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sbutheatrearts-blog · 6 years

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#stony brook #theatre #theatre arts #art #student #events #new work #student new works

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Interview with ‘Hana’

by Evelin Mercedes

Isabelle Greenberg is currently a freshman studying Computer Science at Stony Brook University. She’s had experience with theater since elementary school and decided to audition for the character of Hana in the Okada Toshiki play Current Location.

“I was really nervous starting this whole experience,” Isabelle Greenberg said. “I felt like it was really creative and something that I could share my opinions on and it really helped me to express myself.”

Greenberg’s parents both have a background in acting. The exposure instilled her love for acting, where now that creativeness has shown up in her programming. Growing up in Manhattan also helped foster her love of science and acting. She said, “While programming, I think of more creative solutions due to the ideas and inspiration that acting gives me, and in that way both of my worlds collide perfectly.”

At Eleanor Roosevelt High School, two instances stand out when Isabelle thinks about the experiences she had with theater. One of her favorite plays was ‘The Incomparable Max’ where she got to play the Devil and act in a completely different way than how she normally performs. Her other favorite experience was their improvisation show because of the creativity and hilarious scenes that popped up.

Current Location

“I was very nervous on the opening night of Current Location,” Greenberg said. “It was actually really exciting to show it to new audience members who didn’t expect all the twists and turns.”

When asked about the surprise in store for the audience, Isabelle wants everyone to watch Current Location for this one reason. “There’s a scene that’s very shocking so it’s always fun to hear the reactions,” Greenberg said. “I heard some gasping and some people were a bit confused but then it clears up.”

Being a part of Current Location has allowed her to play a different character that has many emotions. She understood the difficulty and pain when making tough decisions, which is something that her character, Hana, knows very well.

“One part that I love about my character Hana is that she has a very real reaction to everything that’s going on in the village,” Greenberg said. “I personally wouldn’t change what happens. It doesn't end great for her but I really like the human connection and feelings that she shows in the play.”

The course with Professor Catlett allowed Isabelle to use different techniques to perfect how her character would react to every situation. Catlett used kinesthetic responses by working with the space and time of the scenes. Each actor was able to discover more things about their characters and improve their performances. It also helped to create their blocking and timing in each scene.

One of her favorite parts about the play in its entirety is that the characters complement one another. “It really shows how talented Okada was with writing this,” She said. “It really displays every feeling that someone could be feeling after such a disaster such as Fukushima.” Visibly, the audience will notice that each character brought a different element to the play Current Location.

“It really shows how he wanted to let the audience break that harmonious code of “wa”, which means harmony,” She said. “I think it’s something Japan really needed at that time.”

The Next 3 Years At Stony Brook

Isabelle Greenberg hopes to get involved with as many opportunities as she can while she’s an undergraduate student. By expressing herself with theater, she looks forward to learn, improve and have amazing experiences, as well as enjoy the opportunities Computer science will offer her.

“Regardless, I will make certain to stay creative and innovative.” Greenberg said. “I’m just really happy by how everything has turned out so far.”

Watch Isabelle Greenberg play Hana on the next upcoming dates: April 19, 20, 21 at 8p.m. and April 22 at 2p.m.

Evelin Mercedes is a Journalism & Spanish Language and Literature double major who loves to travel and photograph concerts.

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#theatre #theatre arts #current location #japan #japanese #japanese culture #fukushima #natural disasters #nuclear disaster #science #stony brook #plays #cast #interview #passion #student #artist #artistic

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Meet Mallory Catlett, the amazing director of “CURRENT LOCATION”!

Our last production for the Stony Brook Theatre Arts Department, Current Location, opened last Thursday! In the middle of one of her last rehearsals, I asked Mallory Catlett, director and associate professor, about her perspectives on the work.

Current Location was written by the Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada soon after the nuclear power plant accident occurred in Fukushima, a town in northern Japan. The accident was triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami, which of course toppled Japanese society into confusion. During the ensuing chaos Okada, like many Japanese citizens, was lost in overload information about the possible repercussions after the accident. He discovered that he had to choose what he believed was true for himself.

Honami Wakabayashi (HW): What’s challenging about bringing this script to life?

Mallory Catlett (MC): It’s very spare and very simple, and sometimes simple things are really hard to do well. It’s challenging to figure out how this audience might receive it, and how to stage it in the way that makes and creates the most connection as possible.

HW: There is so much Japanese culture and Japanese elements in the play. How do you think you are going to bring that to America?

MC: It’s clear that he’s a Japanese writer and that Japan was mentioned in the piece, and that it’s about Japan in a way. So I think that’s there. But what is also there is that we are not attempting to act like we’re Japanese. It’s just like that’s one layer of what’s going on, and the other layer is that it’s a contemporary piece performed by very diverse group of students from all over. I think it’s just like two layers that the audience is going to have to put together and make sense of that on their own.

I think that the concerns that the characters have, that they express a certain uncertainty about what’s going on and what to believe. I worked with Okada a lot in my teaching, and I find that his writing has a great connection to young people. Because I think he started out by working with his colleagues as young people, he writes really well for characters who are younger. I’ve found that there is a connection that holds up even across a cultural divide. There is a connection because he is speaking to a set of frustrations and uncertainties that young people have in their lives, their identity about how to make a life, about how to think about their future. And his writing in particular speaks directly to that experience, so that’s why I wanted to do the play here. I’ve also

worked with students, so I knew the material last semester and I could see their connection to it. And I thought that it was very interesting, how they connected to the material.

HW: What do you like the most about this script and production?

