Originally published on 31 October 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
Judith Scott as Kitty Warren and Adam Faison as Frank Gardner. Photo by Craig Schwartz
George Bernard Shaw’s seminal play ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ is currently playing at A Noise Within (ANW) until November 17, 2017. Directed by Michael Michetti, Co-Artistic Director of The Theatre @ Boston Court, it stars Judith Scott, known for her role as Claudia Crane on the current FX series ‘Snowfall’, in the titular role of Kitty Warren.
Written in 1893, ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ was one of Shaw’s earliest plays which was published in a series called ‘Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant’ in 1898. It was widely branded as being immoral not so much because it dealt with prostitution but because the woman in the center of the scandal did not show remorse for her choice of career.
Michetti says of ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’, “It is shockingly modern. It’s a play that examines Kitty Warren’s choices from different perspectives and without judgment. Shaw was brazen to put the plight of women front and center in his art; it’s a choice none of his contemporaries made. It’s a protofeminist play before the terminology was even commonplace.”
“When Shaw wrote ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ in 1893 he exposed women’s dilemma at that time and the double standard that society imposed,” Scott pronounces. “Prostitution was highly regulated and prostitutes were punished while the men who availed of their services got away with it.
This is a woman who has prostituted herself unabashedly and has remained unashamed for having done that. It is a powerful portrayal of women and the tremendous sacrifices they make to raise their children and give them opportunities in life.”
Scott got her acting training at Webster University, alma mater of acclaimed actress Marsha Mason, in Webster Groves, Missouri. She says, “It was at one time an all-girls school but it was coed by the time I attended it. I was there for three years; I left after the third year and moved to Paris. My friends used to call me the Wandering Jude.”
“A month after I got back in the States, in 1983, I went walking with my mother in downtown Chicago. I went into The Second City Theater to use the bathroom and after I came out I heard some people laughing. I entered the room and saw people improvising. When I rejoined my mother outside I told her, ‘that’s what I want to do’. That sealed my fate, I went to the bathroom and decided I want to be an improviser,” relates Scott.
“Actually, I grew up improvising; that’s how I made my mother laugh,” Scott hastens to confess. “So I have always been an improviser but when I saw what they were doing I knew I wanted to do that. I was there in the fall and by the spring I was one of 300 touring performers with The Second City Theater Company. I did that for six years.
My mother was an amateur actress, my grandmother watched soap operas and was kind of a drama queen. The path was already laid out for me all my life and I just took up the calling. But I didn’t really make it a serious career until I was in my 40s.”
ANW Resident Artist Erika Soto as Vivien Warren and Adam Faison as Frank Gardner. Photo by Craig Schwartz / A Noise Within
“Having studied all the classics in college, I’m familiar with Shaw’s work,” explains Scott. “’Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ is a very intellectual play; Shaw is a very word-heavy writer but there’s a tremendous amount of emotion and feeling in his work. That was what struck me – how much feeling was in his writing; it is replete with polemic discussion, there’s so much passion in it.
It is a powerful piece and playing the role of this strong and willful character was life-changing for me. I related to Kitty Warren on a deeply personal level. The play has resonated with me because of what I know and where I come from; my ancestral history has certain parallels with her experience.
This role is not traditionally played by a woman of color and it has made a difference for me. It was a vehicle that changed my life – not only in my understanding of me as Judith, my mother’s child, but as a woman of color who comes from a long line of women of color before me who sacrificed a great deal to have the privileges that I now enjoy but take for granted.”
Adds Scott, “This is the first Shaw I performed ever and is also my first at ANW. It has been both challenging and illuminating. It helped me understand that I come with a certain history and perspective that I have learned to respect and honor more than I ever did before; Shaw gave me my identity.
By relating to the character it simply means that I have taken her seriously and deeply; I see Kitty through her eyes. I don’t live in my skin color but I use it when it’s necessary to make a statement – in this role I have to fight diligently and ferociously. In Shaw’s work that revelation is more so.”
While Shaw wrote ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ towards the end of the 19th century to expose the prevailing culture, women in the early 21st century are still fighting against double standards of behavior and inequality in the workplace.
Would that Shaw’s depiction of a woman being decidedly unapologetic for making her own fortune and shedding the inhibitions that society unfairly imposed serve as an exhortation for all women of this generation to fearlessly pursue their dream and resolutely determine their own destiny. May equity and parity be achieved long before the end of this century.
Originally published on 24 October 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
The Long Room at Trinity College is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
Summer this year took me back to Europe, my favorite travel destination. I journeyed to Scotland for the third time on British Airways via Heathrow International in London, which is one of the busiest and most crowded airports in the world.
To avoid having to go through Heathrow again coming back, I decided to visit Ireland for a few days before heading home. From Edinburgh, I took an Aer Lingus flight and was in Dublin in an hour.
I have actually stepped foot on Dublin before now; four years ago I made a stop here for a few hours enroute to Switzerland. While enjoying a breakfast of a cup of hot coffee and pastry at the airport lounge, I glimpsed lush green foliage outside through the rain. It was absolutely picturesque and I resolved to come back one day to see more of the city. And this past August I did.
The name ‘Ireland’ is a derivation of the ancient Irish word ‘Eire’ meaning western. According to legend, the Irish believe their country is in the west, the last land before the vast Atlantic Ocean.
It is divided into the northern and southern parts.
Northern Ireland is one of four countries that make up the United Kingdom (the others are England, Scotland, and Wales). Its capital is Belfast and its currency is the British Pound Sterling.
The southern part is the Republic of Ireland, with Dublin as its capital and the Euro as its currency; this is the Ireland I visited. Dublin (Black Pool), Ireland’s most important city, has been the capital and its major cultural and economic center since the early Middle Ages.
I was going to be here for only three nights so I limited my exploration of this land of leprechauns and shamrocks to Dublin. As in all my travels, I tend to see castles, cathedrals, and universities. And the capital has all three in close proximity to each other.
Being an education writer, I was very much interested in seeing for myself Trinity College, the University of Dublin, on College Green. It is the oldest university in Ireland and one of the oldest in Europe. I really wanted to learn as much as I could about the school so I joined a tour being given by a pleasant English graduate student.
Founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 as ‘The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity near Dublin’, its mission was to ‘promote civility, learning, and Protestant piety among the youth of Ireland’.
Due to some confusion in the Latin phrase used in the foundation document, the terms ‘University of Dublin’ and ‘Trinity College’ became synonymous. The explanation is that the University of Dublin consists of only one college: Trinity.
The Campanile welcomes students and visitors to Trinity College.
A majestic Campanile welcomes students and visitors to its beautiful campus. Flanking the Campanile’s rear are two Oregon maple trees, which were reportedly planted before 1850 from original seeds that were presumably taken back from the New World.
A life-size statue in marble of George Salmon, provost of Trinity College from 1888 to 1904, occupies a prominent space close to the Campanile. His 14 years as provost are described as ‘the golden years’ of Trinity.
According to our learned guide, Salmon is also known as the champion of women, a dubious honor since he apparently opposed the admission of women into the university having pronounced ‘Women would enter the college over my dead body’.
It is ironic that while it was founded by a woman, Trinity College was one of the last in the British Isles to admit women students. It was only in 1892 when 10,000 Irish women signed a petition to give women the same benefits and rights as have been conferred to men that the school finally gave in to pressure. Ireland’s 7th and 8th presidents, and its only two female presidents, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, were both Trinity alumnae. Today women constitute 58% of the student body.
Some of the most well-regarded luminaries in the world are graduates of Trinity College: Jonathan Swift, known as the author of Gulliver’s Travels, who later moved to London and got involved in English politics and then was appointed Dean of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral; Samuel Beckett, the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of ‘Waiting for Godot’ and one of the most influential writers of the 20th century; Edmund Burke, who is best remembered as an early supporter of the American Revolution; to mention just three.
But there’s one name that ought to ring a bell to Californians – that of George Berkeley. He was a philosopher and later became Bishop of Cloyne. His many accomplishments are commemorated at Trinity College with a Berkeley Library and in California with an eponymous city – home of the University of California, Berkeley which has a Sather Tower that’s known as the Campanile. (At this juncture our tour guide noted that it is pronounced Bark-ley, but became Berk-ley in the United States. He also mentioned that, coincidentally, he is here pursuing his doctorate on George Berkeley’s life.)
My main goal in visiting Trinity College was to see the Old Library Building. It houses the Long Room, which may be the most gorgeous and most photographed library in the word, and the Book of Kells.
