OSF Wednesday: Elijah Katchur

"The African Company presents: King Richard The third." I found it amazing to watch this show, at the beginning, I thought it was interesting the way it was presented, was not as I expected. Then as it developed further into the show and it became more complex, so did the characters. I'm intrigued by how powerful, and how much truth there was in their voices. That is something that I want to develop in ALL of my characters at Flathead. It's such an amazing opportunity to see this and any of these shows. I'm truly inspired by the quality of acting, and the truth within every character. This is the highlight of my year, and even my whole high school journey.

OSF Wednesday: Brianna Kretske

Wow, what a day yesterday! We started the morning with an acting workshop emphasizing the power of words, and I now have a new respect for Shakespeare. He is credited with inventing 1,700 words, and I had trouble inventing just one. Our instructors were incredibly fun and presented us with entirely new ways to look at Shakespeare's words. We did lots of exercises like tongue twisters and rhymes that let us get really creative, and we also examinded several passages from plays like "Julius Ceasar", "Love's Labor's Lost", and "Henry IV Part II". So, those of you who are daunted by Old English, fear not! Shakespeare used over 30,000 words in his entire collection of works, but with a little fun exercises and practice, you'll become a pro at comprehending all of them.

OSF Tuesday: Jake Wilson

On Tuesday we started off with the backstage tour of the Elizabethan Theatre and the New Theatre which involved us being ushered around by an actor who pointed out interesting facts. We learned about how the Stage Manager signals the actor for entrance onto stage by a set of little amber looking lights. We then explored the entire backstage with costumes, green rooms and actor/actress's lounge. From anywhere behind stage the actors are able to hear and know what exactly part of the play they are in by a series of stereos and TV'S spread throughout the area. After we had finished our Backstage tour we then went to go see the Shakespearean play of "Measure for Measure" which was set in an amazing time period with an interesting idea of a latino twinge to things. The set we saw during "Measure for Measure" was exactly like a shoe box in which had great depth and awesome projections throughout. The play also consisted of amazing costumes which after the show is done can and will be rented out to various projects such as "Saturday Night live." After we finished "Measure for Measure" it was time to go see "The Imaginary Invalid". This play was fantastically written, directed, acted and lighted throughout the play. It had a good overall moral of "Live as if your going to die tomorrow." and how important it is to know the ones who love you. This play was overall well done and i think by the audiences reaction of laughter, tears and an standing ovation the play was a hit. So far OSF has been a wonderful experience amongst me and other kids. we have already begun to talk about ideas we have seen to be used in various plays we create in the future.

OSF Monday: Cole Pierce

Last night we met Michael Magg, the lighting and projection manager of the OSF festival. He started talking about the education he went through to get to this point in his life. His story started out just like mine... a sophmore in high school who knew exactly that theatre lighting was exactly what he wanted to do. He went to a smaller school in northern Colorado and eventually got a job in Florida. He gave me some insight to what I need to do to become a lighting designer and manager for a similar festival.
Gwen is currently the stage manager for Julius Caesar. She told us all the jobs the stage manager has in this festival. One thing I thought was very interesting is that the stage manager is the hub of communication. Every week, they have a 20 minute meeting about all seven shows. In this 20 minute time frame, they have to go through all the technical aspects of each show and what their expectations are. Another thing I thought was interesting was how the directors leave at the beginning of the season, then it is up to the stage manager to keep the same vision going through the whole season just how the designer wanted it. If something changes in the technical aspects of the show, like when the sun starts setting at different times in the outdoor stage and they need to change a light, they need to contact the lighting designer before they can do that.
Overall, this is a very exciting trip and I am looking forward to seeing our first play "Measure for Measure" in the Bowmer theatre in just a few hours!

Oregon Shakespeare Festival!!

Here we are!! We are so excited to be here! We arrived at the airport at 4:30 am. All 32 of us got through security although Levi had to get his hands swabbed - why go shooting the day before you travel? Silly kid. :)

Arrived in Ashland and checked in to the Holiday Inn Express, then off to explore the Festival. Today is dark so limited shops, but we get to go into the Elizabethan for a sneak peak. Only an hour or so to look around since Michael and Gwen are meeting us for pizza at the hotel. They are SO amazing to take time from their one day off to come and meet with us.

The purpose of this blog is to share our experiences with the world while reflecting on what we've learned and chronicling the new ideas we want to preserve.
Students from each High School will be giving their perspectives.
Enjoy!!

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

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Holiday Story Theatre Experience

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