MC: I like its simplicity. I like its “poetic-ness.” I like it as an allegory. The aspect of its allegory is really intriguing, because it mixes the idea of allegory with this fairly pedestrian sensibility, which is unique to me. I’ve not really experienced the way those two things can fit together in that way. I think that what he’s trying to get out, what he’s trying to do in terms of have these two simultaneous realities kind of coexisting, is both a really great challenge and - what makes it really unique - is that he never really sides on one side or the other. The point is to keep us in this state of uncertainty, that both positions could be valid, could be right, and I think that’s refreshing that he’s trying to maintain those two positions. It’s not a piece about judgement, although it reveals the way we judge each other. I think that ultimately he’s trying to figure out how to reveal this state that we are in constantly. I think we often feel like, ‘oh these two things are going on but I am right and my reality is right.’ So we never seem to be able to accept the world as it is, which is that two things exist and we all have a right to believe what we believe, but we also have to co-exist in some way and we can’t just think I’m right and one’s better if no one else - the people who don’t agree with me - don’t exist. And that is really unique because he is doing that formally. It’s not just talking about it, but it’s actually structured that way.

I also like all the students. I think they are doing really great job. I’m very intrigued by them as people engaging with this material and how distinctively different they each are; how much they bring their own cultural background to this piece and how they talk all the time about the piece, about this village that they all come from, and for me it’s a really interesting mix of performers who are from very diverse backgrounds. I’m really intrigued by the village that they evoke for the audience. If they did come from the same place it would not be as interesting.

HW: Who must see the production?

MC: Everyone, of course. I find Okada’s work opens up that space for shy, introspective people. And this way of communicating, which is not necessarily the most direct, the most out-going, is done in a way that it doesn’t have the “theatre thing,” where what you mostly see is about a big, bold personality that is kind of coming and showing you what they’ve got. I find that it’s a piece that is much more about introspective, shy characters

trying to make sense of things, trying to explain what’s going on in their heads. I think it fits the character of the student body that I see here, which is often sort of science-y students trying to make sense of the world, about what they are really curious. A lot of the students that we have here are coming to the theatre because they are also seeing these other things, and the theatre is the place where they can come to actualize those ideas, those things that are going on in their heads, but they are not often the kind of students that would go to theatre program which more like “hey, here I am.” So it’s really interesting piece for Stony Brook for me in that way. It reflects much more of the tenor of the way I feel about a lot of the students here who are trying to work things through but they are not exhibitionists. In that way, I’m hoping that people who are interested in the sciences will come, to try to understand how a scientific idea can give a way to unrelated allegory about uncertainty and the future of how we move forward in society.

Current Location continues its run from April 19th - 22nd at the Staller Center for the Arts Theatre 1.

Visit Mallory Catlett’s Website; http://www.mallorycatlett.net/

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Honami Wakabayashi is Theatre Major who is an international student from Japan. She loves eating, traveling and of course, THEATRE!

#theatre #theatre arts #japan #current location #fukushima #director #art #stony brook #nuclear #nuclear disaster #natural disasters #science #inspiration #now playing #april

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 6 years

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Picture from the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.

#japan #fukushima #theatre #theatre arts #stony brook #nuclear #nuclear power

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 6 years

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Meet the Cast of Current location

Senior undergraduate student Ashley Figueroa will graduate this August 2018 after performing in her final on-campus play, ‘Current Location’. She grew up in the Bronx in New York City with her mom, dad and two older sisters and attributes their support for her love of theater as a motivator.

Theatre at Stony Brook University

As a Theatre major, Ashley has drawn from past experiences in high school plays to recreate new characters and give them a life beyond just a character. “As an actor, you are given this character that you are supposed to become.” Ashley figueroa said. “The fact that you can surrender yourself to the character; the line between where the actor ends and the character begins is very thin and that fascinates me.”

In her sophomore year, Figueroa was cast as Perpetua in Naomi Iizuka’s Tattoo Girl. She grew fond of her character and the play because of its strangeness and uncertainty of what was going to happen. It was also her first play as a college student. “It taught me how theatre worked in college and helped me realize that, ‘Hey, I guess I'm actually pretty good at this.’" Figueroa said.

Pocket Theatre has been an important part of Figueroa’s time at Stony Brook University. After appearing in their 10 Minute Play Festival as Florence in Lynn Nottage’s Poof!, she co-directed and was a stage manager for a Pocket Theatre show named A Good Hag is Hard to Find this Spring semester with student writer and director Ryan Curcie. The play told a story of a friendship between a gay man and a straight woman through different phases of their lives. The one-act play was performed from February 16 to the 18th.

Current Location

Ashley Figueroa will appear in ‘Current Location’ as Nahoko. “At first Mallory Catlett and I thought Nahoko was sort of a rebel and just wanted to be heard.” Figueroa said. “But now we’ve realized that she has this strong anxiety and fear of disappointing those around her.”

The fear that Nahoko represents didn’t drive Ashley away. She struggled with the reality of Nahoko’s true identity but she embraced that this character was the anxious one amongst the other members and who was trying to warn everyone else about what was happening in their town.

Even though we would assume her character, Nahoko, is one of the most important characters in the play because of her role as the one who’s trying to warn everyone, Ashley believes it’s actually Kasumi. “In her final scene with Kasumi, she tries her best to remain as calm and as close to reality as possible even though all of who she is as a person is being attack by the force that is Kasumi.” Figueroa exclaimed.

When asked about her initial thought of the play, the emotions displayed among the characters frustrated her the most. “None of these characters experience great emotion or if they do, it isn’t for too long or they don’t really understand why they are feeling that way.” Figueroa said. The lack of emotions doesn’t allow the actors to express themselves too much since the characters appear to have solemn personalities.

Ashley Figueroa thinks very highly of the way Director Mallory Catlett has taken the play and allowed the actors to explore what worked for them. “Mallory allowed us to play with how we thought our character would respond to any outside factors.” Figueroa said. “There was no a right or wrong answer. She just wanted Okada’s message to remain intact throughout the entire piece.”

They worked on gestures that people make when they’re feeling anxious. “Something as simple as walking around a table with my finger running along the edge was so powerful that we stood with that for Nohoko's scene.” Figueroa said. The way Nahoko’s anxiety will be shown on stage will resonate with other people who deal with anxiety. It’s a way of building a connection with her audience.

