How Magic Comes To Life

In the second unit of the course Stage Chemistry, we learned about trap doors, the different types, which one is better to use for different situations and we learned about stage decks. We went to Steppenwolf Theater for an FE. There, we learned more about what it takes to make the decks, the safety protocols that have to placed, lighting and different stages. For our action project, we had to chose two motions that happens in the play Aladdin. I chose to do the flying carpet and the cave of wonders. I made a model of my stage and made the motions will work on stage. I made my model from my blueprint. During this project, I had a hard time creating my motions because they are small and making them work was a little challenging too. In this project, I learned how to make a scale model and learned how to be cautions when having traps doors or flying object. I am proud of how my flying carpet turned about because I struggled the most with that, but it looks good and it moves. To know more about how built my stage check out my project below.

KIS. Stage. 2017.

Flying Carpet:
The carpet will be hung from the top with strings and it will be movable. There will be a pulley system that will move the carpet side to side and up to down. The carpet will only be use in the flying scenes and an actor will take the character of the carpet.
There is a rolling car on top of the stage that will hold the carpet with strings. The strings will be attach to pole on top and to the carpet. When the car moves forward, the carpet will move with it like if they are flying straight. I drew the strings that are holding the carpet by hand with a 3D drawing pen called a 3Doodler. I couldn’t find small poles so I did the top system of cardboard symbolizing the metal that will actually hold the weight of the actors. The carpet will just go back and forth. Making all of this motion happen took me about 3 or 4 hours because I would mess up in the measurement and I would have to start all over.

Here are some safety protocols our crew follows to be safe:

• Watch heads when the carpet is flying. 
• Grab onto the edges of carpet when flying.
• Only two people on it at a time.
• Careful with pole on stage.
• Keep balance on carpet so it won’t tilt.

KIS. Flying Carpet Gif. 2017.

KIS. Safety sign for carpet. 2017

Cave of Wonders:
The cave will be beside the stage because it’s used in the beginning. It will be rolled in when needed. The cave is medium size so that an actor can go in the mouth of the tiger. It will be placed in the side of the stage so it can go directly to the scene of Aladdin in the cave.
The cave is thin so it can go directly to a scene inside the mouth. The cave will be on wheels so that it can move easily. I printed a picture of the head of the tiger and a cut a cardboard around it so it can be stable. The head of the tiger is placed on top of a small deck so that it moves across the stage easily and it won't take up that much space.

Here are some things our crew do to keep themselves safe:

• Watch feet when rolling.
• Careful when navigating it on stage.
• Careful when walking through it.

KIS. Rolling Tiger Head Gif. 2017.

KIS. Safety sign for rolling cave. 2017.

Calculations:

KIS. Force Diagram. 2017.

In order to find how much work is put into moving this cave I used the equation: W=FxD. Before I could find out work I had to first find out how many newtons there is and find my distance. For that I did 15x4.44822 = 66.7233N. I multiplied it by 4.44822 because 1lbs = 4.44822N. Then to find the distance I did 3x12ft/4=36/4=9ft/3=3m. Once I had my Newtons and Distance I went back to the equation and put in the numbers, 66.7233Nx3m=200.1699J.

A Whole New Theater

In the first unit of the course Stage Chemistry, we studied stage productions, stages blueprints, how to set up a theater and we blueprinted our school. In doing blueprints, we learned how to take measurement, how to convert inches into feet and how to scale real life measurements to paper blueprints. For our action project, we had to chose a place where we would like to hold a play. We would have to transform the place into a theater. I chose to transform a room in our school for the play Aladdin. I chose it because it has many things that I need for the audience and for the actors. I had to measure the length and width of the room along with other rooms that I used. The other rooms where amenities for my theater. During this project, I had difficulties measuring the rooms and converting them to feet. I also struggles with finding ways to satisfy the actors and audience when creating the environment for the rooms. In this project I learned how much work goes into a stage production, how calculating the measurements is really important and how you have to think of the actors, audience and how you want to play to turn out. Overall the project was a little stressful, but I liked how I challenged myself to do more rooms then put everything in one and doing all the calculation. To know more about my project, check it out below. Hope it give you an idea when planning a play and making your stage.

