Saturday, January 17, 2009

My job's in "Jeopardy"

New hat to wear this year: gameshow host. dNYel is taking one day during the J1 orientation week to run a department programme. My job is to organize and host the gameshow segment. We'll be playing Jeopardy, a very popular TV staple in the States.

Of course, our version won't have as much flash. It'll be cobbled together using PowerPoint and whatever else we can scrape together from college resources. CL dept has been kind enough to lend us their buzzers and electronic scoreboards, so today Gerald and I assembled the rather archaic looking system together and, by golly, it works! It's entirely manual, but if we can hide the manpower behind the machines -- and all the cabling that reminds me of a mass of entrails spilled all over the floor -- the whole setup should look quite impressive for our standards.

I like Jeopardy. It's a test of knowledge for the contestants, but there's also a wide range of general knowledge the audience can pick up just by watching the game. If the audience has something to root for, it should be all the more fun for everyone. Can anyone say, "inter-house game"?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

What's next for NYeDC

Executive Decision: Drama Night 09 will be a festival of 10-minute plays.

Rationale: To immerse more club members in the full experience of producing a theatrical performance from beginning to end.
To offer leadership opportunities -- student Directors will source and adapt a script of their choice, scout their own talent in the casting of their play/s, and schedule and conduct the training and rehearsals necessary for a credible showing on Drama Night in mid-May 2009.

Role of external instructor: To provide training in basic theatrical skills for the club members; train student directors in the skills, duties and responsibilities pertaining to their role; ensure the quality and high standards expected of all plays submitted for Drama Night 09.

Incentives: To offer recognition in the form of Awards in the categories of Best Direction, Best Performance (Male), Best Performance (Female), Best use of Light, Best use of Sound, Best Ensemble Performance, Best "Bumph!". Rubrics to be worked out.

Long Term possibilities: 10-minute plays are minimalist and hence portable, and can be offered in collaboration with other theatrical organizations involved with community theatre, thus providing students with exposure to a public audience.
If our Awards establish themselves as being based on good, solid professional theatre practices, in subsequent years we might consider inviting other institutions to submit their own entries in addition to our own to widen the talent pool.
NYeDC becomes more like a talent training and support agency for young aspiring theatre practioners rather than just being only an interest group.

If you've read this far, my apologies. I'm working out the details of our contract with our instructor, and this stuff's been on my mind. See, work's already begun.

Hmm... hope Tina will be agreeable to this new direction for the club. Doubt I'll be able to pull this one off without her experience and clout. *crosses fingers...

Monday, January 12, 2009

Paint the hall blue!

Congrats to Team Peggy for ending off the year as House champs! We've been frustrated every year so today's announcement came as an amazingly pleasant surprise. Well done, fellow Pegs! Now let's kick some a** in 2009 too!