Performances Archives - the bird on fire

Congratulations, PVS Poetry Recitation Winners!

December 19, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Upper-School Poetry Recitation winners Mirabelle Lee (1st place), Kristina Panagiotaros (2nd place), and Louisa Richardson (3rd place) hold up the book awards carefully curated by English teacher Mr. Chris Griffin.

In the weeks before the Winter Holiday Break, the Palm Valley School English Department hosted the annual Upper and Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finals. The Poetry Recitation is a long-standing Palm-Valley tradition. All Upper and Middle-School students participate at the classroom level. Judges are invited in to select two or three students per classroom to advance to the division-wide finals.

Judge Wallach presents the Middle-School Poetry Recitation winners: Jackie Padgett, Sophia Bottine, and Benjamin Rouche.

The Upper-School Finals took place December 1 before an audience of Upper-School students, teachers, and parents. Junior Mirabelle Lee, after reciting Toi Derricotte’s “my dad & sardines,” was chosen as Upper-School winner by Judges Maguire, Sarkis, and Wallach. Mirabelle will advance to Riverside County Poetry Out Loud competition. Our POL alternate and second-place winner is junior Kristina Panagiotaros. The audience also selected Kristina as Audience Favorite with her recitation of “Self-Help” by Michael Ryan. Third-place winner is freshman Louisa Richardson with her recounting of “What to Say Upon Being Asked to Be Friends” by poet Julian Talamantez Brolaski.

Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finalists: Moses Gizaw, Kimberly Sayers, Lorilei Behr, Jackie Padgett, Sophia Bottine, Benjamin Rouche, Jaxon Pacilio, Maxwell Pretorius, Alexander Kirov, and Addison Uhlhorn

The Middle-School Poetry Recitation followed a week later. Judges Griffin, Nayfack, and Wallach selected three winners: Sophia Bottine, grade 6, with her recitation of James Dickey’s “Heaven of the Animals”; Jackie Padgett, grade 8, with her recitation of Sara Teasdale’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”; and Benjamin Rouche, grade 6, with his recitation of Mary Karr’s “All This and More.” We had a tie for Audience Favorite: 8th-grader Kimberly Sayers with her recitation of “The Raven” and 6th grader Jaxon Pacilio with his recitation of “Football.”

Upper-School Poetry Recitation Finalists: Indiana Behr, Riley Jorgensen, Kyle Knight, Pip Watson, Landon Elder, Louisa Richardson, Simee Patel, Mirabelle Lee, Gabe Rodriguez-Portugues, Kristina Panagiotaros, and Rylie Conway

Poetry Recitation winners are selected based on the Poetry Out Loud criteria of physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, and evidence of understanding. We wish to applaud all finalists who continue–with poise and thoughtfulness–our poetic tradition: in the Upper School – Indiana Behr, Lily Jones, Kyle Knight, Riley Jorgensen, Pip Watson, Simee Patel, Gabe Rodriguez-Portugues, Landon Elder, Rylie Conway, and Luke Sonderman; in the Middle School – Lorelei Behr, Alexander Kirov, Moses Gizaw, Addison Uhlhorn, and Maxwell Pretorius.

My Return to Broadway…

January 12, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Junior Indy Behr

I have always enjoyed seeing shows on Broadway. I saw my first performance of The Lion King when I was seven years old. Since then, I have returned about eight times to see several shows. Because of COVID, I have not been able to go back since November 2019 when I saw Beetlejuice at the Winter Garden Theatre. My first show since COVID shut down Broadway was also Beetlejuice, yet it was very different from my first visit.

The Original Production of Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice is a musical based on the Tim Burton-directed film of the same name. Though the basic plot is relatively similar, there are some major differences. It’s also, of course, a musical, making it very different from the initial work. It initially opened for tryouts in Washington, D.C., in October 2018, where it developed itself over time before moving to the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in April 2019. Initially opening to somewhat mediocre reception and lackluster sales, its reviews and finances drastically improved within a few months, partially thanks to popularity on TikTok. On the site, hundreds of people danced to Beetlejuice’s “Girl Scout” song.

