Explorin' the Arts @explorinthearts-blog - Tumblr Blog

On April 10th, I watched Onward on Disney Plus, from the comfort of my own home! Onward is the newest Pixar movie that stars Chris Pratt and Tom Holland as brothers that go on a crazy adventure to find the truth about their dad, while exploring the long-lost history of magic in a modern fantasy world. This movie had an original theatrical release of March 6th, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting closures of many movie theaters, Disney and Pixar released it early on Disney Plus, the new streaming service, as a way to give people who were not able to see it in theaters a chance to experience this film.

This was amazing film. I had high expectations when I began to watch this movie, with all the great success Pixar has seen with its past movies. Any Pixar film automatically becomes a classic and a major part of Disney’s history. With all this in mind, this film exceeded those expectations and more. Not only was the animation beautifully executed (some of the effects looked like they were appearing in a real world), but the story really made this film jump off the screen.

Without giving too much away, this film is about family. It is a story about two brothers and their strained relationship that grows throughout the film. It’s not a Pixar movie if you don’t cry at least once throughout the whole thing, and boy did that ending hit me hard. Being compared to Frozen and their familial relationship centered plot, I think Onward edges out of the race. Its a classic fantasy tale with a twist that is like an emotional sucker-punch. It was honor to shed tears over this film and I hope to find new easter eggs every time I watch it.

#cpsapentathlon #film

On Friday, February 21st, I attended the opening night performance of the School of Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies’ production of Noises Off at the Kay Theater of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. After having to read this play for a class the semester before, I was excited to see a physical production of one of my favorite plays. Noises Off, written by Michael Frayn, exposes the work that goes on behind-the-scenes, to make sure a production succeeds, or in this case, fails. In three acts, the show presents what happens during a dress rehearsal, off stage during a Wednesday Matinee, and the mishaps onstage after several performances. Even though it is a satirical take on live theatre, there is so much truth to what is happening during this show, especially for someone who has experienced one or two (or twenty) of the mishaps on there. the character that I felt was like a mirror image of me, was Poppy, the ASM. From the pencil stuck in her hair and the spike tape wrapped around her waist to crying over her headset while calling cues, I have done it all. I throughly enjoyed this production and I believe it opens the audience’s eyes up to the troubles that theatre practitioners face trying to make sure the “show must go on”.

#cpsapentathlon #theatre

On January 29th, I attended the first Concert in Close Quaters of the second semester with special guest Layla McCalla. When I first arrived and saw a cello, a banjo, and an electric guitar on the ground, I had no idea what to expect. However, after hearing more about Layla’s story and her music, I was immediately in awe. One of my favorite pieces of the night was a cajun-french song called, in english, “All the plates are on the table”, which was played beautifully on the cello. Expecting a classical melody to be played on this instrument, I was pleasantly surprised to hear an upbeat folk song with vocal breaks. Each song and story left me wanting to learn more. After tonight, I was inspired to look into more about the Haitian culture and it’s connection with music.

#cpsapentathlon #music #artsscholars

On Saturday, November 2nd, my family and I went to the National Portrait Gallery. I had been to this gallery before, but I had never been able to see the famous portrait of Barack Obama, painted by Kehinde Wiley. I had learned about this portrait and its significance in an Art History class I had taken at UMD, and was in awe when I saw it in person. Though the picture is not entirely clear and there are many people in line to get a closer look. Out of all the portraits in the Presidential Gallery, this one definitely stands out, not only for its bright colors and impressionistic rendering, but the subject itself. This significance of this portrait in this particular section of the gallery shows how the future of America is colliding with the past to make a great step in progress.

#cpsapentathlon #visualart

On October 12th, I attended a screening of Joker. This movie is another installment about the life and experiences that led to the evolution of the evil villain from the beloved Batman comic books. This new edition of a story that has long been told, allows the audience to gain a more humanistic idea of who this person is and how he became the villain everyone now knows him as. The biggest take aways from this movie though, are the reactions of other movie-goers, who believe that this type of character representation sends a message of validation for some of the violent acts committed. This is a very interesting argument; one that calls for a greater control of what is inputed in the media and how one is able to react to it in this day and age. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, and would like to read more about the controversy over this film.

#cpsapentathlon #film

On Saturday, October 5th, I attended a performance of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland. This show was extremely funny, but it did have moments where it became so serious, that the very responsive audience became silent. I thoroughly enjoyed this show and hope to attend more shows like this in the future, especially at Roundhouse.

