An interview with my little cousin

An interview with my little cousin

How old are you? 

"6"

Do you like going to the Theatre?

"Yes, its so fun"

Why?

"I love singing along and seeing the outfits they wear, and the lights they are so cool"

Whats your favorite show?

"My favorite is The Lion King, the songs are the best, i love I Just Can't Wait To Be King and the costumes they wear the lion they have on their head."

Would you rather see singing and talking, or just talking?

"Singing and dancing it makes it more fun to watch and i can learn the moves when i go home and the lyrics"

water/surfer dance

Water/surfer dance

Start with laying down extended with our head/forehead touching the floor and our hands placed straight behind us.
we breath in making a shush sound and raise our head as high as it can go while the rest of our body is still laying flat on the floor.
We bring both of our arms to the front by dragging them along the floor to make a water sound, slide the right arm across the left and roll onto your right side.
and rise up on your right knee white straight arms across on our sides with our breath, shushing. then we roll back onto the floor and lay down in the starting position.

I thought that this exercise and movement sequence was very well done especially because it adds to the atmosphere we are trying to create, the hand movement on the carpet created the sounds of waves which made the idea of the sea come across a lot more. The skills i needed when doing this was the capability to work as an ensemble and have fluidity in the movements we were creating, especially because the movement represents waves which were already quite soft and airy. All the movements had to join and not be separate.

Idea's based on my research

Idea's

I would like to focus on Maya Gabeira, one of the concepts i had was where we have Maya Gaberia wanting to surf and people telling her no it's a boys sport then she goes out the room and comes back with loads of medals from her surfing, therefore showing the kids that if they believe they can make anything possible. Or another idea i had was that we show her in a wheelchair, yet still wanting to surf when she recovers from her injuries.

I want the idea of working hard to come across to the students, so anyone can be whoever they want to be. While still conveying that you shouldn't give up, as there are many obstacles that we will have to face to get to where we want to be. That is why i want to use Maya Gaberia because she didn't let anything get in her way, she was determined. 

I need to do a lot more research into Maya Gabeira and what she achieved by using the internet, books and videos also i want to look into the accident that she went through. 

I really would like the idea of feminism and determination to really come across in our performance because i think it plays a key part in our stimulus (Goodnight Stories for Rebel girls) i was thinking maybe we could of one of the women just trying to get their work done but have really stereotypical men judging them and stating they can't do whatever they are trying to succeed. But then get the woman to actually succeed and show the men really embarrassed and admit to being wrong about girls.

Another idea i had was maybe having some roles swapped so, some girls act really 'manly' and some boys act 'girly' I believe that this will show the children that these qualities aren't only linked with one gender, boys can be emotional as well, and girls can be strong and powerful. 

Rebel Girls: Yusra Mardini

Yusra Mardini 

Yusra Mardini is a swimmer living in Berlin, Germany she was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team that competed at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She grew up in Damascus, and trained in swimming with the support of the Syrian Olympic Committee. she represented Syria in the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships, 200 metre individual medley, 200 metre freestyle and 400 metre freestyle events.

Her house was destroyed in the Syrian Civil War so in August 2015 her and her sister decided to flee Syria. They were planned to be smuggled into Greece by a boat with 18 other migrants, however it was only meant to be 6 or 7 people. However the motor stopped working and began to take on water, but luckily her and her sister could swim so they got out aswell as 2 other people got into the water anf began to push the boat until it reached Lesbos. 

They then traveled through Europe to Germany, where they settled in Berlin in September 2015. Yusra Mardini continued her training with her coach Sven Spannenkrebs from Wasserfreunde Spandau in Berlin, in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics.

Mardini competed in the 100 metres freestyle and the 100 metres butterfly at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. At the Rio Olympics, Mardini won a 100m butterfly heat against four other swimmers, with a time of 1:09.21 and a rank of 41st among 45 entrants.


References:

Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

UNHCR, Yusra Mardini. [online] Available at: <http://www.unhcr.org/uk/yusra-mardini.html> [Accessed 4 May 2018]

Elle, 2017. Meet Yusra Mardini, The Teenage Syrian Refugee Turned Olympic Swimmer. [online] Available at: <https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/longform/a39703/syrian-refugee-olympic-swimmer-yusra-mardini/> [Accessed 4 May 2018]

Rebel Girls: Yaa Asantewaa

Yaa Asantewaa 

Yaa Asantewaa is said to have born in 1840 and passed away in 1921, she was a very successful farmer and mother. 

She c=became famous for leading the Ashanti rebellion against British colonialism to defend the Golden stool, she also promoted Gender equality and sticking up for girls. 