Called the Long Room because it is the longest single-room library in Europe, at 65 meters in length, it contains over 200,000 of some of the oldest volumes in the library. It is an amazing sight to behold! It is a working library and because the books there are rare, trained staff process requests from readers. Books are then brought to a specific area and care taken so their bindings are not stressed.
However, as in everything nowadays, technology will soon replace actual books being taken out and read – they are currently being scanned for online access. But that just ruins the whole experience, doesn’t it? There is nothing more thrilling for a bibliophile like me, than to hold one in my hands, smell the old leather, turn the fragile pages, and peruse the words written hundreds of years before my time.
The Book of Kells, also known as the Book of Columba, is an illuminated manuscript done in the Insular style. Containing the four Gospels of the New Testament, it is a masterpiece of Western calligraphy and an exemplar of insular illumination. It is regarded as Ireland’s greatest treasure.
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral’s nave looks like the long part of the cross and the choir, the top part.
A tour of Dublin would never be complete without a visit to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, the patron saint of Ireland. Built by Luke, Archbishop of Dublin, between 1220-1259, on the site of an ancient well which was reported to have been used by Saint Patrick himself, the cathedral was made from local limestone and stone imported from Bristol.
Constructed like a cruciform, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral’s nave resembles the long part of the cross; the Choir, the top of the cross; and the transepts, the arms of the cross. Its design is thought to be based on Old Sarum Cathedral, near Salisbury, England.
Having visited the Cathedral of St. Patrick, the magnificent landmark Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic church on Fifth Avenue in New York City, I thought the Dublin cathedral appeared like a humbler version.
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin is still a place of worship today. However, it is also very much a tourist stop, with kiosks selling all manner of souvenir spread throughout the nave. Standing near the apse, I found it difficult to think of Christian values when commercialism was on full display a few feet away.
The next place I went to was Dublin Castle on the city center off Dame Street. Built in 1204 on the orders of King John of England on a spot previously settled by the Vikings, it features a typical Norman courtyard design. It has a central square and is bounded on all sides by tall defensive walls and protected at each corner by a circular tower.
Dublin Castle’s center square.
My tour consisted of visiting the state apartments and exhibitions. Saint Patrick’s Hall is the grandest room of the state apartments – it has one of the most important decorative interiors in Ireland. Its most striking feature is a painted ceiling by Vincenzo Valdre. Composed of three panels, it depicts the coronation of King George III, Saint Patrick introducing Christianity to Ireland, and King Henry II receiving the submission of the Irish chieftains. The room is used to this day for presidential inaugurations.
Other rooms worth seeing are: the throne room; the state drawing room; the dining room; and the Wedgwood room.
The most architectural space of the state apartments is the state corridor based on the early 18th century corridor of Edward Lovett Pearce in the former Parliament House on College Green. It showcases a marching procession of top-lit vaults and arches.
While it is an historic tourist attraction, Dublin Castle is a working Irish government building. It is used for state dinners, the most recent one being for Queen Elizabeth when she visited Ireland in 2011. It also hosts conferences.
Next on my walking tour was Dublin City Hall, located on Dame Street, next to Dublin Castle and five minutes away from Trinity College. Constructed between 1769 and 1779 by Thomas Cooley, a young architect from London, the City Hall was originally intended to be the Royal Exchange.
An impressive example of Georgian architecture, for which Dublin is world-renowned, the City Hall has a central entrance hall or rotunda, with a large dome supported by twelve columns. A floor mosaic showing the city arms and motto and marble statues of prominent Irish men grace the rotunda. Today it is used for corporate events and functions.
Not having much time left to enjoy other attractions, I opted to see the rest of the city from the comfort of a city tour bus. Our tour guide was Kiernan, a Dubliner, who gave the most insightful commentary about each stop. I will mention a few places I found personally notable.
Kiernan pointed out that it is almost inconceivable that such a small island could produce so many exceptional scholars and writers, especially when Ireland is perceived as a geographical backwater on the farthest edge of Europe. The Irish pride in their intellectuals is celebrated in the Dublin Writers Museum on Parnell Square North. This restored 18th century building is domicile to letters, books, and other memorabilia of Ireland’s greatest writers – George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and Brendan Behan.
Dublin may very well be the only two-Cathedral city anywhere. Saint Patrick’s is the National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland community; and the First Church Cathedral – the original Cathedral of Norse – is the cathedral for the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, and the seat of the bishop.
Mansion House on Dawson Street has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715. The Round Room to the left of the main building is where the Irish Parliament met in 1919.
The Ha’penny Bridge crosses the River Liffey.
One of Dublin’s most famous attractions is the Guinness Storehouse. Tourists come here to see the site where Arthur Guinness started brewing the drink that bears his name. The highlight of one’s visit is the Gravity Bar where one can see the entire city while imbibing a complimentary pint.
The Irish are also famous for their whiskies. They claim that whiskey was first distilled in Ireland (having just visited Scotland, where, the Scots assert, whisky originated, I found this rather amusing. That they cannot agree on the matter is further reflected in the way they spell the word. The Scottish spelling is whisky while the Irish spell it whiskey). Whiskey is the English translation for the Scottish Gaelic uisge or Irish Gaelic uisce, meaning ‘water of life’.
Celtic Whiskey on 27 Dawson Street does not discriminate; it boasts the most comprehensive range of the drink with Irish, Scotch, and whiskies from around the world. It is staffed with afionadoes who can tell buyers everything they want to know about whiskey.
Teeling Whiskey Distillery on Newmarket Square is the only operational distillery in Dublin. Here visitors can watch the traditional Irish whiskey process.
Jameson Distillery, Bow Street, Smithfield Village offers upbeat and informative tours by personal guides who take visitors from grain to glass. Guided tours, whiskey masterclasses, and premium tasting are available. The tour ends at the gift shop where buyers can purchase a personalized bottle or a memento of their visit.
Grafton Street is Dublin’s premier shopping area. It is also a social and cultural district where buskers and entertainers can be found at all hours of the day.
Ireland’s widest and most famous street is O’Connell St which has been the setting of pivotal events in its history. It is lined with statues commemorating Irish heroes including Daniel O’Connell and Jim Larkin, the central figure in Dublin’s lockout. Here is also where one can find the spire of Dublin, a pin-like monument over 120 meters high.
Convention Centre, Dublin is striking in its modernity.
Dublin is a city of many contrasts. The classic and stately Custom House stands not too far from the carbon neutral-constructed Convention Centre, Dublin, utterly striking in its modernity. The Ha’penny, the iconic iron pedestrian bridge crosses The River Liffey on Aston Quay, while a mile away in the Docklands area there’s the cable-stayed Samuel Beckett Bridge, a stunning masterpiece of structural engineering. Pubs which characterize old stereotypes of Irish culture are mainstays even as ubiquitous stores the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, Gucci, H&M, and Louis Vuitton flourish, evidence of a cosmopolitan city.
Through it all, you can see that Ireland is a welcoming country. Dubliners are gregarious by nature and are quick to talk to strangers about their infamous weather (it rains at the drop of a hat and stops just as abruptly as it starts). They are happy to give you directions when you’re getting lost (they conjecture their early street designers were probably affected by Guinness fumes). They go about their daily life with an ease reflective of their country’s unspoiled beauty.
Everywhere you go, you observe young people with backpacks slung on their shoulder and earbuds attached to their iPhones walking alongside their older briefcase-carrying counterparts looking down on their smartphones, ready to begin their day. Today’s Dublin feels contemporary and vibrant – it is a city at once in touch with its historic past and set to embark on a promising future.
Originally published on 20 October 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
Marc Alongi, Director of Sequoyah High School in Pasadena, couldn’t be more excited to usher in the new school year. After completing a highly successful first year of establishment, he is ready for the challenge of surpassing what they have achieved.
Enthuses Alongi, “We had a really great year! We didn’t know how it was going to go because we hadn’t done it before. It was all new to us – creating an entire curriculum, hiring faculty for it, adding more grade levels. The question for us was ‘how do we maintain the culture’.
Proof of how successful we were became clear on the last day of the school year. The students were all thrilled to be coming back. We held an afternoon meeting and showed a slide presentation of the past year’s activities. They were all proud of what they have accomplished.
Our students built a fun, curious, and inquisitive culture. It’s hard to do when you’re a teenager and forming really powerful relationships – cliques can develop very easily, it could become exclusive. But they have done a very good job of acknowledging and including each other. It’s a place where everybody is seen and welcomed.
