Blog 10: Senior Project Update

(1) What are you currently doing in your independent component? 

For my independent component I actually already completed my 30 hours of work. My mentorship took place at Ontario High School during the play they were doing for "Back To the 80s" with Mr. Hansen. During my time while mentoring, I was able to complete a total of 174 hours and 30 minutes of mentorship while helping out with their tech crew during the play. I got to participate in the whole process of putting on a play and what Theatre Technicians do before and during a play's production.

(2) What is a recent piece of research (article, interview, or audio-visual) that have you reviewed you would say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project?  The piece of research should be something you reviewed in November.  Please explain what you learned and where are you going next because of this piece of research.

A recent piece of research that I have reviewed were actually a few blurbs done by some people who are involved in Theatre. These research pieces actually helped me come up with a better science fair project. The first blurb that started me to help me find my possible science fair project for my senior project was this one: http://www.mookychick.co.uk/how-to/alternative-student-jobs/theatre-technician-jobs.php and then I ran into another one (http://tomvanderwell.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/10-ways-being-a-theatre-major-prepared-me-for-success/) which eventually led me to a theatre tech forum called controlbooth.com where someone asked a question about whether or not it was worth getting a major in Theatre Technology in college if you want to go into this career in the future. This actually helped me come up with my possible hypothesis and experiment of finding out whether having a major in Theatre Technology will help you find a job in this industry in the future. 

(3) Provide evidence from your independent component or the piece of research as something you recently did.  For example, a photo of something you working on for your independent component or your notes from the video you watched. 

Below are pictures of all the days I went to my mentorship at Ontario High School and got to help out. The highlighted parts are the days that I went and the crossed out ones are the day I was unable to help. The bottom is a picture of the pamplet that included all of the credit to people who helped out during the play, and at the very bottom there are also pictures of some snapshots I was able to take real quick during rehearsals while we were waiting for our queue to switch scenes.

Blog 5B: Science Fair Proposal

1. What is your topic?

Theatre Tech

2. What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support that problem? (Expert citation must be MLA format.)

 Does getting a college degree in Theatre Technology help you find a Theatre Tech job faster?

Quote:"While it is true that having a college degree 
will not guarantee you a position in the world 
of theatre (or any other field for that matter), it 
is important to realize that this is the best way 
to prepare yourself and to increase your 
chances in the job market.  Acknowledging 
that there is intense competition, given the 
incredible number of talented people vying for 
each job, you must somehow set yourself 
above the others." -University of Texas of Austin "Career Guide for Theatre Majors" 

"A Guide for Theatre Majors." The University of Texas of Austin Fine Arts Career Services. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/sites/default/files/attach_download/Career%20Guide%20for%20Theatre%20Majors.pdf>.

3. What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.)

If a person who is trying to pursue a job in theatre technology has a degree in Theatre Technology, then they are more likely to get find a job and get hired than someone who doesn't.

4. Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment.  Include the tools you plan on using.

In order to perform this experiment I will have to go to different Theatres or email different professional theatres performing a survey asking who they would rather hire  a person with a degree in theatre technology or someone who doesn't have one. I would also ask whether the degree is more important when hiring someone or if experience has a bigger role.

5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:
Behavioral/Social Science

Blog 9: Working EQ and Possible Answers

1Q: What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?
   A: What is the most important aspect in becoming a successful Theatre Technician?

2Q: Did you decide to revise your working EQ after your presentation? If so, write your revised EQ here.  If not simple write "I am not going to revise my EQ at this time".
  A: No

3Q: What are possible answers to your current working EQ?
  A:  -creativity
       -Time Management
       -Adapting to any situation

Blog 8: Rough Draft of Presentation 1

10 Minute Plan

Blog 7: Independent Component Plan 1 Approval

1) For my independent component study I plan on working with my mentor for extra hours above the required mentorship hours to reach the 30 hours work requirement in Theatre Tech.

2) I think my plan will meet the 30 hours work requirement because it is giving me extra knowledge and experience in Theatre Tech and helping me learn more with hands on experience.

3) This independent study relates with my working EQ by helping me see important things needed in order to become a better Theatre Technician. It will also help me see first hand the skills needed in order to achieve that.

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

1. What is your past experience with Theater Tech?
2. What places have you worked with in Theater Tech?
3. What lead you to get involved in Theater Tech?
4. Describe the different roles you have done in Theater Tech.
5. What aspect is your favorite about being involved in Tech?

Blog 4: Working EQ

1Q: Positive Statement: What positive thing has happened as a result of what you have completed so far?

  A: A positive thing that has happened as a result of what I have completed so far is that I have found a probable career that I would like to pursue. Maybe not just in theater but in the movie industry. Through my service learning in Theater Tech, I have come to realize how much I really enjoy constructing a set for a production, as well as designing a set.

2Q: EQ Content: Pick a piece of research or your interview. How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

  A: Through my interview with Mr. Hansen, I got a better understanding of all the job skills you can gain by participating in Theater Tech. When I thought of Theater Tech I only thought of set construction and costume, I never thought of things like sound, lights, and other small things that help bring the play together. He helped me see the variety of job experience you can gain through Theater Tech.

3Q:What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

   A: So far what has really worked for me in my senior project is the service learning I have done. It helped me gain firsthand experience of what it is like to work in Theater Tech. And also just how much hours go into just preparing for a show. I never really had any firsthand experience in Theater Tech so I never really knew how it felt to work behind the set in person, for me it was always just from what I heard from others. Now that I have done some service learning I have really gotten a better view of what the job requires.

