This week was mainly dedicated to reviewing the amazing progress we had last week. Most of the meeting this week was dedicated to deciding what the next move should be, and trying to figure out which students would draw which scenes. There was definitely difficulty in concentrating this time around, as it seemed that there may not have been a teacher present, and the kids were a bit more riled up. However, the kids still had a positive outlook on the project and seemed excited to continue. As a group, we also realized that drawing may not work with the deadline crunch we are facing, so we will reach out to see if there is a chance to use pictures with faces being left out or potentially digitally covered, maybe with an emoji or something else to make sure that the privacy of the children is still being protected, but that it is easier for everyone to continue on the project.

This week’s meeting was one of the most exciting so far, as we read our first draft of the script to the kids and they loved it! Each member of our group wrote a scene from Act 1 and we randomly assigned roles to the kids and had them read it aloud. I was really surprised to see how excited the kids were and also how animated they were when reading the script! They got really into the roles and lines and had a lot of fun. It was really cool to see the adaptation of the play really come to life! The only issue we face now is actually assigning the roles; the kids are all really enthusiastic about being involved so it will be hard to decide who gets to play which character. We thought of potentially giving the characters multiple actors so that more of the kids could be involved, but that is still up for discussion.

Our script definitely still needs a few tweaks and changes to make sure it lines up with the rest of the acts, but overall we are doing well and on track!

In our meeting this week we started taking pictures of the action figures in front of the different backgrounds that the kids drew during our last meeting and throughout the week. The kids did a really great job with the drawings, so we feel like we are in really good shape. It took a little time to get organized this week because we had to try and verbalize what we wanted them to do and the teacher that was with the kids really struggled to keep the kids focused and control the room. At certain times things were very hectic and it was hard for us to know if they were even listening to us or if they could hear us. However, by the end we got a few of the pictures and scenes done. Going forward we just need to finish the rest of the scenes and then see how involved in the script and voice over the process the kids want to be, but it may just be easier for our group to handle that part of the project. Overall we are in a good position and I am happy with the progress we have made so far.

Today’s meeting got off to a rocky start with some technical problems. However, once we got moving it went alright. We were excited to see that they had completed their drawings for the backgrounds. Once they showed us their drawings (which looked great) we had difficulty maintaining their attention. There were only three students in the class today when there are typically 5. To regain their attention we asked them to show us the action figures, and tell us what role each of them will be playing. They did so and then we began to discuss the photos we need them to take for us.

We were able to get two photos out of this meeting and I am hoping that next week we will get a few more. our plan is to send a detailed list of photographs we need of each character in which backgrounds. Once we get all of the photos we can then work on the audio and scripts! This project is coming to life and I am excited to see what the end result will be!

This week started off a little delayed due to some technical difficulties with the sound, but we ended up meeting for about 10 minutes over the assigned time to make up for it. We reviewed each of their scenes one final time and had them draw the background for the final scene at prom. They decided to draw an outdoor prom scene on a couple pieces of paper showing people dancing and seating with colorful lights. Overall, due to the late start the meeting was a little chaotic but we were able to come up with a solid plan for the next few weeks. We decided to make a rough outline of a script for the kids to use next time and give them the opportunity to review it to make any changes they want to give the scene their own touch. Hopefully we’ll be able to start recording the first scene with the backgrounds and action figures by the next meeting!

We are now on Week #4 … Crazy! The kids are definitely still very excited about the project, but are still having issues concentrating. The kids seem to not have a teacher present or if they do, I have no clue where they are because the kids are in my opinion out of control. We barely got through the warm up and assigned what kids would draw which scenes. However, it was like pulling teeth just to have a session. The kids are really great but I just don’t understand why we don’t have another supervisor working with us on the other side.

