Celebrities and MORE STABILIZERS!

Jacob Ward – Franklin Fine Arts

Greetings and salutations again, dear reader!  Here’s the skinny on what’s been happening this week in the life of Jacob Ward!

At Franklin Fine Arts

This week was parent teacher conferences (not that exciting in the art room… the whole operation was open-house style with about six parents stopping in the timespan of 11 AM – 4 PM.) but I managed to spend some of that downtime researching and reprogramming Ms. Koreman’s kiln to be able to fuse glass as well as fire ceramics.  Other exciting things this week were the new projects we started!!!

The portfolio class set aside to help students get into arts high schools began working on self-portraits so I had to make an exemplar for the students to look at.  Not too shabby for 20 minutes of work.  2^nd grade had an off-day after finishing their Oaxaca animal project so they got a chance to build towers using cardboard slats that Ms. Koreman keeps for just such occasions.  The funniest moment of the day was when one student, whose mother is an architect, noticed his group’s tower was starting to fall and he started yelling to the other 2^nd graders “WE NEED MORE STABILIZERS!!!”  Definitely not a phrase you hear out of every 2^nd grader, but totally brilliant.

In Chicago

This week was all about Mount Union friendship time starting with a trip to The Second City comedy studios for an original musical sketch show with former fellow Raider, Cory Merriman.  That was followed by a Sunday afternoon adventure with Mount Union Chicago Semester Intern, Lauren Klonowski, to one of the famous “Before I Die” walls.  It’s located within walking distance from Canterbury Apartments… I won’t tell you the exact address because that would take the fun out of the hunt, but I will tell you it’s on Sedgewick Street.

Additional adventures included going to Story Club Chicago’s monthly south-side storytelling event where people just get up on stage and tell stories based on the month’s theme. The most memorable story was from an older woman who stepped up to the mic for the first time to tell her own life story of growing up in the Philippines during WWII.  If you can’t make it to the event, it’s broadcast live on WLPN every month.

I saw a killer adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 at Steppenwolf, home to ensemble member Tracy Letts who happens to be the husband of Mount Union alum Carrie Coon (Gone Girl & HBO’s The Leftovers).  Once again being a Saint has paid off… I had a third row seat FOR FREE!!!  Like I said, 1984 was great but the real gem this weekend was Burning Bluebeard at The Den Theater.  Words cannot describe how incredible this show was (this is the 3^rd year it has been resurrected if that is any indication of how popular it is).  The show, a tragedy about the disastrous fire at Chicago’s Iroquois Theater that killed 600 people and changed fire code/safety precautions for theaters across the nation, was brought to life by the least expected type of performers: clowns.  A tragedy performed by clowns… may sound odd but it works, it works really well.  The Ruffians (the acting troupe) are comprised of trained clowns, tumblers, and acrobats and if for some reason Burning Bluebeard doesn’t return next season, make any effort to find out what they are doing and go see one of their shows!

BONUS:  I saw Bluebeard on opening night so there was this super high energy and representatives of the press all over.  Also in attendance were familiar faces (celebrities in my mind) from other shows I’ve seen including the actress who played Miss Buncle in Miss Buncle’s Book and two of the actors from Story of a Story: The Untold Story. Totally radical evening all around!

Until next time, peace out!