Mr. Ford was Voted Most Influential Teacher at EHS for the Second Year in a Row. By: Samantha Goe5/11/2018 Every year the Chattanooga Rotary Club holds a luncheon to honor Hamilton County’s most influential teachers. Five teachers from five different high schools in the county are honored at this event each year. This year, for the second time in a row, the seniors voted Mr. Ford as the most influential teacher at EHS.
Every teacher that wins this award and attends this luncheon, is introduced by a student of their choosing. This year Mr. Ford chose, theatre club member and Mrs. EHS candidate, Pressley Wilson. Pressley is new to the East Hamilton Theatre Company this year but that doesn’t change the fact that Mr. Ford has been a BIG influence to her. Pressley tells us, “He has made me go outside of my comfort zone by encouraging me to be more creative and get involved” as he has done for many other students as well and any one would know that just by watching him teach and interact with students. The students are not the only ones that are fond of Mr. Ford; our administrators are also fans of his. Mrs. Chuy has known he was a good teacher for quite some time now and knew that the students would think so to as she was the one that gave him the job as theatre teacher after Mr. Veenstra. When Mrs. Chuy started to talk about examples of how Mr. Ford inspires his students, she mentioned something Pressley said in her speech introducing him at the event. Mrs. Chuy said that Pressley talked about her audition for the school play and that Pressley believed that she did not do well and Mr. Ford would not accept that she thought that and told her she did amazing. Mr. Ford is all for inclusiveness and he always encourages kids even if they’re shy he pushes them to go a little out of their comfort zone and accomplish things that they didn’t know they could. Even though Mr. Ford has won this award twice in a row, he is still very honored by it. Mr. Ford loves that this award is given by the students it makes it mean that much more to him because it’s the people that are in his class and that he interacts with on a daily basis that gave him this award. The award is voted on by the seniors every year and this year’s seniors and which makes it even more special this year because it is Mr. Ford’s fourth year teaching the high school as it is the seniors fourth year in high school. The students are obviously affected by Mr. Ford but the students also affect Mr. Ford. One of Mr. Ford’s biggest goals as a teacher is to not teach students to think like him but, to think for themselves and voice their opinions and when they do it is always something interesting and new that he has never heard before. The students are not the only ones that learn everyday, Mr. Ford believes that teachers are life-long learners and his students teach him just as much as he teaches them. He learns something new from them everyday and states that, “A lot of times it is insightful, thoughtful, occasionally profound, and always welcome.” Mr. Ford, while he is honored by this award, believes that it is also unfair because he teaches subjects that students want to take they don’t have to. Mr. Ford’s opinion on what a really, truly inspirational teacher is would be one who can get a student to learn a subject that they hate and may not be the best at. He gives an example saying, “If a math teacher can teach you math even though you can’t stand math and you hate it and loath it and you go in there and at the end of the year you learned something; to me that teacher is very influential.” Mr. Ford is a very valued member of this school and a very humble person who cares about his students and is very deserving of this award. Even though he might not admit it, he does a lot for his students and for the theatre program and will continue to do so.
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East Hamilton had a very successful spring production of Little Shop of Horrors raising over $5,000 for the theatre and an average ticket sale of 170 per night for all four nights. There were a lot of reasons to love and see this show, but if you missed them, here’s a bit of a recap.
Samantha Campo, one of the stage managers, says, “My favorite part was watching everything come together and how each performance they [the cast] grew into their character.” Sam also said that the audience loved it. Mr. ford also gave some of his opinions about the show. When asked what his favorite part was he responded with, “well that’s not a fair question.” After thinking for a minute though, he did say, “I love Audrey’s death scene,” which was amazing (side note: Audrey happened to be present to hear this and was amused). Mr. Ford was then asked about what the theatre company has to look forward to next year, but he would not as he says, “divulge” his plans… which was expected but we had to try. We also interviewed East Hamilton’s one and only Audrey Ms.Rachel Woodard. This was Rachel’ first ever show, and she was the best Audrey anyone could ask for. Rachel loved the experience and just being there everyday, meeting a tone of new people and spending all of her time with them. Woodard could not choose her favorite performance but she narrowed it down to either the Tuesday or Thursday night show because less accidents occurred during those shows. Finally, she was asked if she would consider doing more theatre in the future and without hesitation said, “Absolutely!” Little Shop of Horrors was the schools last show of the year and and it was a smash! The seniors that were involved in this show who won’t be participating in EHTC shows in the future definitely went out with bang! Now we can look forward to whatever next years season will be. It’s spring again which means it’s time for the spring musical!!! This year Mr. Ford decided to do Little Shop of Horrors. Little Shop is the story of a boy named Seymour who is in love with a girl named Audrey who works with him at Ms. Mushnik’s flower shop in downtown Skid Row which is a slum kind of area and also where they live. At the beginning of the show the flower shop is not doing very well and Ms. Mushnik is considering closing for good but then, Seymour discovers this amazing new species of plant that saves the shop. However, this plant has some strange and interesting desires and Seymour must find a way to cater to them if he wants this new discovery to keep attracting customers. He might have to make some major sacrifices!