Her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Okpese  was the ruler of Ejisuhene Nana Akwasi Afrane Okpase this was an ethnic group, and he appointed her as queen mother however he died, and she used her influence as queen mother to nominate her grandson as ruler. However in 1896 he was exiled by the British as this was the way the British dealt with African kings in the past. 

To further the authority they hold the British Governor-General of Ghana (then known as the Gold Coast) Frederick Hodgson, wanted the Golden Stool which was the symbol of the Asante kingdom. 

The men in the tribe were not fighting for the land so Yaa Asantewaa wanted to gather the women to fight for the land, she led the famous war known as the war of the Golden Stool in 1900 against the British. However she was captured and exiled by the British and died in exile on the 17th of October 1921. She inspired many women as she was the first and last African women to have led a major war.

This was very inspiring because she did what people didn't think females could do, lead people and do things that the men were afraid to do.



References:

Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

Blackhistoryheroes.com, Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa of West Africa's Ashanti Empire. [online] Available at: <http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2010/05/queen-mother-nana-yaa-asantewaa.html> [Accessed 4 May 2018]

Rebel Girls: Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle 

Sylvia Earle was born in New Jersey in 1935 and is a marine biologist, author, lecturer and explorer. In the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration she was the first women to become a chief scientist, and has been a National Geographic explorer in residence since 1998.

Her parents really inspired and encouraged Sylvia to explore nature and learn about it, which resulted in her spending a lot of times in the woods near her home. 

Her and her family moved to western Florida she really missed the farms in New Jersey when she moved, however she later discovered new places to explore in the coastline in Florida. 

She attended Florida State University and studied Science and later earned her masters degree at Duke University. 

In 1969 she led an all-female team of marine scientists on a project called Tektite 2 studying the marine life for several weeks.

In 1982 Sylvia Earle and her husband Graham Hawkes founded Deep Ocean Engineering this is equipment that helps explore the deep ocean.

They developed the Deep Rover, a research submarine capable of going to depths of 3,300 feet.

Over the recent years she has worked to alert other of the dangers of oil spills, and have won numerous awards for her work. 

She is still alive today and works on her Mission Blue project which is all about protecting the ocean.

References:

Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

Easy Science For Kids, Facts about Sylvia Earle for Kids, [online] Available at: <http://easyscienceforkids.com/sylvia-earle/> [Accessed 4 May 2018]

Script: Mary Anning

Mary Anning the script

Mary Anning passes seashells  to the audience.

MARY: HI, I’m Mary Anning. Has anyone ever been to the beach? Well when I was little girl I

used to play on the beach all the time, I loved finding all different shells.

In fact did you know if you hold the shells up to your ear you can hear the ocean,

like you’re really there!

While Mary is handing out the shells.

The company are creating the atmosphere of the beach.

MARY: When I was a child I loved exploring the beach,

and finding fun things to do. In fact I love exploring so much that I found something

very special. But first, let me ask you all, how old do you think the world is?

Mary asks the children

MARY: Well I can in fact tell you the earth is hundreds of millions of years old.

And I am the woman who discovered it.

MARY: one day I was on the beach and I saw a strange shape in a rock.

I took out my hammer and started to dig

Company make digging noises very viscously, kind of like dogs.

MARY: I’ve found something! Company go back to making the atmosphere of the beach. Do you want to see what it is ? (PAUSE) No you don’t ! (PAUSE) You do ! Well if you really want to!

In small groups company form into the fossils Mary found. It is a thirty foot long skeleton of a plesiosaur. Company walk around as the plesiosaur. Creating noises of it and its body language.

MARY: what I found was the first ever discovery of this kind of plesiosaur. It had shark teeth and flippers from a fish. Now, just one thing left to do, What should I call it ?

Mary takes suggestions from the children and then decides on one of the suggestions.

SYLVIA: Look around at all of the sea, the coral, the fish everything around that brings the sea so much beauty and then look at that (pollution based items appear). The colour drains, the light fades; should we let something so beautiful die? I don’t think so.

We’ve lost - no we’ve taken, we’ve eaten - more than 90% of the big fish in the sea. Who gave us the right? We wouldn’t like it if we started being eaten - served with chips and ketchup. When I first came down here, it wasn’t like this. Without the ocean there would be no life on Earth. No humans, no animals, no oxygen, no plants, no TV!

ACTOR How can we help them?

SYLVIA Well firstly we’ll need to clear all this mess up. But we’ll need some help. Are there there anymore fish around that would lend us a hand?  Great! Alright fishies, we need your help. Can you help us clear up all this rubbish around us, as quickly as possible, can you do that for me?