I initially saw Beetlejuice in December 2019, just a few weeks after the Winter Garden Theatre announced it would be ending the show, or as Beetlejuice’s promotional material framed it, evicting the show. The show’s run was scheduled to end abruptly in June 2020 (like all Broadway shows, it ultimately closed in March 2020). It was closed to make way for an adaptation of The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman. This move was very controversial, and instantly the Beetlejuice the musical publicly shared their attempts to move it to a new Broadway theater. Ultimately, the musical announced after two years of searching for a new home that it would be re-opening with a near-identical cast at the Marquis Theatre on April 8, 2022.

The Return of Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice resumed performances on April 8, 2022. This was always intended to be a limited run, and it closed on January 8 after eight months of shows. That being said, it will be going on tour and will be hitting Los Angeles in July and San Diego. I should probably note this musical is recommended for those thirteen and above.

An Ick I’ve Had

October 20, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

Alyna’s True Feelings for the Traditional PVS Poetry Recitation

At Palm Valley school, it is mandatory for grades 3rd to 12th to participate in the Poetry Recitation once a year. Basically what students have to do is memorize a poem, recite it in front of their classmates and judges–who determine which students go on to the next round. The number of lines is different for each grade, but when you’re in high school, you most likely memorize at least 13-14 lines. This is usually the time of year where I want to disappear as I hate having to speak in front of people.

Why do I hate the Poetry Recitation so much?

It’s not about having to memorize lines as a grade, or about projecting my voice for once. It’s about reciting my poem in front of the class. I hate speaking in front of the class, whether it is a presentation or even just a few words added to a discussion. I tend to stutter or stammer over my words when I have to speak for a period of time to a group of people. I am okay with speaking in front of very few people, but with a huge group of people? No thanks. Other people have other opinions about the Poetry Recitation. They say that they hate the judging, or that they don’t like memorizing 14 lines, or that they dislike making eye contact with an audience. Some even say they like the Poetry Recitation and the opportunity to advance to the nationwide Poetry Out Loud competition (looking at you, Indy Behr).

For me, I hate being in front of the class. The class is usually silent when I recite, and I feel all eyes on me. I hate that. I feel like all the eyes are just studying me.

Another solution?

I’m not saying that we should just not do the Poetry Recitation as I think it is a good way to have people practice enunciating words and expressing emotion. But, I feel that there can be one way we can switch it a little.

I’m fine with talking to judges, so talking to JUST judges would be nice. I remember seeing this in 9th grade when there would only be the student, the teacher, and the judges. That way, other students can focus on their poems–outside the competition room–without having to hear the person speaking.

I think that the Poetry Recitation is a nice way to get other students to practice speaking, but there is always going to be this tiny grudge in my chest that would always make me resent it. There should be options as to how to deliver a well-phrased poem.

An Opinion Penned by Junior Alyna Rei

Comedy Tonight at PVS

May 3, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Oliver Martinez, Middle-School Correspondent

Comedy tonight was a theater show where students at PVS performed multiple plays that aimed to bring a smile to whomever was watching. The PVS theater classes prepared for over a month for this show. The show played Wednesday, April 6th, Thursday the 7th, and Friday the 8th. Some plays or songs that were part of the show included the beginning scene of the Wizard of Oz, Pure Imagination, Good Morning Baltimore, The Gold Rush, The Cat in the Hat and so much more!

I have interviewed students who acted in the play compilation.

I asked them what role they played and if they enjoyed it.

“In Comedy Tonight I was one of the MC speakers, and I was also the Pawn Shop Man/Frankie in Gold Rush, written by Oliver, Tal and Zander. I did really enjoy both of these parts, especially Frankie in Gold Rush.”
Sherwin Hemmati

“I was part of the opening quartet, Jeff in Gold Rush, Tin Man in Wizard of Oz and solo singing ‘My Favorite Things.’ I really enjoyed all of them.”
Tal Maruvada

“I was part of the sonnets and of the MC. I didn’t really like doing the sonnets, but I liked doing the MC.”
Michael Pete

The Production Team’s Perspective:

As part of the Production Team, I was helping in lights and was stage manager. I’d say this was a really successful play because we got laughs from the audience, everyone remembered their lines, and the production team made few errors.