Johnna Hardy (pictured above), who is our very own Mrs. Mushnik the florist shop owner and Seymour and Audrey’s employer, was asked for some of her opinions on the show. This show is big and extravagant and the school has not done a show like this before so Johnna graciously shared her opinion on that saying, “I would personally say that this is a first for the school. We have never had to rent a puppet before so that’s pretty interesting. This is sort of just like a crazy show.” There are many, as Johnna said, crazy parts to this show so, when she was asked what her favorite part was (excluding major plot points) she had to think for a minute but then stated that she really likes the song “Skid Row (Downtown)” because that is when they have the whole cast with them and, “It’s really just a huge, amazing musical number about how life kind of sucks on Skid Row and everyone comes together and it’s a really powerful number.” Johnna’s character, Mrs. Mushnik, plays a much bigger role in Seymour’s life than just being his employer. Her Character, Mrs. Mushnik reminisces, “I took him [Seymour] out of the Skid Row Home for Boys when he was a child, and I have lived on Skid Row my whole life, so...it’s sort of gotten to me. Because of this, I am sort of just like everybody else; I hate life; it’s not treating me well. Then our shop starts to get successful all of a sudden, and I start to change.” A large puppet, is used as their shop saving plant and when asked to describe what it looks like all she could say was it was breathtaking! If you want to see it you have to come to the show though because there are ABSOLUTELY no pictures of it before the show, it’s actually illegal for anyone to take pictures of it not during a show or else the they will get fined… not joking. Now, by this point anyone reading this gets, Little Shop is a really, REALLY extravagant show. So why did Mr. Ford choose this show for high schoolers to do? Well, his reasoning is that it is one of his favorite shows; it’s well known, and he thinks the community will really enjoy it. One of Mr. Ford’s favorite parts of the show is the same as Johnna’s, the song “Skid Row (Downtown).” Mr. Ford likes that song because of how it introduces all of the leads in a fun way. This show has such a big cast, so big that when asked to choose one favorite character, Mr. Ford chose three. The girl trio, made up of Rachel T., Vivian, and Grace (pictured above), are Mr. Ford’s favorite characters.The girls kind of makeup a greek chorus throughout the show as they narrate and tell the story. When doing any show, especially such a big show, there are some very tough parts. One of the hardest parts for this show for Mr. Ford was renting the puppet, Audrey Two. Other than Audrey Two, the audience will also have catchy music and a funny show that the students have been working really, really hard on to look forward to. Gracie Vogel, assistant director, also has some opinions on the show to share. “Waiting so long to get this plant!!!!!” was her response to what the hardest part of the show was. She also said that controlling a MASSIVE cast was difficult. Little Shop is not just any musical, no, no, no it is a COMEDY, DOO WOP MUSICAL, which is what Gracie loves about it. “People should come see this show because it will knock your socks off, no matter what you’re expecting. We have so many surprises!!!!” One of the best characters, according to Ms. Vogel, is Johnna’s character Mrs. Mushnik. The character of Mushnik is very sarcastic and apathetic and downright hilarious and the character is actually written as a Mr. Mushnik, but Gracie really loves this character as a female and tells that Johnna is doing an amazing job playing her. Our final interview was with one of the stage managers, Sam Campo (pictured above). Sam agrees with Gracie about how majorly difficult it is to control such a big cast as well as loving how funny the show is and all the hard work everyone has put in the show. There is one character that hasn’t been mentioned yet, Sam’s favorite, Orin, the dentist. Orin is Audrey’s current boyfriend and there are some interesting and that happen to him because of curtain behaviors that he has that you’ll just have to come see the show to find out about him and how things end up working out for him. SHOWTIMES AND TICKET INFO: MONDAY 26 HS SHOW DURING 2ND AND PART OF DS- TICKETS SELLING MARCH 19-23 DURING LUNCH $5/ STUDENT TUESDAY 27 AND WEDNESDAY 28 MS SHOW DURING SCHOOL- TICKETS SELLING TUESDAY $5/ STUDENT MONDAY 26 NIGHT @7:00 PM- TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR $10/ ADULT, $5/ STUDENT TUESDAY 27 NIGHT @7:00 PM- TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR SAME PRICES AS MONDAY NIGHT WEDNESDAY 28 NIGHT @7:00 PM- TICKETS SOLD AT DOOR SAME PRICES AS MONDAY NIGHT THURSDAY 29 NIGHT @7:00 PM- TICKETS SOLD AT DOOR SAME PRICES AS MONDAY NIGHT IT’S ALMOST SUMMER!!! Everyone knows what that means right?? No not time break out the shades and sun block yet. It’s time to register for classes. But, before signing up for classes, you might want to know a bit about what they’re like and if you’re thinking about theatre and/or film you’re in the right place.