They said they got a lot out of the classes; they loved the student/teacher relationship – being able to have inside jokes and share the things that were funny in class. It’s a sign of a pleasant class experience when teachers and students have a good rapport.
I told them to take a moment to realize that they’re part of Sequoyah’s history as the founding students of the high school. While the new students coming in will still be founding students, they have this particular experience – the very first day, the very first year, and many other major firsts.”
A concern Alongi remembers one student expressing was that it wouldn’t be the same with newcomers arriving this school year. He says, “They were worried that the special composition as they know it will change. There was a real sentimentality there and we discussed that. Even though we’re growing – we’re doubling in size with new students coming in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade – we can preserve the culture.”
Starting the year off with an all-school camping trip at Pumice Flat campground in the Inyo National Forest | Courtesy Photo
Sequoyah HS joins an elite collection of secondary schools in Pasadena. It offers a rigorous curriculum as all the other high schools but what’s different is the pedagogy. Elucidates Alongi, “We take it to another level beyond lectures in class. We emphasize application of concepts; we want students to articulate and demonstrate what and why it matters; why it’s relevant.
They demonstrate mastery of a subject through exhibitions, which we have twice a year – in January and June. While there are still tests and quizzes, the grand assessment is a project that requires them to creatively use the factual knowledge and skills they gained in the classroom. They have to be able to coherently communicate this with an audience of their parents and other students who didn’t take the class. It’s hard to do and we want to make sure that was presented and valued and celebrated. They came up with excellent exhibits and they also completed an innovation program in their first year.”
Alongi is referring to an integral component in Sequoyah High School’s curriculum – the four-year Social Innovation Program (SIP) designed to develop students’ empathy and desire to be thoughtful, effective collaborators and change-makers.
“The idea behind that is for students to be familiar with social or environmental issues,” says Alongi. “And rather than having a discrete class in tenth or eleventh grade about civics, or economics, or specifically about local policy issues, we want students of our four-year program to become familiar with how communities work – whether that’s the school, Pasadena, L.A., or whatever concentric circle they have.”
“This past year for our ninth and tenth graders we decided to look at the L.A. River because it has a number of issues that are related to it,” continues Alongi. “It has been a very important focus for L.A. and Mayor Eric Garcetti has put together a long-term plan to make the city more sustainable and more just socially and environmentally.”
According to Alongi, the L.A. River presented students with three big areas which they discussed in their group topics.
The first big area was the water quality’s impact on the environment. Students did experiments on different metrics of water, PH level, and turbidity; they tested for traces of metals on murky water. This was exciting for this group because they were able to use what they learned in chemistry class and they were able to relate this to what happened in Flint, Michigan.
A second topic was biodiversity in the watershed. This team examined Devil’s Gate Dam at the Hahamongna watershed near JPL. The dam was created to prevent flooding in the Arroyo which covers the Rose Bowl, the Aquatic Center, and several houses.
“The dam has filled up with sediment, volume has been displaced so it’s less effective and it can be breached,” explains Alongi. “While the easiest solution might be to remove the sediment, other factors have to be taken into account. Over the decades it has become a habitat for wild animals, including an endangered bird. Removing millions of cubic feet of sediment rocks and sand means that there will potentially be 400 truck trips per day for five years once they start the sediment removal.
Our students made a documentary film about it to engage people in the issue so they could be more involved in the decisions being made. They also created a board game using a two-scale model of the dam simulating what would happen if more water goes into the dam. The game gives players courses of action and shows that the choices they make have consequences. They took this board game to several senior centers and a handful of schools. They videotaped the experience of playing the game with older people and students. They even composed original music to go with it. I was very impressed with them,” Alongi beams.
A third topic was housing. The students found out that there was a lot of development going on around the L.A. River. They decided to apply it to the local level and they discovered that Pasadena, in particular, has a shortage of affordable housing. They realized the role of economics behind it – more inventory means less expensive housing.
Students explored the dynamics between tenants and landlords, and examined tenants’ rights. A lot of conflicts can arise from lack of information, so they went door-to-door, talked with a lot of people to find out what they know and don’t know. They ended up producing an 18-page report outlining how to build better tenant-landlord relationships.
Alongi states, “Working on this issue complements the curriculum very well. Questions from humanities come to life when you’re talking to people about being a renter. Economic, political, and social concepts are raised in tenancy issues.
Students aren’t necessarily coming up with a solution, they are learning from complexity and they’re learning how to be creative. The other thing that we emphasize is what’s called design thinking – using design to solve a problem – which has become very trendy in schools.
The simple idea behind it is to do a lot of research, use ethnological scales, talk to people, observe people’s behavior. After collecting all this information, start the brainstorming process. Come up with not one, or two, or five ideas; come up with 50 ideas for what could be strategies to improve some of the issues you identify.
Once you narrow it down to what you feel is the best idea, start to prototype. Create a model or a simulation that you think could be interesting to people, then take it back and get feedback from them. The responses you get are the basis for helping you innovate; you’ll probably get a lot of critical feedback, but maybe something you came up with sticks with people.”
Girls’ volleyball wrapping up a game in the fall | Courtesy Photo
According to RJ Sakai, Director of Social Innovation, this year instead of using the L.A. River as starting point, students will be focusing on a diversity of Backyard Issues beginning in November.
Sakai states, “As they did last year, ninth and tenth graders will work in groups of ten with one faculty facilitator. In the upcoming weeks, faculty members will choose umbrella topics and, with the students who self-elect into their groups, will narrow it down to a specific issue through their research and ideation. They haven’t yet decided on topics but I imagine they might include homelessness, incarceration, transportation, arts & culture, access to green space among other things.
Ninth and tenth graders are spending the first two months of school in a SIP orientation in their Stewardship Committees, which center on topics that help build the Sequoyah community: morning meeting committee; diversity committee; sustainable campus committee, etc. As part of their research and inspiration phases, these committees have spoken with people at KPCC, Grand Performances, and Mia Lehrer + Associates (landscape architects), respectively.”
Eleventh graders are working on an Independent Impact Project. Sakai reports that they have written essential questions to guide their research inquiry for the rest of the fall semester.
Some of the questions they are looking to answer include: How might alternative produce distribution procedures increase exposure and access to healthy food options in underserved L.A. communities?; What could be done to change the disposal methods of medications to make it safe for our environment?; and What physiological effects do microplastics have on living organisms and how do they damage ecosystems?
“In the spring students will begin to prototype ways to intervene in these issues and make a difference. All of our students follow a process of ethnographic research (interviews, field work), synthesis (concept mapping, note taking), ideating (blue sky imaging, sketching), and prototyping (making things),” explains Sakai.
Alongi adds, “Through all their SIP projects what our students learned is that making policy decisions is a balancing act. There are stakeholders who are impacted differently by these issues and there are controversies embedded in them. So that’s part of the learning process – recognizing there aren’t easy solutions. Innovation is simply creative problem-solving, helping bring a constellation of people together around a potential outcome that could be a win, win, win. Maybe we arrive at a solution that isn’t perfect, but is better.
A student team tours the Bowtie Parcel at Glassell Park as part of their work with SIP | Courtesy Photo
The kids are really enjoying this process of problem-solving – that it takes time, constant iteration, and a lot of good research. And it’s also a cycle: sometimes you end up going back to do more research because you realize you’re on the wrong path. It combines hands-on action with thoughtful research and interviewing people, and doing the science or the math.
It’s quite satisfying to see students learn in the real world. Unlike doing a unit in class, the real world is messy. They have to learn how to ask really good questions, figure out who they’re going to talk to, find out what websites to use for their research. The teacher’s role becomes more of a coach to help students wade through all the information.”
Each group is mentored by a faculty member with proficiency on the topic being investigated. Math teacher, Ronnie Bryan, worked with the students who looked into the Hahamongna watershed issue. He helped them calculate volume and scale to complete their project. He has a bachelor’s degree in Brain and Cognitive Science from MIT and a PhD in Computation and Neural Systems from Caltech.
Humanities/English teacher, Ian Chang, who mentored the housing team, was a language arts teacher at Sequoyah before transitioning to the high school where he developed the Humanities curriculum. He has an MFA in Fiction Writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA in English Literature from Swarthmore College.
Laura Haney, science teacher, coached the water quality group. She received her bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics and Math from Barnard College of Columbia University, and her PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCLA.
