YEAR 2021-22

Theater Website Link: https://svgstheatre.weebly.com/

ACTING I & II, Intro to Theater and Drama Theory & Criticism

Two Arts & Humanities seniors describe the activities of the theater classes below.

Writing on behalf of the SVGS theatre department, this is Josanna Henry guiding you through a rundown of what the theatre branch has been doing on ordinary non-exam days. Doesn’t it feel weird to read the word ordinary, oh there it is again! Anyways pressing onward to the focal points of this semester, our wonderful teacher/director/wearer of many hats Mrs. Cassy Maxton-Whitacre has made great strides in altering and moving around the curriculum. She has had to roll with the punches in order to continue teaching and keep us actively learning whilst adhering to coronavirus procedures.

Instead of practicing close quartered scene work this semester, we have switched to more flexible vocal work and are in the middle of writing our own radio shows. We’re even learning how to create certain soundscapes and sound effects to enhance those shows. Towards the beginning of the semester, we focused on the performer’s physicality and how even as we’re six feet apart stories could be portrayed in various movement styles. These styles included: Commedia Dell’arte, archetypes, Greek style movement, and my personal favorite in neutral masks.

We are very fortunate to continue to be able to learn and grow in this hybrid setting and so much of that has to do with the steps that we take to keep each other safe. I hope that as a community we can continue to have empathy and keep looking out for one another.

Best Wishes,

Josanna Henry, Class of 2021

This year the SVGS theatrical production looked a little bit different than what most were used to. Due to the virus, the director of the show, Cassy Maxton-Whitacre, determined it was best to do a virtual streamed production. She had the students help select the show, in which they chose the comedic tale of three narrators who present a last-minute project on all of Greek mythology, The Greek Mythology Olympiaganzia.

With COVID-19 restrictions in place, the director and cast had to get creative with their use of spacing, props, sets, and costumes. The director went about a minimalistic approach to reduce contact among castmates. The set, provided by The Waynesboro Players, was wide in length to ensure proper distancing and was decorated with columns, plants, and other movable props. Each cast member was responsible for their props and was heavily instructed to follow the pre-COVID rule of not touching anyone else’s props. The cast wore sheet togas designed by two SVGS students, Emmeline Soyars and Trinity Walker, and wore matching masks for additional safety.

This year, the actors were struck with a new challenge they had never faced within a production before, no contact! This meant no sympathetic pats on the back, no enthusiastic high fives, and no embracing of loved ones. Instead, the cast worked together as an ensemble to create shapes and gestures to represent relationships between the characters. Through portraying stock characters and wearing masks, students focused on the physicality of their bodies rather than the expressions on their faces. The idea was for students to be as overly expressive as possible, creating a comedic experience for the audience. The students were so grateful and ecstatic to have the opportunity to perform again, even with the regulations in place. The cast gives thanks to their director and everyone who supported them throughout the show.

Olivia Nargi, Class of 2021

COMMUNICATIONS

SEMESTER 1: By the end of this first semester, the twenty-six Intro to Communications students are well on their way to becoming skillful public speakers! They have learned, practiced, and delivered an introduction, storytelling, and simple informative speech, and have completed a major, 4-week unit on how to design and deliver an effective PowerPoint presentation. In addition, they have explored verbal communication and conversational analysis, the many modes and functions of nonverbal communication, gender differences, and unique ways in which their own Generation Z communicates. And of course we have never been far from thinking about how the pandemic has impacted our manner and modes of communication, both in and out of the classroom.

HUMANITIES OF WESTERN CULTURE

SEMESTER 1: This course is a survey of the evolution and intersections of Western history, philosophy, art, architecture, and music from ancient times to the present day. The juniors in our Western Culture course do several creative activities and projects throughout the year. Their first, as part of the unit on Greek philosophy, gives them the opportunity to design two paper plate masks (reference Greek theater) that express the Apollonian and the Dionysian in art. These are a few samples from the work of this year’s students. Can you identify which is which?

LITERATURE, COMPOSITION & IDEAS I

SEMESTER1: Juniors have just completed their first theorist cycle: essays on education theory and their own education theory essay. Students spent time collaboratively processing the theories of Tzu, Dewey, Montessori, and Kozol, then students assembled their own approach to effective education based on what they felt were essential components. Using the writing process, students were able to provide peer feedback, revise and reconsider, then conference with Ms. Jeffrey with an eye to improving essays in both content and format. Now the class is looking at language theory and considering the complexities of acquisition, code switching, and identity. Preparation for language essays has begun as students choose to support theorists such as Langer, Baldwin, Chomsky, and McWhorter.

