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Drama Department Takes on Two Additional Productions

January 28, 2011 by

This year, the T.C. Williams Drama Department is producing two more shows than usual. In an effort to increase student involvement and knowledge regarding theater, the drama department is taking on five productions instead of three.

Leslie Jones and Hope Bachman, leaders of the drama department, have said they will sponsor the fall play, Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon, a winter musical, Rent, a Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing and a late spring student play writing workshop.
According to Jones, the department hopes to increase student involvement, especially male involvement, since the drama department nearly always needs actors. Jones also hopes to improve students knowledge of acting in the theater.
“Most of our students can sing and dance, but it is now necessary for us to concentrate on the acting component,” said Jones. “Too much emphasis is placed on the musical,” agreed Bachman. “While musicals are fun and the students and community enjoy them, we feel we have a duty as theater educators to expand T.C.’s theatrical horizons.”
Scheduling is a challenge. Some productions, such as the Winter One Act Festival and the winter musical, overlap. According to Jones, students are able to audition and potentially participate in both. Unfortunately for students, that results in not only a double-booking of theater activities, but also academics. Jones says that a student schedule could be hectic but would be worth it in the long run. “It will be more stressful, but I am sure we’ll all reap the benefits and rewards of a grueling schedule,” Jones said.
“It has been difficult,” admitted Bachman. “What makes it possible is that we have the Music Department, especially Mr. Thorpe, to supervise and further the process of putting Rent together while one-acts are being put on.”

Senior student director Maria Simpkins and junior student stage manager Joseph Powers provide more insight on this. Powers admits that originally the department had been planning on a normal workload, but due to popular demand, a musical came into the works as well, along with an extra play. Powers agrees, admits that as Rent‘s stage manager he has a very busy schedule, and many things have had to be sacrificed, but it is worth it in the end.
Simpkins has the same view. “Because we already have so much work as students, it is difficult to not only have academics to think about, but a time-consuming extracurricular like drama as well,” she said. “But, at the same time, theater is a very important part of my life — and many students will agree with this — so much so that even if I have to give up a lot to be a part of this, if it means more shows, then that is worth it.”

To pay for the extra productions, the drama department will continue to raise money the same way it always has; through fundraisers and ticket sales.
Bachman also notes that despite potential setbacks such as time and money, there are advantages to the extra shows. “It definitely creates more opportunities; we have also created different kinds of opportunities,” said Bachman. “I know of several students who are not interested in acting who have asked about playwrighting for the Original Play Festival.” Bachman thinks that theater itself is a great investment of time, especially when thinking about careers later in life. “There is…more and more evidence that the leaders of the future are going to need creativity and imagination to be really successful,” said Bachman. She states that these extra shows will be especially useful for enriching the theatrical knowledge of actors and the audience.
“We want to give all of our students and our audience a life-long appreciation for all types of theater,” said Bachman. “We [also] want to give our students who are hoping to continue with theater into their college and professional lives a well-rounded base and resume,” said Bachman. “I see being able to appreciate and enjoy all types of theater, all types of art as crucial to success and happiness, both personally and culturally.” Quoting former President John F. Kennedy, “I look forward to an America which will reward achievements in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength, but for its civilization as well.”
Upcoming Shows:

Rent: February 4 and 5.

Much Ado About Nothing: April 8 and 9, April 15 and 16.

Original Play Festival: June 10 and 11.

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment, News

Ms. Maxey’s Meeting: Notes of a Random Student

January 28, 2011 by

Ms. Maxey welcomes students to the random student meeting.

On Friday, January 21, Principal Suzanne Maxey held her second “random student meeting” in the auditorium. One student from each class attended. The main topic was the possibility of a schedule change for the 2011-2012 school year. Ms. Maxey said that it is unclear whether additional instructional time is required or strongly recommended. She said that there may be a zero period from 7:45-8:30 and an 8th period from 3:30-4:15 next year. Under Ms. Maxey’s proposal, the extra time would not be required because many students have to work after school. Students who need help will be encouraged to stay.

A student asked about transportation. Ms. Maxey said that in Montgomery County, a student could show his or her I.D. and ride the city bus for free on school mornings. She wants T.C. students to have the same option.

