 14-26
1. Pg. 139. Start a story with the sentence: “He knocked on the door…” continue the story.
2. Describe a time in your life when you wished that time would move faster or slower.
3. pg. 153. Draw a picture of a house or place. Use this drawing to start a story or poem set in that location.
4. Pg. 194. Describe your attic or a fictional attic. What sorts of things are there in the dark?
5. Pg. 199. Start a story or poem with the line: “There were five doors ahead of him.”
6. Chp. 20 – Have a conversation with an inanimate object. What might it say or believe?
7. Pg. 220. Oh, to be a vampire again…. Start a poem with a similar line. Choose a noun that you would want to be “again” and use this repetition (like pg. 220) to create verse.
8. Chp. 23. Write about the war between two or more inanimate objects. What would they argue about? Who might win?
9. Describe a time when you stole or thought about stealing something.
10. Pg. 266. Start a poem, story with the line: “The days were…”

Additional Journal entries:

Draw a series of pictures. Use these drawings as a way of creating characters, settings, and situations for a story or “comic” strip or graphic story.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Poetry Exercises - Recipe Poem, Parent Poem, & Political Poem

Please complete as many of these as you would like. You MUST complete and turn in at least ONE of these exercises. Please label the poem draft with the assignment name.

1. Think of the format of a food recipe. First there is a list of ingredients you will need, then the explanation of how to mix the ingredients together, and finally the cooking time. Using this format, write a recipe poem that has nothing to do with food. Ex. you might write a recipe for how to make good conversation, how to climb a tree, how to fight with your father, or how to fall in love, etc.

2. Write a poem in which you describe one of your parents or a family member. Try not to describe this character directly. Instead, make the poem hinge around just one memory that sums up your mother’s, father’s, family member’s personality.

3. Write a poem about politics. In light of recent events, consider writing an inspirational poem about new beginnings.

Example poems:

Recipe Poem
Recipe Poem: How to Make a Morning
By Elaine Magliaro

Melt a galaxy of stars
in a large blue bowl.
Knead the golden sun
and let it rise in the East.
Spread the sky
with a layer of lemony light.
Blend together
until brimming with brightness.
Fold in dewdrops.
Sprinkle with songbirds.
Garnish with a chorus
of cock-a-doodle-doos.
Set out on a platter at dawn
and enjoy.


Parent Memory Poem example

Daddy
by: Sylvia Plath

You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.

Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time--
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal

And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off beautiful Nauset.
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.

In the German tongue, in the Polish town
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
But the name of the town is common.
My Polack friend

Says there are a dozen or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my jaw.

It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak.
I thought every German was you.
And the language obscene

An engine, an engine
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew.

The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna
Are not very pure or true.
With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck
And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack
I may be a bit of a Jew.

I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
And your neat mustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You--

Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every woman adores a Fascist,
The boot in the face, the brute
Brute heart of a brute like you.

You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who

Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.

But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look

And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
So daddy, I'm finally through.
The black telephone's off at the root,
The voices just can't worm through.

If I've killed one man, I've killed two--
The vampire who said he was you
And drank my blood for a year,
Seven years, if you want to know.
Daddy, you can lie back now.

There's a stake in your fat black heart
And the villagers never liked you.
They are dancing and stamping on you.
They always knew it was you.
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through.

From "Ariel", 1966


Political poem example:
Standing Tall by James McKenzie
In honor of Martin Luther King

Some kings rule their kingdoms sitting down
Surrounded by luxury, soft cushions and fans
But this King stood strong
stood proud
stood tall

When the driver told Rosa
"Move to the back of the bus!"
When the waiter told students
"We don't serve your kind!"
When the Mayor told voters
"Your vote don't count!"
And when the sheriff told marchers
"Get off our streets!"
using fire hoses, police dogs and cattle prods
to move them along
This King stood strong
stood proud
stood tall
Speaking of peace
of love
and children
hand in hand
free at last
free at last


When some yelled for violence
For angry revenge
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
He stood his ground
Preaching peace

