The Wisdom of a Penguin

When I was in junior high, I discovered and cherished the Bloom County comic strip created by Berkeley Breathed. I have never really analyzed what it was about the residents of this strip that so excited me, but the look, the humor, and the characters were so different than anything else on the comics page. That strip is back in the Opus format, and several of the Bloom County characters have been resurrected. But, it ususally does not have the same impact on me that it did in years past.

I was quite struck with last Sunday's comic, however. Opus is visited by his mother - a continual wish of the penguin - who tries to dissuade him of his fears of the "dulling of humanity" in the face of text messaging. I have had the fears of Opus, and the end of the strip, included in this post, made be laugh and frown simultaneously. Media can connect us in so many ways, but it also can separate us. What is the crucial element of humanity? Is it our ideas, whether expressed in a face to face format or in a mediated form, or is it physical connection?

In my theatre class last semester, I mentioned that they could communicate information via text message, but it was not the best way to convey emotion and intent. I used this to lead off my voice and diction unit as a way of showing how important vocal work is and how flat verbal communication would be like without variation in tone, pich, volume, or rate. This approach was something I had never done before, and I forgot about it shortly after the lesson was done. However, I was reminded of it months later when a student said that every time she texts, she thinks about how she would say what she is sending, and looks at the characters on the screen and knows they will not convey the whole message. It was one of those moments where you pat yourself on the back because you have an idea that stuck. And it was a moment of human connection that, if she had emailed me, would not have been as powerful. I don't want to denegrate technology, just perhaps remind students of what technology can bring, but also what it can leave behind. A tone of voice. A hug from a mother. Maybe in understanding this, the students too will laugh and frown.

The Joy of Hearteache

As a theatre teacher, I use very few filmic resources in my theatre classroom. Perhaps it is because I also teach film, so I see the glaring differences between how both arts present stories, and therefore in my viewpoint, films do not meet my theatre educational objectives. The only film I use consistently is a DVD of the Broadway production of Into the Woods in order to examine design elements.

Now, however, I have found a film that brings with it a whole new problem. I could use it everywhere in my theatre classroom. I am in the middle of a directing unit in my advanced class, and I tried to find clips from my extensive library of filmed theatrical texts (yes, we do have a rather large library, though most go unused) to show to the class to demonstrate the idea of a director's concept. I have a 4 DVD collection of Beckett's works that are quite well done, but the Beckett texts are a bit dense, so students unfamiliar with them struggle with determining how a director's concept supports or does not support the likes of Rockabye. What to do?

Well, I pulled out a DVD sent to me as a Christmas card from the BYU TMA department. On the disc was an adaptation of a Chekhov short story, Heartache. The film was brief and very theatrical. Because students could see the piece as a whole, and the text had depth but was easy to understand on a single viewing, it was a success. Students discussed the affect of the production (I avoided calling it a film), and the unities and disunities in it. We discussed using a Brechtian approach on a Realist text. We talked about the structure of the script. They discussed the emotional impact of the piece and how the elements of staging, design, and performance influenced that impact. We talked about director's concepts.

Now that I have found a filmic text that works wonderfully in my theatre class, the problem is finding the best place to use it. This student-produced short film could be used in a directing unit, as I demonstrated. Or, it could be used in a performance unit, examining the approach of the actors in the use of voice and body to communicate the story and subtext. Or, I could use it in a playwriting unit by looking at the source short story and them comparing the story in its script form (What works or does not in this transition to "stage"? What would they have done differently in adapting the script?) Or, I could use it in teaching about modern theatre movements, specifically Epic Theatre. It's short, sweet, and versatile. Who could ask for anything more, other than knowing how to best use it?

My Community: A Photo Essay

The following pictures show aspects of an educational theatre program that I, as a teacher, am very familiar with. Students are not seen much because I did not want to disrupt the rehearsal process. Here is our space, our resources, and our work that, over the course of six weeks, will result in a staging of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.