LITERATURE, COMPOSITION & IDEAS II

SEMESTER 1: Seniors examined the predicament/opportunity of Edna Pontellier in Chopin’s novel The Awakening, and explored, individually, whether her choice at the end of the novel reveals an embrace of freedom or hopelessness. Essays required students to argue for one interpretation or the other and to supply feedback from literary critics to support that stand. Exam preparation required students to create a digital portfolio using Google sites and to build their site around individually-created semester impressions that link the semester’s three works together. Artifacts included in this portfolio (media files, online articles, TED talks, etc.) reveal the students’ understanding of themes found in the works but also present in our world today. Included with digital content is the student essay that serves as a creative and intellectual tour through the portfolio.

Seniors have recently wrapped up their study of the great epic Beowulf. After analyzing self-selected passages for their test, students crafted essay topics that allowed them to apply Anglo-Saxon cultural concerns to contemporary society. Topics ranged from the problematic question of soldiers who desert (a hot topic of discussion during our reading) to the appeal of the military as a source of propaganda. Currently, students are wrapping up Shelley’s Frankenstein and will compose their “big idea” list soon as a source for the test. Next on the literary horizon is Chopin’s The Awakening—a deep consideration of one woman’s resistance to Victorian constraints.

PSYCHOLOGY

SEMESTER 1: What happens in your body when a friend unexpectedly jumps out and scares you? How do the words on this page move through the air, enter your eye, and become the recognizable images you see in front of you? How does your brain process your memories and how reliable are those recollections?

These are just a few of the questions we explored this semester in AP psychology. The beginning of the course took us through an introduction to the scientific history of psychology and the significant psychological researchers of the past two centuries. Growing from these roots, students then explored the biological aspects of mental processes and behavior, the anatomy of the brain, and neural processing, including that fight-flight-freeze response of our nervous system. From here, they learned how senses like taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing take in, translate, and process information from the outside world. Then they gained a deeper understanding of exactly how the learning process works and how experiences condition both our conscious and subconscious responses to situations. Finally, we wrapped up the semester with an examination of how humans process and store memories, the reliability of those memories, and how cognition is put to the test through intelligence measures. Each one of these topics are crucial preparation and practice the for AP exam in the spring.

SOCIOLOGY

SEMESTER 2: In the second half of the course this semester, students put into direct use their newly gained understanding of the sociological imagination, scientific research methods, and theoretical perspectives on culture, socialization, and the social construction of reality. Through these lenses, they critically assessed major social institutions like education, government, religion, and the economy. They then gained a deeper understanding of social stratification and inequalities in the United States and throughout the world. Students explored current data and trends on these critical issues and had stimulating discussions centered around social class, race, and gender. Finally, we ended the course by applying the sociological perspective to current events and what will likely be the most pressing global social issues of their lifetime: health and medicine, social movements, population, urbanization, and the environment.

Below are quotes from some of our sociology students’work:

“After learning about self-detachment and the glorified self, I began to see that (others) actions are considered explainable in the sociological world.”

“Sociologists claim that people go through a state of emotional reaction to the opinions around them that cause them to alter their self-image. When having this frame of mind, I can see that the process that I went through when transitioning into high school was completely normal.”

“This new-found knowledge… has caused me to better understand the situations that I experience.”

“After I have completed this activity, I’m thinking more about families who struggle with (poverty). I know that there are families out there who truly live paycheck to paycheck, but I’ve never been able to understand the stress of their situation until now.”

“Learning about both the Hawthorne effect and the effect in the Adler and Adler (research) article helped me put a name to the feelings I’d been experiencing… Before I learned about this, these experiences were just what happened to me and I found them very hard to describe. Now, I have the words to describe this and the knowledge and experience to know what will continue to happen if I elect to (do the same things in the future).”

“Every part of society is necessary–even the parts we deem more negative. For example, we tend to see crime as something that society would be better without while failing to realize the positive effects that crime can have on society–or rather–how crime in a society pushes it forward. Consider the actions of Susan B. Anthony, a suffragist who was arrested after voting in her hometown. Yes, she committed a crime, but this crime helped to propel the legalization of women’s voting rights forward.”

“The education system has so many benefits and values, all of which play a key-part and function in society. For example, the function that it played for (one parent I know) was a place to keep her child busy, occupied, and making friends while allowing (that parent) time to do her own job. The function that it plays for me is aiding my future ability to get a job. Even the little roles within the education system all serve a purpose such as the SAT functioning as a way to prove yourself as a student to colleges. As stated in the book, Herbet Spencer believed the parts of society that kept it functioning were social institutions, one of which being education. There is no doubt that education keeps society moving forward and running smoothly.”

STUDIO ART

SEMESTER 1: This semester students have worked on:

a reverse charcoal still-life, (image attached)
visiting local galleries where still life work is on display and report back;
a project on self portraiture that includes several steps;
researching a famous artist from a provided section;
making a transcription of a self portrait of chosen artist in appropriate medium;
creating a self portrait in medium of choice from direct observation that includes environmental subject matter that reflects their interests/ concerns/ interests.