Director of Social Innovation, RJ Sakai, graduated with a Cultural Anthropology and Graphic Design degree. He has an MFA in Media Design Practice from Art Center College of Design. His work has led to immersions in Uganda, Cuba, small town Massachusetts, East Harlem, and Los Angeles.
Alongi states with pride, “We have very accomplished and impressive teachers with content expertise who really care about learning. They know how to get inside the minds of different students, and understand what motivates them, how they think, and how to help them become really curious, to do the math deeply, to perform good quality work, and to go above and beyond.”
Nigh its 60 years of founding, Sequoyah School stands by its dictum to impart active citizenship, advocacy for social justice, and environmental stewardship to its youngest students. Today, with the establishment of the high school, it carries on that promise to prepare a mindful, young generation to navigate ambiguity, embrace change, and positively impact global society. That resolve came through clearly during its very first year.
With Alongi leading the way, Sequoyah High School will undoubtedly graduate students who magnificently epitomize the legacy that sets the school apart from all others.
A tale of men’s greed and the common people’s fight against it, ‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ addresses ecological and environmental concerns – issues that affect us to this day. It is also quite significant that it has a woman as the instigator of the battle, a role usually reserved for men, when it was written at a time when having female leads in theatre was not as commonplace.
Deborah Strang, resident artist at ANW, plays the title madwoman. She says, “Clearly Giraudoux loved women; he had a fondness for the female mind and ability. There was one other play he wrote called ‘Ondine’ that I saw a while back which also featured a female protagonist. Oddly, it was also directed by Stephanie Shroyer.”
“I am very excited to be playing the ‘Madwoman of Chaillot’. First and foremost because it’s by Giraudoux, who’s an incredible French playwright and I have never done one before. So it got me particularly intrigued,” says Strang.
“Valency’s translation and adaptation recreates the spirit of the piece,” continues Strang. “It is almost Shakespearean in its rhythm and use of language, the repetition of sounds, vowels, and consonants. It’s very beautiful just to speak it – it’s poetry, almost.”
“It’s an extremely thrilling role for an actor – on every page of the script the madwoman is speaking nonstop. It’s an enormous challenge to carry almost all of the text in the play for two hours. It’s stimulating for my old brain to try to take it all in and comprehend,” Strang states self-deprecatingly.
“That it is being directed by Stephanie, whom I adore, makes it especially fun for me,” adds Strang. “This is the second time I’m working with her; the previous one I did with her was ‘You Never Can Tell’ which we had on stage a couple of years ago.
The way Stephanie puts things together is quite magical. She is a choreographer so she approaches her plays from a dancer’s mind; she directs the actors’ movements in a way that’s electrifying for the audience to watch. It’s exhilarating for actors because it’s like learning to dance; in the movement we discover new ways to explore the text.”
Deborah Strang (left) as Aurelia, The Madwoman of Chaillot; Jill Hill (center) as Therese, Mme. Gabrielle, The Madwoman of St. Sulspice, and Susan Angelo (right) as Paulette, The Madwoman of Passy | Photo by Craig Schwartz / A Noise Within
In ‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’, Strang co-stars with two other female resident artists whom she has known for a long time – Susan Angelo as Mme. Constance and Jill Hill as Mme. Gabrielle – and Veralyn Jones, who plays Mme. Josephine.
“Susan, Jill, and I haven’t been in the same play for some time. So it’s wonderful to work with two of my favorite actresses,” Strang says further. “The fourth madwoman, Veralyn, who is now my new best friend is someone I’ve heard of but have never worked with before. And she’s fantastic! To have four strong women on stage at the same time playing against one another is a rare treat.”
“Classical plays, in general, have more dominant male roles,” Strang points out. “And while ‘Madwoman of Chaillot’ has more men in it, they are the bad guys. Giraudoux may not have set out to create a feminist play so much as to show the underdog winning.”
Written in 1943, ‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ follows three businessmen in Paris conspiring to destroy the city in order to unearth oil, which a prospector’s sense of smell located in the neighborhood.
However, Countess Aurelia, ‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’, hears about their plot. With an outwardly eccentric behavior but possessing a much common sense, she enlists the help of her fellow outcasts: the ragpicker, the street singer, the sewer man, the flower girl, the sergeant, and various other oddballs and dreamers. She invites them all to a tea party, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland’s, then sends the greedy businessmen into a bottomless pit that opens out of her cellar.
“It’s a play that is extremely relevant in today’s world,” declares Strang. “When the audience hears certain lines like ‘What would you rather have in your backyard, an almond tree or an oil well?’ or ‘Why would you want a park for children?’, they all identify with the situation. This was true in Giraudoux’s time as it is now.”
“Yet in the end, the audience will have a very good time – it’s wonderful entertainment. They’re going to laugh, maybe think a bit,” Strang says. Then she adds wistfully, “Ideally it will change the world, we’ll be more generous and loving to one another.”
Originally published on 30 September 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
Melodey and Marc Soong | Courtesy Photo
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything,” Plato wisely declared.
For San Gabriel Valley siblings, Melodey and Marc Soong, the influence of music is obvious. Music is part of their life; they grew up surrounded by it. Melodey was four and Marc was three when they started taking piano lessons at the former Yamaha School in Arcadia. They both are currently studying under the tutelage of Professor Daniel Pollack and Vladimir Khomyakov of the USC Thornton School of Music.
On October 14, 2017 Melodey and Marc will share their love of music as well as support a cause – they will hold a piano concert to benefit Michael J. Fox’s (Team Fox) Parkinson’s Disease Research (click here to donate). To be held at the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, the concert will feature pieces ranging from the Baroque to the late Romantic period.
These various piano competitions and festivals have taken Melodey in several parts of the United States and abroad. She has performed in several venues – the Isaac Stern Auditorium Perelman Stage and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Zipper Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Sala dei Notari in Perugia, Italy.
A twelfth grader at Mayfield Senior, Melodey is a member of the school’s Instrumental Conservatory. But she has other hobbies besides playing the piano; she also enjoys reading and writing. She satisfies her writing interest being a reporter and copy editor of Mayfield School’s newspaper.
While playing the piano is an avocation she would always nurture, Melodey intends to pursue a medical degree. She interns in the Nursing and Music Therapy departments at Arcadia Methodist Hospital.
Like his sister, 14-year-old Marc has reaped the same laurels and has added other awards – Classics Alive Young Artists; the Redlands Bowl Young Artists; and the Los Angeles Liszt Competitions – to the list.
The venues where Marc has played the piano include the Isaac Stern Auditorium Perelman Stage and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Zipper Concert Hall, and the Redlands Bowl.
Marc was the recipient of the 2015-2016 Young Musician’s Foundation Award’s David Weiss Scholarship. He also volunteers with the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra.
Music isn’t Marc’s only pastime, he is also keen on reading, swimming and playing video games. An avid math and science enthusiast, he has attended several programs at Caltech and participated in the National Youth Leadership Forum: Explore STEM. He is currently a sophomore at Stanford University’s Online High School.
The Team Fox concert is Melodey’s and Marc’s very personal way of sharing music with everyone.
Melodey and Marc state, “Music is a constant in our life and is something we could always come back to; it also serves as a way to connect with others. Music has the ability to lift other people’s moods – bringing joy and happiness to those who may not be in the best spirits. Music has the power to transform, to touch, and ignite emotion.
We are incredibly fortunate to have been exposed to music early on. We are so very grateful for this privilege and we would like to give back to the community. Our grandmother had Parkinson’s Disease so we decided to hold a concert to benefit research into it. We hope that through this benefit event we can raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s.”
To be held from 5:30 to 7:00 at First Church of the Nazarene’s Lee Chapel, the first part of the concert features solos from Melodey. She will perform J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D Minor; W. A. Mozart’s Sonata No. 8 in A Minor; Widmung/Dedication by R. Schumann/F. Liszt; P. Tchaikovsky’s Dumka, Op. 59; and Black Earth by F. Say.
There will be a short intermission after which Marc will take his turn on the stage. He will be playing S. Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in D Major; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C-sharp Minor by F Liszt; S. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, accompanied by Dr. Vladimir Khomyakov; and Paraphrase Figaro’s Aria from the Barber of Seville by G. Rossini/G Ginzburg.
Melodey and Marc will conclude with a piano duo (two pianos, four hands) and play F. Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp Minor.
The repertoire includes a variety of solos, duo, concerto, and duets to delight the audience with different styles and periods of music. It would be an evening filled with enchanting music – that it is also an event to benefit those afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease is fortuitous. Even Plato would approve.