And when some spit out hate
He stood there smiling
Spreading love
Until it rolled like the sea across the land
Sweeping away Jim Crow
Breaking down the walls
Ringing the bell
Joyfully
For Freedom

Until
Standing on the mountain top
They shot him
Coldly
Hoping to see him fall
Hoping to put him away
To bring him low

But this King
even in death
even today
stands strong
stands proud
stands tall
And we remember

by Jamie McKenzie, 1982

Thief of Always - Journal - Part 3

Chapter eight-thirteen:

1. Pg. 80; Tell a water story from your real life; describe a time when you encountered water.
2. Pg. 81; Describe a precious item you lost or that was stolen from you.
3. Pg. 83; Describe a dream you have.
4. Pg. 89-92; Describe a transformation or explore the possibility of being something else. What would you like to be? Why?
5. Describe a time you witnessed or participated in the death of a living being.
6. Pg. 130. An appositive is a description of a named noun. It is used after a comma to clarify or provide further detail to something already identified. Carna is described in a series of appositives (the appositive phrase is italicized): “Carna, the tooth-stealer; Carna, the devourer; Carna, the beast.” Use the appositive to describe an object or person.

This covers the first half of the book. The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book has 13 chapters. The second does as well. There are 26 chapters in all. Think about why Barker divided his book in this manner.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Non-Fiction Story

Please complete the draft of your non-fiction story inspired by the personal stories from the movie "Freedom Writers."

Tell your story.
Write a non-fiction draft about a story that happened to you. Pick something that is important to you or something that you need to say. It should be based on your own life, but if you feel the need to, change names and places to protect yourself.

Advice:
1. Non-fiction stories are just like fictional stories. You need to describe action and settings, develop your plot, include "characters", etc.
2. Include dialogue. You won't remember exactly what people said, but try to get the gist of the conversation.
3. Use literary devices and techniques to make your writing creative.

Thief of Always - Journal - Part 2

More Journal ideas for the Thief of Always:

Chapter Four - Seven:
1. Pg. 33; “Another day, another dollar.” Collect sayings that your parents or family use. List these sayings in your journal.
2. Pg. 46; “This was a place where dead things belonged.” Start a description of a setting with the words: “this was a place where…” Perhaps turn your list into a catalog or chant poem.
3. Pg. 49; The description of autumn. This passage uses a lot of imagery: appealing to our senses through words that recall a touch, taste, smell, sound, or sight. Pick a season and, using imagery, describe it without naming it.
4. Pg. 55; The description of the musty room with the masks. Barker uses effective imagery here as well in this passage. You should note that the most important detail is left for last and that there is a build up of details. Write a description of a room, leaving the most important detail for last. (he does this again on page 56 when describing clothes).
5. Wendell’s practical joke (pgs. 59-62). Write about a time you played a practical joke on someone or when someone played a practical joke on you.
6. Pg. 68; Make a list of things you would like for Christmas. Add to your list odd items that may be impossible to find or get. Be creative!
7. Pg. 70-72; Describe an old gift given to you many years ago or describe a favorite gift. Where is this gift now, or what happened to it?

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Thief of Always - Journal Activities

Please complete as many of these journal exercises as you would like. Put all work in your journal. Journals will be due at the end of the marking period.

Chapter One - three:
1. Pg. 2; Pick a month. Personify it. Explain why the month is monstrous or marvelous, etc.
2. Pg. 3; Write about your own route to school. What would a detective following your route to school and your day find. Describe where you go and what you do routinely.
3. Pg. 5; Describe what you would like to do with your time or life.
4. Pg. 8; make a list of questions that you would like answered. Start realistically, then begin asking questions a small child might ask or ask questions that seem odd or far-fetched and creative.
5. Pg. 22; What would be a fine thing to build in your life?
6. Pg. 22; Use infinitives to string a series of seemingly random thoughts together as in the first paragraph on page 22 (chapter 3). An infinitive is made by adding TO + VERB. Notice how Barker creates a rhythmic passage using semi-colons and infinitives.
7. Pg. 23; Describe a person’s face using a simile.
8. Pg. 25; Mrs. Griffin says, “Nothing’s perfect…because time passes…and the beetle and the worm find their way into everything sooner or later.” Consider the meaning of this statement. In your journal, list your own reasons why nothing is perfect.