YEAR: 2019-20

ACTING I

Semester 2: The juniors are digging into the Stanislavski technique (the granddaddy of all acting techniques), practicing how to mine the script for given circumstances, unearthing their character’s actions, and learning how to create a strong, playable objective for every scene and character. As a group we are reading and analyzing Picnic, and the students will soon be able to apply their technique to performance scenes from the play.

Semester 1: The class began the year building up their focus, concentration, and imagination. Then they selected new monologues and started to investigate different ways of using their bodies and voices to convey character and tell a story. They have explored a variety of class exercises including visualization, movement work, creative writing, and text analysis. They have also worked with partners to critique each other’s work and offer constructive feedback. They will synthesize all these skills in their upcoming monologue performances.

ACTING II

Semester 2: The seniors started the semester off with a unit on the actor’s physicality, warming up with commedia d’ell arte and then creating group performance art pieces using Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints. They will begin to explore characterization and acting in the Realism style alongside their small group scenes. We have also begun to study the Practical Aesthetics approach to scene analysis, and the students will be applying these techniques to their new scenes.

Semester 1: Our actors have been using Michael Shurtleff’s Audition as a guide (a common college text often referred to as the “bible” for working actors) to delve more deeply into character creation and scene/monologue analysis. They have practiced using the Audition Guideposts in class study scenes and are now applying them to longer undirected scene performances. They have explored techniques and theories of such acting practitioners as Viola Spolin and Constantin Stanislavski, as well as the Greek acting style in conjunction with our reading of Oedipus Rex.

COMMUNICATIONS

This is an introductory course in communication studies and public speaking. It balances an exploration of the traditional areas of communication studies on the one hand, with developing skills in public speaking and presentation on the other. In the first semester this included learning about representative models and modalities of communication, brain-to-brain communication, communicative expressions of identity and community, language, and systems of nonverbal communication. We will conclude the first semester with an examination of long-held beliefs about gender-related communication and how they are changing and evolving with Generation Z. On the skills side, we have done two speeches that are part of every Intro course – how to introduce a featured speaker to a group, and how to tell a story effectively. We are currently completing an in-depth unit on presenting with PowerPoint. We will conclude the semester by beginning work on a school-wide colloquium next semester designed to foster civil discourse among the students about a topical issue to be chosen by them based upon extensive interviews with their peers, carried out in connection and coordination with the Sociology class that they are taking alongside this course.

HUMANITIES OF WESTERN CULTURE

This course is a survey of the evolution and intersections of Western history, philosophy, art, architecture, and music from ancient times to the present day. During the first semester we began with the early precursors of western civilization – the Sumerians and the Egyptians among others, and then moved forward through the Greeks, Romans, and the Byzantines. We considered the roles of the great men and women of each period who helped shaped the foundations of Western culture through their accomplishments. We looked at the profound contributions of the Judeo-Christian heritage. Moving then through the Medieval era, we are concluding the first semester with a lay-over in the Italian and Northern Renaissance. Along the way we have looked in some depth at the notable art, architecture and music of each era, learning how they evolved and reflected their times. In philosophy, we began with a deep-dive into aesthetics; then continued with early ideas of happiness and the good life; and concluded the semester considering and debating the ideas of representative religious and political philosophers. Students worked on creative projects such as mask-making and art-photography that tied in with each unit and gave us the opportunity to express in a hands-on, personal way the aesthetic principles we were investigating.

INTRO TO THEATER

SEMESTER 2: The juniors are working with guest artist Mary Evans Lott during the dual enrollment portion of this course. They’ve studied alternative theatre spaces, Aristotle’s six elements of drama, and the contributions of major theatre practitioners. They examined modified realism through August Wilson’s Fences and are just finishing up Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

SEMESTER 1: The juniors began the year with a bit of absurdism (The Bald Soprano) before moving on to the Ancient Greeks and Antigone. We began exploring Shakespeare by examining his theatrical environment and how his texts may have evolved. We read and discussed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the students had the opportunity to create Shakespearean cue scripts and stage a scene from the play. Now we’re delving in to the dark and bloody tragedy, Macbeth.

LITERATURE, COMPOSITION & IDEAS I

SEMESTER 2: Juniors have been busy since the beginning of the semester with getting to know writers who have impacted the American Voice in both fiction and non-fiction– Mary Rowlandson, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman, to name just a few. Students have successfully transitioned from reading and examining theorists to carefully considering fiction and non-fiction writers who help to craft the American Voice. We will move closer to examining the American Dream as manifested in relevant sources and our anchor text this semester, The Great Gatsby.

