May 30, 2016 - June 3, 2016 Weekly Agenda

Monday, May 30th: 
Memorial Holiday 
No School 

Tuesday, May 31st: 

Presentations of Rough Draft by Underclassmen:

Sarena: Young Nigerian who has come to the States.

Kimberly: Fifty-seven year old African leader, educated in the U.S. He is giving a speech to his people telling them they must turn away from the old ways. He is not going to leave an heir to rule after him for he wants democracy for his country - not a monarchy. 

Akili: Transgendered youth at a poetry slam. Tragic, difficult childhood - father dead, mother an addict. 

Final Presentation by Graduating Seniors:

Gus Rodriguez: speaking in front of the judge begging for custody of his son.  Never had a family as a child.  Most passionate wish has always been to be part of a family so it is vitally important that he be allowed to keep his son.

Wednesday, June 1st:

 Presentations of Senior Finals:

Katia: struggling young woman complaining to a counselor that she cannot pay for her college tuition.

Karla: helper, plays the college counselor

Tania: (rough draft – reading from script) a model who is emotionally closed up and cannot open up to people.

Sarena: helper, plays the photographer

Justin: (rough draft – reading from script) Iraqi leader speaking to an assembly of his subordinates urging them to turn away from violence and towards peace.

Thursday, June 2nd:

Presentations of Photos and Rough Draft:

Elizabeth D.
Daughter giving a eulogy of mother she didn't appreciate until many years later.

Akili – rough draft of poem, transgendered youth

Final Senior Presentations:

Franklin - mourning a dying love
Typed monologue, presentation

Ivette - confessing  to Dad about the truth of where the college money went and why she isn't graduating.
Typed monologue, presentation 

For tomorrow: 
The following graduating seniors need to do their final presentations: 
Karla
Pamela
The following students need to do their photo, biographical information, and rough draft of monologue:
Chynna, Emily, Jazzmyn, Kimberly, Miriam, Sarena, Tanny, Whitney

Friday, June 3rd: 
 

Initial Presentations:

Whitney: photo, biographical details, no monologue

Young twenty-one year old woman with a tough childhood – didn’t know parents, lived in foster care.  Now living in a penthouse apartment thanks to a much older boyfriend. Suggestion: She is speaking to her boyfriend at two a.m. after her birthday party. The party, which didn’t go as well as planned, brought up a lot of old issues: feeling unworthy, issues of abandonment.

Luiza: photo, biographical details, rough draft of monologue – very good!

Letter to her little brother upon graduation from high school

Olivia’s parents divorced, mother fell apart after the divorce, and took to drink and boyfriends.

Olivia defended her little brother against one of her mother’s boyfriends and accidently killed him. Mother sided against her and sent her to her father who clearly didn’t want her. Gave her money to leave country to hide in Europe, where she became a photographer.  Her mother has since died from an overdose. Olivia, now living as Maya, has heard that her much loved brother is graduating and wants to see him again and ask for forgiveness.

Suggestion: Olivia is in the same room with her brother. She has taken an enormous risk to enter country to see her brother again to ask forgiveness. This may be the last time she will ever see him.

Final Presentations for Seniors:

Karla – unhappy medical student who is clearly not cut out for a career in medicine.  She is in medical school only to please her father who is a doctor. Spends all of her time either working or studying and even when she studies, she doesn’t get what she’s studying.

Helpers: Justin and Pamela as her parents.

Pamela – stripper in a club. Tragic childhood – father killed, mother fell apart and became a meth addict. The meth eventually destroyed her mother’s mind and the daughter had no choice but to put her in a nursing home.  Was brutally raped by a customer at the club. Now she is leaving the East coast and moving to California for a fresh start. She is talking to the kindly club owner, a woman, who is her mentor and mother figure.  She allowed Pamela to live at the club when she had no other place to go.

Powerful performance!