Freedom Writers - Response #2

After watching the film, please post a comment about what you thought of one of the ideas integral (important) to the film. Some suggestions include:

1. Racism
2. The importance of education
3. Loyalty
4. Trust
5. Urban life
6. Change
7. Finding one's voice

Writing project:

Like the students in the film, writing allows us to tell our own stories and find our own voices. By finding our voice as writers, we gain experience and understanding of our own writing and even the world.

Tell your story.

Write a non-fiction draft about a story that happened to you. Pick something that is important to you or something that you need to say. It should be based on your own life, but if you feel the need to, change names and places to protect yourself.

Complete a draft to turn in by Monday, Nov. 3.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Thief of Always - Motifs

The Thief of Always – Clive Barker

Motifs (a motif is a recurring or repeated object, image, or idea in a story):

Questions: Rictus says “No questions boy…questions rot the mind.” Questions (pg. 6, 8, etc.) are a recurring motif in the novel. Try to notice as many “questions” or “question-like” items or events in the book. Remember that this book is a mystery. Without questioning, one can never find the answer to a mystery. What might the author be trying to tell us as people?

Personification: Giving inanimate or non-living objects human qualities. Barker uses the poetic technique of personification throughout the book. As you read, try to notice when he uses it. Consider why he might want to describe inanimate objects with living traits.

Similes: A comparison between two things using the words “like” or “as”. Similes are used like adjectives, to describe an abstract idea in a more concrete or solid way. Keep a record of the number of times Barker uses similes in his novel. Why does he use so much comparison?

Time: Follow references to time throughout the novel. Notice when characters talk about time. How might all this talk about time create a lesson or meaning for us as readers?

Names: many of the names in this book hold clues as to their true nature or significance. What might the names: Rictus, Carna, Millsap (the town), Griffin, Swick, Mr. Hood, Jive, Marr mean?

Animals: Look for the types of animals mentioned or met in the novel. What might be the connection between them?

Transformation
: A character that changes in a story is called “dynamic”. What kinds of changes occur to Harvey and the other characters in the book? Are these all physical or mental changes? Why is change important as a theme, do you think?

Freedom Writers - Response #1

After watching the first part of Freedom Writers, comment on the following:

1. Did the movie accurately depict (show) urban schools or urban life? If so, what exactly was accurate? If not, what seemed to be Hollywood's inaccuracy?

2. Comment on the plot? Which plot line (or narrative story) are you most interested in? Why?

3. What did you notice about the camera work (the shots, the angles, the movement of the camera, the music or sound, or the editing)? Is it well done? Why or why not?

4. Were there any themes or issues that you think are important in this movie? What issue or theme is it?

Friday, October 24, 2008

Film Basics - A Glossary

From The All-Movie Guide Film Glossary
(Konigsberg, Ira. The Complete Film Dictionary. New York: Meridian, 1987.):

Narrative:
A term denoting a story in any form of human expression where no single individual is telling the story.

Narrative Film:
Narrative films can include a large corpus of fiction and nonfiction films including documentaries and dramas though the genre is predominantly fictitious. Narrative films primarily concentrate on story lines and can include character development but the drama and usual fiction are emphasized.

Plot:
The events in an individual narrative and how they are arranged. Arguably the plot and the story are not the same.
{Narrative includes everything that is supposed to have happened in the "story"; plot is more concretely the scenes that are presented in the film, in the precise order in which they are
presented.

Story:
The specific unfolding of a sequence of events in a film. It includes character involvement, settings, and an order that superimposed in an arbitrary manner by the screen writer or by a parallel historical sequence through which the themes are developed. The story is general whereas the plot is specific and includes both internal and external relations to the work.


"Basic Elements of a Film"

Frame:
Frames in essence are still images that are collected in quick succession, developed, and projected giving the illusion of motion. Each individual, or still, image on motion picture film is referred to as a frame.