LITERATURE, COMPOSITION & IDEAS II

SEMESTER 2: Seniors have just finished examining the unsettling decisions and experiences of their latest protagonist Meursault in Camus’ The Stranger. Through intense examination, discussion, and tabletopping, students have been able to share their insights into character motivation and have discovered that sometimes there are more questions asked than answers provided. After examining an issue of their choice in essay form, students will end the year by looking at an eerily timely work, Max Brooks’ World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. What does local and global response to a pandemic look like? Chances are we can answer that question for ourselves.

PSYCHOLOGY

Students work to understand about human nature – how people’s brain works and how that supports their mind. This course introduces students to the scientific study of how we feel and act and to the fundamental knowledge of major concepts, theory, history, current trends in understanding human behavior and mental processes. Students learn about the methods psychologists use to find the answers to questions about brain function and its relationship to behavior, perception, motivation, cognition, learning, personality, social and mental health.

Topics covered the first nine weeks include, history of psychology, biology of behavior, consciousness and the two-track mind, sensation and perception, learning, memory, creativity, thinking, language,and intelligence.

Psychology and sociology students also attended a professional conference ” ENVISION: Creating Paths of Resiliency for Under-served Domestic Violence Survivors” hosted by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services on Oct. 11. Students attended sessions about the Virginia Victims fund which assists victims of violent crimes, working with native American communities, and domestic violence in Muslim families. Students learned more about providing trauma- informed and culturally responsive health and human services in communities. We are grateful to Tricia Everetts, Training and Grant Program Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services-Victims Services for allowing students to attend this conference free.

SOCIOLOGY

During our first class meeting, we learned about perspectives and what it means to adopt a sociological imagination. As part of this process, everyone made a set of “lenses” to represent the way in which we each see the world. Part of this process was recognizing and understanding that we cannot control the life we’re born into (represented by the style of glasses or sun glass they were given) and that we have limited resources available to us to craft our “perspective” (represented by the tools available to adorn their glasses). However, even within these limitations, creativity and expression flowed as each student crafted a unique set of lenses to represent their view of the world.

We continue to use this analogy throughout the course as we: learn about different theoretical perspectives (or “lenses”) we can adopt in sociology; recognize the perspectives that shape our own thoughts and actions; and gain a deeper understanding of both the similar and different perspectives of others.

A major highlight of this experience was our recent field trip to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. During the trip, we toured the facility, held a discussion and Q&A with the staff, and learned about the number and variety of people served by the food bank each year. This meaningful experience created crucial links between course topics and the lived experience of members within our own community. Culture, media, deviance, bureaucracies, group dynamics, race, class, and gender are just a few of the other topics we have explored so far. As the semester rolls on we will continue to “try on” different perspectives and to open up new ways of seeing the social world.

STUDIO ART

SEMESTER 2:

Below are some examples of recent work, some of which is on display at Staunton Augusta Art Center where the students have been congratulated by many for their considerable success. Unfortunately the exhibition YOUTH ART MONTH is open with very limited access due to the current situation but there are plans to extend the dates for greater opportunity to see the work.

SEMESTER 1: This semester students have worked on:

a reverse charcoal still-life, (image attached)
visiting local galleries where still life work is on display and report back;
a project on self portraiture that includes several steps;
researching a famous artist from a provided section;
making a transcription of a self portrait of chosen artist in appropriate medium;
creating a self portrait in medium of choice from direct observation that includes environmental subject matter that reflects their interests/ concerns/ interests.

THEORY & CRITICISM

SEMESTER 2:This semester began with Modern American realistic drama, as the students studied Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Tennessee William’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and are currently finishing Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

SEMESTER 1: The seniors are working through the history of Western dramatic literature. They began the year with Ancient Greece and Oedipus Rex. Then they examined some samples of medieval mystery and morality plays before moving on to the English Renaissance. They recently finished Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus and are now in the midst of what is possibly the world’s most famous play, Hamlet. Creative explorations of our texts include word clouds, image work, character resumes, and writing in role. The students also chose a Shakespeare play to read and analyze on their own as the first step in a larger creative project.

CRAFTS & SKILLS/WORKSHOPS/GUEST ARTISTS & SPEAKERS

Theatre Craft and Skills so far has been all about the technical elements of theatre. The students chose between a stage makeup class with professional makeup artist Joe Hurt or a costume design class with local artist Brecken Geiman. The stage makeup students learned how to create old age, cuts, bruises, tattoos, and beards, and they finished the class by designing and executing looks inspired by characters from The Wizard of Oz. Ms. Geiman’s students completed a paper and plastic design challenged, studied costume history and created a mash-up design from two different eras, and are polishing their final project: an original or upcycled garment.

YEAR 2021-22

YEAR: 2019-20

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