4Q: What hasn't worked so far?  

   A:What hasn't worked so far, I guess I can say is finding something for my science project. Most of the problems by far that we have had to face are some pretty simple ones that have a pretty simple solution. I guess the biggest problem would be just the budget that we have to work with, but I don’t really know of anything I could do with that for the science fair project.

5Q: Finding Value:  Based on your experience so far,

·         What possible question or questions come to mind regarding what you would like to study this year (don't list questions about the instructions relating to the senior project)? 

·          What is your end goal this year with your senior project (don't say get a good grade or gain knowledge, put specific things you want to accomplish in your senior project this year)

·         Who would you like to talk to you next? Why?   

A:

• How big is the industry for Theater Tech, and how much job opportunities are in this career? And what does it take to get into this job industry?
• My goal for the end of this year is to be absolutely sure that this is a career that I would like to pursue and that I enjoy to the fullest. And also to leave senior year with experience within this topic, so that hopefully if I do decide to pursue it as a job, I could have somewhat of a resume built up.
• I would like to talk to one of the assistants at the place I am doing my service learning named Mr. C.  I would like to talk to him because he has a lot of experience within this job. He even got offered a job with Disney helping them design different sets for them at their theme park. I think it would be great to talk to him so I can ask him how it is that he got to that point.

SF Blog A: Problem Statement

Topic: 
Theater Tech

Problem:

1. Budget cuts in theater and trying to find ways to pay for the costs of the productions, especially when it comes to high school theater productions. Due to the budget cuts we are limited to more efficient technology needed in theater tech. I want to be able to find an efficient way of trying to provide money  needed for more efficient technology. What I hope to do after this is help other theater tech programs find better tactics to save and possibly earn money for the technology needed.
2. Finding more efficient ways of moving props, such as platforms and other heavy stuff on and off stage. Sometimes there are some props that need to be moved on stage and require a great amount of people to move it. There are somethings that by simply adding wheels can solve the problem, but then there are things that cannot have wheels added. I hope to find some kind of technology that would make moving bigger props more easy to move and efficient during the play. I would then like to introduce it to other theater tech programs.

Blog 3: Interview Preparation

A. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

I plan to interview my service learning mentor Mr. Hansen because he has a lot of knowledge regarding this topic. He has been working with plays and dealing for tech for quiet some time know. He even teaches a class elective on Theater Tech in his school. I feel that interviewing him first will provide me with some very valuable information on my topic that may help me with my research and presentation.

B. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

1. Did you ever participate in tech when you where in high school or college?
2. Do you know of any colleges that include a theater tech class?
3. Is there any other information in theater tech that you think may be helpful for me to know?

Blog 2: Topic Choice

a. What is your topic and why?

My topic is going to be Technical Theater, also known as Theater Tech. I chose this topic because it is something that has a little bit of everything I like. I have always been a person that loves design and hands on activities  I love the feeling of being able to create something, whether it be building with wood, make-up, creating costume, or just about anything in which I can use my creativity. When I was younger I really wanted to be an interior designer, but when I got in high school I started gaining a fascination with special effects make-up, sewing, and building random things. During freshmen year I joined the stage crew for Infotainment. It was there where I realized that I loved making props and other things. But I only recently found out that one can pursue a job in this, so I found this as the perfect opportunity to see if I am really willing to do this as a job in the future.

b. And what do you hope to accomplish this year with this topic (connecting your answer to each of the 4 ESLRS)

• iPoly Citizen: I plan to become a more responsible and punctual person with the responsibility of my mentorship. This relates to me improving as a iPoly citizen because I am hoping that through this experience I can become a more responsible student as well as punctual. I also hope that this helps me improve on getting everything done on time and not leaving everything for last minute.

• Effective Communicator: I plan to become a better teammate and listener with all the people I am working with in my service learning hours, whether I like them or not. This will make me more effective as a communicator because it will teach me to focus only on what I need to, and set my differences aside from others so that I can communicate better with others and just get what I need to finish done without any drama. 

• Effective Learner: I plan to learn as much as possible from my mentor and hopefully cherish everything I learn and use it in the future if I ever pursue this topic as a job. This will make me more effective as a learner because hopefully it will help me learn how to cherish everything that I learn throughout senior year from my teachers. 

• Effective User of Technology: I plan to learn to use the technology to the best of my advantage, especially when it comes to research and sharing it with others. This will make me more effective as a user of technology because I hope to learn about new ways to find research and new resources to help me research in my studies. I hope it will help me broaden my horizon when it comes to sources used to gather information from.

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship Component

Contact: Mr. Hansen (8/13/2012-10/20/2012)

•          Ontario High School Drama / Tech Teacher
•            Contact Phone and email on Mentorship Log at the Bottom

(In process of finding a new mentor that schedule fits better with mine)

Literal (know):

Mentorship Log

Literal (Need to know):

• Are there any R.O.P classes for Theater Tech?
• How many hours do people who do this as a career do?
• What colleges offer a course on Theater Tech?
• Does Theater Tech differ from the tech people that do movies?

Interpretive:

• The most important thing that I gained from this experience is knowledge of what it really takes to be in Theater Tech. I never really thought that it takes so much time and physical work to be a Theater Techie. I also learned a lot about techniques for building things that I didn’t know about and how those tips can make building so much easier.

Applied:

• This summer service learning helped me pick a topic because it showed me whether or not I really liked the topic of my choice. After completing the hours, I noticed that Theater Tech is something I look forward too, and that I really don’t feel the hours that I am working because I’m enjoying what I am doing.