Congratulations to All of Our Seniors!

A last hurrah at our annual senior dinner. Statement Arts wishes the very best to our graduates!

The Year Ends...

Hey Guys,

I want to thank you all for any amazing experience in musical theater this year. Throughout the entire year it was a little rough but we were all able to come together, set our differences asides and become united. I hope you all have amazing summers. Good luck to all of you who have been accepted into summer programs and all you seniors who are going to college. For all the seniors good luck with everything you do in life. Remember nothing beats failure but a try. I hope many of you continue to do musical theater and enjoy it as much as I do. Congratulations to all of you for a great school year. I'm glad that it is over (Jr year is too difficult.) Hope you all have wonderful summers. Good Luck with everything!

-Amalia

The THINK THEATER PROJECT come to HSES!

On Wednesday June 10th, the actors and teaching artists from The Think Theater Project performed a staged reading of Peacemaker, by David Holman.



The reading took place at The High School for Environmental Studies, for an audience of acting students from the musical theater class.




The students participated in pre and post show activities as well as reading the stage directions during the performance. Through dialogue and movement improvisation exercises, the audience identified and connected with the themes of the play.




Some themes explored were social injustice, prejudice, and acceptance.

A Very Special Thank You To A Statement Arts Hero- MOLLY STOCKLEY!

I would to thank Ms DeFalco, Ms Politi, Statement Arts and especially you, Ms Molly Stockley, because without people like yourself, Statement Arts could not have succeeded the way it has. You have helped students like myself find the courage and bravery to follow our dreams and hearts. And without your help, this would not be possible. Since the age of 7, I had one dream, and that was to perform. When I turned 13, out of luck, I ended up going to Environmental Studies. I will always consider me going to Environmental Studies as one of the biggest blessings in my life. Had I not gone there, I would have never met Ms Defalco or Ms Politi. And without the creation of Statement Arts, I would not have never had the courage to follow my dreams. This organization has been a big inspiration in my life. You have also given us the brains to maker smart decisions on the road we choose to follow.
On behalf of the students and myself I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the hard work you have done make our dreams come true.
Zahaira

THE PROM!

Congratulations to all of the seniors on such a beautiful night!

The Wiz Cast Party!

The Wiz was a huge success! I never imagined that our outcome was going to be as rewarding and fun as it turned out to be. It took a lot of hard work, effort, and dedication to put on such a great show. We needed everybody for everything to finally come together in the end. I am proud to say "hi, I was apart of The Wiz, the best musical ever presented at HSES". None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for Mr. Ly, Ms. Defalco, and Ms. Politi. I love musical theater!
Yestriel




T- The amount of time and effort that is put into this project by so many

H- How awesome we will all feel when we take our bows

E- Enchanting personalities (Well, mine at least)


W- Working with talented and dedicated students and adults

I- Intricate blocking and dance routines will make this a success

Z- Z is a really hard letter to work with, but it means something......

Vlad

A Little Reflection On my First Year in the US-

i know it is not yet the time to reflect- -, but i just wanna talk
about some good things before June has came... the school here is so different from that of my country, i really didn't wanna adjust myself to a different environment when i came, and still now~ but its exciting and interesting to try something new, it makes me feel like i have a combination of eastern and western mind...
any way, for this school year i was fighting every day, not only for grades but for other activities like internship and of course~ musical theater, i really challenged
myself in many aspects, for my purpose to join musical theater was to blend myself into the American high school life, which is so strange to me that i feel I'm acting weird everyday- -...i have to stop now~
SATs in June~
wish myself good luck
Xinyl

The Wiz is a HUGE Success!

OMG THE SHOW WAS FREAKING AMAZING. I truly believe that we did a fabulous job. We came together and worked as one and we put on an amazing show. Lets all do the same for every single show that is left. Omg I am so proud of us. I think Ms. D and Ms. P are correct, there is a method to their madness. We have two more shows left and lets blow peoples minds when they see us Friday and Saturday. Everyone get a goodnight's sleep, be well rested, and go to every single class tomorrow on time. See you all tomorrow. You guys are the best.
Amalia


The show was SPECTACULAR, I am speechless. Everyone was amazing, and i really do mean that. The amount of talent that is in this class is unbelievable. I am so happy to have such great teachers. And what
would we do without tech, the crew and the pit. I hope we do the same for the next two shows. I love!!!!!!!!!!!! all of you. And i agree with Amalia, the thing we did before the prologue really helped and we will do it again. Good Night Everyone. =)
Chris


HEY EVERYONE!
Ms. D here. I think the show is going to be great!! It's a LOT of work but it will pay off very, very soon!!

