Shakespeare on the Island

Photo 1: Cairo Derdevanis (left) and Jessica Lundy-Paine as Oberon and Puck, respectively.

Photo 2: Sam Brodnitz (far left) as Bottom, performing as the other members of the acting troupe look on.

Photo 3: Daniel Kemp (left), Brooke Anderson (center), and Gabriel Lima (right) as Demetrius, Helena, and Lysander; respectively.

Shakespeare on the Island

By Miguel Gamalinda

From the May 13, 2011 edition of the Alameda Sun

The mystic art of any play written by William Shakespeare has always been one of the most performed and appreciated forms of live theatre. For hundreds of years, Shakespeare's works have been read countless times, to where many already know the final outcome. Despite this, audiences continue to be entranced by the mystery in his works.

Recently in Alameda, one of Shakespeare's most-renowned comedies opened at the Altarena Playhouse: A Midsummer Night's Dream, produced by Alameda Children's Musical Theatre (ACMT). Midsummer discusses what people in real life have to deal with on a daily basis, such as love's trials and tribulations. Midsummer also delves into the world of fantasy and mystery, in the form of a group of troublesome fairies delighting in causing problems for the humans in the show.

Playing the king of these mischievous fairies is 11-year-old Cairo Derdevanis, a sixth-grader at St. Joseph's Elementary School. Derdevanis, who also played Captain von Trapp in ACMT's The Sound of Music last November, portrays the character of King Oberon with the regal, seriousness and intimidation required of a king. However, she also brings out Oberon's light and humorous side many times throughout the entire play, in particular, a hilarious lyp-synch to Ray Charles' "I've Put a Spell On You."

Accompanying Oberon in his misadventures is his trusty servant and jester Puck, played by Jessica Lundy-Paine, a seventh-grader at the Oakland School for the Arts.

Lundy-Paine's Puck is a willing servant to Oberon, though not always accurately completing his tasks.

The role of Titania, Oberon's queen, is played by Sarah Nunn, an accomplished actress who shows the seemingly more level-headed side of the fairy's royalty. As Titania, Nunn seems to be the "real" leader of the fairies, seemingly preferring to associate with the the population of the fairies than getting involved with her king's schemes. Accompanying Oberon, Puck and Titania is an ensemble of eight fairies ranging from age five through 11 who elegantly and gracefully perform multiple dance numbers throughout the play.

Of course, a Shakespeare play isn't a Shakespeare play unless there's a little love triangle involved, or in this case, a love "square" of sorts. This refers to the four "lovers" in Midsummer, who see the aforementioned trials and tribulations of love with their own eyes. These lovers are known as Helena, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius; and are played in that respective order by Brooke Anderson, Tatum Anderson, Gabriel Lima and Daniel Kemp.

Being a Shakespeare comedy, there have to be characters that make fools of themselves throughout the show, and in Shakespeare's mind, there was no better way to incorporate this into the play than to include a troupe of hilariously bad actors, portrayed by excellent actors who are serious about theatre. This troupe of bad actors who think they're great continually try to rehearse a play within the play in hopes of being able to perform for King Theseus, however, they are interrupted when the fairies decide to cause mischief again. Definitely standing out among these actors is ten year-old Sam Brodnitz, who plays Bottom/Pyramus.

Brodnitz, who has been acting for a long time, brings a large amount of energy and character into his role, and his portrayal of the overdramatic Bottom is definitely unforgettable.

Overall, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fantastic show for all audiences and it is heartwarming to see these performers of all ages working together in a shared passion.

A Midsummer Night's Dream was is believed by most to have been written between 1590 and 1596. ACMT's production of Midsummer is directed by Sarah Kraft. Midsummer runs through Saturday, May 14, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on May 13 and 14 and a matinee at 2 p.m. on May 14. For more information and for tickets, visit ACMT's website at www.acmtkids.org, call 510-521-6965, or send an email to acmtkids@gmail.com.

Miguel Gamalinda is a musical theatre actor who recently appeared in "Pippin," "Little Shop of Horrors," and "The Sound of Music." He is currently scheduled to appear in Berkeley Playhouse's upcoming production of Seussical, and is a graduate of Island High School.