I chose a room called OC because it's a big room and I was able to imagine my stage in that room. OC gave me space to have a stage that is big enough for the actors and I have plenty of seats, that is what I wanted. In the process of planning the seating, stage and how it will all work in opening night. I was thinking about the audience and actors all the time. I wanted to give the actors a space for themselves and I wanted them to feel special by having two room for them. I also wanted to audience to feel comfortable by having a lobby for them, restrooms available for them and providing a variety of snacks for them. Although having different rooms for these things I had to measure the rooms to scale it to paper, which was work than I had to do and was challenging, but I was able to do it with help from my peers and teacher. Creating the blueprints took more time than I thought because I kept messing up in the scaling and placing things where I want them to be. I also took a while to thin of good logic statements because I didn't want to write something obvious. I struggle a little in this project, but I liked how I challenged myself with more rooms even if in that time it was hard and I was able to go through with it. I like the final product of my blueprints and my cover page.

JV. OC. 2017.

Comparing my theater to Goodman Theater:

Insight On GCE

In the third unit of the course System and Models, we studied Commons, I-O Psychology, Six Sigma, Total Quality, how to evaluate companies and groups. We watched a motivation video demonstrating mastery, purpose and accountability. We watched another video about incentives, how people work more for certain things and how people incentives change over time. For our FE’s we talked to Jessica Tondreau and Eric Davis. Jessica is GCE’s counselor and Eric is the founder of GCE. We talked to them because they know how the school function, what is the purpose of a different learning style that we have and what the school is meant to be. For our action project, we had to look at a system in the school and break it down using an evaluation called SWOT. I chose to look at equipment because it’s a topic we are facing right now, where there is no respect for it. Along with choosing a system we had to relate it to Business Trends, Commons, Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, System Thinking and I-O Psychology. We also had to conduct interviews and come up with a solution. During this project I had difficulty with getting interviews from students and I had a little trouble connecting everything to my topic. In this project I learned how to look at different aspect of a problem and how to come up with a productive and satisfying solution. To know more about the cool equipment that we have at GCE and that students can use, check out my prezi below. Hope you enjoy it!

For The Future

In the second unit of the course Equality, we studied race, class and gender. We looked at the issues that we are having currently with our president and how he is encouraging racism. It’s like he gave people permission to be racist and treat people badly in public. We also saw videos of people testing racism. How kids are influenced from their parents, media and their environment to think light skin means good and black skin means bad. We also saw a video of a black guy and white guy who dress the same and acts the same. The video shows the two guys doing the same things like looking to buy a house, getting a job, going to the hospital and we see how people treat the black guy different because of his skin color that associated him to a low class. The video also showed facts of how a black guy is more likely to get pulled over than a white guy and the rate of black person going to jail is way higher than a white person. For our action project, we had to write an article based on gender, race or class. We also had to do a toy with an advertisement, a policy and a letter to the editor from a different person's point of view. I chose the topic race and I went with a music theme. I created a toy where you can make music with it and one can change instruments by switching a card. All of this is meant to go in a time capsule and for people of the future to know and read how thing were in 2017. If interested check out my project below. Enjoy!

KIS. Making Music Advertisement. 2017.

Revolutionary Musicians!

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By: KIS                                                                                    February 18, 2017.

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Who knew that music influence our emotions, thoughts and ideas. Best friends Savannah and Ace write music with many messages. They can’t be categorized into one type of music, they play different music according to their message. Their message varies from issues, politics, empowerment, inspiration, motivation, etc.

Savannah was born in Chicago and her parents are Mexican. Ace was born in New York and his parents are Danish. They come from different backgrounds, but they both believe in bringing awareness to people and helping America become more accepting of different races.

“DJ Digital Technology Sequencer Music Samples.” Max Pixel. Image. Web. February 22, 2017.

Since they were little both have been surrounded by music and they both enjoy it. They met in their teens online through a mutual friend. They were both hesitant talking through the internet with no contact, but once they started talking they realized they had things in common, but overall  they have a passion for music. Both wanted to influence others and become famous. Instead of having the competitive instinct they decided to help each other. For years they talked through the internet and shared ideas with each other that will benefit one of them or both.

