Carla: Poet of the Revolution

High school senior Carla plays a charismatic and compassionate Reston high schooler named Caryna in Signature in the Schools' premiere production, Revolution. We asked Caryna to describe her Signature in the Schools experience and she wrote us this lovely poem:

"There is nothing wrong with botany!"

Carla would be lying if she said that in her sleep she drools.

She would also be lying if she said she hated Signature in the Schools.

Educating people through the magic of theatre.

During our breaks we go to Harris Teeter.

From the great director to the amazing cast,

I know these memories will forever last.

Caryna and her bestie, Maddy

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Iiiiiiiiiit's showtime!

L to R: Jose, Cameron, Jason, Khaliun, Sean perform in Un-American

Folks, we are in business!  We have been performing night and day since last Friday.  With five performances under our belt, including an electric public performance on Monday that was standing room only, there are just two left to go.  Tomorrow morning we welcome in Wakefield High School students from the English and Theatre departments for our fifth and final matinee.  We invite you all to come to our closing evening performance on Friday at 7:30 PM.  Admission is free and seating is general admission.  Reservations are strongly recommended.  To reserve your seat, call the box office at 703 820 9771. Don't miss your chance to see this world premiere play! Production photographs come courtesy of Dennis Deloria.

Morgan (Sara) and Jose (Jorge)

L to R: Arami, Jose, Cameron, and Sean

L to R: Jason, Adrian, Ariel, Karl

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One/Tenth

Last week we brought you the final product of one group's Dramatic Retelling of the Rosenberg Trial.  As promised, here is the final product of our other group!  They were asked to cover the story of the Hollywood Ten. They chose to portray an inside look at "One Tenth" of them by creating a trailer for a fictional movie that follows the life and involvement of screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo.  

To fill you in on the history surrounding the Hollywood Ten, we have included a brief synopsis below.  Just as before, this group was given only two and a half hours to cast, write, rehearse, and film their projects. ( Additional time was spent on editing.)  So, due to certain limitations with resources and time, you may see some elements such as contemporary clothing, gender/color-blind casting, and resourceful uses of Shirlington Village throughout the film. 

The Hollywood Ten

 The first systematic blacklist was instituted on November 25, 1947 and contained a list of ten Hollywood screenwriters and actors known as “The Hollywood Ten.” When asked, “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” they simply refused to testify.  The following April, The Hollywood Ten was convicted of contempt of Congress and sentenced to jail.  All the members of the Hollywood Ten were screenwriters, except for director  Edward Dymtryk. Although, in addition to their efforts as screenwriters, most doubled as actors, authors, directors, and even journalists.

Herbert J. Biberman   Served six months in prison for his convictions and was blacklisted by the official Hollywood studio.

Lester Cole   Co-founder of the Writers Guild of America. Joined the American Communist Party in 1936. Served ten months in prison.  After the blacklisting, three of his scripts were produced under the names of his wife and friends.

Edward Dmytryk   After spending several months in prison following his conviction, Dmytryk testified again, confessing his former involvement with the Communist Party and giving away the names of those he was involved with.

Ring Lardner Jr.   While blacklisted, he moved to England and wrote for several television series under a pseudonym.  Once the blacklist was repealed, he returned to writing in America and wrote M.A.S.H.

John Howard Lawson   Co-founded the Screen Writers Guild and served as head of the film division of the Communist Party.

Albert Maltz   Won the 1951 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama, submitted under the name Michael Blankfort, a fellow screen writer.

Samuel Ornitz   Co-founded the Screen Writer’s Guild.

Adrian Scott   After being blacklisted, he wrote for the series, The Adventures of Robin Hood, under a pseudonym.

Dalton Trumbo   While blacklisted, he won two Academy Awards for his screenplays.  One was written under his pseudonym, Robert Rich, and the other originally presented to a front-writer.

Alvah Bessie  Blacklisted and Imprisoned for ten months.

On December 3, 1947, Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, held a meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. At the conclusion of the meeting, Johnston released the “Waldorf Statement” which contained a list of over three hundred working members of the Hollywood film industry suspected of being communists or communist sympathizers. This marked the start of the blacklisting movement. Anyone on the list was questioned by HUAC which typically ruined their professional careers, friendships, and relationships. 

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Let's Get Personal with....Morgan!

Morgan, a member of the Apprentice at Signature program and a junior at H.B Woodlawn, will be creating the role of Sara in Signature in the Schools' world premiere production of Un-American this year. 

1. Where were you born? City/State/country?

I was born in the oh-so-far-away land of Washington, DC.

2. What is your favorite subject in school?

My favorite subject in school is probably English Literature or Creative Writing. I have always loved stories, both reading and telling them, and English type classes are the few places in school where you are truly pushed to stretch your imagination.

3. What is a favorite memory from your childhood?

I was an eccentric little child; in fact I was basically the Lady Gaga of my preschool. My teachers knew me as that kid who rushed in to put a skirt on their head every morning, plush toy in hand and plastic jewelry jangling.

4. What got you into theatre?

It was only natural then that my parents found an outlet for my budding creative insanity. At age three, I was signed up for acting classes at Imagination Stage, and the rest was history. I have been involved with theater ever since.

5. What was the best show you ever saw? Where?

If I had to pick the best show I ever saw, it would have to be a draw between Billy Elliot in London, and The Boy Detective Fails here at Signature. I liked both shows for very different reasons. Billy Elliot is brilliant for its message of hope while The Boy Detective Fails is one of the most creative stories I have heard in a very long time. Also, the music from both shows is completely addicting.

           

6. What was the best thing you ate this Thanksgiving?

Moving down my list of questions, the best thing I ate at thanksgiving was a pumpkin pie my little sister made.

7. What is one thing on your holiday wish-list this year?

And one thing on my holiday wish list this year is a melodica; it’s an instrument that kind of looks like what would happen if a piano and a recorder had a baby. It is incredibly cool.

8. What is your go-to song to belt in the shower?

My go-to song to belt in the shower is currently “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones.

9. If you were forced to appear before HUAC, would you choose to give away your friends to save yourself, OR save your friends and suffer the blacklist? Why?

Our show Un-American deals heavily with the impacts of McCarthyism, and what people chose to do when they went before the House of Un-American ActivitiesCommittee, or HUAC. I wish I could say I wouldn’t rat anyone out, that I wouldn't name names and allow myself to be placed on the blacklist, but honestly, I’m not sure. I think I would be tempted to rat out people who had hurt me in the past, even if I knew they were innocent. I hope I could stay loyal to my friends, but that takes a lot of resolve, and I’m not sure I have it.

           

10. What has been your favorite exercise in SIS rehearsals thus far?

Morgan with fellow cast and crew members during a rehearsal.

Over the past week we have done a number of incredibly difficult activities that are designed to make us more vulnerable to our peers, and the audience. These activities have left me feeling emotionally exhausted, and I often came home from rehearsal just to crash on my bed. My favorite exercise was ultimately the hardest. We had to tell the group something we had never told anyone else before. It was unbelievably difficult, but at the end of the day I felt relief. I was suddenly so close to these people who I had only met three weeks ago, and that was really amazing. The connection I now have with this cast makes it that much easier to relate to them, and I wouldn’t have traded this last week for anything. 

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