* Don't forget to wear your T-shirts on Monday!!
* Please have a positive attitude with each other!
* The show really does look good.

Thank you to the chorus and all those with lines and solos for working so hard.
Thank you to the Friends, Witches, and the Wiz for being so professional on stage and taking all of our crap.
Thank you to the Crew for working so diligently backstage.
Thank you to everyone on committees for many things including tickets, headshots, props, and a great internet community.
Thank you to the tech for making sure we're onstage, seen, and heard.
Thank you to the design team for your great sets and props.
Thank you to the teachers and administration who are helping by volunteering on their Saturdays to help (and even cook!!!)

It takes a village to put on a musical.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I truly love my job because I love working with young people like you. I enjoy continuing working with returning students and getting to know new students. We're going to get through this and although you can't see it, the show is coming together wonderfully. Thank you for letting me get to know you and work with you. Thank you for coming in on Saturdays. You are a wonderful group of young people and I know you're working very hard.

Have a relaxing afternoon. You deserve it!!!
Thank you again,
Ms. DeFalco

Thoughts from Backstage

Hey guys most of you already know me of course.. But those of you who
don't I'm the lil short girl who had on the bright pink tights at
rehearsal today... Well I just want to say... This class means a lot to me.. And so does puttin' on a great show... But that can't happen unless everyone is fully
dedicated to making that happen... The show is less than a month away and honestly I really want to get to knew you guys as in everyone! Meaning 8th and 9th period.. We should be almost like a family.. Instead of only speakin' to each other when were
tellin' someone to get on stage or telling someone they are doing something wrong...
This class is really about gettin' to know each other helpin' each other along the way because each and every last one of us have the same goal!
REMEMBER GUYS THIS IS OUR SHOWWW!!
Lets make it and give it the best we got...
Latiise


well it has been a relaxing weekend.. and now its time to freak out
again :) lol i don't know why but i have been having some serious
focus issues lately, i often feel like my head is spinning and i am
totally lost in calculus right now. and I've been wondering, since i am
still not sure what I'm interested in for college and career wise, if i
were to aspire to be a musical theater actress, one who really goes
for Broadway hardcore, would the fact that i have barely any training
in western styles of dancing going to make it so I'm unable to? i
remember when i did Romeo and Juliet at La Mama, the director wanted
me to do these really ballet acrobatic bits where i was held up in the
air, but it really took a lot out of me and my short legs sure did not
look graceful.. anyway i was just wondering if i should forget about
getting serious in that and maybe just pursue something in acting or,
what i want most of all, something in television. there's always
nursing..the family default in my case. anyways goodnight to you all,
I'm finally going to do the bio before i forget, again..

Saturday's Rehearsal-

THE FIRST SATURDAY REHEARSAL! man, i was panicking because i take the
R train to school and it literally took the train more than 10 minutes
to come and by then it was 9:20, but then i found out that it was
going express, so i practically got to my stop faster, but you know,
still. but yeah, right now, ms. defalco is warming everyone up with
little scat songs (i think that's what they're called?).
i didn't know the 8th period musical theater would be here too! its
really packed here now. what are they going to be doing during the
show. well, now ms. defalco is rehearsing i think the song "he's the
wiz"?
ms. p is taking pictures of everyone in the class. i'm not a picture
person, but i get that its all to record the process of making such a
big production. everything and everyone is rushing!

i think everyone in the theater needs some sort of stress relief. even
i'm stressing and i'm not in the show, haha.
Sonny

In every community there is work to be done...In every heart there is
the power to do it.
- Marianne Williamson