Originally published on 27 September 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena ends its 2017 season with the West Coast premiere of Julia Lederer’s ‘With Love and a Major Organ’, from September 28 through November 5, 2017.
Directed by award-winning co-artistic director, Jessica Kubzansky, ‘With Love and a Major Organ’ is a whimsical, quirky, and wildly original play that dissects physical human interaction in the age of technology. Its title alone is startling and it was what attracted her to the play at the outset.
Says Kubzansky, “I love this title and I think it’s deliciously funny. The story is about trying to connect in our ever more virtual world. There’s a character in the play who has been enclosed for years in her own privacy. She’s seeing an online therapist, Google Shrink, who recommends that she see more people so she speed-dates online. What’s contrapuntal to this is that she falls in love with a stranger she meets on the subway. She then gives her actual beating heart to this man and he disappears on her.”
‘With Love and a Major Organ’ follows the protagonist’s quest to retrieve her heart, accidentally cracking open those of others she meets on the way. The play is eccentric and edgy comedy about what it costs to give your heart away, and what happens when you discover you actually have one.
“To me one of the most profound ironies of our time is that we have never been more connected yet we have never felt more isolated,” Kubzansky declares. “There’s this amazing animation that someone made about people running around looking down on their phones – technology is changing their lives but they’re completely missing out on life around them. Technology is significantly improving our lives while considerably reducing our ability to connect.
Julia’s play is both truly hilarious and powerfully heartbreaking. She’s mining both the absurd lengths to which love will drive us and the deep loneliness that emanates from protecting our frequently bruised and broken hearts. Her text is poetry for the theatre and she pushes metaphor to its most surreal and deeply truthful limits.”
Boston Court Performing Arts Center was founded in 2003 as a non-profit arts center dedicated to new and original works by living artists. Led by co-artistic theatre directors, Jessica Kubzansky and Michael Minetti, it has successfully established its place among the numerous theatre companies in Pasadena.
“The journey has been exciting, challenging, and wonderful,” proclaims Kubzansky. “I’ve been extraordinarily privileged to have founded Boston Court with Michael. We had the thrilling task of creating the mission and vision for this place – it’s always stimulating for an artist to create what you want to share with the world.
We knew when we started that Boston Court is only four blocks from the Pasadena Playhouse; we realized we needed to offer something different. Frankly, the design of the place dictated many things: it’s beautiful but it’s also very intimate. It’s important for us to do risky, adventurous work because we have fewer seats to fill; we can afford to take chances in our programming.
Also, it’s imperative for me to do work that challenges both the artist and the audience – plays that encourage each artist to passionately pursue his own unique voice and vision. We don’t want cookie-cutter productions or something our audience can see somewhere else. We look for a variety of styles and we significantly reinvent the classic. The only time we wouldn’t re-envision a classic is when it’s highly theatrical, textually rich, and visually arresting on its own – something we call a ‘Boston Court play’.
We put on four productions per season – usually one wildly re-envisioned classic; a world premiere; maybe one we had in our New Play Festival that subsequently ends up on our stage; and one that’s timely and needs to be done now. It’s all about passion and balance, but always the mandate is the same – it has to be highly theatrical, textually rich and visually arresting.”
Kubzansky and Michetti actively seek out like-minded collaborators. She states, “When Michael and I meet with directors we would like to work with, we ask ‘What has been burning a hole in your gut? What do you need to talk about right now?’ Both of us have really astonishing experiences when it comes from our gut.”
According to Kubzansky it took a while for them to fully grasp what sets Boston Court apart from other theatre companies in the area. She states, “It was much later, when our season had entirely world premieres and we had to extend every show, that it became clear to us that our audience liked the plays they’ve never heard of before. People now know that when they come to Boston Court, they will have a quality ride; they are confident that no matter what they see here it’s going to be a great evening.
Because our work is adventurous, it occasionally divides or offends people. But they also trust that they will see artistic excellence and the experience will be unlike what they get elsewhere. It’s incredibly important to us to take part in a cultural conversation that reflects the world as it is today. We ask our audience to be moved and to think – to crack open their heart and mind a little bit.
In Los Angeles, you see a play, get in your car, and drive away. But in New York, after the show you go to a bar next door, bump into people who also saw the play, and have a discussion about it. We want to bring that kind of engagement in the L.A. theatre scene. Every Friday we have complimentary wine, sparkling water, and Chex Mix to encourage people to sit in our beautify lobby and have a dialogue about they had just seen.
There’s a misconception that theatre-goers in Los Angeles don’t have the same passion for it as New Yorkers. It may be true that a much larger percentage of the population on the East Coast sees a play on any given night – it’s so easy for them to go on the subway then get off after four stops. Los Angelenos are also passionate devotees and there are so many choices of theatres here, too. However, I think that geography has something to do with it – if you live in Venice and want to see a play here, you have to make a commitment in terms of the drive. Fortunately, Boston Court attracts subscribers from far afield – which is very thrilling. Pasadena is a beautiful place; it’s a really complex community and it’s exciting for us to be here.”
Before Boston Court existed the place it now occupies was a parking lot. It was purchased by philanthropist, Z. Clark Branson, to build a state-of-the art, intimate facility designed to bring artists and audience closer together. The 75-seat Marjorie Branson Performance Space and the 99-seat Main Stage are sites for the theatre’s season of bold, risky theatre and its eclectic, diverse music series. It is also the home of an annual New Play festival, an Emerging Artists Series, as well as Upfront, a rotating visual arts program.
As Kubzansky relates it, the theatre company’s name was born out of their desire to come up with a moniker that conjures permanence, heft, and gravitas. “We wanted something iconic like the Actors Theatre of Louisville or the Pasadena Playhouse – both of which were already taken. When we realized our building is located on Mentor Avenue and Boston Court, a lightbulb lit; we became Boston Court Performing Arts Center. We thought people will understand when they see that we named it after the street we’re on.
What’s funny is that after we had our logo created, stationery printed, and signs put up, we received a letter from the City of Pasadena informing us that our address is in fact 70 N Mentor Avenue; Boston Court is actually our driveway,” Kubzansky says with a laugh.
That inadvertent address error couldn’t have deterred its founders’ resolve to make their mark on the city and theatre. Boston Court Performing Arts Center stands today as a stalwart advocate of artistic vision and inventive expression.
Originally published on 18 September 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
Richard and Eric Dong, 17-year-old and 15-year-old residents of Arcadia and students of San Marino High School (SMHS), learned early on that one’s life on earth should be spent in pursuit of meaningful endeavors.
When they were still very little, their parents, Ed and Charity, instilled in Richard’s and Eric’s young minds the values they should act on throughout their lives – to make worthy contributions to the community and to society in general.
Ed and Charity served as exemplars of the virtues they preached and lived up to their ideals. They were born in Mainland China, where they were educated and raised with Chinese traditions. Later, Ed worked as Group Vice President, China General Manager and Founder of China Operations for a US-UK high tech company from 1994 to 2013.
In 1991 the United States and Chinese governments jointly sponsored the establishment of the first China MBA program at SUNY-University of Buffalo. It was part of the two countries’ political reforms and open-door policy to train China’s young and future leaders. Ed was one of the students who completed a master’s degree at the school.
Charity and Ed immigrated to the United States in 1997; their two boys were born here in 2000 and 2002.
In 2015, Ed attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government for his Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) – the fulfillment of a 25-year dream. He earned admission to the school in 1991 but deferred enrollment because the small scholarship he was awarded wasn’t enough to cover the full tuition and he didn’t have the financial means at the time to pay for the rest.
“Our two boys were raised and educated here. As an immigrant family with cross-cultures we appreciate what the United States stands for; and we respect and promote American values,” Ed states. “I want Richard and Eric to learn both cultures and be instrumental in a future of friendship and cooperation between China and the USA.”
As a business leader and community activist, Ed took Richard and Eric with him meeting clients, joining exhibitions and seminars like the JFK100 Symposium at Harvard Kennedy School. The young children enjoyed sharing in their father’s work and involvement in both business and community.
“I was away a lot, traveling on business, that looking back, I regret not having devoted more time with them when they were younger,” confesses Ed. “Now that Richard and Eric are teenagers, I am slowing down to spend time with them before they go to college.”
Charity is glad to share the post she has single-handedly held for a while. During the years Ed was pursuing his MPA and flying internationally for his work, the responsibility of raising the two young boys fell largely on her shoulders. It was a job she did admirably – Richard and Eric grew up to be outstanding scholars, exceptional musicians, and fine athletes.