According to Ms. Maxey, it is almost certain that the bell schedule will change next year. She said that many students cannot concentrate for 93 minutes and that time is wasted in block classes. A student said that concepts need to be reinforced every day. Ms. Maxey said that students may go to all seven classes on certain days next year. Another student said that there would be more homework if all classes were every day.

Students asked if teachers would be available for help after school if they are teaching extra classes and if a quality point system could be implemented instead of the grade point average system to reward students for taking extra classes. Students also wondered what classes would be offered during the zero and 8th periods and the effect that an extended school day would have on sports. Ms. Maxey said that some issues are still being resolved.

On another subject, seniors asked about graduation, which will be held at Constitution Hall. Ms. Maxey said that buses will provide free transportation for parents and students. A live broadcast of graduation will be shown in the T.C. auditorium for people who cannot go to Constitution Hall. Seniors also asked about senior privileges. Ms. Maxey said that senior trips, such as the one to Six Flags last year, pose security issues and that education is her first priority. She will continue to oppose senior skip days. “Those are the days kids get hurt,” she said. However, there is talk about a senior picnic. The administration is also discussing the possibility of off-campus lunch for seniors next year.

Students who wish to further discuss school issues can talk to Ms. Maxey during lunch. She goes to A lunch on Monday and Friday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, she goes to B, C, and D lunch, respectively. Students can also attend PTSA meetings, which are held at T.C. on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

Filed Under: News

Five Questions for the Cast and Crew of Rent

January 26, 2011 by

We’re all used to welcoming the end of the year with the annual school musical; Aida, Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago, but this year, T.C. students can look forward to a winter musical, Rent. The controversial script was written when most T.C. students were still in diapers, making it one of the newer plays on stage. In 2007, a “school edition” was created, omitting some of the inappropriate language. According to Musical Theater International (MTI), 28 productions of Rent: School Edition have been licensed throughout the country, eleven of which are public schools, making T.C. an edgy needle in the theatrical haystack.
With the opening night, February 4, fast approaching, students associated with the production and those who are just musical fanatics don’t have to wait long to see the final cut. Here are five questions for some members of the cast and director about the upcoming musical!

The cast of Rent practices the opening of Act Two with Seasons of Love.

1. Some people might not know what Rent is about– can you give a brief synopsis?
Director Hope Bachman: Rent is a rock opera that started as a modernization of the opera, La Bohème, is about the starving artists in Paris and their somewhat complicated love lives and how they dealt with poverty and disease, and the big 19th century disease was tuberculosis. When Jonathan Larson updated it in the late 80’s and into 90’s, the big disease was AIDS. It deals with a group of friends and artists who are living this free-spirited lifestyle in New York City and many are dealing with the health crisis that AIDS presented. There are characters that are gay and there are characters that are or have been drug users but there are also straight characters that are infected with the disease. One of the things that I really enjoy about the show and hope comes through is the dignity and respect with which the material treats very, very different and very, very diverse characters.

2. Is it more difficult to practice with a two week [winter] break in the middle of practice?

Alexander Eichner: It’s harder when there’s a two week break in between practice. You forget some stuff and kind of have to start over, cast bonding.

HB: Not really, because the show is so familiar , the rehearsal process has been really smooth.

Sam Jones, Ellen Broetzmann, Alexander Eichner, Zachary Frank, Jessica Muse, Ben Ribler, and Kirby Porterfield rehearse a scene from the second act.

Jessica Muse playing Joanne and Kirby Porterfield playing Maureen rehearse while student director Maria Simpkins watches closely.

3. What made you choose to do Rent?
HB: A couple of reasons; number one was that in the time we had for the production we needed a production with a minimal set, it still does not require the same amount of set pieces that Fiddler on the Roof or Chicago did. There was also a concern that because of the tight scheduling, we should do something that has a small orchestra and since this is a rock opera, we’re looking at only having four or five pieces. I also wanted something that would be fairly familiar to both the audience and the actors.

4. Is this more risqué than Chicago?
Zachary Frank: Yeah, probably. Chicago was over the top, whereas Rent is trying to be real people.

AE: Yes. And nobody’s bothered by seeing slightly scantily clad women. [Scantily clad men dressed as women] might be more upsetting.

5. Does Zachary Frank get to pull his pants off during this musical?

ZF: There will not be any stripping on my part.