Example of script:

• Claudio gets really jealous, because he likes Hero and wanted to be the king, and makes a big scene at the dance. He tells everyone the rumor from John, that Hero is only pretending to be interested in him for popularity, and then everyone boos Hero out of the dance before she has a chance to explain! 
  • “I heard that Joy still gotta Samsung”
  • “That is not true! And yes, maybe I do…” 
• Bea and Ben offer to walk Hero home from the dance, they believe Hero and know that John spread rumors
  • “Oh, I’m so sad…” “Don’t worry, she ugly anyway”
  • “Catch her outside, how about that”
• Pedro and John from the football team leave the dance in solidarity with Claudio
• As they all walk home, Bea and Ben try to comfort Hero who is really sad and embarrassed. It’s during this walk that Hero decides she is going to delete all of her social media and take a break from school. 
  • People have been sooooo rude
  • Why are people coming at me… 
  • Yes girl…
  • I’m gonna block these people and this account… should I block them? Should I do it? 
  • Yes, do you girl! 
• Once Hero is gone, Bea is really mad and tells Ben (they like each other) that she wants Ben to confront the football guys about what Claudio did 
  • “Girl you look so depressed, what’s wrong? You gone tell me what’s wrong?”
  • “People were telling rumours about me saying I got turned down, but I didn’t get turned down. I turned HIM down. I’m tired of people… can you talk to them?”
  • “Imma be the baddest one and I’m gonna walk out of here!”

The Group is full of hilarious ideas. The kids have so much energy and love to perform. However, that being said, it is like pulling teeth just trying to get the kids to focus and participate. The kids have so much energy and i feel like if we were in person then we could get a lot of that energy out. I think that we have tried to strategize ways to combat that through games. I think that has helped to a certain extent but I wish that the teacher present could step in and regain the attention from time to time.

Main plot points of the Homecoming Scene: 

• Everyone is at the homecoming dance, Bea and Ben go together, Hero and Claudio meet each other there
  • Take 1
    • People dancing, balloons everywhere, green screen in corner with pictures, fruit punch, dancing with cup in hand, slow jams 
    • Ben: “What’s up, Bea? Glad to see you here.” “Hey, you wanna go out?” “You look MAD good, you heard?” 
    • Bea: “Friendzone…”
    • That’s a green 
  • Take 2
    • Oh, is that Kevin? **Screams in excitement about seeing crush**
    • “I’m gonna go up to him”

This week we came to the group with a rough draft script we wrote from scratch. We focused on making it very modern and bringing out Beatrice’s attitude. We have many kids who want speaking roles so we rotated running through lines. In addition, we focused more specifically on what the kids wanted to see in each scene and how we intend to display the visuals. They are all on board with doing stop- motion with pictures. I am a little curious how all the visuals will be completed since each student is online from their home rather  than in a classroom all together. Another solid week with the kids and next week we hope to start producing the visuals and recording!

Othello is set in a world where women are subject to the power of men. Women don’t have agency in the world of Othello. Women are simply subject to either their fathers or their husbands. Women’s agency exists in the world that is created for them by their male counterparts. Desdemona, a young girl (fourteen) is married to the powerful general, Othello. First, the marriage is strange (at best), even in a marriage of this time. Desdemona shouldn’t be able to be making choices such as pursuing an older man like Othello or marrying him. It is evident that Othello has some sort of power over Desdemona, even from the start  of the play. As the play progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that Othello is easily influenced by the men around him. Othello lets Iago play into his ear. Iago whispers of stories (all untrue) of Desdemona’s affairs. Othello begins to believe him…

Why focus on this? The important thing to look at is the way that women are claimed as victims in the lust for power. Ironically, the women of this play are the sacrifices for power even though they can never claim it. Desdemona is a victim of Iago’s want for power, and so in order to claim that power Iago blames her and Michela Caspio of an affair.

Our meeting this week was centered around planning out the specific visuals we wanted to use for the production. Since we had a script mostly worked out for today, we had the students read through the lines, and specifically ask them what they wanted to see. Going forward I think it will be important to work on making the visuals for the play, and recording the voices of the students. Since we only have a few weeks of meeting left, I am hoping that our future meetings are very productive and focused going forward.