Aside from the yelling, the eating, the occasional gossip backstage,
ms.p going mad looking for people and the singing there is something
else just as captivating going on. we are getting the work done,
piecing the puzzle together and bonding as a FAMILY. (not to mention
that it's not looking/sounding bad at all) that's what so beautiful
about coming on saturdays. yes, you get yelled at- it sucks. yes, its
early on a saturday. and darn the fact that its a day we're supposed
to have off. BUT saturday rehearsals are what you make of it. there's
work to be done, and you guys have the heart and power to do it. the
more we get done, the better it will be. you cant deny the fact that
its fun to be here doing what you love and not having to stress about
the how you have for the night, or the test you've to prep for.... :D
anyway I'm falling asleep on this keyboard and I've lines to
memorize. Soooo till next time wizzies

warm hugs.
cynthiaaa

ps: ms defalco THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE FOOD. i live to eat

Daily Inspiration

Hello everyone!
Well, as you all know, we now have this new google group and
we've come up with a few ideas for you guys. So we decided to add
Quotes of the Day to our blogs.
Sometimes we often feel stressed and confused about how to express our feelings and many times we encounter quotes that are just simply amazing (I mean you know you all had those days where you found this favorite quote and it describes your feelings exactly!) So the Quotes of the Day would introduce new quotes everyday for everyone to enjoy and just to bring smiles across your faces. ;D excited?! Ha, too bad. You don't really have a choice. ;P
We love you as much as you love us! Peace out!

-it serves as a guide ^.~

signed,
THE inspirational google group~
--~--~---------~--~----~-------

Allow Us To Introduce Ourselves...

Hey "wizzies!"
I see some of you are already beginning to participate in this awesome
group! Anyway I felt that you guys should be properly introduced to
what this group stands for and what we have planned.
First off the members of the committee are me (Cynthia), Demi, Sonny, Islam, Mark, and maybe Rolando (i'm not sure). We are here to build a sense of community to our Musical Theater Class, which is what threads this class together and ultimately fuels it.

For this to occur our committee will be hosting things on the google group such as pictures, slideshows, blogs, poetry and much more! Our purpose is to be able to express ourselves amidst the chaos that will be going on (because TRUST ME it gets hectic!) Any issues, concerns, DUE DATES, feelings, or anything AT ALL please feel to express here.

Hope you guys will enjoy the goodies we've planned!

Euripides and The Wiz

but yeah, today was such a wreck.
we returned to school to a new spring semester, and I started crying
so muchh in homeroom because I DROPPED 5 POINTS IN AVERAGE. MEANWHILE, MS. CHAN GAVE ME A 75, COMPARED TO MY LAST MARKING PERIOD, EVEN THOUGH THIS PERIOD I DID LIKE 95% OF THE HOMEWORK, GOT 88 AND ABOVE ON ALL THE TESTS/QUIZZES, HANDED IN ALL ESSAYS/PROJECTS, AND PARTICIPATED VERY WELL, COMPARED TO DOING LIKE 40% OF THE HOMEWORK LAST PERIOD, DOING HORRIBLE ON TESTS AND HANDING EVERYTHING IN LATE. SHE ONLY GAVE ME ONE POINT HIGHER. ughhhhhhhhhh. i wish cynthia were here to contribute something else to this post, it seems soooo pointless.

i want to adapt one of Euripides
GREAT plays (i have a book of three of his best) into a modernized
(possibly) version, pretty much like what the Wiz is about. so if
anyone has any good pointers (Ms. D and Ms. P included!), pleaseee
help. i really wanna get that done, it'd be awesome to make a new
adaption of another one of Greece's greats.
please respond concerning this!

-sonny:].

Rehearsals!

As of now, in musical theater class, we have began to block Act 1 Scene 1. This is the first scene where the entire cast is on stage with the exception of seven characters. So far it has been a little tedious because we have such a large cast and our director needs to make sure every movement clicks and goes well with every other person and with what's going on the scene.

As the cast is working on Act one Scene one, the rest of us are working on our committees. We have started to design the first half of the board outside of our auditorium. We have used the first half of the board to make an advertisement so the rest of the student population will know about our upcoming spring musical. The second half of the board will be used by the publicity committee. They would like to put up pictures of the process sort of like "The Making of The Wiz." This upcoming Saturday we will be having out first Saturday rehearsal and we are starting headshots. Since we only have 45 minute classes, we use these Saturdays to finish up big scenes, musical numbers, and the committees get to work together and finish up the things on their to do list.

Amalia

We've Started Rehearsals!

This year we're doing The Wiz!
Rehearsals started today... the show goes up April 2nd.
Check back here for news and updates.