[NOTE: This article has been revised since its original publication]

BEES SWARM THE THEATRE

Photo 1: Kit Asa-Hauser as Young Oleta and Donald Hardy as Francis

Photo 2: Melissa Keith and Kit Asa-Hauser as Adult and Young Oleta

Photos courtesy Virago Theatre Company

BEES SWARM THE THEATRE

Virago's Beekeeper Opens March 18

By Miguel Gamalinda

When you think of Colony Collapse Disorder, which is a phenomenon in which a number of worker bees disappear from their hive without any explanation, you don’t necessarily think of a live theatre performance, do you? In most circumstances, I don’t, and I’m a theatre actor myself. However, that’s not what Jennifer Lynne Roberts thought when she managed to fuse together the two subjects into an original play titled Beekeeper, which makes it’s world premiere on Friday, March 18 right here in Alameda by the Virago Theatre Company.

Taking place in a fluctuating timeline, Beekeeper’s time setting changes from scene to scene in non-chronological order, often switching through different events between 1994 and 2009. Both settings deal with the trials and tribulations of Oleta Broadbent, the central character of the show. Due to the constantly changing time period, Oleta is many ages during this show, and is portrayed by two actresses, one as a child and another as an adult. Approximately eight years old in the 1994 timeline, Oleta is a child that is in many ways different from “normal” (Whatever that means…) children of her age. Oleta shows a deep fascination with the daily lives of her father Francis’ honeybees, to the point where she ends up feeling comfortable enough to talk to them as if they were able to understand what she was saying. This behavior doesn’t go unnoticed by Daniel, one of her classmates, resulting in him labeling Oleta as a “freak” which in turn brings devastating consequences. Both the fascination with bees and the devastating consequences of her childhood carry Oleta to approximately 2009, where she is now planning to move far away from home to study and analyze the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder. However, she finds out that her father Francis has died from injuries resulting from his falling off a ladder, forcing her to return. It’s here where she is greeted by her incredibly humorous and cursing-prone Uncle Bob and her authoritative (At least to Uncle Bob) but loving Aunt Ida, who is constantly fed up with her husband‘s cursing problem (His “art“ he proclaims). Both are present to comfort Oleta and take care of Francis’ remaining affairs.

The six-member cast includes Melissa Keith as Adult Oleta, Kit Asa-Hauser as Young Oleta, Donald L. Hardy as Francis, George McRae (AEA-affiliated) as Uncle Bob, Sandi Rubay as Aunt Ida, and Julian Lafferty as Daniel. Understudying the role of Young Oleta is Trixie Klein.

The show features both many comedic and emotionally powerful moments, and all moments are portrayed by six fantastic actors who portray all emotions in a way that easily makes audience members laugh and cry in the right places. In particular, Asa-Hauser and Keith as Oleta and Hardy as Francis bring much emotion and power to their characters that you feel every bit of it from the audience. McRae and Rubay, Uncle Bob and Aunt Ida, respectively, seem to serve more as the “comic relief” of the show, as evidenced by the light bickering that all old married couples are stereotyped to do. However, Aunt Ida is also sometimes critical of Francis‘ methods of raising his daughter, trying to say that Oleta should be more of a “mainstream” child than the “different” child she is. Also represented is the all too common fact that children can be extremely cruel to those they consider to not fit in and conform to what is considered to be “normal” (By the way, has anyone found out what that means yet?). Beekeeper also addresses the very important social issue of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which as of now, still remains a completely mystery. Almost everything related to the bees that happens in the show is also occurring in our very own lives. The show offers a possible explanation to the mysteries of CCD through thinking of it in a different way than most have seen it as. In any case, whatever the cause may be, Colony Collapse Disorder is affecting our lives in so many ways. Nearly all of our grown food is pollinated by bees, and without bees to pollinate the crops, there would no more grown food left. Essentially, we can’t exist without bees.

Beekeeper makes its world premiere at 8 p.m. on March 18 at Rhythmix Cultural Works, located at 2513 Blanding Ave. in Alameda. The show was written by Jennifer Lynne Roberts, is produced by the Virago Theatre Company, and is directed by Laura Lundy-Paine, also the company’s Artristic Director. Also on the show's production staff are Julie Gillespie for Set and Prop design, Ryan Lee Short for Sound Design, Lyrica Tyree for Light Design, and Jennifer Gough for Costume Deisgn.