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment

“Together We Can” Reflections Winners

January 21, 2011 by

The winners of the PTA Reflections contest have been announced! With the theme, “Together We Can,” 42 students ranging from ninth to twelfth grade competed in divisions including music composition, literature, film, photography, and visual arts. After having their entries judged by professionals in the respective categories, the winners were offered critique and moved on to the district level.

Visual Arts and Literature winners Catherine Beall and Charlotte Clinger at the city-wide event held last Saturday at the T.C. cafeteria.

Music Composition: Emily Flanigan, 11th grade

Literature: Charlotte Clinger, 10th grade

Film: Stephanie Slaven, 9th grade

Photography: Michael Hailu Kebede, 12th grade

Visual Arts: Catherine Beall, 10th grade

Senior Michael Hailu Kebede's winning photograph.

Sophomore Catherine Beall's awarding winning work of the theme, "Together We Can"

Congratulations to all the winners and look forward to next year’s competition, the theme will be “Diversity Is…” Start your projects now!

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment, News

Attention Seniors: Graduation Update

January 10, 2011 by

In the coming week, there will a voluntary poll on Blackboard for Seniors which will decide the location of the 2011 graduation. The two projected locations are T.C. Williams and D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Theogony presents a list of the facts for both venues: REMEMBER TO CHECK BLACKBOARD AND VOTE!

Venue:           T.C. Williams High School             vs                                D.A.R Constitution Hall

Location:      Alexandria, VA                                   vs                                Washington, D.C.

Date:              Friday, June 17th, 2011                    vs                                Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Time:             11:00 a.m.                                            vs                                 2:30 p.m.

Parking:       Parking Garage, Chinquapin Cr.    vs                               Closest Parking Garage 6 City Blocks Away

King St, Braddock Road.

Parking fees: Free                                                     vs                                 2 hours: $16; 4 hours: $20

Tickets:         5-6 per student                                   vs                                 5-6 per student

Filed Under: News

TC Basketball Dominates

January 6, 2011 by

TC varsity basketball gets hyped up at before their season opening Parker-Gray game. Photo by Ryan Holtz.

T.C. made a statement on December 4 in their Parker-Gray memorial game against Wakefield with a final score of 63-40.  Junior Dora Isopescu said that the game “was a really exciting start to the season and it definitely got people pumped for what’s to come.”

The Lady Titans also played admirably, winning their game against South Lakes High School on Saturday with a score of 56-47, though they were defeated by Stone Ridge High School in Maryland on Friday.  Junior Gaby Moss, who plays on the girls’ varsity basketball program, represented her entire team’s view when she stated, “Last year was in the past, and this year is a new season with new beginnings.  We’re making moves this year.”

Boys’ coach Julian King was overall very pleased by Saturday’s game. “We played extremely hard and the kids did their very best to execute defensive and offensive plays, and stayed with the game, [playing] unselfishly while not getting caught up in the excitement of a big game,” he said.  He expects a successful season, saying that the boys have a lot to prove this year due to their disappointing loss in districts in 2009, but that they are up to the challenge.  Junior T.J. Huggins, a varsity starter, also has high hopes for the 2010 season. “We all played hard and with a passion, and I think we can make it to semi-finals of states this year,” he said.

Girls’ coach Kesha Walton has high expectations for her team this year.  She requires a 3.0 GPA from all of her players, and they are assigned “basketball homework,” an example of which is a written explanation of all the team’s plays, to ensure that the players understood them as a team. She said that since the season’s tryouts began at the late date of November 15,  such homework is necessary.  “I’m a hard coach, but fair,” she said.  This is her first year as the varsity coach, but she has been with T.C.’s basketball program since 2004.

Both coaches are anticipating tough competition within the Patriot District this year.  Coach Walton is looking ahead to games against West Springfield and South County, since the girls lost to those teams last year, and Coach King is expecting close games from Annandale, West Potomac and W.T. Woodson.  Junior Sofie Schedler, a varsity player, is excited for the games.  “I’m confident that all our hard work in practice will translate to a winning season.”  King said that the team plans to “use the early loss in the district playoffs [last year] as a motivational tool,” and Walton observed that this season the “girls are committed to turning the [girls’ basketball] program around.  The seniors in particular plan to go out with a bang.”

