Grade: 11

Beginning: “I started playing cello in seventh grade. I had previously played violin, since fourth grade, but then I switched in seventh. I was ready for a change. The violin is high and squeaky and the cello is a luscious sound.”

Accomplishments: “I made All State chair last  year and this year I got fourth chair. All State is an All State Orchestra and we audition for chairs once we get there. It’s basically how prepared you are with the music and how good of a player you are and your ranking, overall, in the state.”

Favorite Aspect: “I think my favorite part is being able to connect with different people who play instruments and being in orchestra and connecting with people through music.”

Future: “I want to do music in college, but not with the cello. I want to do music education, so that’s not necessarily specializing in cello. I definitely still want to play, but maybe in an orchestra, not as a performance major.”

Featured Artist: Addie Hotchkiss

“I found out while I was in the middle of writing an essay and then I couldn’t focus!” said Kaufmann. “My heart is still pounding and I feel so honored!”

Brian Cappello, the director of this year’s musical and drama teacher at East, felt proud of the individual nominations but could not contain his excitement about the ensemble recognition.

“I am really happy for everybody. It is really great that they recognized everyone’s effort as an ensemble,” Cappello said. “And that includes leads, extras, everyone which is fantastic.”

East is distinguished as one of very few schools to receive multiple nominations. The nominees will be invited to attend the Blue Star Award ceremony on Thursday, May 24th.

Grade: 12

Tools: “Definitely a sewing machine, definitely scissors. Lots of pins. A sewing gauge, which is like a six-inch ruler. A blue fabric marking pen and an ironing board, usually. Those are the main ones for every project.”

Favorite tools: “I really like cotton because it comes in all sorts of patterns and colors and there’s more variety to it, so I’ve got more to pick from. But then I like patterns that I know I will use. I don’t want to make something and never wear it or never use it versus something I know I’m either giving as a gift or I know I’ll wear or a bag I know I’ll use.”

Beginning: “I started when [I was] in seventh grade, with FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) class just because I thought it was going to be fun. But I’ve had sewing in my life since I was little. My mom sewed Halloween costumes and that kind of thing and my grandparents would always sew. It’ll probably just be an extra curricular as a fun way to relax [in the future]. I’m not going into anything sewing related.”

Stuck with it: “I thought it was really fun and it was kind of a way to relax during the day. Instead of taking all hard classes it was an easy way to do something more creative. I’ve actually become my friends’ go to person when they’ve got holes in their clothes or buttons falling off. It’s little repair things that they need done, but I’m still able to do it quite easily and quite quickly.”

For more information, click here.

Day One:

Day Two:

Day Three:

Day Four:

Local Talk by HarbingerHomegrown

Upperclassmen:

Underclassmen:

Hiba Akhtar | Harbinger Online

Advanced Repertory is a drama class for seniors only. It’s the most advanced theatre class offered at East and students must take drama, actors studio, technical theater and repertory theatre prior to Advanced Repertory.

“It’s supposed to show what they’ve learned through their theatre studies, so we allow them the opportunity to direct their own piece and they do children’s theatre shows and things like that at a more advanced level,” Advanced Repertory teacher Brian Cappello explained.

During second semester, the seniors collaborate with each other to put on children’s plays at the local elementary schools.

“We have a big enough class this year that we divided them in half so one group is doing Cinderella and another group in doing Where the Wild Things Are,” Cappello said.

The class has given the students an environment to be creative and try want they want.

“Not only are we kind of each other’s peers in the class, but we’re also just a close, tight-knit group of friends.”

“It allows them to explore and study stuff you wouldn’t do for other classes because they aren’t ready for that yet,” Cappello said.

Because of the freedom, the seniors have decided to add a more musical component to their plays. Breckenridge explains that in one scene of “Where the Wild Things Are”, they pass out instruments to the students so they can join in with the “Wild Rumpus”.