Richard graduated from Clairbourn School in 2014 | Courtesy Photo
Richard went to Clairbourn School in San Gabriel from kindergarten to eighth grade then to SMHS. A high school junior, he gets excellent grades and is on the school’s swimming and debate team. Also a brilliant pianist, he has been playing the instrument since the age of six; placed second in the 2013 American Protégé International Competition for Romantic Music and displayed that talent during the winners’ recital at Carnegie Hall in New York in April 2014; and was one of the performers with Lang Lang at Disney Hall in June 2016.
Eric also attended Clairbourn then matriculated to Huntington Middle School. He is now a sophomore at SMHS where he is a high achiever. He had piano lessons when he was five years old; placed second in the 2011 American Protégé International Piano and Strings competition, and participated in the winners’ recital in Carnegie Hall in March 2011; and was a performer at Disney Hall with Lang Lang in June 2016. He is likewise on the school’s swimming and debate teams.
What Richard and Eric are most proud of, however, are not their academic and musical awards but their achievements in the areas of public service and community involvement. For as long as they can remember, they have been volunteering as piano performers in various senior citizen centers, public libraries and schools.
In 2015 the two brothers became involved with the International Leadership Foundation (ILF) in Alhambra. A non-profit organization established in 2000, it aims to promote civic engagement, leadership empowerment, and economic prosperity of the Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI). The ILF Civic Fellowship is the most prestigious civic leadership program in the country designed to foster the next generation of AANHPI leaders in the field of public service.
Through ILF, Richard and Eric started interning during their summer break for Judy Chu, representative for California’s 27th congressional district.
Relates Eric, “I worked in Congresswoman Chu’s office in Pasadena for eight weeks this past summer doing everything from answering the phones to picking up case work. I was happy and excited to be there.”
Richard, who also worked there two years ago, says about the experience, “We actually had some interaction with constituents; got to know their names and their concerns; wrote reports which our superiors passed along to the Congresswoman. Part of our job, too, was to compose the verbiage for the certificates for the events she attended. This year, they made some changes to the internship program and Eric was able to attend some events.
I have always been quite interested in politics and the opportunity gave me insight into the inner workings of government. Through that internship I realized that most politicians are selfless individuals who think about the greater good,” Richard muses.
“Political work is demanding, requiring a lot of work and time devoted to it. But all the personal sacrifice you put into it in the name of public service satisfies the Asian sense of pride,” Ed interjects.
Richard’s and Eric’s years of volunteering have not gone unrecognized, though. They were recently the recipients of the 2017 President’s Volunteer Service Award, at gold level, with special commitment to education.
Eric and Richard received the 2017 President’s Volunteer Service Award. -Courtesy Photo
And if that weren’t enough, Richard’s and Eric’s extensive resume also includes being the youngest founding members of the US-China Committee, the young Ambassador, International Leadership Foundation; and the youngest members of the Leadership Council, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. Additionally, Richard is the youngest member of Harvard 1879 Society.
‘Savvy investors’ is also an apt descriptor for Richard and Eric. From their father they learned investment strategies and their choice of stocks reflects their interest and passion.
“We started investing in 2009 and it’s been fun. I like cars and after doing research on automobile pioneers, I learned what Henry Ford did for everyday folks. I greatly respect him for that; so I put my money on Ford Motors. Eric invested in Bank of America because he wants to be a banker one day. Or maybe it’s because ‘Eric’ is in the bank’s name,” Richard says with a wink.
Richard’s and Eric’s investments have been growing but they aren’t merely sitting on their earnings. Instead, they put their money where their mouth is – they established funds and school endowments.
“In 2014 we gave our first gift to Clairbourn School. It is called ‘The Richard and Eric Dong Fund for Scholarship in Music and the Arts’ to show our respect, gratitude and friendship to the school and its amazing community. We’re adding $20K to the fund at the end of the year as a tribute to retiring headmaster, Dr. (Robert) Nafie,” disclose Richard and Eric.
Adds Richard, “In April this year we established our second endowment fund. We gave it to SMHS to support student scholarship, athletics, music and arts, student organizations, and faculty and staff appreciation in honor of retiring principal, Mrs. Mary Johnson. Our endowment is the first ever in SMHS’s history to be launched by current students.”
“Most recently we created the ‘Richard and Eric Dong Endowment at International Leadership Foundation’ in honor of Mr. Joel Szabat and Ms. Chiling Tong, the founders of ILF, for their strong leadership, dedication and commitment since 2000,” Richard states further. “The $100K fund will support ILF’s Program Scholarships, Leadership Training, and Global Democracy & Governance Initiatives especially in Asian countries.”
“Giving is woven in our family tradition,” reveals Richard. “My parents made gifts to schools to support education and we learned from them. The words of John F. Kennedy ‘Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country’ also strongly resonate with us. From our community service in ILF and internship with Congresswoman Judy Chu we learned the importance of philanthropy.”
Richard declares, “We believe this is the beginning of a long journey in our efforts to marshal students, parents, business leaders and entire communities in supporting education and leadership training for the next generation. Because, ultimately, WE – our generation and the ones after us – will reap the rewards of a bright future.”
Eric Dong (at podium) and Richard Dong at the ILF Gala in Washington D.C. in July 2017 | Courtesy Photo
“I want to follow in the footsteps of my great granduncle, Minister Hollington Tong, who was the first ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Japan from 1952 to 1958, and the fifth ambassador to the United States from 1956 to 1958,” Richard pronounces. “My dream is to become a US ambassador and promote democracy, human rights, and American values throughout the world. I am especially interested in bringing these values to the people of China, and furthering US-China relations.”
As for Eric, “I do not plan to pursue politics beyond college; instead I want to be a successful businessman like my father to further establish endowments to sponsor education and leadership training. I also want to support Richard in his mission to serve this country – because I am confident the wonderful things he will achieve and accomplish are yet to come.”
Finally, Ed has this to say, “Richard has a strong mind, a warm heart, and a humble attitude – traits that will help him launch a political career. I believe he has the potential for public service and he has my best wishes. Eric, on the other hand, enjoys the intricacies of the business world. He has a huge talent in it and has the ability to become successful – the financial rewards from which he intends to give to deserving causes.
I would like them to be individuals who are inspiring, hard-working and ready to help. I want them to know the importance of purpose, principle and people; the value of responsibility and commitment; and, ultimately, to bring much good to their community and their country.”
Listening to Richard and Eric play the piano takes one soaring with the angels; hearing them enthuse about their plans for the future makes one reach for the stars. The emotions they spark in everyone are profound.
If they pursue their dreams with the same enthusiasm and vigor they demonstrate when they play the piano and articulate those aspirations, we all would be the lucky beneficiaries because the world would be a far better place.
Originally published on 11 September 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
College Counselor, Amanda Ghezzi, meets with a family during the four-week registration period | Courtesy Photo
Kirk McGinnis, principal at Monrovia High School, grew up in this neighborhood. He is very familiar with the San Gabriel Valley’s reputation as a family-oriented area where parents take pains to send their children to the best schools.
As a high school principal, McGinnis knows only too well that he is responsible for providing all those in his charge with an education that prepares them for college and adulthood. And he takes that responsibility very seriously.
This past summer, Monrovia High School launched a personalized service for parents and students to meet with their college counselors which begins with rising freshmen.
Says McGinnis, “This year I decided to pay close attention to how we connect with our students and parents. We want to make sure our family partnership is really strong and the best way to do that is to start the school year with a revised registration process.”
“In the past we had one day for registration and everybody got in this big gigantic line,” McGinnis explains. “And while it was economical it was also impersonal; parents and students were frustrated. So we created a four-week registration process so each family and their child get to sit down with their counselors to discuss their course selections for the coming year and look at their four-year plan, and even their plans after high school. We want to ensure that, together, we make the right decisions for that child’s success throughout his or her four years here.”
This year’s expanded registration process began on the 17 of July and ended on the 11 of August, right before the school year started on the 16. The process is made up of four steps: parents and student check in and submit the registration paperwork that the high school sent to them to complete during the summer; they meet with their counselor; they proceed to the ASB store to secure their ASB card, pick up their spirit T-shirt and high school swag, P.E. uniform; and lastly, they go to the library to get their books.
“What we have done is eliminate this whole day of standing in line in frustration and created instead a day where it only takes 30 minutes of people’s time out of their day. What’s more, the families can look at their summer calendar and pick the day and time that’s convenient unlike in the past when the registration day was determined for them,” continues McGinnis.
