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My TU Experience

My time at Temple University has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. At Temple, I found several topics that have interested me more than my previous colleges or in high school. Temple and Klein College of Media and Communication has been a wonderful place for me to study what I already loved. I currently am trying to make a career as a photographer. With photography I try to focus on the most is visual narratives. Studying social problems and how their impact can be seen locally has led me to learn to appreciate Philadelphia first hand. Dr. Trayes’ Photography course forced me to get out of my dorm and off campus to find subjects in Philadelphia and in the surrounding areas. I grew to appreciate the art and culture the city offers. For all my projects in that class I spent hours both day and night walking through Philadelphia to try to find inspiration. I never considered myself an artist and still am apprehensive when people compliment my artistic talent, but I did embrace the creative process for my work.

To help pay for tuition and other college related costs, I have worked several part time jobs. My current part time job is with UPS where I sort packages for a few hours each weeknight. When I first started I thought about how much this job could not apply to my passion. while the job is intensive physical labor, I have learned how to focus on my sorting while also finding time to brainstorm ideas for photography or other project ideas for school or just ideas I would want to produce myself. This is a luxury compared to my previous jobs at retail stores where I needed to stay 100% focused on my area of the store for stocking, helping customers, make sales and report shoplifting. This job is not one that I could see myself staying at that long after I graduate, but for the benefits I have found I am glad that I took this opportunity.

When I started college, I looked at secondary education to be forced on me. I did not want to go to college if I did not have a passion for what I would be studying or choosing as a career path. Now even with my failures and setbacks I am glad I continued to return to college. I look at people who claim universities only push a certain agenda on students and the practical use of a college degree is lower than advertised and I think about how obtuse this idea is. For me college has given me the knowledge to understand information and determine its credibility, something which is currently an invaluable skill. I have matured in to a person who can prioritize my wants and needs so that my choices will reap the best results

Context

Beliefs Week 7

Creative Act Week 6

Art Experience #3

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On December 2,2017 I attended “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at the Walnut Theater. I was confused when I read the title of the play. I thought it would just be a live viewing of actors preforming their lines for radio in front of an audience. However, what I found was very exciting for me. The play was a performance of a presentation by a fictitious radio. I grew up listening to radio shows live, on cassette and CDs so seeing a 1940’s style radio performance was a bit nostalgic for me.

I was very familiar with the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, but seeing a group of people preform the story live was a new experience. Because the fictional radio station was set in Manhattan in 1946, the “stage” was filled with era appropriate props and costumes. I noticed on the wall there were Dick Tracy and Charleston Comics Blue Beetle posters which added to give the 40’s era feel of the radio station. The props were both used aesthetically and practically. The props used also replicated what was used in a radio performance in the 1940’s. A bucket of water and plunger were used to simulate the times when a character jumped into water, a metal lunch box for closing a car door, and a cup to simulate someone talking on the other line on a phone.

I was not sure how the actors were going to play the characters. The fact that they played two sets of characters, the “It’s a Wonderful Life” characters and the radio actor characters, was astounding to me and showed their ability to handle multiple characters. In mentioning of the cast, each actor had to play multiple characters from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Currently you only will see single actors playing multiple characters in voice acting for TV or narrators for audiobooks. Both use the same mentality as radio actors did in the early 1900’s. An actor can’t just change the voice, they must know how each character would emote and which words to inflect during a conversation. The choice of character also aided to the visual performance of the play. The actors all looked like they would be cast for a regular performance of “It’s a Wonderful Life” especially the actors Damon Bonetti and Michal P. Toner whose roles were mainly George Bailey and Clarence the Angel respectively. Josh Totora also did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of a radio host with his introductions and personality.

The creativity used for this performance gave a refreshing take on a story I have seen many times. The hybridity of several forms of media allowed me to either focus on the actors visually or close my eyes and listen as if I was at home listening to the radio. I am now interested in seeing the theater’s Sherlock Holmes adaptation of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” next month. I recommend “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” and the format the Walnut theater presents.

#artexperience

Art Experience #2

On Saturday November 18th I attended the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center. I had visited the Kimmel Center only once prior for a photography class. However, this was not to watch a performance, just to photograph the building and parts of the surrounding neighborhood. I am not the biggest fan of any live music performances, so I was the least excited for this event of the three.

The performance was Haydn: The Seasons, which I was not familiar with. I knew the basics of an orchestra performance because of my experience in band class from middle school. However, I was not expecting this performance to also have singers and a choir. I also did not expect them to sing in German. During the performance I found it difficult to pay attention to the lyrics on projected on a screen above and watch the musicians. So, I decided to focus on the latter. I was impressed by their ability to focus on playing for almost an hour straight before an intermission.

I would recommend this performance to those who are used to orchestra performances and not new comers. This is because from my experience as a new comer, I wanted to read the lyrics to know what the singers were saying but also, I wanted to focus on the musicians. If you are new but do not care about watching the musicians or the conductor, then this problem would not affect you.

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Part of the rusted bridge at my train station

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A small sample of what my room sounds like when I write an essay

Song: RICH BEATZ - LONG.LIVE.EL.CHAPO.

Tuesday September 19, 2017

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Late Night Trains After A Long Day Suck

Monday September 18, 2017

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Framing

Creative Acts Week 2

Link to Part 2

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Nick Gales