Calling all theatre people! Mr. Ford has two theatre classes that are currently studying Shakespeare, theatre one and theatre two-three. Theatre one class study Shakespeare in a traditional way with textbooks and worksheets, while theatre two-three class is studying the writer in a project form by making their own version of Shakespeare’s fammed works and presenting them as a test grade. However, if you want to be in theatre one next year but do not like book work, fear not as this was just a temporary experiment that Mr. Ford wanted to try to prove that kids retain information better while doing project based learning activities, which he personally prefers. After completing this unit his class will move into studying stage combat and to finish off the year theatre one class will start to work on scenes and monologues and the theatre two-three class will be putting on children’s theatre productions. Film is one of the most popular classes in the school, it usually fills up very fast and here’s why. The film class studies and does a lot of fun things such as, at the moment, they are studying acting and actors and are about to begin studying the Academy Awards which involves the class participating in a moc Academy Awards. After their own mini-award season, they will begin to study blockbuster movies and how the directors of those movies budget for them. Mr. Ford has certain reasons for choosing what to do with his classes. When choosing what to do with the theatre classes Mr. Ford wanted to do Shakespeare before scene studies because while the students study Shakespeare they will also be learning the history of theatre from the mid-sixteenth century and on while writing their own scenes. As for the film class, he has chosen to to study blockbusters right now because blockbuster season is coming up in the summer. While film is studying blockbusters, that will be the same time that the theatre class will be doing children’s theatre and Mr. Ford wanted to do that at the end of the year because, hopefully, at the end of the year the classes will be able to go perform them for younger elementary students at different schools in the county. Something new and exciting is coming to East Hamilton! The East Hamilton Theatre is producing a new musical based off the movie the Little Shop of Horrors. The new play is a musical comedy that is about a botanist that raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The play is going to consist of puppets of the plants and extra big plants that are able to look like they eat humans. Students were also able to audition for certain roles in the musical and we have the list of the callbacks. We are excited to see how this musical is going to turn out!!