The show runs through April 2, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. and on Thursdays at 7 p.m. Please note that there is no performance on Friday, April 1. General admission is $25 and Student/Seniors Admission is $20.

All in all, the Virago Theatre Company has produced a fabulous and amazing premiere production of this original and captivating story that has audiences sitting on the edges of their seats with their eyes peeled throughout the whole show. It’s extremely difficult to believe that it’s already intermission when it comes.

Miguel Gamalinda is a musical theatre actor who has recently appeared as Mr. Mushnik in “Little Shop of Horrors” and Captain von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.” He is currently scheduled to play the title role of Pippin in Berkeley Playhouse’s upcoming production of “Pippin” this May and is a graduate of Island High School in Alameda.

My Letter to the Cast of ACMT's "The Sound of Music"

November 21, 2010

Dear Fellow Austrians (And some Germans…),

Tonight we come to the grand finale of what I hope has been the most exciting, thrilling; and, most importantly, fun experiences that each and every one of us here has had. Tonight’s celebration is a bittersweet one: We’re proud and happy that all our efforts have successfully carried us to this point, yet we’re saddened at the sudden and abrupt end of it all. It always seems as if it were way too soon. I’m sure that I’m not the only person in this room that wishes we could go at least just one more weekend, just so we don’t have to part ways so soon. This is both the best and worst thing about theatre: It’s always temporary, and no matter what has to be done onstage, be it extremely difficult or simple, saying goodbye is always the hardest part.

Just like a journey that includes “climbing every mountain” or “fording every stream,” on September 25 we all embarked on our own unique journey as an ensemble together. It began small with just a simple read-through of the show with our scripts, and it slowly “blossomed and grew” into what we ended up with just hours ago on the Altarena stage. Looking back, I think I speak for everyone here that we are extremely proud and, in a way, surprised at how far we were able to go in such little time. It’s still extremely hard for me to believe that all this happened in just under two months, despite having experienced it many times before. None of this could have happened without the effort put in by each and every one of us in this room. To have had the honor to work with such a strong cast, crew, and production staff has really been a treat to me. This is easily no doubt the best cast that I have ever performed in and will always hold a special place in my heart. This production is definitely one of my “favorite things,” thanks to everyone’s effort here. And there is no doubt in my mind that each and every one of us has grown in some way because of our involvement in this show.

Tomorrow, as we continue on with our regular lives, we’ll probably still have on our mind our experiences from this show, and the post-show sadness will more likely than not be on our minds still (I know it will be on mine!). Just remember that the sadness will disappear over time, but the pleasant memories will always remain with us. Based off of these memories alone, I am eagerly looking forward to being cast in a show with every one of you again, and the cycle will once again start. To speak for myself, I’m going to miss you guys dearly and sorely when I wake up tomorrow.

Until then, “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu.”

“But only for now,” of course.

Miguel “Captain von Trapp” Gamalinda

Memoir - Summer 2010

"All good things must come to an end." It's a saying that has been quoted many, many times throughout history, and right is no exception. Tonight marks the official end of Summer Vacation 2010. Sure, we still have Saturday and Sunday, but those don't really count. For some of us, this day had already come and gone, many of you have already returned to the hell that is known as S.C.H.O.O.L. (Six Crappy Hours of Our Lives).

For myself, June 11 marked the coming home from my latest "Tour of Duty." The well-famed day that everyone excitedly looks forward to had finally arrived: The Last Day of School. As I rode away from school on my bike that day, I remembered eagerly awaiting another great day: June 21, the day that I started my second (And sadly, final) year with Stage Door Conservatory's Teens on Stage ensemble. I had previously participated in Stage Door's 2009 Teens production of "Grease," and I was extremely excited to be returning to take part in this year's production: "Chicago." Unfortunately, that was a whole ten days wait between the end of school and the beginning of Stage Door, tens days that I had no idea how I would keep myself busy. As it so happened, it turned out to actually be a quite interesting week indeed. Just five days after school ended, I got hired at my first job as a Field Technician for Dry-Rain, a mobile waterless car cleaning company in Alameda. I was thrilled to have gotten a job, especially in this extreme economic downturn where numerous jobs had been lost.