“We have everyone playing instruments, banging around, jumping up and down and singing along. I’m holding the stick and just conducting everything along,” Breckenridge said.

Breckenridge says that she has really enjoyed being in the Advanced Repertory classes and had been looking forward to the class ever since she came to East. She says that the class not only has helped her with acting and becoming a better actress, but also by shaping her as a person.

“For a job application I recently had, they asked for leadership roles and so that putting in that I directed a Frequent Friday. I’ve actually gotten quite a few jobs from the fact that they know I can handle leadership,” Breckenridge said. “I’ve learned time management and how to get my ideas across in a way that people could actually understand.”

The class’ relationship with each other will be something that they’ll have for the rest of their lives. These seniors have stuck together through all four years.

“Not only are we kind of each other’s peers in the class, but we’re also just a close, tight-knit group of friends,” Breckenridge explained. “Anything stressful that happens outside of class, they know that they can just come here and just talk about it.”

Advanced Repertory has and will continue to have an impact on the students. It’s not just another class, it’s seventh hour Advanced Repertory.

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The plays will be held April 13 at the elementary schools Belinder, Westwood View, Corinth, Prairie, and Briarwood where they’ll perform for roughly 100 kids. The first performance is held at 8:30 and the last is at 1:30.

To watch all the Advanced Repertory students’ Frequent Fridays, click here.

Grade: 12

Tools: Violin, bow, rosin- “tree sap molded into a shape that you rub on the bow to produce sounds”- and music stand.

Began: Fourth grade. They offered it in elementary school and I thought it would be fun to try. I ended up really liking it.

Best Part: The final product. You know, after you’ve practiced for weeks and weeks or months, even; it’s really rewarding. Every time orchestra finishes a concert and we know we’ve worked hard and played well, we all have big smiles on our faces and it’s really special.

Inspiration: Usually I hear a really cool piece or someone mentions a piece that they really enjoy and that drives me to practice more and work harder. Also, hearing everyone play and come together in a big group is really rewarding.

Advice: At first, it’s really boring. You start out by just plucking strings and being bored. There are all the repetitious exercises, scales, arpeggios. Even working on one little part over and over again is frustrating and annoying, but it eventually pays off. It’s important to stick with it because you learn so much and learn to play some really beautiful music.

Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Grade: 12

Tools: “I love Sharpies. I have to have Sharpies. They’re probably my favorite thing to use. I don’t get too specific, though. It changes a lot. I use a lot of mixed media. Ink pencil, colored pencil. I like spray paint. Using just one thing gets boring; I like mixing it up.”

Inspiration: “Just what happens in my daily life. What I see and experience in and out of school, what I feel, how I process my world. You know, if a teacher asks me for a paper, I ask if I can draw because it’s easier. I always have ideas in the back of my head. And culture, especially. I grew up with an Italian mom and a Mexican dad, which has been a big influence. What I’ve seen in other countries and the people I’ve met; I’ve learned so much in a cultural way and that really helps with my work.”

Style: “I started when I was a little kid, just drawing randomly. As I aged, I realized it was something deeper than just drawing and that took me a while to figure out. Because of that, I don’t really follow what the teachers tell me to do. How I see it in my head is how I put it on the paper. I grow by trying things and experimenting. Of course, there are ways to go by the book, but it’s mostly what comes out of my head.”

Why: “I’ve always liked it. It became a hobby and a passion. Now it’s how I process everything, how I express myself. I have to do it, now, and some people don’t really understand [that]. I like that everyone has their own way of doing it; that’s my favorite part. The art I do is mine, no one else’s. And everyone has different ways they think it should be. Some people don’t get what’s up in a painting, but the artists knows exactly what’s up because it’s his. It’s a really special thing.”

The SM East Symphonic Orchestra performed at the District Orchestra Festival last Wednesday, March 28, along with the other top orchestras in the district.  Among the songs they performed were “Die Meistersingers” and “Russian Sailors Dance.”

