FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
STUDENT LIFE
THE SPOKE
17
Theater classes present double feature for third-graders By Becky Leimkuhler Senior Staff Reporter Conestoga’s theater arts classes dazzled the district’s third graders with their productions of “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Snow White’s Bad Day”on Jan. 8. The classes chose “Snow White’s Bad Day” and “Little Red Riding Hood,” with the beginning class acting out the former, while the advanced class rewrote the latter as a British pantomime. A British pantomime involves a great deal of creativity, slapstick humor and audience participation. The third graders were coached to yell out helpful tips to the actors and voice their opinions, with additional improvisation activities for them in between the two shows. “Although each [production] was stressful and a little unorganized, the product was everything that we all thought it could be and more,” senior Samantha Garcia said. While the advanced class was setting up for “Little Red Riding Hood,” beginning theater students conducted a half-time show in which they had the younger kids participate in improvisational activities. In just one semester, the classes worked on building an entire production. Students worked together assembling a cast and constructing set design. “The hardest thing about the
Evan Pioch/The SPOKE
On Jan. 8, theater classes presented “Snow White’s Bad Day” and “Little Red Riding Hood,” to all the district’s third-graders. Above: sophomore Augusta Harris and junior Ali Sharpe take a bow. preparation was getting everything finished in the amount of time we had. We had to build our own props, find our own sound effects, do a lot of our own stage crew, and memorize all of our lines,” sophomore Katie Rodenhiser said. Students agree that the production went according to plans with minimal hitches along the way. The advanced theater class
worked on rewriting the play into a pantomime, writing and choreographing songs, designing sets and costumes and directing the actors. Garcia was the director of “Little Red Riding Hood.” She held auditions, worked on setting deadlines and did her best to organize the show into its final product. “The hardest thing about preparation was getting everyone to co-
operate and meet deadlines. Once everything was in order, it was still hard to get everyone to buckle down, but everyone knew what they were doing and I definitely underestimated everyone on that part,” Garcia said. Students could not anticipate the numerous reactions of the third graders. The actors told the elementary school kids what to say and held up big posters stating their lines.
In “Red Riding Hood,” when the lumberjack got to the grandmother’s house, he asked the audience what he could do to scare the wolf out. All of the third graders immediately screamed at him to brandish his axe to scare the wolf. “Immediately, the kids screamed ‘The axe! The axe!’ which obviously was not what we planned...Augusta Harris, the girl who played Harold, dropped the axe and spewed out a line about how she did not promote violence. We did expect some random audience outbursts due to the nature of the play, encouraging audience participation from the beginning,” sophomore Robyn Wiener said. The students were not the only ones who enjoyed the productions. “As an adult, I was dying laughing, but sometimes 8-9 year olds don’t pick up on all the details. My kids were commenting on ‘how cool’ it was that there were opportunities at Conestoga to participate in a theatre arts class,” third grade teacher LeeAnn Potter said. “My little sister was in the audience [...] she told me she really liked the two shows and when we roamed the audience after the performances the other children asked questions about the class along with their praise about liking the show,” junior Robert Watson said. Becky Leimkuhler can be reached at bleimkuhler@stoganews.com.
Willauer jazzes up local music scene; pursues early career By Ashley Weston Staff Reporter On a Friday night, Max Willauer can be found getting ready to take the stage at a local club.
Willauer, a junior at Conestoga, has begun pursuing his love of jazz music, playing weekend shows in local music clubs. “[He] works hard to excel in that area [music]. He’s a talented musi-
Henry Rome/The SPOKE
At the end of this year, junior Max Willauer looks to pursue his love for music and develop his skills as a jazz musician.
cian, so when I play with him I get better. He is friendly and inviting to peers,” says junior saxophonist Stephen Ruzzini. Many students took note of Willauer’s talent earlier this year, during his performance at Jamnesty, the Human Rights Club’s annual fundraiser. Willauer has played to crowds as large as 2,000 people as well as more intimate gatherings with acclaimed jazz musician Nick Colionne. Willauer has played shows in the city, including at Philadelphia club Warmdaddy’s. In his shows, Willauer plays with a variety of different groups, including jazz quartets and student-led bands. Willauer also writes his own songs, which he first tries out on piano, and later transfers to other instruments. “I’ll just start playing what I hear in my head, and then if I hear some-
thing I like, I’ll just try to develop it. A lot of the stuff I write is more jazzoriented,” Willauer said. Apart from composing, Willauer plays in a variety of shows, including clubs, jazz festivals and private
“His first love of music is jazz.” ~Music teacher Anthony DiLella engagements. Here at Conestoga, he participates in band, orchestra and choir. He will graduate at the end of his junior year in order to pursue his sudy of music. “I have tried to rework my schedule this year so that I can allow myself to spend more time on music,” said Willauer. Over the years, Willauer has
played the clarinet, the flute and the saxophone, his favorite being the saxophone. “His first love of music is jazz. Students respect the fact that he has a lot of confidence in what he does,” music teacher Anthony DiLella said. When he is not playing, he enjoys listening to jazz; he said his favorite artist is Kenny Garrett. What he enjoys most about playing instruments is performing in front of many people and being able to see their reactions to his music. “I’ve learned what it’s like to try to have a career as a performing musician,” said Willauer. Willauer views the next year as an opportunity to further develop his skills as a jazz musician and pursue his love for music. He will replace his senior year with his budding music career. Ashley Weston can be reached at aweston@stoganews.com.