“It’s not a unique concept, other schools have been doing it,” adds McGinnis. “So in the last couple of years we did two pilot programs where we met with students during the summer but we didn’t include incoming ninth graders. Then last year we included ninth graders and we saw the energy from that and realized how important it was. So we decided to come up with the process for the entire high school.”
MHS Spirit Rally on the first day of the school year | Courtesy Photo
McGinnis worked with Catherine Real, Monrovia Unified School District’s Director of Counseling, College, and Careers, and the entire district to identify ways to make this happen. Through their LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan), they were able to obtain the funds to pay their counselors to come in during the summer.
Real states, “This gives parents the knowledge about the college application process – if they don’t know the A-G requirements and which ones their children are taking, there’s no way for them to be able to monitor their children’s progress. We are trying to be purposeful. As Mr. McGinnis knows only too well, sometimes the parents don’t see the counselor until there’s a problem with grades or attendance. This year starts with parents coming to school under the most positive circumstances. We form a partnership at the get-go and it’s a win-win situation. Parents are thrilled to have this ‘personal shopper’ experience; counselors are happy because every single parent who has come in has expressed how wonderful this is. Everyone walks away feeling charged and ready for the year.”
“It was an evolution for me. We had been planning this all year long and when I brought up the idea to the staff I just went, ‘Trust me, people. This is going to be a good thing,” McGinnis laughingly recalls.
And indeed it was a good thing. Real conducted a survey following each family’s registration to assess their experience and she received very positive feedback after the four-week registration period. This outcome was a confirmation of what McGinnis felt and knew all along.
McGinnis relates, “I explained to our families that they see the teachers all the time but they don’t get to see the counselors all the time. I want them to realize that the counselors are a great contact to have and this is their opportunity to get to know them before the college application process begins. It takes that ‘families and counselors relationship’ to a whole new level.”
Connecting with families is a hallmark of McGinnis’ seven-year leadership at MHS. He has implemented several programs to reach out to the school’s diverse population. He is very well aware that parents care deeply and are fully invested in their children’s education but sometimes they don’t know how to navigate the system.
Another initiative McGinnis carried out is Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE). They reached out to their Spanish-speaking parents and offered courses where they learned about FAFSA, the A-G requirements, GPA, SAT; how to have a discussion with their college counselor and what questions to ask. The nine-week program graduated 100 parents.
Real adds, “Mr. McGinnis also insisted that counselors get business cards with email address and phone numbers printed. These were handed out to families when they came for the summer registration so parents have a way of communicating.”
Student sign-ups for campus clubs | Courtesy Photo
“Our standard operating procedure has changed and that dialogue is open,” asserts McGinnis. “The next step is for our counselors to maintain the conversation throughout the school year. We’ll still have the ‘need to meet’ times but the communication link is open – more so now than it had ever been before.”
“This has changed immensely the way parents are connecting with us, which is a huge goal for me,” reveals McGinnis. “I don’t want our campus to be a spot where kids just come to school. They spend a lot of time here and this is essentially their home for the next four years. I want them to feel ownership over the campus and their accomplishment during their stay here. And I think this goes a long way towards reaching that goal.”
“Our plan for the next couple of years is to continue to increase student success,” McGinnis pronounces. “We have recently been recognized for the significant jump in our graduation rate – from 94 percent to 96.9 percent, and, most importantly, for closing the gap between student groups. We have more students meeting the A-G requirements and prepared for college not just mentally but logistically – they have the grades, they know how to complete the college and financial aid application. We’re finding out too that several of our students are choosing to go to a community college for the first two years and transferring to university, which is a totally appropriate and practical choice. That model of schooling is a really important option for families to understand.”
McGinnis says in parting, “Our community has a lot of pride in this school with several members of it having grown up here and attended it; some of our school employees are alma maters as well. Now we have their children and grandchildren coming to the school. I live in this town and my children go here – it’s a unique place. As the shepherd of the school, I want to continue that pride.”
Originally published om 5 September 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
DIAVOLO, fresh from its performances on NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’, makes its high-energy Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley debut at Arcadia’s Performing Arts Center on September 23, 2017 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm.
Featured during this maiden show is DIAVOLO’s groundbreaking masterpiece, ‘Trajectoire’, which will be seen in its entirety for the first time on the West Coast this year. Also performing on the stage are students of Arcadia High School’s ‘Orchesis’ and the Dance Conservatory of Pasadena.
This electrifying event is being presented by Jennifer Cheng, Artistic Director of the Dance Conservatory of Pasadena and Executive Director of DIAVOLO, and the Cheng Family Foundation.
“Jacques Heim, DIAVOLO’s Creative Director, and I wanted to bring the Aesthetic of Architecture in Motion to Dance Conservatory of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley,” states Cheng. “Dance in Los Angeles is experiencing tremendous growth; L.A. is fast becoming a new and exciting center for this art form in the world. We want to share this extraordinary new phase in dance to Pasadena, Arcadia, and all of San Gabriel Valley.”
Cheng’s lifelong passion is dance. Growing up in Pasadena, she started ballet at the age of five with Yvonne Cusack. She then trained with Stanley Holden as one of his first students at the Music Center in Los Angeles and then later at his dance studio in West Los Angeles.
When she was 15 years old, Cheng received her Advanced Certificate from the Royal Academy of Dancing. She was also the recipient of the Ford Scholarship for the School of American Ballet. As a young dancer, she performed with Rudolf Nureyev and the Australian Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet, as well as dancing on various television shows like the ‘Brady Bunch’ and ‘The Odd Couple’.
However, Cheng’s parents didn’t want her to have the life of a dancer – eking out an existence in New York City, trying to find a job that was difficult to come by. So she attended Pomona College where she received her bachelor’s degree in art history. She then earned a law degree from UC Davis School of Law, and an MBA from UC Irvine School of Management.
Cheng went on to practice law but the dream of being in the dance world stayed with her all these years. In 2011 she quit the law profession and founded the Dance Conservatory of Pasadena (DCP) on Waverly Drive. Its mission is to provide the highest technical and artistic level of instruction for students to pursue careers as dancers, with an emphasis on offering performance opportunities.
“We started six years ago with just two teachers and grew pretty fast – we now have four studios and over 200 students,” Cheng describes. “Our classes are divided into the children division for three through nine years old; pre-professionals are 9 years to 18 years old; and advanced ballet for adults. Sessions are held after 3:00 from Monday to Friday and on Saturday. Adult lessons are held mornings from Monday to Thursday and Saturday morning.
My students perform and compete as well. We just finished the second year of competition and we won first place at the semifinals at Youth American Grand Prix in San Diego, which automatically qualifies us for the New York City finals.”
Adds Cheng, “While I established DCP primarily as a ballet school, we realized contemporary dance is an important component of one’s dance education to make it as a professional performer. I brought in DIAVOLO to DCP’s studio, and that enabled us offer two levels of contemporary dance courses.
DIAVOLO is recognized as a contemporary and physical movement dance company. We’ve been in existence for 25 years and are known all over the world. In February 2018, we’ll be performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., then touring the United States and internationally.”
DIAVOLO’s “In Flight” | Courtesy Photo
Established in 1992 by French-born choreographer and visionary Jacques Heim, DIAVOLO reinvents dance and reimagines theatre to create genre-bending stage performances with striking set pieces. It is a cultural pillar of the Los Angeles community and has performed for hundreds of thousands of concertgoers worldwide and for millions on television.
“My students at DCP perform twice a year and we do a summer program,” discloses Cheng. “We’ve presented ‘The Nutcracker’ as a full production ballet with 100 students participating. We needed a professional venue which can accommodate a large number of performers and I discovered the Arcadia Performing Arts Center where we’ve performed it for two years now.
I personally think that there is no major dance, music, and media center in the San Gabriel Valley. Most performing arts events happen at the Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills or the Broad Stage in Santa Monica and stop at downtown Los Angeles. This year I met with a couple of PAC’s board members and told them I believe this theater should serve as the center of performing arts in this area.”
Cheng’s involvement with DIAVOLO led her to organize events where her students will be performing its dance style; DIAVOLO’s debut at PAC is the result of that collaboration. And because PAC is on the Arcadia High School (AHS) campus, she thought it makes perfect sense to invite AHS’s dance company, ‘Orchesis’, to perform as well.
