May
2005
ARTS
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by Z. G.
B.J. Novak was born in Newton and went to
public schools here. He is currently is
a scriptwriter and an actor for NBC’s new comedy show “The
Office”. Even as a child, he knew
that he wanted to become an actor, but
ended up becoming a writer in high school.
After college, he moved to Los Angeles, where
he began to blend his love of writing,
acting, and humor. Novak started doing stand-up
comedy at small, and then bigger, comedy clubs
in Los Angeles. He also did some acting and
directing in high school. An executive at MTV
asked him to audition for “Punk’d”,
a show where people play pranks on Hollywood
celebrities, and Novak was hired. During that
show, he played a driving instructor who nearly
made Hillary Duff cry. "I think I may
have gone a little too far on Punk'd once or
twice, but you have to be willing to push the
envelope a bit." says Novak. Later, NBC
hired him to be a writer for “The Office.”
Unlike the stereotypical idea of Hollywood
as a cut-throat scene, Novak says that
the opposite is true. "Almost everyone in
Hollywood comes from somewhere else, usually
a place with good values, so despite the stereotype,
it really isn't all filled with people who
are that slick and toxic." The people
have it nice in Hollywood; every actor
has their own personal trailer, with their
own TV, stereo, refrigerator, microwave,
and bathroom. Acting experience can be
helpful in real life, such as when one
need to pull off a good fib.
Novak wakes up at six, and he eats breakfast
from the coffee trucks on the lot. The
food in Hollywood is very high quality. The
breakfast is usually Mexican food, and they
also serve coffee and donuts which no one eats.
At 6:45, the actors have their make-up applied. "People
say that's where the best gossip in Hollywood
takes place." says Novak. After that,
the actors are on set until they eat a catered
lunch. Then it’s back to the set for
the actors. At 6:30 in the evening, the actors
all go back to there personal trailer, but
scriptwriters such as Novak stay “...in
a room full of empty Diet Coke cans and half
eaten pizza slices. My favorite part of the
job is the writing; we just toss off the most
ridiculous ideas”.
Novak’s advice to anyone who wants
to become a writer is, "If you want
to be a good actor, I would suggest to
act a lot in plays, and, just as important,
be observant. You can learn a lot about
acting from noticing how you and other
people react to certain situations, and
bringing that truthfulness to your performances."
Review
by E. D.
On Monday, the 25th of April, the 7th
grade band and chorus saw “Freedom
Train” , a one-hour musical
at the Berkeley School of Music.
The musical was performed by Theatre
Works USA, a traveling theatre group.
This show was directed by Joy Kelly
and written by Marvin Gordon. The
music direction was by Barbara Irvine.
The musical “Freedom Train” presented
the life story of Harriet Tubman, played
by Andy Young. This story starts with the early
years that she spent on a plantation. Later,
her brother introduced to her the idea
of running away to the North because their
master was so cruel.
This is the beginning of the story that leads
into Harriet’s adventures in
the North and, starting at the age
of 35, to free her family, who were
among 300 other slaves.
Along the way, she and her companions are
stalked by bounty hunters, who are motivated
for a large reward for her capture. Although
she is stalked, Tubman continues her journey
by using her wit and intelligence.
The set and the props used were simple, which
made the story more powerful. The set was a
raised platform in the center of the stage
that was slightly raked. The set changes consisted
of the actors themselves turning set pieces
to reveal alternate sides and putting poles
in the large raised platform to represent the
cotton field.
The musical started with an aged version
of Tubman coming out on stage and reminiscing
about the past occurrences on the Underground
Railroad. After that more cast members
came onto the stage and began to sing the opening
number, “Follow the Drinking Gourd” .
The costumes were not complex, and extremely
realistic for the time and place in which
the play took place. Most of the costumes stayed
the same throughout the whole show, but
were altered to show time progression by simple
changes such as aprons, shawls or glasses.
Harriet’s costume changed as she matured,
form a little girl’s dress to a young
woman’s garments.
The lights and the background music enhanced
the mood of each scene. When Tubman
ran away from the plantation, someone got whipped,
or she nearly escaped a capture, there would
be suspenseful background music to make the
scene more complete. The lights were a necessity
to make the story complete because
there was a sparsely set stage. When Tubman’s
brother was whipped, the lighting techs would
use more of a blue light and dim all the
other lights to focus on that event and show
the gravity of the situation.
The field trip was an overall success. Teacher
G. F. said, “I was very pleased with
the kids’ behavior on the bus.” G.
F. also says the theater was “...another
little jewel in Boston. Some of the best
acoustics in Boston.”
Finally, “Freedom Train” was
age-appropriate. The kids really enjoyed
the opportunity.
Review
by D. R.
On the April 27 the 6th grade band and
chorus went on a field trip to Babson
College to see the “The Magic Flute,” written
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and performed
by the Boston Lyric Opera company.
The curtains opened and the crowd fell silent;
the opera had begun.
“The Magic Flute” was about a
young prince, Tamino, who loses his way
while hunting. He meets the Queen of the Night,
and learns that her daughter was kidnaped by
the evil wizard, Sarastro.