Once they finished college and becoming an expert in the music business and mastering other instruments. They realized that they wanted the same thing in life and they decided to become a duo and face the world together.

They started with simple messages for the lyrics and a slow music to get a feel of how it will work out and how people will react to it. After many trial and error they got the result they wanted. They started going deep into the music and brought awareness.

Savannah’s and Ace’s music has been the encouragement for people to speak up, find their voice and fight for what is right. People love their music because of the different styles that people like. People can choose what they want to hear if it’s political or inspirational and if they want something fast, medium or slow.

Policy

Discrimination shall not be encouraged and therefore no one should treat another race differently, especially businesses. Everyone should be and feel welcomed.

Dear Editor:

I am so happy that someone shined the light on this amazing duo. They have been in the shadows for a while and they should proud of their music. Their music connects to any age and they should know that their music inspire so many people. They are role models to follow.

Some people will say their music is bad, they don’t have a solid style and they are all over the place with no focus. People also think they aren’t talented and that they shouldn’t continue their music careers,  others will say they are ok.

I say the opposite and I love how they approach issues and make the music around the message so that it goes along and helps the message get through. I would say that Savannah’s and Ace’s focus is important conflicts, inspiration and issues that go on in the world and wake us up from the coma we are living in. Everyone's so focused on their lives and the things they do that they don’t pay attention to other problems that could affect them or others. For the reason that people are so busy with their lives, they don’t give their opinions, don’t stand up for others, don’t vote for important things and they don’t notice when their rights are being violated.

I really like how Savannah and Ace started to make an impact on the world with a popular and pleasing art form. I also like how they both knew how they wanted to make a change in the world since they were little, they stayed true to themselves and they made their dreams come true. They deserve to be recognized for everything they do and to stay true to what they believe in.

Thank you for writing this article,
SR

S.M

Individuals Have An Impact

In the second unit of the course System and Models we studied, groups of people, what brings them together, what breaks them up and their behaviors. We came up with trust exercises to test how good do we know each other. My classmates got creative and made test based on background, what would you take to an island, two truths and a lie and building things together. We had an FE to Mariano’s where we did a quick sample test of what our project would be. We each chose a food bars that are popular, we sat somewhere close and observed who would buy something, just looks and what gender they were. At the end the data showed that people would buy and approach the hot food bar more. For our action project we conducted a research study on a topic that interests us. I chose double parking because it’s something I see a lot and I don’t think it’s fair. Especially double parking on a street that is busy, that has residential zones and that have many business. During this project I had difficulties with being on time to record the data because I would come home just on time or I would have to go outside without a jacket to get data. I learned that not many cars double park, but it does have a big impact on the people in their neighborhood. If you want to know more about my finding on my double parking study, check it out below. Hope it’s informative and interesting. Thank you.

People's Favorite President

In the first unit of the course Equality, we studied, race, gender, class and other ways our society or world isn’t equal. We looked at many video of how all of this segregation has impacted our lives, how it changed society and how made people have certain views. We also saw a movie about racism that shows how one can be racist to their own race by comparing skin tones, color eyes, color hair and things like that. We had a guest speaker, Elizabeth Dozier, where she talked about making an impact on lower income students lives and how our educational system sets us up to fail. For our action project, we made a textbook look alike chapter based on a historical event. I chose the election of Barack Obama, 2008-2016 because it is something that impact my family and many of my friends were sad when he left the presidency. During this project I had difficulties with balancing creativity with formal because my topic is political and I didn’t want to choose a color or font that doesn’t go according to it. I learned how to create and issuu and I am proud of my work. To know more about the election check out my project below, hope it’s informative.

Self Analysis

For the first unit of the course System and Models we studied, psychologists, people, groups and ourselves. We researched psychologist that are part of history, we researched what they were known for, their background and what other accomplishments they did. We watched so many test to show how certain people react to things, situations and people. Some test we looked at was The Marshmallow Test, The Slap Her Test and The Stanford Prison Test. They all tested different people, different age group, different scenarios and they test to see what part of our human nature shows up. We also took personality test to know more about ourselves. We took the Myers Briggs test, TKI test, Enneagram test, Disc test and Conflict test. For our action project, we took the results we got from the test and include them in a self portrait. Our self portrait could be anything we consider art like painting, drawing, sculpture, abstract and many more. I chose drawing because it’s something I can do. Along with my drawing I wrote an artist statement that explains my art and what it represents. During this project I had difficulties with coming up with my final drawing and getting a view of a professional artist. I learned how long it takes to write an artist statement and how much detail you have to put in it. Also I learned and confirmed a lot from the personality tests. Overall I had fun with this project and I enjoyed it. To know more about me check out my artist statement below.