Then came the day I'd been impatiently waiting for: the first day of TOS. I was overjoyed to return, it felt as if I had been reunited with my family after a long year away. As always, the first couple days were pretty tense, as that is the audition workshop. We auditioned for roles on June 23, and we were cast later that afternoon. Although I had auditioned for the lead, Billy Flynn, I ended up being cast in two roles: The Master of Ceremonies and Harry, in addition, I was also a Swing in which I played a dancer in most of the dance scenes. Although I didn't get the role that I desired, I had fun in this production and, as always, I gave 150% on that stage during our performances. We performed three shows at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley on July 30, 31, and August 1. After our last show was, of course, the cast party. This is where our emotions began to run high. Everybody cried, even the people who attempted to hold back their tears. It was extremely difficult leaving the cast that night, but it had to be done. It's been almost a whole month since then, and my mind is still very much still on Stage Door. I miss my ensemble more than anyone can imagine. I must have watched the video of our opening number at least thirty-five times since it went online. I'm still dealing with the post-show depression right now.

While my mind was extremely on the show after it's closing, I did manage to get a few things accomplished, most notably getting my learners permit. The written test was extremely easy for me to complete, I got thirty-two out of the thirty-six questions on the test correct. A passing score is thirty correct. In the week after, I had since racked up more than 700 miles of driving experience, mostly driving between the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Mendocino County. I seriously would get back from Mendocino and spend about two days in Alameda before driving back out to Sacramento. Needless to say, I've almost mastered the five-speed stickshift, though I have yet to practice driving an automatic.

Two weeks after "Chicago," I returned to Stage Door to assist with crowd control for the On Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie." I was throughly impressed with the production and enjoyed it immensely. Having seen all three of their shows, they definitely improved each night. The end of their last show was also the end of the 2010 Stage Door season, which of course made me very sad.

The two weeks between the end of the Stage Door season and now have been mostly uneventful and boring for me. Sitting around the house doing nothing almost kills me, and this is what I have been mainly doing for the past month when I'm in Alameda, as of course, there is nothing to do here. I've mainly been thinking about how much I will miss Stage Door when I return to Island High on Monday. I am, more of less, an outcast at my school. There are hardly any other students that share the same interests as I do, which makes it difficult for me to function. I always maintain my individual personality, not wanting to "sell out," even though I do suffer socially from it at my school. At least I have the Encinal play, "The Diary of Anne Frank," to look forward to this fall.

So it comes to this: another great summer gone, and a bleak-looking (At least for me) school year lies ahead. All I can say is that I'm glad that I will be out of school by the end of November, after which I don't know what I'll do between the time I graduate and the time I begin college in 2011. Hey, at least I'll be out of Island High, and that I'll be extremely grateful for.

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." – Dr. Seuss

When You're Good to Moka

"When You're Good to Moka"

Music by John Kander

Lyrics by Fred Ebb and Miguel Gamalinda

Sung to the music of When You're Good to Mama from the Broadway Musical Chicago.

(Instrumental for When You're Good to Mama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPndCL16_4U)

Ask any of the members on my site

They'll tell you I'm the admin, big and bright

I abuse them all but all of them love me

Because my method works

My method called

HUGE HYPOCRISY!

Got this little mod style

Always sees us through

When you're good to Moka

Moka's good to you.

There's a lot of bannings

I'm prepared to do

You be good to Moka

Then it won't be you.

They say that sites

Are not all that

That's not the way I live

I don't deserve all of this crap

Of how I never give.

Don't you know that my hands

Warn and ban you too

When you're good to Moka

MOKA WON'T BAN YOU!

If you want your own cave

Kiss my feet then too

Make it nice for Moka

He'll get nice for you.

When we pass on modship

We just don't like you

You get mad at Moka

Moka will ban you.

The mods atop the forum

Are the guys you should adore

So boost our egos up a bit

And we won't go ban your's!

Let's all ban together

We're the Forum Crew

When you're pissing Moka

Moka's banning you!

So what's the one conclusion

I can bring this number to?

When you're good to Moka...

MOKA's GOOD TO YOU!

AUSD Approves Master Plan

AUSD Approves Master Plan
By Miguel Gamalinda
From the March 2010 edition of the Island High School Tiki Times


After months of deliberation, planning, and community input, the Final Draft of the AUSD Master Plan was approved by the Alameda Board of Education on February 23.