However, by reading the synopsis given on
the program, the audience knew that she was
actually scheming to take over the kingdom.
Tamino, who does not know this, embarks on
a quest to save the princess from Sarastro
along with his newfound friend Papageno, the
feather-covered bird catcher for the queen,
played by Jamie Kotmair, and a magical flute
that the Queen gave him.
The Queen goes to the palace to see if Tamino
is there and finds out that he is not.
Enraged, the queen gives a dagger to Pamina
and tells her to kill Sarastro. Pamina can’t
bring herself to do the deed and runs away
from her mother
The prince arrives at the palace of Sarastro,
rescues the princess Pamina and then finds
out that the wizard is not evil, but actually
wise, and kind. Tamino and Pamina, fall in
love, and then have to go through a series
of tests that the wizard gives them to ensure
that they will be wise and kind rulers. Tamino
and Pamina pass the tests and rule the kingdom
with kindness.
“[The opera was put together
quickly],” said Jamie Kotmair who
played the cowardly bird catcher, Papageno.
The opera auditions were one and a half
years ago, although Kotmair said they just
rehearsed from late March till the present
time. However, to the audience everything
sounded thoroughly rehearsed and well-timed.
In a simple blue dress and a large
headdress, the Queen of the Night,
played by Meredith Hansen, sang the high notes
of her solo with amazing accuracy. Tamino sang
with passion and really felt what the character
in the opera felt.
The feather-covered Papageno played by Kotmair,
sang perfectly; he never missed a note. Sarastro
had a wise appearance, wearing a yellow turban
and a red and yellow long cloak.
The performance was good and well-sung.
The actors musically interpreted the lines
of the opera and portrayed what the characters were
feeling, whether it was sadness, regret, or
fear. The small orchestra of about 20 played
without stopping and in tune. The high chirpy “magical” flute
was enchanting in the opera and to the crowd.
The opera house at Babson College Arts Center
was a small one. It held about 250
people and had one balcony. It was mostly made
of cement with a new architectural design:
the lighting was placed on the ceilings directly
above the balconies. The opera house was
a very new one.
Although band member P. W. had a hard time
following the complicated plot, the majority
of the students enjoyed the opera.
The Making of an Epic Movie:
by M. R.
Rick Porras, the co-producer of “The
Lord of the Rings”, shares his experiences
with THE DAYTIME.
Rick Porras’s love of movies started
when he was a child and continues today. During
college at Stanford, Porras took a volunteer
job editing a documentary, which he enjoyed.
After graduating, Porras moved to Los Angeles “...and
started pounding the pavement.”
He eventually got his 1st job as Bob Zemeckis’s
personal assistant. Basically, his
job consisted of driving around dropping off
gifts and picking up items.
But Porras, with Zemeckis as his mentor for
the next 8 years, moved into film making.
Porras then moved to New Zealand to work
with director Peter Jackson on the movie, “The
Lord of the Rings”. He was excited
because he liked the LORD OF THE RINGS
books and was a big fan of Jackson. Jackson,
as the director, had a lot to do.
“The director makes hundreds of decisions
every day. The props guy is coming up and saying ‘Hey,
do you want the sword to look like this, or
a little lighter or built a different way?’ The
production guy is showing plans of the set
of the next scene to shoot. The wardrobe/costume
designer is coming up showing drawings of the
dress they are thinking about for the female
lead. There are all these people coming up
and the director is having to make decisions, ‘the
dress should be bluer….I like the way
this is looking.’ It’s an incredible
job,” says Porras.
“The director’s job is to put
the screenplay into pictures, so in the end
it is the director’s vision that
you and I see in the movie theatre. The
director talks to the actors about his
vision for their performance and talks
to the composer about the mood of the music
for the different scenes.”
Porras even got to be a director for one
segment of the movie. “There was
a lot of action and I could do visual effects.
For example, I would shoot Sam and Frodo
climbing the stairs. Then the little piece
that I shot would then be put into this
great big digital canvas with a background
of mountains and a great big drop off and
a moody sky.”
“A good producer deals with the difficult
aspects of making a movie, but trying to make
it to the budget that they’ve set.” A
co-producer even has to check what the
weather is going to be and make sure all
the props and scenery and costumes are
ready, anything that could effect what
the director wants to do.
“When Sam turns to Frodo on the mountain,
and he says ‘Let’s just get this
thing done, I may not be able to carry the
ring for you, but I can carry you.’ It
is a wonderful emotional moment. It is my favorite
moment of all three movies.” Sam is Porras’s
favorite character.
“From 6-7AM a producer is there to
make sure all is ready for the shoot of the
day. [He/she] walks around and talks to the
members of the crew. A producer reads hundreds
of emails a day, checks and reviews budget,
and checks on actors and the director,” says
Porras.
Porras advises Day students who want to become
a producer to “...learn about technology,
since it is a bigger part of making movies
and technology makes the world smaller
by allowing people all over the world to
work together. Rent DVDs and watch the
documentary section about the movie production.”
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