Shot:
In the process of photographing a scene a shot refers to one constant take by the camera. It is most often filmed at one time with a solo camera.

Sequence:
Segments of a film narrative that are edited together and unified by a common setting, time, event or story-line.

Sound Track:
That portion of the sound film medium to which are recorded the dialogue, music, narration and sound effects. The sound head and film gate on a film projector are physically separated from one another. This gap is covered during the recording of a sound-film by keeping the soundtrack recording a few frames head of the photographic image. The sound passes over the projector head at the same time the photographic image passes before the projector's light aperture/lens (the film gate).

Cutting (a.k.a. Editing):
The process of changing from one shot to another accomplished through the camera or by the splicing of shots together by the cutter (editor). This is also referred to as editing, the preferred term, and includes the decisions, controls, sensibilities, vision and integrative capabilities of the individual editing (cutting) artist.

Montage:
In the production and editing of film this term has come to refer to a seemingly unrelated series of frames combined so that one scene quickly dissolves into the next, shifting categories, effects and settings in such a manner as to convey a quick passage of time or an abstract unity through thematic devices such as meter, rhythm, tonality, and intellectuality (viz Eisenstein). Continuity, if it exists, is not captured in a frame by frame juxtaposition but rather through an abstraction. (Also see "mise-en-scene".)

Camera Angle:
This term refers to the point of view held by the focal point of the camera when it is positioned for shooting. Included in the angle is the perspective given by the camera to the depth of focus, height and width of the particular object and action being photographed. The angle also refers to whether the shot is taken from behind, in front, from the side or from the top or bottom of the particular view. Terms appropriated for these various angles include eye-level angle, high-angle, low-angle, sideview angle and the "Dutch" angle.

Distance:
Distance refers to the amount of relational space between the audience and the character on the screen. Though the characters are two-dimensional and the audience is distinctly separate from the screen by dead space (virtual reality in the theatre has not yet been developed) the camera's perspective, in effect, attempts to provide the amount of space desired subject to the director's discretion. This space often results in the interaction and psychological connection between the characters and the audience. The connection is achieved through the dynamics and varying degrees between long shots, medium shots and close-ups.

Establishing Shot (a.k.a. "Master Shot")
At the beginning of a film, episode or scene within a film, a wide-angle or "full-shot" is photographed for the purpose of identifying the location or setting. Thus the audience has established, or been given the opportunity to surmise an orientation. It also helps to establish the distinctions between the general locale and the specific details -- from subsequent shots -- within the general context.
[The Establishing shot is a wide-angle shot and/or a long shot.]

Camera Movement:
Conventional uses of the camera to obtain camera angles and various perspectives while filming include panning, tilting, tracking or zooming of the camera. These camera ploys are also known as camera movement and rarely does the camera remain static. When a movement does occur, however, the camera comes to a rest providing a smooth transition to the scene. Movements are coordinated with the action in a scene so that the camera does not go in the opposite direction of the action (i.e. action left-to-right.) Of course, many alternative and experimental methods are used in the film industry and camera movement is no exception.

Dolly:
Cameras and other equipment, such as microphones and lights, are often carried around the set on movable platforms. These are dollys and are independently moved by the dolly grip so that the technician, be s/he cameraman, audio or lighting technician, can keep their concerns focused. Dollys are often run on tracks for special dolly pans, chinese dollys, or for mere structurally smoothness. Most of the time, dollys are used for camera work and can include booms for the cameras which allows for the lowering, raising and pivoting of the camera. All of these shots can be achieved simultaneously with an horizontal movement of the camera upon the dolly track.

Dolly Shot:
A camera perspective, on a moving or stationary subject, obtained while the camera is in motion on either a dolly or a camera truck. When the camera is so mounted and moves toward a closer proximity of the subject it is called "dolly-in"; likewise, when the camera is so mounted and moves away from the subject it is referred to as "dolly-out".