Fellow Production Team member Kayliee Augustine-Sails agrees:

“I’m part of the lights, and I think it went well. The actors did their job.”

I have also interviewed members of the audience:

“My favorite part of the play was Good Morning Baltimore. But everything else was good, too.”
Timothy Reed

“I liked Comedy Tonight, but it took a long time to finish. My favorite play was Gold Rush.”
Donavan Knott

*Gold Rush* actors in this scene include, from left to right, Oliver Martinez, Zander Eaton, Tal Maruvada, and Sherwin Hemmati.

Lastly, here are a few words from our director Mr. Hilbert:

“I liked how we had different types of comedy. The acting was good; the singing was good. I’m really proud of all the actors.”
Mr. Hilbert

Comedy Tonight was an amazing experience, hopefully we see more people in future plays. Like . . . High School Musical! PVS’s next production, High School Musical, premieres next week, May 10th and plays through the 13th. Get your tickets now with Ms. Greer at the Middle-School Desk.

High School Musical in Palm Valley School

March 29, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Oliver Martinez, Middle-School Correspondent & Theater Technician

This week, Oliver writes about the play High School Musical that is currently in production in our Drama Department. We hear from the actors live. – Editor-in-Chief Jesse Denyer

High School Musical is a play written by Peter Barsocchini and composed by David Lawrence. You probably know it as a movie starring Zac Efron and a series streaming on Disney+. It’s a play which includes plenty of music and dancing. To summarize the play, High School Musical has four different groups of people: the brainiacs, the jocks, the cheerleaders, and the theater kids. It’s an exciting film or play where some teens go through problems and stress but find the way to fix it by working together. In Theater Production class taught by PVS’s Mr. Hilbert, we are doing the lighting, set designs, makeup, costumes and more. There are two classes that will make this play happen: Theater Production and Theater Performance. In Theater Production, we are learning more about the play and memorizing lines. We are waiting on a specific date of when the play will be performed. I interviewed some people from both classes to see their thoughts on the role they got and on the class itself.

“I feel like Ryan is an expressive acting role. Since he is the more submissive twin, he doesn’t have lots of lines. I’m still happy to get this role as it’s my first production.”
8th-grader Tal Maruvada

“I think my role as Chad is pretty cool. I wanted Zeke as my main option, and Chad was my second choice. I’m still very glad that I got Chad because he plays basketball and he has a good personality.”
8th-grader Sherwin Hemmati

We hope you guys are excited for the play. We have been practicing and soon the play will be ready for performance! See it in the Palm Valley Black Box Theatre (the MPR) this spring.

Isabella Goetschel Prepares for Poetry Out Loud State Competition

March 4, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Lilah Nick

On February 7th, Senior Isabella Goetschel found out that she won the Riverside county-level competition for the Poetry Out Loud, the national poetry recitation competition. You might remember; Isabella was our school winner. She advanced to county competition, won, and this means she will move on to the state-level competition. If Izzy wins at State, she will be awarded $200 and will move onto nationals. (The competition is virtual again this year; otherwise, Isabella would also win a trip to D.C. for two.) I asked Izzy what she was doing to prepare for the competition.

Preparing for state-level Poetry Out Loud has been really interesting. I got to pick a new poem, which is really exciting for me because there are so many options and possibilities. I finally picked “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy as my third poem. For preparation, I’ve had some meetings with Mr. Sarkis [former Palm Valley Drama teacher]. He’s really helped me perfect each poem and, of course, none of it would have been possible without the help of Ms. Zachik who helped me register and get set up. It’s a lot less stressful this year because the competition is online, so I can record my poems. That definitely has its own set of challenges though. The rules for the videos are quite strict, and let’s just say I had a very unstable stack of boxes to get my phone to the required height. Overall though, it’s really fun to be able to perform, even if it’s on a recording in my room rather than in front of people.”
Isabella Goetschel

Isabella must recite, from memory and with displayed and conveyed understanding, one poem that is pre-20th Century. She again is reciting “Epitaph” by Katherine Philips–the poem with which she won the Palm-Valley competition. She also must recite one poem that is 25 lines or fewer. She’ll bring John Berryman’s “Dream Song 14” to the competition to satisfy that requirement. Then, should she advance to the finals during state competition, she will need a third poem. That’s when Thomas Hardy’s “The Man He Killed” comes into play. We’ve reprinted the poem for you here.