KIS. Self Portrait Drawing. 2017. 

Self Portrait
Drawing
8.5” by 11”

In my drawing I am the flowers. The big flower is me to everyone, I am an introvert, I don’t talk much to anyone and I just observe everyone. Once people get to know me I become the open small flowers around the big flower because I talk more, I care for them, I am friendly and I have a strong connection to my friends. My drawing represents how i've been for my whole life until now. The music notes don’t represent me, but music has been in my life and it’s an important part in my life. That’s why I chose notes to represent music. I used the TKI and the Myers-Briggs test to help me create my self portrait. The TKI shows up in the big flower in the middle because I am an avoider of conflict so I am just closed off and quite. I also don’t attempt to satisfy my own needs nor attempt to satisfy the other person’s needs. The flowers around represent the other test, I am an ISFP. I am the small flowers because once people get to know me I am friendly, I step up onto what needs to be done, I live in the present moment, I help others, I am non judgemental and I am loyal. Isabel Briggs Myers, Gifts Differing said "The work of their hands is usually more eloquent than anything they say." (Myers, page1). Another ISFP, David Keirsey, Please Understand Me II said "The Composers are attuned to sensory variation, which gives them an extraordinary ability to work with the slightest nuances of color, tone, texture, aroma, and flavor." (Keirsey, page 1). A person who I identify with is the psychologist and philosopher William James. James is known for introducing psychology and bringing psychology laboratories to the United States. I identify with him because he had an interest for philosophy and I like to use philosophy in some situations. Also he had back issues like I do, but his was more serious. I also used the “Slap Her” test to relate to. In this test small boys were asked to slap a girl and all didn’t because it’s not right, they don’t want to hurt her and they were raised not to hit girls. This is similar to the way I think. I treat others the way they treat me and I always respect people because that’s how I was raised.

In the beginning I had different idea but after talking to a couple of classmates my self portrait changed. My initial idea was going to be a drawing of many things that make me what I am today, but my drawing didn’t fulfill the rubric and it didn’t explain me good. It only showed the outside of me instead the inside. I had to rethink my drawing and my classmates helped me with it and it became to what it is now. I chose nature as an overall theme because I like nature, specifically flowers. The point of my self portrait is to tell others how I am and not to expect other things from me that I might be able to do or reach their expectations. To see that to get into my trusted circle of friends won’t be easy and it takes time. I also think from a different perspective, I like to think outside the box and step back to fully analyze a situation. I want people to think that I can be a flower. I can be very closed off and sometimes come off with a not intended bad vibe, but I can open like a flower over time. Having the artist statement count more than the portrait itself influenced me to have a simple drawing. In the statement I have to worry about getting into detail and explaining my drawing and thought process. I honestly like it better because I don’t have the right skills to make a detailed drawing, painting or sculpture and writing is something I am good at. In this project I had difficulties with finding the right person for my interview and expressing myself through the drawing. I did not expect to find it so hard to come up with a concept that represents me and that fulfil the rubric. It was easy to do the interview after I got a hold of a person.

I interview Jackelyn to know how professional artist write their artist statement. I learned that she likes hearing the viewers opinions of her art and she likes leaving it open for them to interpret it how ever they want. “I know a lot of us don’t like writing them, but gallerie and different people in just either the art community or non art community want to know more about an artist” she said. While talking with her this struck me because it shows the side of the artist in writing the artist statement and how it’s a requirement so that the viewers can understand it more.



Citations:

“Good and Bad Avoiding | Using the TKI to better resolve conflict.” Psychometrics Canada. N.p. January 22, 2017. Web. January 11, 2016.

“Isfp.” ISFP in Depth - Discover Your Strengths and Make the Most of Your ISFP Talents | Truity. N.p. January 22, 2017. Web. January 11, 2016.