Filed Under: News, Sports

2011 IN and OUT list

January 4, 2011 by

whats in and whats out

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment

Call It a Soap Opera: TC’s Bathroom Crisis

January 4, 2011 by


“I can’t ever recall finding soap in a student bathroom at T.C. Williams,” said Government teacher Ra Alim Shabazz regarding the $100 million building in which he works every day.

Theogony research conducted from September to early December of the 2010-2011 school year paints a picture of T.C. student bathrooms in disarray.  Results of the study indicate that at any point during the school day, nearly 40% of student restrooms do not have a fully operational hand-washing station.  The most common breakdown of the hand-washing station in student bathrooms is inaccessible or non-existent soap.

“We make sure that the soap dispensers are always full, every day,” said Brian Hoover, a building services engineer at T.C. Hoover,  who is employed by a private contractor, said, “The real issue is that the o-rings on these soap dispensers are disintegrating, thus blocking soap from being dispensed…the sinks are a poor design.”

O-rings are rubber fittings similar to washers.

T.C.’s three year old soap dispensers are falling apart.  With their o-rings breaking down, soap on students’ hands is a rarity.  In the rare occasion that soap does come out of the dispenser, it is often brown with rust from  corrosion.

The sink worries in Alexandria’s only public high school do not end with an absence of soap.  Theogony studies indicate that often the sink itself does not provide students with water.

“Sometimes, the sink just doesn’t turn on. This is really annoying, especially when I’ve already covered my hands in the rusty soap,” said sophomore Ethan Vannatta.

In a meeting with T.C.’s building engineers, Theogony learned how the sinks turn off when water spills into a certain area of the sink, a safety feature to reduce risk of electrocution.  When this happens, the sink has to be reported to the main office by someone and building engineers have to be dispatched to the bathroom to reset the sink.

With no central switchboard or monitoring system indicating when a sink has shut off and many students and staff not knowing who to contact in the event of a broken sink.  it is often hours before sinks are turned back on. “There are students who don’t wash their hands and simply leave the bathroom because they don’t know what to do when the sink isn’t working,” commented Adam Levine, chair of T.C.’s World Languages Department.

Theogony records show that some restrooms, such as B338, a boys’ bathroom on the third floor, have not had soap since the first week of school in September.

With hundreds of students using such bathrooms as B338 in any given period, Mr. Shabazz concluded that he must, “just assume that my students have dirty hands.  It’s really an outrage.”

Soap and Water: A Fundamental, Undeniable, Human Right

T.C. may teach its students single-variable Calculus brilliantly, but without a proper hand-washing station in its bathrooms, it fails to provide the basic human need of sanitation.  To think that T.C. calls itself a “home for its students” and a “warm learning environment” without consistent access to soap and water is  ironic and calls into question how serious T.C. really is about becoming “a school of excellence,” in the words as Principal Suzanne Maxey.

As the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states in their “Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives” health handbook, “many diseases are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.”

With T.C.’s student population of more than 2,000 students having little or no access to soap and water during the seven hour school day, the T.C. administration and the entirety Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) are negligent about an important hygiene issue.

Without soap and water, the T.C. Williams administration is failing to provide students, staff, and community members all that they deserve.

One recent Saturday Theogony reporters encountered a young man who had cut himself while visiting T.C. for an event.  As he attempted to wash his wounded, bleeding hand, no soap was available and he turned to leave telling us simply “Well, hopefully it won’t get infected.”

Filed Under: Features, T.C. Speaks

Theogony Asks: What’s Up Titan Up?

January 3, 2011 by

Also written by Sarah Carroll

Should Titan Up return?

“I DON’T CARE…”

“I think it should come back because people who have sports come home late and [are] tired and it makes it hard to study and do homework.”

“No. [The schedule] is simple and productive. Titan Up wastes time.”

“I loved Titan Up! I’d like it to return as soon as possible.”

Titan Up bell schedule 2009-2010

Should an SAT prep course be offered during Titan Up?

“Yes! Definitely.”

“Uh…Maybe, it’s a good idea…”

“Absolutely not! This is school. We need to focus on schoolwork.”

“I know I need some extra help, so no.”

How should students be chosen?

“By the people with the worst grade who actually want help.”

“They should pick themselves. Students individually know where they need help.”