#cpsapentathlon #theatre

On Friday, September 13th, I attended a live performance from the podcast, OFF-BOOK, The Improvised Musical. As part of Next Now Fest, the duo, consisting of Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino, (and accompanied by a piano), improvised an hour long musical based on one word called out by an audience member at the beginning of the performance. The word “Unicycle” gave birth to a musical about a pair of circus campers that become a crime fighting duo, one with powers to control wind and one that can control a pigeon, that want to defeat global warming. Though this performance happened on the spot, the songs and story seem to go seamlessly, even having a mashup of all the songs at the end. As a theatre major who is terrified of Improv game, I was thoroughly impressed by how they were able to take this difficult task and perform it in a way that deserves just as much training; musical theatre.

#cpsapentathlon #theatre

Last week, I worked on UMD’s production of The Heidi Chronicles as an assistant stage manager. From May 4th-May 11th, I was backstage for every show, passing out props, helping with quick changes, and listening to the audience react to a show that I worked on since March. As my first main stage production for UMD, I learned a lot about the business of theatre, particularly with stage management. I am excited to see what this school and this program has in store for me. (Pictured above is my fellow ASM, my SM, and me).

#cpsapentathlon #theatre

I attended TDPS’s Spring MFA Dance Thesis Concert. Two very different dance pieces, choreographed by graduate students, were shown. In the first act, the piece entitled ‘S (apostrophe s) used many technical elements to their advantage to create a show that is full of movement and color. The piece, called Tides, appeared to have a much more mellow vibe, resembling the ocean and beaches. However, halfway through, the music became much more upbeat with much more extravagant dancing, causing the audience to start clapping and dancing along!

#cpsapentathlon #dance

Reflective Journal #1 for Bullet Journaling

I visited the one of the current art exhibitions at The David C. Driskell Center, called Posing Beauty. This exhibit included many different works of photography and paintings that reflected the representation of African American beauty throughout history. I enjoyed every single one of the works that were presented at this gallery, but my favorite group of images were those of Barbie dolls with added features of real African American beauty, such braided hair. It took something that is literally and figuratively “plastic” and made it so much more authentic

#cpsapentathlon #fineart

I served as the Assistant Stage Manager for the first Second Season show of the new year, called Fuse/Hapa. This piece was a hybrid dance and theatre show, as the first act was a dance show based on the idea of the interworking of the mind (Fuse) and the second was a one woman show about the history and future of Hawaii. As an ASM, my job included watching rehearsals of this show during the tech process, and working backstage for both performances.

#cpsapentathlon #dance #theatre

I attended the UMD Honors Chamber Music Recital on Sunday, December 2nd. As someone who goes to several theatre productions, I was very surprised to see how many differences there were between recitals and plays. One of the biggest things that threw me off was that the audience did not clap between songs, but after the group completed their set. But, even with the environment change, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these classical pieces of music.

#cpsapentathlon #music

Over the weekend, I saw The Grinch with my friends. I went in thinking I was not going to be a fan of this movie, but I was very surprised. The animation in this movie was very good and incredibly detailed, especially when it came to the snow, as that made up the majority of the movie. It was a great way to bring in the holiday spirit!

#cpsapentathlon #film

For my third pentathlon event, I went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Pictured above is Willem Van De Verde The Younger’s Ships in a Gale. This painting is part of the special exhibition called Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age which opened on July 1st and closes on November 25. This was one of my favorite paintings from the visit as it has similar theme from the other paintings in the exhibit, but it seems to have greater emotion portrayed than others.

#cpsapentathlon #fineart

For my second pentathlon event, I am choosing to use my participation in UMD’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. I am a member of the sound crew on the production, specifically as the Q-lab Operator. This means I am the operator of the special sound effects in the show, such as thunder or telephone rings. Pictured above is a photo I was able to take during tech week, where you are able to see some of the actors on stage and the corner of the laptop I use during the show. Come see Little Shop of Horrors’ final week (10/10/18-10/12/18)!

#cpsapentathlon #theatre

For the first pentathlon event for College Park Arts Scholars, a group of friends and I went to Washington D.C., and visited the National Museum of Women in the Arts. One of my favorite exhibits was called Heavy Metal, which included works from up-and-coming female artists that work with different types of metal. The piece of art that stood out to me the most was Caroline Rieckhof Brommer’s Self-portrait 3 (last picture of the 5), due to the concepts it presented. Though this sculpture is made out of metal, the techniques used by Brommer create the effect of fragility and beauty, contrasting and meshing the ideologies of masculinity and femininity. After this visit, I was very proud to see the empowerment of women in the arts.

#cpsapentathlon #fineart

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