The state competition poems and video entries are due to POL this Monday, March 7th. The judging takes place the following Tuesday and Wednesday. We should hear on the 11th who advances to the National Poetry Out Loud Competition. We will all be cheering for Izzy!

The Man He Killed

By Thomas Hardy

“Had he and I but met

By some old ancient inn,

We should have sat us down to wet

Right many a nipperkin!

“But ranged as infantry,

And staring face to face,

I shot at him as he at me

And killed him in his place.

“I shot him dead becuase —

Because he was my foe,

Just so: my foe of corse he was;

That’s clear enough; although

“He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps,

Off-hand like — just as I —

Was out of work — had sold his traps —

No other reason why.

“Yes; quaint and curious war is!

You shoot a fellow down

You’d treat if me where any bar is

Or help to half-a-crown.”

Isabella with the Words

December 1, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Congratulations to Palm Valley School’s US Poetry Recitation winner: Senior Isabella Goetschel. Isabella recited “Epitaph” by 17th-century poet Katherine Philips. In a striking twist of fate, Isabella was also selected Audience Favorite. Second Place went to Sophomore Indy Behr with a recitation of “be careful” by poet Ed Roberson. The Third Place recitation went to Freshman Lily Jones with “Poor Angels” by poet Edward Hirsch.

On the Friday before Thanksgiving break, the Upper School gathered for Poetry Recitation Finals in the Gym. Eleven finalists competed before judges Ms. Bernstein, Ms. Maguire, and Mr. Richardt. The judging criteria was that of Poetry Out Loud.

Isabella will advance to Riverside County Poetry Out Loud. She is our Palm Valley School representative. She will recite two poems before a panel of judges. If she wins, she advances to State Poetry Out Loud competition. Indiana serves as our alternate.

“A poem begins as a lump in the throat . . .”

November 17, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

. . . so wrote poet Robert Frost. Despite lumps in throats, on Tuesday, Middle School Poetry Recitation finalists–

Ciera Carr
Roman Soobben
Sherwin Hemmati
Sierra James
Mia Meyer
Jackie Padgett
Tal Maruvada
Yola Belickis
Zander Eaton
Walker Craven
Louisa Richardson
McKenzi Johnson–

gracefully, and sometimes passionately, shared words of solace, concern, love, hurt, and presence. Judges Andrea Coffey, Chris Griffin, and J.K. Hilbert selected the three most outstanding recitations–those of Ciera Carr, Zander Eaton, and McKenzi Johnson. Following Poetry Out Loud guidelines, the three were acknowledged for the poise and appropriateness of their physical presence, articulation and enunciation, and understanding. Ciera Carr was selected Audience Favorite.

Middle School Poetry Recitation Champions: McKenzi Johnson, Zander Eaton, and Ciera Carr. Photo Credit: Chris Griffin

For her recitation of the poem “Lost,” Ciera Carr was voted **Audience Favorite.** Photo Credit: Chris Griffin

FIREBIRD Letter to Palm Valley Community by Charles Schnell

February 28, 2020 by szachik@pvs.org 3 Comments

“Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb we did not know our mother’s face; from the prison of her flesh have we come into the unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth. . . . O waste of lost, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this weary, unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Where? When?

O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again.”

— Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel

Dear Palm Valley Community,

If someone asked you, “Who are you,” how would you respond? “I’m a. . .” Student? Parent? Teacher? Social worker? Musician? Politician? Doctor? Athlete? Farmer? Architect? Clown?

Then, if someone asked you, “What are you?” how would your response change? Would it change at all? What’s the difference between “who” and “what” you are? Which one makes you happy? Which limits you? Which obstructs you from being the happiest you can possibly be?

These questions are all asked and answered in Firebird, the new musical dramedy premiering at Palm Valley School this March. This play marks the return of the highly-regarded playwriting team of Mr. Chris Griffin and Mr. Ken Sarkis at Palm Valley School. (If you are a fan of shows such as Home Sweet Homer and Shakespeare at Starlucks, this newest musical of theirs is right up your alley!)