Figueroa mentioned the quantum physics displayed throughout the play is dealt with through the “Schrodinger’s Cat Boys”. This group is made up of 3 actors, Brendan Potts, Nihar Sonalkar, and Luna, whose main focuses are to know the quantum physics involved and be able to explain it to the other cast members. They have the responsibility of explaining where this recurring theory of two things happening at once in the same location occurs.

Being a part of this play has been fulfilling for Ashley, especially since this will be her last play as an undergraduate student. “My favorite part is watching my cast mates interact with each other in and out of character.” Figueroa said. “I love observing how they’ve grown as performers the past few months and how they’ve challenged themselves to reach beyond the words in the script.” Figueroa said.

The Future

Ashley Figueroa wants to work in theater in Manhattan after graduating. Whether it is being a part of the stage crew, board operator or director, she just knows she wants to be a part of the action. If it takes her a while to find the job she’s searching for, Ashley would like to pursue a teaching certification to teach High School students in Manhattan. For Ashley Figueroa, it’s all about the learning experience and passing along what she’s learned!

Evelin Mercedes is a Journalism & Spanish Language and Literature double major who loves to travel and photograph concerts.

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“WA” T YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT JAPAN

By Sarah Schapiro

The Japanese people care greatly about their traditions. Whether the tradition concerns how a religious ceremony is performed, how an article of clothing is worn, or how a martial art is done, traditions are culturally important and are taken seriously. The way tea is poured, the way a sash is tied, the way flowers are arranged, all link the past with the present. Since Japanese culture has influenced many countries in the world, many Westerners are now familiar with some aspects of Japanese culture. People may have heard that the Japanese have a reputation for politeness. Most Americans know about sushi, Ninja Warrior, and karaoke. But, of course, there is more to Japanese culture than food and entertainment.

The word wa is defined as the state of harmonious integration or a collective feeling that insures that everyone knows his place and acts appropriately. In Japan, this usually means that in order to preserve social harmony, disagreeing opinions are not spoken. It would not be polite, but worse, it would be harmful to the orderliness of society. Although dissent is not likely to occur, if it does, it must take place within the strict boundaries of social propriety. As a result, wa has been praised and admired.

While it has been credited with helping the Japanese people cope with an “unprecedented national emergency”, others view it as a “double-edged sword.” Harmony can lead to a calm, collective responsibility, but it can also contribute to inaction in the face of emergency. This became apparent during the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, which has been called “Japan’s Chernobyl.”

On 3/11/2011, Japan suffered a massive earthquake (9/10 on the Richter scale) followed by a tsumani (a word from the Japanese meaning harbor wave). The tidal wave swallowed up at least 20, 000 people, causing their deaths, and destroyed towns and villages. That natural disaster alone would have been catastrophic, but it launched a sequence of unfortunate events that seriously damaged several nuclear power reactors in the Fukushima region. Government and industry personnel had not anticipated that a tidal wave would be so large that it would crash over a retaining wall, but they should have. (They had been warned by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2008 that the Fukushima nuclear plant was built according to outdated safety guidelines.) The water knocked out the power grid as well as the plant’s back-up generator, which were both kept in the easily-flooded basement. Without electricity, the reactor could not cool the fuel rod, which resulted in a core meltdown, followed by the release of radiation into

the atmosphere. It was as if several giant pressure cookers exploded at once.

Following the disaster, conflicting information was being released about what had happened. Tokyo Electric Power Company, the owner of the nuclear plant, did not want to share information with the government or the public. This is probably because the company had a long history of falsifying inspections and repair reports, as well as concealing accidents that occurred at the nuclear plant. The government was not good at regulating the nuclear industry in the past, and was not doing a better job now. Some observers felt that the government was afraid to interfere with the powerful nuclear industry, an industry which could even control the media to prevent bad publicity. Because the government was bureaucratic, it could not respond quickly and effectively to the worsening environmental situation. Respect for people in top positions would make a nuclear expert suggest the opposite of what was scientifically accepted when he felt the higher authority wanted it that way.

Wa, the unwritten code of social unity which emerged in full force after the Fukushima disaster, definitely helped Japan deal with the nuclear disaster on an emotional level, as people stood with the victims. But when a special commission investigated the accident, it determined that “conventions of the Japanese culture” were to blame. In particular “reflexive obedience, reluctance to question authority, devotion to sticking with the program, ‘groupism,’ and insularity” fueled the meltdown. It was as if the commission blamed wa for the Fukushima disaster.

Perhaps if someone would have spoken out about Tokyo Electric Power Company’s crimes, corrections would have been made to the Plant, or had the government been stronger at enforcing regulations, the events of 3/11/2011 would have been a little less terrifying. But these are merely conjectures, and we hope that changes have been made to avoid future disasters.

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#wa #fukushima #japan #japanese culture #current location #theatre #theatre arts #stony brook #seawolves #disaster #natural disasters #nuclear #japanese tradition #japanese people #asia #chernobyl #explore #people

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25 Fun Facts about Japanese Culture

By Vivien Safi Chanda

Konnichiwa Seawolves! That was “hello” in Japanese. Not familiar with Japanese vocabulary or culture? I want to switch that one up by giving you a quick and fun way to learn as much about Japan as possible. Be ready to explore Japanese culture in 25 fun and interesting facts:

Japanese Geography

1. First of all Japan is not called “Japan” in Japanese. You already got tricked. Once upon a time people believed that Japan was the first country to see the sunrise in the East. Therefore, Japanese people call their mother land Nihon or Nippon which translates to the “Land of the Rising Sun”.

2. Speaking of the Sun (which feels so long ago us Seawolves could enjoy warm weather), Japan consists of over 6,800 islands. As you know, Japan is an island itself but all the small islands around it are part of the Japanese territory. The four largest ones are Honshu (island Tokyo is based on), Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

Let us talk about food

3.Most of you probably relate Japan to its cuisine (I mean who does not love sushi), but did you know that Japan has the third longest life expectancy worldwide! On average they live four years longer than Americans.