{From the Complete Film Dictionary: Tracking Shot: ... So called because it is sometimes photographed from a dolly that moves on tracks, also refers particularly to a shot in which the camera follows the movement of a subject.}

Crane:
A large camera dolly that can raise the camera as much as twenty feet above the ground. The crane has the capacity to move forward and backward and is usually operated by electronic controls. Motions are generally silent and the crane allows shots to be made over a wide ranging area providing great access to cover shots.

Pan:
From the Greek "pan" meaning "all" this movement of the camera is achieved by moving the camera while turning it on an horizontal access. At least four functions are served by this technique including an all encompasing view of the scene, a device for leading the audience to a particular person or place, following a person or vehicle across a distant scene, or giving the audience the visual images and perspective as seen by a character when turning her/his head.
{A turn of the camera up or down on the vertical axis is called a "tilt."}

[From the Complete Film Dictionary:
Zoom Shot: A shot taken with a zoom lens in which the focal length of the lens changes from wide angle to long focus or the reverse so that the camera seems to move in to (i.e., "zoom in" to) or away from (i.e., "zoom out" from) the subject while the camera actually remains stationary.]

Montana 1948 - Response

Please respond to the novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson by posting a comment about your experience reading the book. (You may pick any of the questions below to answer for your response...or make up one of your own).

Sample response questions:

1. What did you think about the novel? Did you enjoy it or not, and why or why not?
2. Which character was your favorite? Why?
3. Did the ending of the book upset you as a reader? Why or why not?
4. How does the setting (time period and location) help you relate or not relate to the book?
5. What parts of the book could you relate to in your own life?
6. Which character did you least like? Why?
7. What did you notice about the writing style in the book?
8. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
9. How did the author keep your attention with suspense?
10. Were there any parts of the book that you predicted? Was your prediction accurate?

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Montana 1948 - Test 10/27

Just a reminder that there is a test on Montana 1948 tomorrow, Oct. 24. Please be able to identify major characters, the setting, the plot, the central conflict, and be aware of the writing style and use of suspense in the novel.

Coffee House - Personal Response

Congratulations, Freshmen!

You have successfully completed a public performance. I hope you enjoyed the coffee house and will participate in future ones.

Part of our goal this year is for you to get to know your strengths and weaknesses by completing a myriad of assignments, projects, and performances. Self reflection is an important component to learning. As such, please comment on:

How you felt you did last night as a performance. If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently? What did you learn about public speaking by performing your writing last night? What suprised you about the performance? Who's performance did you particularly enjoy? Did you notice anything different between the Freshman performances and the other Creative Writing performances? What did you parents say or think about the performance?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Marking Period Ends - Is All Your Work In?

The first marking period ends tomorrow. All missing (MI) work on your grade report needs to be turned in immediately. Today, your journals are due as well.

Keep reading Montana 1948. You should try to finish the book by next week. Please take the poll on this webpage to let me know how the reading is going.

Please continue writing the first draft of your Prologue Story (see below).

Prepare your manuscript for the Coffeehouse Readings! A copy of your marked script should be turned in by Monday, Oct. 20.

Our Coffeehouse Reading performance is Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theatre. Please plan on attending (it's a requirement!)and invite your family. The performance will likely end by 9:00. Refreshments served.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Montana 1948 - Prologue Exercise

After reading the prologue of Montana 1948 (pg. 11-12), notice how the author, a now older and wiser person looking back on an incident of the past, describes three distinct characters.

Each character is engaged in DOING something--an action. Let your mind become like a movie screen, allow your narrator to describe the image of a woman swim into view. Describe her action, with a definite body position: standing, sitting, leaning, kneeling, lying down, etc. Take about 5 minutes to write this scene in your journal.

After 5 minutes, see a man in a different body position. See what he looks like, where he is, what he is doing. Describe this character. He says something. What does he say? Take about 5 minutes to write this scene in your journal.

Finally, pick another character: male, female, animal, etc. Describe this person or thing's body position. Describe this character. Take about 5 minutes to write this scene in your journal.