The play takes place over the span of the life of one person, named Arruda, as he travels throughout the world, bound to the task of defining “who” he is. There are no antagonists, other than life itself and that obnoxious, deceiving question, “Who are you?” During his voyage, Arruda encounters and learns from a wide array of odd folk who have already defined “who” they are and are quite comfortable with their answers, including a family who sweeps, the U.S. Common Core education system, successful businessmen whose specific company’s name we had to take out of the script (for copyright reasons), Buddhists and yogos, spirits of the Amazon river, and—everyone’s favorite type of people—self-absorbed actors.

This person’s journey to self-discovery will be accompanied by only the greatest composers of the 19th and 20th century, such as Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky, with modern, original lyrics to tell our story.

Almost all of the 23 drama students in the Upper School Theatre Department will be playing multiple roles, and you better believe every single one will be acting, singing, and dancing their way through this existential, musical romp of self-discovery. And, to top it all off, you certainly don’t want to miss the show that will be Mr. Sarkis’s “Last Hurrah!” as a theatre director and teacher. You can expect that he is giving it his all! (As usual.)

If you would like to join us on this young person’s journey, Firebird will be running for six shows in the MPR: March 20, 21, 27, 28, 29 at 7:30 p.m. and on March 22 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will start at $15 for general admission and will cost $20 for premium seats. (To purchase tickets, you can do so at the link below* or at the door.) The department is hard at work rehearsing and producing Firebird, and we hope to see you there as what you truly are.

On behalf of the cast and crew of Firebird,

Charles Schnell

Editor: Luke Langlois

*To buy tickets for Firebird, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-palm-valley-school-9832789066

A Review of “Never Gone”

May 29, 2019 by szachik@pvs.org 2 Comments

By Movie Fan Blogger James Zheng

I hardly ever watch Chinese films, but I found a Chinese movie that I really want to talk about. I have several reasons for not watching Chinese movies; the majority of them are really awful.

But not all of them are awful. While most are low quality products, you can find that ten percent of Chinese movies are exceptional works.

The movie I am going to talk about in this post is a romantic movie that has a simple story. It is mainly about the torturous experience of a couple, the disharmony they have and how they work it out. Well, do they eventually work it out? My answer is watch this film yourself and find out.

The part that draws the most attention is the preparation of actors. Kris Wu, a Chinese Canadian musical artist, is invited by director Zhou Tuoru to perform as the major character in Never Gone. I went into the movie wondering why a director would let a popular music idol be in a film. The director might just as well focus on how good looking the actors are rather than how skilled they are as actors. Two days ago, before I watched Never Gone, I read many negative comments saying how Kris Wu ruined the movie.

After seeing these pathetic comments, I finally chose to watch the movie to give it an “authentic” review. Here it goes–every setting being used in Never Gone has been used at least a thousand times. I could even say that if you are a romantic movie person, you can tell what will happen in the next second; you can see where the plot is going without questioning it. And, dialogues between the characters always give me a sense of being … embarrassed since the dialogue seems improper in that situation or just too generic. And, most times, Kris Wu’s acting just collapses; in other words, his acting is just extremely terrible or over-exaggerated.

So, overall. Is it a worthless film? Just wait: here are some positive things I have to say about it. The story of the movie is really similar to our daily life and reality; it isn’t that dramatic, which is the common flaw the director avoided. In that sense, he rejected the traditional style of romantic movies. In agreement with the negative reviews, I also think that Kris Wu’s acting is truly amateur and inflexible. However, his performance still left me an un-erasable impression. His emotion is real. He expresses his sentiment in the most explicit way. He conscientiously integrates himself into the show; he strives to present to us what the character should be feeling. After all, if you only take it from a single perspective and follow the majority opinion, you may only describe how bad it is. You would never observe Kris Wu’s achievement.

In the end, I am still not sure if I should recommend this movie. If you are interested in a romantic movie, you should try to watch it and see what comments you have.

Editor: Makena Behnke

*Available on Amazon Prime.