4.How is that possible with more than 3,000 McDonald’s in their country, making this the largest number of McDonald restaurants outside of the United States? Furthermore, Japan has around 5 million vending machines all over the place. These vending machines sell basically everything! Hot beverages, liquor, food, underwear, light bulbs, condoms, living crabs, and the list goes on! The only way I can explain their long life expectancy is the fact that…

5… Japanese are the population with the largest fish consume worldwide. To throw some numbers at you: 17 million tons each year are either imported into Japan or locally produced. Additionally, over 20% of their protein is obtained through seafood.

6.Apart from seafood Japanese are known for their love to ramen noodles. 5 billion servings of instant ramen noodles are eaten in Japan per year.

7.In order to enjoy their noodles as quickly as possible Japanese tend to slurp a lot. Slurping cools down the hot noodles and indicates that the food is delicious. If you do not slurp, you are being rude to the cook. So slurp up!

8.Finally, sushi. Who does not know it, who does not love it. Sushi has been around for quite a while now. It all began in China in about the second century A.D. where sushi was an easy way to preserve fish. In the early 17th century Japanese natives came up with the idea of eating raw fish with rice.

9.In order to enjoy all of these typical Japanese dishes around 25 billion pairs of waribashi (disposable chopsticks) are used in Japan each year which is equivalent to about 10 million trees.

Japanese Locals

10.I bet the Japanese “diet” - how I would call it - is the reason why Japan has the highest amount of elderly people living there. To be exact 50,000 people are over the age of 100! In other words they have more elderly people in Japan than children.

11.Due to the low birth rate compared to elderly people living in Japan, adult diapers are sold more than baby diapers.

12.Another thing Japanese have more than children are pets. Japanese tend to spoil their pets such as dogs more than they would with their own children. It is common in Japan to spend up to $250 or more for a “poodle pullover”.

13.Japanese are also very superstitious. Since the number shi (four) sounds similar to the Japanese word for death, they tend to avoid that number as much as they can. While it is common in the Western culture to sell sets of dishes of four or six, Japanese sets are sold either in threes or fives. Even tall buildings and skyscrapers skip the level four.

Tokyo

14.Speaking of skyscrapers. The Tokyo metropolitan area is the largest worldwide with 35 million inhabitants. In comparison, the New York Metro area accounts for “only” 20 million people.

15.Imagine the hectic space people in the Tokyo metro area face on a regular basis! This might be the reason why employers are so easy on their employees when it comes to taking naps, called inemuri, at work. Inemuri translates to “sleep while being present”. It is an expression - or a cultural Japanese practice - of being a hardworking individual who is successful and therefore, all public spaces are normal to take inemuris: trains, benches, cafes, etc.

16.Hard to believe a Japanese train would be a peaceful and restful place to take a nap at. Tokyo’s main train station Shinjuku is known to be the busiest in the world with 2 million people using public transportation (Penn Station has about 600,000 people passing through). At times trains are so crowded that additional railway staff pushes and crams people inside the train.

Fun Activities in Japan

17.Sounds like it could be exhausting at times, right? So what do Japanese people do to relax and enjoy themselves? One activity Japanese love in their free time is reading comics. Cartooning started in Japan in the 12th century, and today more paper is used in order to produce comics for consumerism than toilet paper in Japan.

18.Another thing Japanese natives love more than anything else is their smartphones. About 90% of all Japanese phones are waterproof because Japanese people rarely separate from their “technological love” (not even while being in the shower or bath tub).

19. The sport Japanese enjoy the most is baseball. Who would have guessed that!? Baseball is called yakyu and was introduced by an American teacher in Japan. Since 1873 yakyu is the most popular sport at Japanese Universities. They have two professional baseball leagues and even high school games are broadcasted on national TV as well as university games.

20.The one sport you probably would have associated with Japan is Sumo wrestling. You are not wrong. Sumo wrestlers are very popular in Japan. Besides the traditional Sumo wrestling there are different contests between Sumo wrestlers as well. One common contest is the “crying sumo” where wrestlers compete to see who can make a baby cry first.

Customs to consider

21.If all of these fun activities do not help to cope with their exhausting everyday lives, Japanese tend to drink a lot of coffee. This hot beverage is so popular in Japan that they import 85% of Jamaica’s total coffee production!

22.What do Japanese have with their revitalizing coffee? Probably a cigarette. It is hard to find a non-smoking area in Japan. Even restaurants allow people to smoke inside. This habit is, predominantly, in the interest of profit making politicians.

Last but not least...

23.If Japanese do leave Japan - which happens more often than people immigrating to Japan (98% of Japan’s population are born and raised in Japan) - they are likely to move to Brazil. Based on cultural and economic exchange, today, Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside of Japan (1,5 million Japanese) and vice versa. About 300,000 Brazilians live in Japan making them the biggest non-Asian ethnic group in Japan.

24.With its second lowest homicide rate in the world, Japan seems like a good place to move. Do not judge a book by its cover! Even though its homicide rate is very low, Japan is home to the “suicide forest” Aokigahara. This forest is the second most popular place in the world to commit suicide and is considered “the perfect place to die”. (Number one is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.)

25.You might consider moving (or visiting) Japan after all, especially if you have crooked teeth. They are considered attractive in Japan and women actually go to the dentist to achieve the so called yaeba (crooked teeth). Bai Bai braces!

Vivien Safi Chanda is an exchange student from Germany studying at SBU for two semester. Back home in Germany, Vivien is studying “Interdisciplinary American Studies” with an emphasis on African-American history. This summer she will be interning for a PR agency in Berlin, Germany before returning back to the University of Tuebingen for her senior year.

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Schrödinger’s Cat?

By: Adedoyin Julius

Schrödinger’s Cat

One might ask, what is Schrödinger’s Cat? Or who is Schrödinger, and why does he have a cat?