Now you're ready to move further. Decide who your narrator will be, how old the narrator is when the story he/she is narrating happened. Connect the three characters to the narrator somehow. Now type the story.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Montana 1948

After picking up Montana 1948, please go Larry Watson's author website and read about him. Read through his biography, FAQ section, and read some reviews of his books. Note any writer advice you learn from him and his website in your journal.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Poetry Revision

Choose 1-2 of your original poems and edit them.

Remove abstract nouns or add visual imagery by using a metaphor or simile.

Strengthen weak verbs (particularly forms of the verb TO BE: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been).

Choose similar words that start with similar or contrasting sounds to create aural imagery. Aural (sound) imagery includes these poetic techniques:

alliteration (the repetition of consonant sounds found in the beginning of the word)

consonance (the repetition of consonant sounds found within or at the end of the word)

assonance (the repetition of vowel sounds)

onomatopoeia

repetition

juxtaposition (putting words next to each other for effect)

euphony (words that sound pleasant together), and

cacophany (words that sound harsh together)are just a few choices when thinking about the way your poem sounds.

Finally, remove any grammar or syntactical errors.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Performance Style - tip of the day

When we speak aloud in public the first thing we need to do is prepare our text.

Before jumping up and speaking in front of an audience, it is important to prepare yourself for the event. Here's a few tips to help!

1. Make sure you have an easy to read typed script of your speech, poem, or story. You may find it helpful to enlarge the font so that it can be easily read without squinting. Choose a font that is easy to read.

2. Make some decisions about HOW you are going to read or perform your piece.
A. BOLD words that you would like to stress because they are important.
B. Italicize or underline words that you want to slow down/or read quickly.
C. Place a mark // on your script to indicate a pause.

3. Make a decision about the MOOD of your piece. Is the poem or story sad or happy? What sort of VOICE does your narrator/speaker have and try to match that emotional intensity. Jot down notes on the top of your script about how you are planning to read the piece.

By marking or scoring your script BEFORE you read aloud, you can enhance your performance skills.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Naomi Shihab Nye (1952 - present)
Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and songwriter born in 1952 to a Palestinian father and American mother. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas. Both roots and sense of place are major themes in her body of work.

Half-And-Half by Naomi Shihab Nye

You can't be, says a Palestinian Christian
on the first feast day after Ramadan.
So, half-and-half and half-and-half.
He sells glass. He knows about broken bits,
chips. If you love Jesus you can't love
anyone else. Says he.

At his stall of blue pitchers on the Via Dolorosa,
he's sweeping. The rubbed stones
feel holy. Dusting of powdered sugar
across faces of date-stuffed mamool.

This morning we lit the slim white candles
which bend over at the waist by noon.
For once the priests weren't fighting
in the church for the best spots to stand.
As a boy, my father listened to them fight.
This is partly why he prays in no language
but his own. Why I press my lips
to every exception.

A woman opens a window—here and here and here—
placing a vase of blue flowers
on an orange cloth. I follow her.
She is making a soup from what she had left
in the bowl, the shriveled garlic and bent bean.
She is leaving nothing out.


Hidden by Naomi Shihab Nye

If you place a fern
under a stone
the next day it will be
nearly invisible
as if the stone has
swallowed it.

If you tuck the name of a loved one
under your tongue too long
without speaking it
it becomes blood
sigh
the little sucked-in breath of air
hiding everywhere
beneath your words.

No one sees
the fuel that feeds you.


Poem Activity #1:

After reading Half-and-Half, in a poem, discuss two aspects of yourself (or your personality, belief, culture) that seem on the surface at odds with one another. Describe this topic through a short narrative (story) poem. Embed dialogue in your poem where appropriate.

Poem Activity #2:

After reading Hidden, start a poem with the subordinating conjunction “If…” You may use an “If…then…” statement, if you’d like. Start with a stanza describing a literal or concrete event or fact from nature. Naomi Shihab Nye uses the description of a fern placed under a stone. Your second stanza should be more metaphorical, as Naomi Shihab Nye’s second stanza is as she describes the transubstantiation of a loved one’s name into blood. Finally, end your poem with a wise observation that connects both stanzas.