Rebel girls: Maya Gabeira

Rebel girls: Maya Gabeira 

Maya Gabeira is a surfer and she is one of the very few female surfers that have the guts to ride Waimea, Teahupoo and other massive waves only ridable via jet-ski towing.
She was born in 1987 in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil her father founded the Brazilian Green Party and her mother is a fashion designer. She has won the ESPY Award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete while also she is the record holder for 4 straight Billabong Girls Overall Performance Award.

In 2009 Maya, made her mark in history by becoming the biggest wave rider in female surfing history when she surfed a 45-foot wave at Dungeons Beach in South Africa.

She loves yoga and describes it as one of her passions. The art of yoga probably helps her focus when she’s dropping in on a 18-foot wave. Maya also believes that there isn’t just a few people that she admires or idolizes, but she believes that everyone possesses something that she can look up to.

On October 28, 2013, Gabeira lost consciousness and nearly drowned while surfing a massive wave near Nazaré, Portugal, caused by the St Jude storm; she was saved by her fellow Brazilian big-wave surfer Carlos Burle, ending up in the hospital. However she loved surfing so much that even after the accident she still carried on surfing not giving up just because of her injuries.

I believe that she would be good a woman to use because she shows kids that you should always follow your dreams no matter what happened 

References:
Kidzworld, Maya Gabeira Bio, [online] Available at: <http://www.kidzworld.com/article/24500-maya-gabeira-bio> [Accessed 3 May 2018]

Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

Rebel Girls: Mary Anning

Mary Anning

Mary Anning was born on the 21st of May 1799 and died on the 9th March 1847 she was an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist who became known around the world for important finds she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel.

The important findings of her fossils changed what people thought about the history of the world. 

She lived in the English seaside town of Lyme Regis in Dorset. Her family were very poor, which meant she couldn't go to school. Instead, she mainly taught herself to read and write.

Mary would spend her time searching the coast looking for what she called ‘curiosities’. Later in her life, she realised they were actually fossils.

At the young age of 12 she made her first big discovery she saw a skull of a creature poking out from the cliff and it turnt out to be an ancient reptile called an ichthyosaur (which means ‘fish lizard’).

Nobody had ever seen anything like Mary’s finds before. However, because she was a woman from a poor background, she rarely received credit for her discoveries. 

After she died in 1847, Mary Anning was forgotten about for many years. However, people realised how important she was and how her discoveries changed our understanding of life on Earth.


References:


Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

BBC Guides, Who was Mary Anning? [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zf6vb82> [Accessed 3 May 2018]

BBC.co.uk, BBC - Primary History - Famous People - Mary Anning. [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/mary_anning/> [Accessed 3 May 2018]

Rebel Girls: Millo Castro Zaldarriaga

Millo Castro Zaldarriaga 

Millo Castro is an important figure in Cuba she's very determined and believes in her dream the determination she has broke the Island's view on females not being able to drum.
She started the first female dance band in Cuba with her sisters, when she was 13 she played the bongo drums at a birthday party in New York that is how the connection with the United States started.
Millo's story is all about following your dreams no matter what, she loved playing the drums even though she was told that only boys can drum.
Her father disapproved of her drumming however she kept practicing no matter what anyone said. She went on working as a successful jazz drummer, at the age of fifteen she played at Franklin Delano Roosevelt's birthday party and was cheered on by the first lady at the time Eleanor Roosevelt.
She believed in gender equality and chasing her dreams, which is very inspiring because it shows that you should do whats best for you no matter what anyone says.

References:

Rafael Lopez, 2017. Hispanic Heritage. Millo Castro Zaldarriaga | Rafael López. [online] Available at: <http://rafaellopez.com/2017/09/29/hispanic-heritage-millo-castro-zaldarriaga/> [Accessed 3 May 2018]

Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

What makes good children Theatre

What makes good children Theatre

I believe that to make a good children's Theatre piece our work needs to have the following things:

• Everything needs to be clear and easy to understand as children don't really dig deep into what character's are saying, they don't read behind the lines, so we need to be very upfront with how are characters are feeling.
• The performance should have elements of bright and bold colours as this attracts kids and they pay more attention if the things on stage are actually interesting to look at.
• The piece should be mysterious as it will keep the audiences attention.
• While making the theatre for children you should also take into account the adults there, as we should entertain both the kids and the grown ups as they are the ones buying the tickets, so you wouldn't want them to be bored.  
• While making things clear to understand you shouldn't patronize them as it will make the play less enjoyable for the children.
• One of the main keys I believe is to get the children/audience involved with the action, this will definitely keep them interested. Also because young kids have a lot of energy and tend to fiddle a lot and get agitated if they are in the same place for hours. So giving them something to do that's part of the performance, will minimize these actions.