Schrödinger, otherwise known as Erwin Schroedinger, was an Australian physicist who received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1933. His Nobel prize achievement was based on his work with Dirac about atomic spectra. In addition to receiving a Nobel prize, he lectured at universities, published books, and conducted much research about physics.

What is schrödinger’s Cat?

I’m not a scientist, but I will try my best to explain the theory and logic of Scherzingers cat.

Brady Haran explains Schrödinger’s Cat as a state of position. He goes on to give a description of putting a cat in a steel box that remains closed, and then adding to the box a small particle that contains radioactive material and some atoms. Within an hour, 50% of one of the atoms might decay radioactively and give out a particle.

During that hour the cat is both dead and alive, which is the quantum physics position.

Radioactive decay might take place within time in that box, which is the quantum process.

Dead AND Alive

It sounds pretty odd to say that something is both dead and alive at the same time, but that is truly what happens in the few minutes in the steel box with the cat and the radioactive material. The cat in that quick time spectrum is both dead and alive.

Haran explains the reason for this is that the cat does not know where it wants to be at this short time; since it is still “deciding,” it is in both positions. Before opening the box quantum mechanically, the cat is in both states of “alive” and “dead.” But after the door is opened, the cat is in only one final state – dead - due to the radioactivity.

Schrödinger’s Cat and Fukushima

What do Schrödinger’s Cat and Fukushima have in common?

Well, Fukushima was the result of a natural disaster that happened in Japan on Friday March 11, 2011, seven years ago.

The earthquake lasted for about 3 minutes, followed by a tsunami that caused about 19,000 deaths.

The tsunami affected the nuclear power plant Fukushima that provided power, light and essential needs for the city.

Unfortunately, the nuclear plant was damaged, and that damage caused a nuclear disaster.

The Fukushima nuclear plant exploded and exposed the Japanese population to radioactivity.

What can be concluded from Fukushima and Schrödinger’s Cat? Well, were the Japanese people exposed to the radioactive environment – or not?

References

http://www.iflscience.com/physics/schr%C3%B6dinger%E2%80%99s-cat-explained/

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-ac

cident.aspx

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1933/schrodinger-bio.html

Adedoyin Julius is a senior majoring in Health science with a concentration in Emergency and Critical care. Her passion ranges from helping people to beauty, and business. She also loves to give back to the community in every way she can.

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 6 years

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RADIOACTIVTY - vs - RADIATION

by : Sarah Rothbaum

Have you ever used a certain word without really knowing the true meaning? You may have discovered it on Thesaurus.com, while searching for those big vocabulary words that make an essay sound more advanced. Or maybe you had a conversation with someone and heard them use it in a certain context, so of course that means you know the proper way to use it, right?

Now, what if someone were to ask you, “Do you know the difference between Radioactivity and Radiation?” I’m sure some people would answer yes before you could even finish the question. Others may begin to question themselves.

And then, there’s people like me. People who respond with, “Wait, there’s a difference between the two?”

The answer is yes. There is definitely a difference.

What is the difference between radioactivity and radiation?

Terms like “radioactivity” and “radiation” cannot be used interchangeably, because without one there wouldn’t be the other. Think about baking a cake, you mix a bunch of ingredients together to create the batter, you know, that delicious stuff everyone fights over? Then it’s placed into the oven and 20 minutes later what was once batter is now a cake. But did the oven heating up cause the change, or was it the heat emitted from the oven?

Radioactivity is something that happens to atoms (often a release) that contain too many neutrons in proportion to the number of protons. These atoms are unstable, and decay into more stable atoms by emitting radiation. Meanwhile, radiation is anything that is produced or emitted away from an energy source. (So what exactly did baking a cake have to do with this, Sarah?)

Radioactivity is like that period of time where the oven begins to heat up. Radiation is the heat that’s produced by the oven causing the change.

Are there different types of Radiation?

Yes. Radiation is often harmless, and you are surround by low levels of radiation everyday:

X-rays used in medicine

consumer products, such as luminized wrist watches, ionization smoke detectors

Radiation is also used in many industrial nuclear techniques.

The three main forms of radiation include alpha radiation, beta radiation, and gamma radiation. The unique characteristics of each individual form vary in not just strength and severity, but also the way in which each are produced and how you to protect yourself from them. Let’s break it down...

1. Alpha Radiation: An atomic nucleus shoots out alpha proton (Helium) which consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. They are produced by heavy slowly moving particles with a lot of electrical charge making it easy protection very simple.

*Did you know that a simple piece of paper is enough to protect you from alpha radiation?

2. Beta Radiation: This generally occurs when a neutron is turned into proton/electron inside the atomic nucleus. The proton is kept inside the atomic nucleus while shoots out the electron. These consist of light and fast-moving particles with an electric charge.

*Stronger than alpha, but not something a piece of plastic, wood, or metal couldn’t’ fix!

3. Gamma Radiation: An extremely high energy photon escapes the nucleus. The higher energy can cause damage to surrounding material. These are produced by fast moving particles with no electric charge and are harder to stop.

*You know that heavy vest you wear during an X-ray? Well, it is protecting you from gamma rays!

Many people often believe that radiation itself is a threat to ourselves and our environment, but in reality, it is the radioactive atoms that are released into the atmosphere that cause the real threat.

Radiation and nuclear techniques are not always harmful. In fact, they have had a huge positive influence on our society, leading to some life changing advancements in medicine, agriculture, energy, and the scientific and technological fields.

But, when radioactive materials change at random, the production of ionizing radiation can cause severe damage to our body's internal chemistry. The radiation breaks down the chemical bonds between the atoms and molecules that make up our tissues. The body’s natural immune system tries to protect itself, but at such high levels it’s a losing battle. Damage to the DNA of a cell can cause serious altercations within our body, some of which can be fatal.

What could happen if I was exposed?