Grade: 11

Tools: White paper, black gel pen

What:  ”I just take one of my black gel pens and they always turn out as these swirls, and just let it be free flowing and almost organic looking because I know when I’ve tried to make liner, geometric shapes, it just doesn’t look very sophisticated or interesting. Sometimes when I’m anxious it just comes out.  The intent is to be almost therapeutic. Sometimes I’ll just do it because I feel like getting something out.”

Began: “Honestly, a couple months ago. I made my first one when I didn’t really want to concentrate on what I had to be doing and it was just simple- my technique for doing it. So I just kept replicating it. Sometimes I do them in class because sometimes I don’t want to stop when I’m doing one. And It’s encouraging when someone looks over and is like, “Oh that’s cool” or, “That’s intricate” or, “That looks like a maze” or something, and that makes me feel good and it makes me want to keep doing them.”

Inspiration:  ”I’m just really inspired by things that are naturally occurring and look really cool. Or, like in mathematics, fractals. I think those are really awesome. They’re just like shapes with a lot of different little designs inside of them.  When I’m inspired to do something it’s because I really want to sit down to work on it and that’s when I try to make them the most elaborate. When I sit down to draw one it’s not really with a purpose; I use it as an outlet. I feel like if I use other outlets I’m going to be kind of disappointed, but usually, if I need to focus on something, and I end up drawing one of my shape designs, I feel like I did something constructive. I’ve tried adding color to them, but there’s something I really like about black gel pen on white paper. Especially since I could never draw comic book looking doodles like I wanted.”

Audio provided by Mr. Jonathan Lane.

Results are as follows:
Best Styling: Gaby Azorsky
Best Accessories: Claire Simchuck
Best Altered Designs: Natalie Pierce
Best 3D Art: Sarah King
Best Original Design: Miranda Treas

Grade: 12

Tools: “For embroidery I use an embroidery hoop, fabric, and embroidery thread. For metal working, I use a variety of tools. The main tools I use would be a torch and solder and a variety of shaping tools, like hammers, and dapping tools. For polishing I use tripoli and rogue, which gives it a really nice shine.”

AP Concentration: “My AP concentration would be enameled bowls. It’s where you take a copper sheet and cut out a circle and then you have to shape it into a bowl then clean it and use enamel, which is glass. They look really pretty when they’re done. I chose this as my concentration because it is technically pleasing and they’re really fun to make.”

Embroidery vs. Metal Work: “I prefer embroidery. It’s so relaxing and it’s fun to make all different sorts of things. Metal work I mostly do at school and embroidery I do at home. But I like to do the two of them constantly so I’m always doing something art related.”

Future: “I’ll always continue doing embroidery and maybe some metal working, but I don’t plan on going to an art school because it’s very expensive and having a pre-existing medical condition called aortic coarctation. I had to have heart surgery for it in fifth grade. Because of my condition, it makes it impossible for me to get medical insurance without having a good job. So I am going into nursing instead of doing art full time.”

Grade: 12

Tools: “I like to use different mediums; I really like experimenting.”

Inspiration: “I don’t really have any inspiration. I feel like a lot of it is random and mostly just things I like or if I have a cool idea I want to pursue.”

Involvement: “It was just something I always enjoyed and wanted to be better at. I’ve taken design, drawing, and photo. Drawing was my favorite because I feel like drawing is a big part of any art work.”

Favorite Part: “I like the way it relates different things in a visual sense. I like that pieces can have multiple meanings and it’s an easy way to express yourself.”

Senior Mallory Harrington and her cast will be performing “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” in the Little Theatre at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Grade: 11

Tools: Brushes, base “It’s just a heavier, thicker version of foundation”, lipstick, blush, false eye-lashes.

Start: “I started my freshman year. I train for lacrosse in the spring, but I wanted to be involved in the spring show, so I wanted to find something I could do that didn’t take up a whole lot of time, so I wouldn’t have to be there every single day. That way, I could play lacrosse, but still be able to be a part of a show. And I really got attached to it after that.”