“Their lowest grade out of math, history, English and science should be the class they take.”

“[Students] should be put in classes that are the most difficult for them or that they have an abundant amount of work in.”

How should the schedule change?

“First period should become Titan Up on a certain day.”

“Shorten the 90 minute periods by five minutes.”

“There should be no extra time added to the school day.”

What should students do if they are not selected for extra help?

“We should be allowed to study at the library.”

“They should make a study hall where you can go to any class you want.”

“The auditorium.”

Filed Under: News

Consultant: Students Prefer to be Seen as Lazy

January 3, 2011 by

Please note that this picture was not staged and was taken during an actual class. Some faces have been blurred to protect the identity of those not completely asleep.

Also written by Lora Strum

“People would rather be perceived as lazy than stupid,” said Achievement Gap Initiative Director, Dr. Ron Ferguson. At a meeting with the T.C. Vision and Action Committee Tuesday, November 23, the Tripod Project survey was discussed. The survey questions were built around concepts such as student engagement and class structure, and asked students of various races and sexes who have A-D averages if they are accused of being “too serious about school.”

The data showed that across all races and sexes, students with A averages feel as if they need to hide how serious they are about school. More than 60 percent of black females with A averages feel pressured to disguise how serious they are about school, as do more than 50 percent of black males with the same grade point average. Females of all races who have a D average also feel pressured to hide how serious they are about school, and their data even surpasses C students. Over 40 percent of black and white males with D averages get accused of being too serious about school, while less than 35 percent of black and white females feel that pressure. Hispanic data for both sexes was the same, with D averages surpassing C averages, and A averages as the highest.

Junior, Franz  Vosseler of the T.C. Vision and Action Committee attended the Tripod Survey results meeting. “I thought the meeting was a good way to touch base with Dr. Ferguson about the past Tripod survey.” Vosseler also thought the survey could use more T.C. centric questions. “[It] needs questions like ‘Do you feel safe in the hallways’ or ‘how are your reading and math grades,” said Vosseler. “Questions like ‘does your classroom feel like a happy family’ just don’t apply to us.” Vosseler was surprised that Dr. Ferguson did not know about T.C.’s persistently lowest achieving label. “The fact that he didn’t know what PLA was, was so surprising…that’s the whole reason we took the Tripod survey.”  Vosseler agreed with Dr. Ferguson when he said that people would rather be perceived as lazy than stupid. “That was his best point of the meeting. The label of being lazy is considered cooler than being stupid. ”

The survey questions help evaluate a teacher based on the Seven C’s, which are caring, control, clarify, challenge, captivate, confer, and consolidate. The Seven C’s predict student engagement, goal setting behavior, and connect with some students hiding effort more than others, according to Dr. Ferguson. Dr. Ferguson is one of the many outside consultants working on the T.C. transformation.

Survey data has been released, and teachers are beginning to receive individual data. Dr. Ferguson said that the survey is in its tenth generation and it is tweaked yearly.Teachers also took a survey which showed that, “only 12 percent of teachers always ask for feedback consistently,” and these teachers, “consistently ranked higher on the Seven C’s” said Dr. Ferguson. He believes that the survey will give students who struggle academically, “a stake in the school.”

According to Dr. Ferguson, the survey had some opened ended questions regarding what students did to be liked by peers, and many responses were negative and destructive. He said students pretend not to care in order to fit in. “Cool [to kids] would be what parents and teachers want but kids do negative things to be cool.”

Individual data released to teachers contained the number of students who took the survey as well as the demographic. The data comes with instructions on how to best read the data. Questions on the survey are grouped into categories and subcategories. Example categories are “trust” and “feeling on safety and teaching practices.” Subcategories include “peer help, teasing, student behavior, and attendance and punctuality,” as well as “teacher confers, teacher consolidates, and teacher captivates.” In their individual data, teachers can look at each question and see what percent of students selected each option. The question, “My teacher asks questions to be sure we are following along when s/he is teaching.” An anonymous teacher’s data shows that 30 percent of students in the surveyed class believe this to be totally true, 60 percent believe it to be mostly true, five percent believe it to be somewhat true, and five percent believe it to be totally untrue.  This teacher’s  sample size was 20 students; each student’s response is five percent of the data.

Filed Under: Features