High levels of radiation, above one grey (the standard measurement of the absorbed dose of radiation) can cause radiation sickness, which can be shown through a wide range of symptoms. Within the first few hours of exposure nausea and vomiting can occur, followed by diarrhea, headaches and a fever. After the symptoms first appear, there is sometimes a brief period where they subside, but then the more serious symptoms begin to present within a few weeks. With higher levels of radiation, all of these symptoms can be widespread and potentially fatal to the internal organs.

When a nuclear disaster occurs, the fallout can form within minutes of a nuclear disaster. It is no different from the ash, dust, dirt, water and other particulates that form after any explosion. These particulates are radioactive and spread throughout our atmosphere, causing widespread danger to all people who are exposed.

Here’s a quick overview of the nuclear disasters in the past 40 years…

The most recent disaster took place on March 11

th, 2011 in Fukushima, Japan. An earthquake had cut off all external power to the reactors and the large waves from a tsunami overtook the power plant destroying the backup generators and compromising the reactor cooling systems. During the meltdown, radiation was launched into the atmosphere and settled as far away as Slovenia, France, the Canary Islands, and even in the Arctic.

During a routine maintenance shut down, the Unit 4 reactor of Chernobyl’s power plant had an unexpected surge in power leading to an explosion of epic proportion. Fires spread throughout the surrounding area elevating the radioactivity on site. A flawed design system as well as the lack of knowledge in safety precautions together increased the chances of human error in such a high stress situation. It was then, on April 26th 1986, that Chernobyl became the most detrimental nuclear disaster to date.

Let’s turn the clocks back to March 28, 1978, when Three Mile Island of Middletown, Pennsylvania had a partial meltdown of the powerplant causing the largest nuclear incident in the United States. Those in close proximity of the meltdown were exposed to radiation levels at an all-time high, just minutes of exposure causes death.

Want to know more?

Check out these links on nuclear radiation and the disasters involved…

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/radiation-and-health/nuclear-radiation-and-health-effects.aspx

https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power/nuclear-power-accidents/history-nuclear-accidents#.WqiKv-jwZPY

Sarah Rothbaum is currently studying her major in Psychology at Stony Brook University. She intends to graduate in the spring of 2019. By the age of twenty, Sarah established her own business incorporation while both working and attending school full time. Her desire to succeed and help those in need are the driving factors of her success.

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 6 years

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Fukushima: Seven Years Later

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https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/17/world/asia/japan-earthquake---tsunami-fast-facts/index.html

William Melendez is a sophomore Political Science Major and History minor. He is involved with theatre on campus.

#japan #fukushima #natural disasters #stony brook #theatre #nuclear #earthquake #tsunami #environment #environmetalists #climate change #climatescience #cnn #cnn news #art #physics #superposition

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 6 years

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Stars of A Number!

A Number opens today! I sat down with Frank Murdocco and Digby Baker-Porazinski, the stars of A Number, on the set last week to talk about the show.

Frank Murdocco, who plays the father Salter, thinks that Salter is a very selfish person. “We are all selfish people, but Salter makes a lot of overly-selfish choices to the very end of the play,” he explains. In A Number, Salter abandons his real son and replaces him with his son’s clone. “Salter works as hard as he can to make sure his choices aren’t selfish, but at the end of the day they are what they are.” While selfish, Frank also finds him to be fascinating. “Salter is just an incredibly complex character, and it’s so fun to deal with that.” He feels a connection to Salter on some levels, and says, “The level of needing to connect to another person and the level of needing someone there for you” is a basic human need and what ultimately drives this character’s action in the play.

One theme in A Number is “nature vs nurture.” Digby Baker-Porazinski , who plays three different characters in the play, thinks nurturing is a significant part of being human. “Even though they are genetically identical, these three characters could not be more different.” He continues, “Playing them is really like being three completely different people.”

With the help of director Steve Marsh, Digby has found a way to place himself into each of the characters in order to play each one of the three differently. “It’s easier to find myself in some of the characters than others,” he admitted. Bernard 1 is a malicious character who was abandoned by his father. Digby can’t really find any personal relations to this character. However, he can somewhat relate himself to Bernard 2, who is “very timid and withdrawn.” Michael Black is the most relatable character for him. “Out of all the clones, he is the most his own person… He is completely optimistic to the point of annoyance, and I see myself in him a lot. He just wants to help the stranger, and that’s something I find myself doing occasionally.”

Both Frank and Digby say that being part of A Number has been an amazing experience. Frank finds it cool to be working with a lot of people. Digby thinks that being involved a mainstage production can be intimidating; this is his first time being involved in a show as big as this one. However, he believes that the people in this show are “the most capable and confident people.” They are also fond of working together with Director Steve Marsh. Digby says, “He is so incredibly receptive to the opinions of the cast.” Steve respects the people who he is working with, he says, and he “accurately and truly understands the characters.”

The unique concept of this production are the intermezzi between each scene. In the original play written by Caryl Churchill, only four characters are in the play; they are “isolated.” No one else is in their world. However, in Steve’s version of A Number, the intermezzi contain eight ensemble characters who are living in their society. Digby is involved in most of the intermezzi. “For Steve’s concept,” Digby says, “all of the characters in this play are affected by the world and they affect the world around them.” Each ensemble character has their own story, and even though they are not written into the script they are all weaving through the world of A Number alongside the four main characters. The intermezzi bring additional details and questions into the themes of the play.

Is there a takeaway about cloning that we ultimately learn from A Number? “It is a very controversial topic that still sounds like science fiction,” Frank answered, “but the truth is you can go online and pay 50,000 dollars to have your dog cloned. It’s just where the science is at this point.” He continues, “It just keeps progressing and progressing so there is a lot of work involved. I think to have [cloning] in this moment as science aggressively pushes forward with this topic, in this world, at this time adds so much more power to the original piece.”

A NUMBER runs November 2-12, 2017. Tickets are available by calling the Staller Center box office at (631) 632-2787.