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The cast hard at work rehearsing This years theatre II and III class’s midterm exam is performing and putting on a show and the show that they are doing this year is an original play written by seniors Samantha Goe and Harrison Ivins for their capstone projects. It's time for our winter show. This year Mr. Ford has decided to have his theatre II and III class do a performance that will count as their midterm exams for the class. Mr. Ford also did this last year, however this year is a bit different because the show that they will put on is an original show written and directed by two members of our senior class, Samantha Goe and Harrison Ivins, for their capstone. Some people might wonder what compelled Mr. Ford to allow two students to write and direct a show. Well, when Mr. Ford was in high school he was allowed to produce and direct shows when he was in high school and it was, he states, “The most rigorous and exhausting challenge of my entire high school experience, and I loved it.” Having had that experience, Mr. Ford wanted to offer that same opportunity to his students. Now, having students write a show is one thing, but having them direct it and be “in charge” of their peers is something else. Having been there for these rehearsals, Mr. Ford was able to experience class in a different way and see how his students acted differently having a leadership position and how their peers reacted to that. He states, from seeing rehearsals, “I see the importance of structure and efficiency. No one likes their time wasted, and students are prone to demonstrate poor rehearsal etiquette when students are in charge.” While there have been some rough rehearsals, Mr. Ford is still looking forward to the performances. One of the students involved in the show is the stage manager, Junior, Macie Ellington. Macie has been in many shows so it’s no surprise why the directors chose her as their right hand woman. There were a lot of things going on during this production process that were very stressful, but something that was enjoyable to Macie was, “Watching Samantha and Harrison’s progression as directors and theatre advocates throughout the whole process. They never cease to amaze me with how well and maturely they all were (and trust me, there were many) problems that arose.” There are a lot of responsibilities that come with being a stage manager such as making sure all the props are where they need to be, keeping the cast inline (which can be very hard for a student to do with other students), as well as knowing basically the entire show from top to bottom and Macie has never been a stage manager before. There is a lot to learn about being a stage manager, which can be stressful for anyone., especially when you’re a student dealing with other students.“The ability to separate my relationships that I have with people outside of theatre from the new relationships I had to form with people as I was a stage manager and they were actors in it was difficult. The experience also has given me much more respect for all of the backstage aspects that go into a play.” One of the actors, Gracie Vogel (who’s playing Alex), was also interviewed. Gracie is used to always being a director not an actor, so this show experience was very different for her, it was a change of scenery from being backstage to onstage. Gracie is very excited for the show and has been since before the script was written and she believes people should see it because, “It’s 100% original, no one has ever seen this production and might not ever be able to again! It’s also a great way to support our EH students by supporting a play they wrote and developed independently.” Miss. Vogel also liked that she got to work with people that she doesn’t usually get to work with in out of school theatre, and she liked seeing how their talents and passion grow. Theatre is growing! Please come and support our students and theatre program and come see the show MIDDLE SCHOOL SHOWS: 8th grade show: 1st block on Dec. 14 7th grade show: last block on De. 14 Tickets: $1.00 NIGHT SHOWS: 7:00pm on Dec. 14 3:30pm on Dec. 15 Tickets: $3.00 The East Hamilton Theatre Company just finished their 2017 fall production of All in the Timing, which is a show composed of five completely separate scenes all with deeper meanings and that is something EHTC has never done before. Because of the advanced level of skills it takes to perform a show like this, the newspaper knew they needed to write about it.
The assistant director and one of the actors, Ms. Gracie Vogel, who is a junior here at East Hamilton has been doing theatre since her freshman year and has been our stage manager for three shows now. This was Gracie’s first time acting and assistant directing and she commented, “Being the assistant director, I definitely tried to give equal participation in all of the scenes, because they were all my scenes technically, but I definitely put forth a little more effort into my scene, seeing as I had more to do with it. I had to memorize my lines and my blocking and all of that. However, I feel like I pretty well managed all of it,” concerning the experience. Samantha Campo is part of the class of 2019 and was one of the stage managers for the show. This was Sam’s first time stage managing however, she has been doing theatre with the school for almost a year. For those that might not know, a stage manager is responsible for a lot of things such as getting props ready, changing the set and making sure everything runs smoothly backstage. Something else the stage manager has to deal with are cast members, which for a high-schooler, which is hard at times when people didn’t listen according to Sam. Although Sam did do a lot as stage manager, she was not alone as she did have a co-stage manager, Kendle Blum. Kendle was also a first time stage manager for this production and she has stated that, “It wasn’t obviously easy, but it was an easier show to be first time managing because it didn’t have as many props and stuff and there wasn’t that much to que. Like I had to que people a couple times, and I had to move a few props but it wasn’t like super stressful.” Kendle also loved the show because of the fact that people could see the progression from when the show first started and not a lot of people thought it was funny, but as it