Elemental poem activity

Elemental Poem

The ancient world was much simpler than the modern world. In the ancient world, people recognized only four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water—and these elements were considered not only the building blocks of the material world but also the elements of our character or psyches. Someone who was known to be passionate was thought to be possessed of fire and to be subjects to the laws of fire. These earthly elements also had their correspondence in the heavens, and each astrological sign was—and still is—associated with earth (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo), air (Gemini, Aquarius, Libra), fire (Leo, Sagittarius, Scorpio), or water (Pisces, Cancer, Aries).
– From Everyday Creative Writing; Smith & Greenberg

Try revisiting this simpler world by focusing on and using the ancient elements to organize a poem.

Brainstorm:

Identify yourself with one of the elements. How are you like Fire or Air or Water or Earth? Write down as many qualities of yourself as possible.

Then make a list of places where you would least expect to find each of the elements. Example:

Fire
• In the refrigerator
• On the palm of my hand
• In a laundry basket

Next:

Make a list of verbs that you would least associate with each element. Example:
• The water sneezed
• The fire slept
• The wind stood in line at the bank

Combine these brainstorming activities to write a draft of a creative poem.

Example: From Charles Jensen’s poem Housefires and Homefries

My mother sets little fires in my
Shoes. They smolder like samovars.
It’s her way of saying
stay home and wait for the glacier,
my father, man of men. His golf bag is full
of snow. His shirts have ice cuffs
and frozen collars. My parents stare
at each other until their eyes turn
to earth and ash and when one speaks
the other blows air into paper bags
and bags float like syllables spoken under water.

Journal activity 9-18

Directions: Read the handout of selected poems from Quincy Troupe, Jr., George David Miller, and Edward Hirsch. Then choose 1 or more of the following exercises and write a draft of these in your journal.
• Poem for the Root Doctor of Rock n Roll: Music inspires us. Poetry and song lyrics share a commonality. Write a poem inspired by the musical artists who inspire(d) you. Try writing the poem to the artist or musican(s) you mention. Advanced: try to get the rhythm of their music into the cadence of your poem.
• Chicago: Write about a place. Use details and description that creates a TONE or certain type of feeling like sadness, romance, anticipation, worry, etc. Advanced: write your poem into two distinct parts (like 2 chapters of a story).
• Before I Read this Poem: poetry can expose us to an audience or reader. Some poets are more open than others. Try writing a biographical poem (a poem about you). Use metaphors and similes to help describe the abstract qualities of your personality as concrete and literal ones.
• I am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic: Write a resolution poem. Start with “today I will…” and make a promise to yourself.
• Song: Write a lyrical poem (song) for those people or a person who never gets a song written for them (or him/her)—someone whose voice is lost or forgotten in our culture today.

Word Bank Exercise 9-16

Creating a word bank for poetry

Go to the following website:

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180

Read poems #11-20. As you read, choose 3 words from EACH poem and make a list. (The best way to do this is either in your journal – where you will get credit; or you may keep a word document open and minimized on the bottom of your screen to collect the words).
Choose interesting or “powerful” words—words that draw YOUR attention; the best 3 single words in the poem. Avoid phrases.

Once you have a list with 30 words, use your word bank to create a poem of your own.
• You DO NOT have to use all 30 words in your poem.
• Your poem should make sense. Try to avoid sentence fragments. (Consider character, setting, theme, conflict, etc.)
• You may include as many OTHER words as you’d like.

Journal activity 9-26

Spoken Word Poetry - activity 9/26

Go to the following website. Click on the poets’ performance links (most link to Youtube.com). As you watch these poets perform their original work, note in your journal the style of their performance:
• Does the poet speak in a certain rhythm?
• Does the poet speak loudly or softly?
• Does the poet speak fast or slow?
• Does the poet pause a lot, or a little?
• Does the poet read with a lot of energy?
• How does the poet’s performance help you understand the poem?
• How does the poet’s performance improve the experience of the poem for you as a listener?

http://www.poetry.la

The Graveyard Book - Discussion Questions

  In your discussion groups, please answer 5 of the 10 discussion questions. Choose a member of your group to record your answers. Make sure...