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 7 years

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An interview with A NUMBER Director Steve Marsh

Recently we sat down with Professor Steve Marsh to discuss the upcoming Theatre Arts Department production of A NUMBER by Caryl Churchill. The production deals with issues of genetic cloning, individuality versus our genetic blueprint (commonly known as “nature vs. nurture”) and how early childhood experiences, especially traumatic ones, can shape an individual’s adult personality.

“This is a play that has been designed as a two person play that has four characters,” Marsh explained. “But we wanted a lot of students to be involved. I thought this was a perfect play for a director to put a little something on to it.” His creative concept was to add devised “intermezzi,” or small wordless scenes that happen between the written scenes in the script, to this production. Devised with the student actors, these vignettes of the world that may be happening outside the main action of the play help explain the exposition and the larger questions implicit in the script by Churchill.

Marsh has been involved with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science where he taught improvisation for scientists, in order for them to become better communicators. He’s become fascinated with scientists and the intersection of science and art. “They’re two sides of the same coin,” he explains. “Scientists and artists both want to know how the world works. When we put on a play, we’re actually doing an experiment.” Theater is a laboratory for us in the arts. When scientists are allowed to be creative, that’s when they come up with innovative solutions. That’s the intersection. Both artists and scientists have to listen to each other because their intentions are the same - to make the world a better place.

A NUMBER runs November 2-12, 2017. Tickets are available by calling the Staller Center box office at (631) 632-2787.

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 7 years

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A NUMBER’s Set Designer Jian Jung.

I sat down the other day with Professor Jian Jung, the Set & Costume Designer for A Number by Caryl Churchill that is being produced by the SBU Theatre Arts Department opening November 2nd. Since A Number deals with human cloning and the questions surrounding individuality and “nature vs. nurture,” the design concept was a challenge – but a good challenge.

“The most interesting thing to me in the play A Number was creating the play as a science fiction fantasy situation injected into the reality of real people’s mundane life,” said Jung. “A good science fiction makes us think about real life, good fantasy makes us think about reality, and good futuristic science fiction makes us think about the present. A Number is about fake humans, or cloned humans. This makes us think about real humans. The play asks us questions like, ‘What is a real human? What is the nature of real humans? What is the condition of real humans? What does it mean that humans exist? What is the definition of real life?’ We think about these questions because the play is talking about a science fiction situation. This is what makes the play interesting.”

For the set design in A Number, Professor Jung wanted to create a very average and mundane real place, like a residential environment, that somehow feels like a science experiment observed by other people. She created a normal living room on top of a white glowing platform that is surrounded by the audience on all sides. The purpose of this was to make the conversation between the father and son feel like mice in the science lab. The audience will feel like they are looking at a normal conversation, but they would also feel like they are looking at a science experiment at the same time.

Although the script by Churchill is written for four people played by two actors, the director, Steve Marsh, had a brilliant idea to add eight more people to the ensemble to create more of an environment for these main characters. After Professor Marsh added more people into the ensemble, they found that the show became much more vibrant and richer. The ensemble helps create the environment for each of the scenes. Sometimes they are scientists who are manipulating this world, sometimes they are three people surrounding the main characters but are also being manipulated by the world.

Professor Jung wanted the characters to look as mundane and normal as possible. Her idea was to make an ensemble a flexible element of the show, sometimes scientists or citizens, sometimes real humans or fake humans so they can carry the show from beginning to end. She says that challenges are the fun part of the job because without challenges there is no fun. Design is always about meeting the challenge and solving it.

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Andrew Padovano is a Junior at Stony Brook University. Although he mainly studies art history, digital media, and technology, he enjoys participating in Theatre Arts. This is his first year as a member of the Stony Brook University Theatre Marketing Team.

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 7 years

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A NUMBER

The Theatre Arts Department of Stony Brook starts off its new season with an exciting play: A NUMBER.

Theater 1 as it looks now, before A NUMBER.

A NUMBER, written by Caryl Churchill in 2002, deals with the concept of human cloning. In this dark drama, a son confronts his emotionally-distant father and learns a horrifying truth about himself. The play explores the significance of individually and early environmental influences in early childhood development, commonly called “nature vs. nurture”.

The play is directed by Professor Steve Marsh, who in addition to teaching Acting and Improvisation in the Department of Theatre Arts is also an associate at the Alan Alda Center of Communicating Science. Professor Marsh has led “a number” of communicating science workshops in improvisation and message design to hundreds of scientists at leading universities and science organizations across the country.

Professor Steve Marsh, director of A NUMBER

“A NUMBER is one of my favorite plays written for two actors,” Marsh said recently. “Our production will create a number of intermezzos, or choreographed scenes, with a creative ensemble of student actors that brings the drama into the realm of science fantasy. Churchill’s play was inspired by issues of the morality and ethics of cloning; and while I love having the opportunity to bring science-related plays into the theatre, ultimately, at the core of this play is an intense, frightening and theatrical human drama.“

The concept of “cloning” is at the heart of the play. In biology, cloning is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue, and does not refer to the natural conception and delivery of identical twins. As would be expected, the possibility of human cloning has raised a tremendous deal of controversy, and these ethical concerns have prompted several nations to pass laws regarding human cloning and its legality.

Another topic is addressed in A NUMBER is the “nature vs. nurture” debate.Why are we the way we are? If I were raised in a different environment would I be someone else? Is a person’s development genetically predicted in his DNA, or are the influences of his life experiences and his environment more important than his genes? This play raises many issues that force people to think about the serious social issues that surround ideas about human cloning as well as “nature vs. nurture” and the importance of good parenting in early childhood development.

A NUMBER will be held in Theater 1 at the Staller Center for the Arts.

We look forward to you joining us November 2 – 12

Ruowen Xu is a Stony Brook University Senior student majoring in Economics.

Although she specializes in mathematics, data analysis, and financial accounting, she loves her classes in Theatre Arts. This is her second semester as part of the Stony Brook’s Theatre Arts Marketing team.