Roadside Salvation

On Interstate 15 somewhere between Provo and Salt Lake City, there is a billboard that rotates signage and messages encouraging people to "Visit Historic Temple Square." The image changes evey few months, but always the intent is the same. Of course, Temple Square is the number one tourist attraction in Utah, so a billboard promoting the site seems appropriate. I pass the billboard several times a week. I know it is an LDS tourist billboard. However, last week, the image and message had me contemplating the true intent of the advertising.

The billboard currently has a picture showing only the six spires of the Salt Lake Temple on a blue background. It is a unique photo in that it is missing the bulk of the temple structure and no other elements of Historic Temple Square. Six spires, pointing to heaven. That's all. The slogan is, "Escape the World." I had to consider if the location and message of this billboard was the most effective for capturing the tourists. It can capture those traveling by car from the south, but it is also hitting the locals who commute everyday (or a couple of times a week). Also, its admonition to visit Historic Temple Square is very small and located at the bottom, away from the spires where our eyes are drawn. I just know it is a Visit Historic Temple Square billboard because that is what is always on that post right before passing into Salt Lake County. What it really needs to capture outsiders is a cool rhyme, like the Rigby, Idaho billboard that proclaims "Free Taters for Out-of-Staters."

The billboard seems to be a message to LDS folks living in Utah to visit the temple. To escape the commute, the tedium, the pressures of the world and find peace in the temple. It is fine that the LDS Church advertises salvation in this way and at this location, but perhaps they should replace the tagline with one that reads, "Visit the Temple Nearest You."

How to Make Another Hemisphere Matter

As I was reading the paper this morning, I came across this photo taken by Karel Prinsloo of the Associated Press. The caption explained how ethnic clashes in Kenya have claimed more than 650 people this month. Names of opposition forces were given, but the names meant nothing to me. In any other case, I am ashamed to say, it is a photo I would have let me eyes travel over without stopping. My understanding of Kenyan politics is such that a photo of the conflict would not have any context for me. But that was not the case today. The photo was riveting. So, of course, the question is what in the photo captured me. It is well composed, full of emotion, and immediate, yes. But I think that what captured me most was the GAP logo on the central figure's sweatshirt. The prominent, global brand blazoned on the picture of ethnic violence made it more palpable for some reason.

For my students, the war ravaged buildings, the outrage and aggression, and the use of a machette to threaten seem to be things that they have seen only in film and therefore have no sense of reality to them. That sweatshirt, though. That they, and I , can understand.

The Why

Obviously, the picture to the right is not me. I am not quite that distinguished or intelligent-looking. The picture is a representation of what this space could be. This blog was created to fulfill an assignment for a class in my pursuit of a Masters degree in Media Literacy Education. The purpose is to explore my reactions to various media that I participate in, view, or experience. And a turn of the century Russian is the perfect symbol of that, right?

Right. Anton Chekhov is the epitome of an artist and a compassionate human. His works treat their subjects in a loving manner, and explore what it truly means to be human. How we speak of how good we can be, of our dreams and ambitions, but can get sidetracked in living up to those expectations. How we can be surprised or disappointed at every turn, and how art can cause us to be shocked, touched, amused, and intellectually-engaged, sometimes all at the same time.

Chekhov never lost his understanding of what drove him as a writer. Perhaps his most famous quote is, "I hate falseness and coercion in all their forms . . . . Pharisaism, stupidity and arbitrariness reign not merely in merchants' houses and police stations: I see them in science, in literature, among the young. That is why I have no particular passion for either policemen or butchers or scientists or writers or the young. I consider brand-names and labels a prejudice. My holy of holies is the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love, and absolute freedom, freedom from force and falseness in whatever form they express themselves. That's the platform I'd subscribe to if I were a great artist."

Okay, so it is a bit of hero worship. So, I named my firstborn son Anton. But in carrying this hero worship to this blog, I hope to also denounce falseness and coersion, and to extoll that which celebrates human intelligence, talent, inspiration, and love. Perhaps by doing that, I can lead my students to approach media the same way in their lives.