Career At East: Arsenic and Old Lace, Machinal (Crew Chief), Beauty and the Beast, The Government Inspector (Crew Chief), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Crew Chief), Durang Durang (Crew Chief)

“I’m Emily Donovan and this is my Frequent Friday – and I have been waiting four years to say that.”

Directing and staging my Frequent Friday was vaguely overwhelming, completely exhausting and easily the most rewarding experience of my high school career.

It was well after auditions and casting before rehearsals developed a routine: a Facebook group, text message reminders, stretching, breathing exercises – plus some ground rules like “Text me back or I’ll feel insecure,” “Lines are on you – I can’t memorize for you,” and “Keep [your phone] in your pants [during rehearsal].”

With a fresh, inexperienced cast, the enthusiasm and etiquette were there from the first read-through; refining that energy onstage quickly became my directing goal.

Projection, diction, stage presence, defining character, committing to the moment.

Teaching the basics of acting was was like trying to explain breathing. Okay, you may not know the formal definition or the mechanics of breathing, but you know how to breathe. You would immediately recognize if someone wasn’t breathing correctly. You’ve been breathing for all of your life, right?

You live, you’ve got to breathe; you act, you’ve got to project, enunciate, cheat out, define a character and commit.

Sure, I could show them – I would speak from my diaphragm then speak quietly and make sure they could hear the difference projecting my voice made. I could illustrate the concepts – I would tell them about “Woyzeck” or ask them if they had seen the electric chair scene in “Machinal.”

But I learned from doing, and that seemed like the best way for them to learn too.

I had given each of them a few three-minute monologues to look over for the weekend and on Monday, they pulled them out, chose one and gave it their best shot.

Twenty-two rehearsals. One where I had them do Scene 3 speaking exclusively in gibberish – to help them to convey emotion and action without words. One where I had them swap roles – to help them see the distinction between characters. One where I had them lay onstage, turned off all of the lights in the Little Theater and led a guided meditation – just for kicks.

I was liberal with alterations to the script. Suggestions that came up during rehearsal which started with “What if…,” and ended with a laugh evolved into the moments onstage that never failed to make me giggle.

The due date for memorization had miraculously passed without incident. We jumped between room 213, the lobby and the auditorium to accommodate for the four other shows also rehearsing.

Pages and pages of lists filled my blue composition notebook – a flow chart with cryptic comments like “hand out for cup, keep forever,” “‘get in the kitchen’ more misogynistic,” and “door chow fun.’” I kept up to three different to-do lists, permanently deciphering my nearly illegible notes like “fingernail file?,” “hang up posters,” and “delete Q102.6.” I found myself knee-deep in spray paint, packaging tape, traffic cones and caution tape, attempting to assemble a display to post on the Call Board in a panic after dark the night before – and still loving every minute.

But show day wasn’t about me. It was about Olivia, Will and Anna, about techies, actors and audience members who may laugh at and one day remember “Robert DeNiro?” in the same way that I cherish all of my Shawnee Mission Wonderful theater memories.

I’m relieved the audience laughed. I’m ecstatic my techies handled the show so well. But more than anything, I’m honored to say that we all learned something.

I’m proud of you guys. Thank you for a fantastic experience.

Grade: 10

Tools: Pens, computer paper

Inspiration: “Usually, like everybody else, it’s love interests or lame stuff like bugs and birds.”

Future Plans: “I haven’t really figured it out yet. I know I want to do art, because that’s all I do. But I’m sort of morally opposed to art careers because a lot of the time it’s like you’re paying someone for self expression and I don’t really believe in that. I don’t really believe in getting paid for sports or art or entertainment, really because you’re not really doing anything.”

Recent Work: “Pretty recently I was in chemistry class and I started doing some doodles that were chemistry based and that was pretty cool.”