Robyn O’Dell, dance teacher at AHS, says, “Orchesis is the advanced level dance course at AHS. It is an art elective class for 10th to 12th graders and I currently have 30 students. We hold four performances on campus and we go to different events and festivals. Our biggest shows are Homecoming, the December Holiday program, and the spring dance production held in April.”
Continues O’Dell, “I teach a variety of dance techniques including contemporary, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and modern. Each year we bring a cultural style so students learn hula and Bollywood. For our main show, which we gear up for every year, we perform 24 dances in an array of different styles and we bring in professional choreographers to work with the girls.”
“Ten of my students are working with DIAVOLO. It’s a volunteer course, they rehearse after classes, and they don’t get grade credit,” O’Dell declares.
The Arcadia Performing Arts Center, one of San Gabriel’s Valley’s premier arts and entertainment venue, is a cultural destination and youth talent incubator that makes great art accessible to all. Featuring a 1,163-seat main stage and black box theatre, this state-of-the art professional venue reaffirms the district’s 66-year legacy of arts excellence. AHS alums include Stevie Nicks, Van Halen’s Michael Anthony Sobolewski, NFL Hall of Famer marching band member Bruce Matthews, and Emmy award-winning producer of ‘The Voice’ Barton Kimball.
Maki Hsieh, Executive Director of PAC, pronounces, “It is the Center’s privilege to host world-class treasure DIAVOLO which exemplifies integrity of artistic vision through the creative direction of Jacques Heim, and the executive leadership of Jennifer Cheng. DIAVOLO’s infusion of power, precision, and passion in their groundbreaking performances, integration of up-and-coming artists, and global expansion are aligned with our Center’s focus on next-level immersive programing, and on advancing arts education in our new generation of cultural ambassadors.”
Ticket prices to the performance range from $15 to VIP $70; VIP Red Carpet is from 5:00 to 7:00 with appetizers, music, after-show meet-and-greet; and season passes at $10 – $45.
For Cheng, the event marks a step in the right direction for her, “I wanted to continue my passion and fulfil my dream. I can’t be a dancer, but I certainly can bring dance to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley and to the United States, through DIAVOLO.”
Originally published on 28 August 2017 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly
There was a time when my awareness of Scotland was very much limited to Scotch whisky, for which I have neither a fondness nor taste. However, I do know several people who enjoy the single malt variety so you might say I appreciate Scotch by osmosis.
Five years ago, though, I visited Scotland for the first time and that experience gave me a bit more knowledge about this beautiful country (other than that of producing James Bond and Scotch). Two weeks ago, I went back for my third visit. As I did on my first venture, I went to Edinburgh and St Andrews.
Edinburgh, located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth’s southern shore, is the capital of Scotland. Besides being home to the Scottish Parliament and the seat of the monarchy in Scotland, it is the second most populous city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom.
From Edinburgh Airport, a visitor can board the tram then get off on either Haymarket or Waverley station to get into the city. Of course, taking a taxi might be the best option especially if you have a lot of luggage to tote.
Balmoral Hotel is immediately outside the entrance to Waverley Station.
The city has several hotel choices to accommodate one’s budget. If you plan on staying close to Waverley Station, there is the Victorian-style Balmoral Hotel, a structure so recognizable with its majestic clock tower. It is located on the east end of Princes Street and is an excellent starting point from which to start your sight-seeing.
This being a walking tour of Edinburgh, I concentrated on the town center – mainly Princes Street and adjoining thoroughfares. And you can’t properly claim to have visited this picturesque city without an excursion to Edinburgh Castle.
An imposing fortress sitting on top of Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle is the edifice that is most associated with the city. It was a principal royal residence from the 11th century until the early 17th century; it provided comfortable living quarters to the reigning monarch and a repository for royal treasures and registers.
From Princes Street, I walked up the Royal Mile to the esplanade. There is a Gatehouse at the head of it, and the road leads up to Half Moon Battery and the Farewell Battery, to the Portcullis Gate and Argyle Tower.
There are several historical structures here – the Governor’s House, the New Barracks, the National War Museum of Scotland, the Upper Ward or Citadel, St Margaret’s Chapel, the Mons Meg, the Queen Anne Building, and so on.
The Royal Palace began as an extension to David’s Tower. It comprises the former royal apartments; the King’s Dining Room; the Birth Chamber or Mary Room; the Great Hall; and the Crown Room, built in 1615 to house the Honours of Scotland – the crown, the sceptre, and the sword. To the south of the palace is the Register House, built in the 1540s to accommodate state archives.
Palace of Holyroodhouse.
At the end of the Royal Mile, on the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, stands the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It is the setting for state occasions and official engagements.
Tour guides will be quick to point out that Holyrood Palace is not Queen Elizabeth II’s residence; it is where she stays for a week at the beginning of summer for official ceremonies. The queen’s home in Scotland is Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.
American television viewers who have never been to Edinburgh learned about Holyrood Palace during Season I of ‘Outlander’ whose main characters, Claire and Jamie Fraser, joined Bonnie Prince Charles in his efforts to claim the throne of Great Britain for his father. He set up court here for six weeks in 1745 and the palace became the symbolic residence of the Stuart prince in his Scottish capital.
There are so many landmarks to take in depending on how long you’re staying – the Scottish Parliament, Scottish National Gallery, St. Giles Cathedral, The Real Mary King’s Close, the Edinburgh Zoo, etc. As I come here every year, I select only one or two sightseeing expeditions during each stay.
Edinburgh has the most gorgeous skyline and a perfect perch from which to see the capital in all its splendor is the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. During August, though, it is filled with viewing stands for people to watch the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in the evenings. It is one of Scotland’s greatest events staged on the esplanade of the castle and if you’re here in August it is a spectacular event you shouldn’t miss.
As I was determined to get a bird’s eye view, I took in the sights from the Edinburgh Ferris wheel. From high up I observed the entire city below and, as always, I found it breathtaking.
This being August, the Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe were in full swing; flyers for the many theatre performances and art shows were plastered everywhere I looked. Fringe buskers entertained from every available street space; coffee shops, restaurants, stores selling all sorts of Scottish items – from a small key chain to a full kilt ensemble as a memento of your Gaelic experience – bustled with tourists.
At Waverley Station.
Having had my fill of Edinburgh, I boarded the Scott Rail from Waverly Station to St Andrews, a seaside town about 30 miles northeast of Edinburgh. The train going to Aberdeen makes a stop at Leuchars and this was where I hopped in a cab that took me to the town center.
Even those who aren’t golf aficionados know that St Andrews is the birthplace of golf, where it was first played in the 15thcentury. It is home to the iconic Old Course where, to this day, the British Open is held every five years.
I can confidently say that St Andrews has mainly two kinds of visitors – golfers who flock into town during the summer months and students who populate it from fall through spring. It really is a small place with three major thoroughfares: North; Market; and South Streets.
Tourists usually start their excursion at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the world’s oldest association for the sport. Established in May 1754, its membership has grown to about 2,500 worldwide and is regarded as the governing authority in the United Kingdom and beyond.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
Of course, one could never miss the much-celebrated Old Course, Swilcan Bridge, and Hell Bunker. They are, after all, the images people usually conjure when they think of St Andrews.
Golfers consider going to the Old Course significant in itself; yet its most noteworthy feature is that despite its lofty reputation it is actually open to the public. Obtaining a tee time isn’t an impossible feat as long as you have a suitable handicap (24 for men and 36 for women). However, due to its immense popularity, booking the Old Course involves employing a few strategies.
St Andrews is also home to the oldest university in Scotland and third oldest in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1413, the University of St Andrews has been ranked by the University League Table third in overall academic excellence behind Cambridge and Oxford.
The University of St Andrews doesn’t really have a campus – its buildings are spread all over town. If you’re visiting during term – Martinmas semester (early September to mid-December) and Candlemas semester (late January to the end of May) – you’ll probably find yourself strolling alongside students hurrying off to their lecture or tutorial.
I find all the university’s stone-clad structures awe-inspiring – from St Salvator’s Hall to St Mary’s College. How wonderful it must feel to be going to school in such stunning surroundings!
St Salvator’s Hall.
Other in-town attractions I would suggest visiting are: British Golf Museum, St Andrews Cathedral, Scotland’s National Aquarium and Inchcolm Abbey, and the Botanical Garden.
All these delightful places in Edinburgh and St Andrews offer the grace and old-world grandeur of times past. They are a reminder of an age of civility and gentility – an escape we sorely need given our current fractured society.
A San Gabriel Valley Inquirer 