went on, more people started to get it. She continued that she would love to stage manage again and plans on doing it for the upcoming musical. One particular part of the show stood out from the others because all of the other scenes featured fictional characters. However, the second to last scene “The Variations of the Death Of Trotskey” was about Leon Trotsky and his wife, who were actual people in history. When an actor or actress is playing a real person and not a made up character, one would think that would be more difficult because the audience knows about the person: how they acted, how they dressed, etc. Playing Leon Trotsky’s wife, who is not a well known figure in history put some pressure on, but also, “sort of took some off because nobody knew who she was, so I could...do whatever and nobody would know the difference,” according to our very own Mrs. Trotsky, junior, Johnna Hardy. The person that made this happen and chose this show is Mr. Ford. Knowing that this show does require people with such advanced skill levels, Mr. Ford still chose it for high schoolers. Most high school directors might have chosen a show with a lower level of difficulty for their students to perform. However, Mr. Ford believes that it is not just about entertaining the audience when putting on a show, but as a teacher and a director, it is important to, in his words, “Stretch your students’ capabilities.” In doing this show, it made the students act like adults and be put in situations that they had never been in and get to explore that in order for them to better understand life and expand their talents. In addition to doing a show that contains more intellectual humor, All in the Timing was also a challenge because none of the characters were really abnormal and with that comes the task of making your character different from the others without completely changing them. By : Sabrina Lazarevic
The Addams Family has been out since 1991 it's a very traditional movie to watch in October. There's a play at Christian family theater that a student from East Hamilton will be a part of. Allyssa Boring is a part of it and she’s in the 9th grade. I asked Alyssa how do you feel about singing in the Addams family play. She told me that she enjoys being apart of it with many good people. I then asked her what songs she sang in the play. She sings “When you're an Adam” and “Full Disclosure”. She’s mostly backstage, but she enjoys having a part to sing. I asked her what her favorite part of being in the Addams family play and she said she loves her character's personality. Her character is happy in the beginning then sad and dreary towards the end. By Lillie Hardy https://www.conncoll.edu/media/major-images/Art.jpg Art possesses numerous definitions, and holds multiple meanings for many different people. Art is a way for people to express themselves creatively, creating a visual that conveys an intense emotion, having the capability to impact hundreds of thousands. It can be demonstrated through painting, dancing, singing, writing, movies, plays, and more. The ambiguity and individuality of art has fascinated the world for centuries, and has allowed people to experience meaning and ethics in an enriching, provoking way.
Since 1965, the United States has funded art through “The National Endowment for the Arts.” The government receives roughly $148 million dollars every year, and the money goes towards research and education for public humanity programs. It is because of this funding that Americans have been able to build wonderful libraries, museums, colleges and universities, etc. It is also the reason that so many artists have flourished, gaining credit for their hard work and the intended meaning that goes behind it. On March 15th, 2017, President Trump proposed elimination of this funding. The proposal has been upsetting to many, as it is popular belief that art has made large contributions to the public, and cutting this would eliminate the opportunity for some artists to pursue what they want to create. To promote funding of the arts, East Hamilton proudly hosted our very own Art Celebration! Including concerts, art, and music on Wednesday, October 4th. The artists featured in the show did it at no cost, and admission was free for students, the point being to advertise the importance of art, and how it influences the people around. Rozlyn Winningham, an art three student, has been working on a triptych for about two weeks attempting to perfect the details of her project. A triptych is a set of multiple pictures brought together to form a single concept, historically religious, yet can vary to other subjects. For her interpretation of the project, Rozlyn created a set of three pictures centered around the head, body, and feet of three different animals in an attempt to create the illusion of an entire creature. When asked what inspired her artwork, she responded saying that it was her desire to be a vet and the vast impact animals have had on her life that made her find the topic for her triptych.
“The piece is different from what I usually do, it’s not controlled. It goes outside the lines and is very brightly colored. I usually work with more realistic art, and I started like that, but decided to change it.” From the description of her piece, it becomes obvious that Rozlyn challenged herself to step out of the lines of comfort and create something original. Her triptych turned out to be very unique in form and concept; below is a description of Rozlyn's work. Head (First Picture)-Uses the head of a lion due to its strong, pretty, and unique characteristics. The orange color represents ferocity. Body (Second Picture)- The horse body represents a balance of muscular strength and gracefulness. The color chosen compliments the other colors in the image; purple. Feet (Third Picture)- The feet are those of a wolf due to its canine lineage and the artistic appeal of their feet. They’re blue to represent a cold, arctic feeling associated with them. With each piece vital to the others, it brings together a unique experience to view and interpret. A job well done to this week’s artist. Rozlyn sets a promising stage for the amount of talent East Hamilton School contains. |
Art ArticlesWelcome to the Arts section of the East Hamilton newspaper. Here you will find articles on Theater, visual arts, music, and more. |