#SBUTheatreArts ANUMBER #submission

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 7 years

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 7 years

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Student New Works Festival: At The Table

Written by Jessica DiPaola

Stony Brook University’s Department of Theatre Arts will be hosting their 2nd Annual Student New Works Festival this weekend. Student New Works is a collection of plays and theatrical pieces that is created and performed by students. One of the student directors for this year’s festival is Kristen Spencer who directed her piece called At The Table.

I spoke with Kristen Spencer in between her rehearsals about the production and herself. She says that her interest in theatre has always been there, and that she has been “doing theatre since [she] was 8 years old.” Her plans after she graduates from Stony Brook University are to go straight to graduate school. Spencer has already applied to Yale, Hunter, NYU, and Columbia, and she plans on getting her MFA so she can teach. “I would like to teach playwriting & play analysis in terms of black theatre artists.”

We spoke about what her piece, At The Table, is really about. “At The Table is about three women specifically, and the audience walks into their moment of clarification about what has happened to them before they came to the table for the last time.” Spencer refers to the opening line of the play, “the last time I was at the table I left ravenous,” and what that means in terms of the underlying metaphor of the piece. “The last time you came [to the table], you ate something that wasn’t edible. You wanted to gain something from it but didn’t know how.”

“When I came to Stony Brook I experienced things I never thought I would experience in my lifetime… and it was not so nourishing.” Kristen Spencer relates the metaphor of the piece to how everyone experiences something that they are not preparing for, but the important part is how you deal with it and the issues that surround it. “I gained something from an experience that was so hard to digest. You can’t exchange your plate, you are here experiencing this, you are part of this world. At the end of the day, if you starve, you are depriving yourself of so many other experiences you could have. At The Table is about resiliency, it’s about eating for your life, because you have no other choice.”

I asked Kristen Spencer what her experience was like working with her peers in the Student New Works Festival. “I love it. Ken has really shaped this to be a festival experience, we meet every week with everybody in the group and talk about the projects.” [Kenneth Weitzman is an assistant professor of dramatic writing at Stony Brook University in the Department of Theatre Arts. He is currently overseeing the Student New Works Festival as a whole.] “There’s a benefit in learning from our peers. The fact that we’re all artists and have our own point of views, we respect each other, but give necessary feedback to make sure the piece doesn’t go out of control or go into ‘crazy town.’” Although the directors are not working together on a certain project, Spencer describes the collective as “one entity.” “If I needed feedback I could ask anyone and they would be honest with me. It’s not about just you, it’s about how your work is portrayed on stage to other people.”

Finally, I asked Kristen if she believes her audience will “eat or starve?” She laughed, “That’s up to them!” She talks about her worries at the beginning of the rehearsal process, concerned with the possibility of the metaphors not connecting with certain audiences. “Some people will understand there’s a deeper meaning and others will have the meaning fly over their heads. If the audience goes in with a mindset that ‘I’m here to take something with me,’ then they will find the metaphor.”

“You don’t have to experience trauma to understand sadness, you don’t have to experience heartbreak to understand broken. Everyone will come in and take something away from the piece.”

The performance dates for At The Table are Saturday, April 29th at 7:00pm and Sunday, April 30th at 2:30pm and 9:00pm in the Staller Center, Room 3002. Tickets are currently available at the Staller Center Box Office.

Jessica DiPaola [[email protected]] is a Theatre Arts Major at Stony Brook University. She is also interested in film & video production, as well as photography. She plans on pursuing a career in voice acting after she graduates.

#sbu #stony brook #stony brook university #student new works festival #snwf #sbu snwf #sbusnwf #sbu thr #sbuthr #theatre arts #at the table

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sbutheatrearts-blog · 7 years

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Student New Works Festival: A Nelsonville Tale

Written by Amanda Hanley

A Nelsonville Tale is a short one act movement-based theatre piece written and directed by Yu “Fish” Cui for Stony Brook’s Student New Works Festival. Yu Cui, aka Fish, is a graduating senior at SBU. Fish plans to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and be a part of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Her SNWF piece focuses on sexual abuse, and how the victims deal with the trauma. She felt that a lot of television and artistic work focus too much on the police cases and not on the victims. A Nelsonville Tale highlights this horrific experience through the mind of the victim, and places the audience in the mind of the abused.

Fish got her inspiration from the Grimm’s fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. While the piece is very modern, and showcases life and events in today’s society, there are subtle nods to the original fairy tale. For instance, the main character’s name is Ruby (Played by Xi “Cissy” Ge), and the villain is named Mr. Wolf (voiced by Tyler Plaskon). There are many other subtle nods to the fairy tale as well.

A Nelsonville Tale is very movement heavy, and a lot of the story is told through sound, movement, and lighting. Actors will come out in morph suits and get very close to the audience. Similarly, actors sit with the audience and goad them into teasing the victim, showcasing the peer pressure of society. This unique staging makes the audience experience the PTSD and the distancing of the victim firsthand. Also, this piece is special in that it features an all-female cast. Mr. Wolf is just a voiceover played through speakers. The sound is played in a variety of places, thus keeping an air of mystery, fear, and suspense.

The SNWF runs from April 27-30, 2017 and A Nelsonville Tale will be performed Thursday, April 27th at 9pm, Friday, April 28th at 9pm, and Saturday April 29th at 4pm. Tickets for A Nelsonville Tale can be purchased at the Staller Box Office. We hope to see you there!

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Amanda Hanley [[email protected]] is a sophomore Theatre Arts Major, Chemistry Minor, on the Pre-Med track. She has been marketing for the Department of Theatre Arts for a year now, and is currently the Marketing Manager for Spring Awakening and A Nelsonville Tale. She has previously been seen in Pocket Theatre’s Cabaret, and will be seen in The SNWF piece Hunger.

#stony brook university #sbu #student new works festival #sbusnwf #snwf #a nelsonville tale

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