The Master Plan is the result of nearly a years worth of effort by the Alameda Unified School District to help curtail spending in the light of the financial situation that has hit the State of California. California has sunk into a $20 Billion budget deficit in recent years, with that number expected to continue to grow. In an effort to close the ever-growing budget gap, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has resorted to drastically reducing spending throughout the state, including funding in all of California’s school districts. The proposed 2010-11 Governor’s budget currently show no significant increase in educational funding within the next few years, forcing Alameda and many other school districts in the State of California to reduce spending in order to stay afloat.

Included in these cuts are the possible closures of one traditional high school, one middle school, and three or more elementary schools, and cuts to arts and other extracurricular programs. According to the AUSD, this would, “severely undermine the quality of our district, the education our students receive and the economy and culture of the Alameda community at large.”

However, there is a light of hope that no cuts will be implemented. Currently, Alameda’s education is not only supported through Federal and State funding, but also through local Measures A and H parcel taxes which impose a small tax on homeowners and businesses to keep the quality of Alameda’s schools as high as possible. Measures A and H, however, are set to expire this year, and a replacement Parcel Tax Measure has been put on the ballot for this June. What occurs in AUSD schools depends on whether or not this Parcel Tax measure passes. To address the uncertainty of this issue, the Master Plan has included two scenarios based on whether or not the Parcel Tax Measure passes.

Scenario A of the Master Plan will be implemented in the event that the Parcel Tax Measure passes at the polls, and will not result in any negative effects on the District. In this scenario, the District will not close any schools or make any cuts to arts and extracurricular programs, and will redesign the District’s Central Office to ensure quality customer service to all students in the District. Scenario A will also raise the bar for academic achievement in the District, and would provide a system of attractive school options in order to better serve the students of the AUSD.

Scenario B of the Master Plan will, however, result in negative affects to the District. These include closing one of the two traditional high schools in the District (Most likely Encinal), one of the two remaining regular middle schools, and three or more elementary schools, re-assigning grade levels in order to maximize capacity to District Schools, and making cuts to arts and other extracurricular activities. Scenario B will also reduce the Central Office to the bare minimum, laying off numerous District Employees in the process. Class sizes will increase to a student-teacher ratio of 32:1 for grades K-6 and 35:1 for grades 7-12. Elementary school would be reassigned Grades K-6, Middle school 7-9, and High school 10-12, and inter-district transfers would be severely reduced to only “even out” class sizes. Up to five instructional days would also be removed from the school year and programs funded through Measures A and H would be eliminated.

Alamedans as a whole are increasingly skeptical of a new tax in the midst of a collapse in the world economy. Many citizens of Alameda are highly against approving any new tax, citing already worsening financial situations as the main root of their platform. The parcel tax will charge $669 a year for a single-family home, $189 a year for apartments and 13 cents per square foot for commercial or vacant buildings, however businesses would not have to pay more than $9,500 a year. Senior citizens will still be eligible for an exemption from the tax. In compliance with California Proposition 13, however, a 66% or 2/3 ‘Yes’ vote supermajority would be required to implement a Parcel Tax, something that will be very hard to achieve in this faltering economy.

At this point, the future of this District boils down to what the voters decide on at the polls this June. Any additional questions or comments regarding the Master Plan or the Parcel Tax can be directed to the Alameda Board of Education. Contact information for all Board Members can be found on the AUSD’s website (http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us).

Alameda Education Depends on Measure E

Alameda Education Depends on Measure E
By Miguel Gamalinda

The City of Alameda has always been unique among cities in the East Bay for it’s “small town”-like atmosphere. Alamedans have always taken pride in this fact, their small population having made many things in this town excellent. One prime example of this is the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD), known for it’s small class sizes, neighborhood elementary schools, and quality education for all of it’s students.

Unfortunately in recent years, funding from the State of California has steadily diminished to it’s current state, rendering the AUSD unable to continue to have provided the level of education that it had provided for many years before. In 2006, due to lack of available funding, three of the AUSD’s West End elementary schools, Longfellow, Woodstock, and Miller, were consolidated into one new elementary school known as Ruby Bridges. This left the AUSD with the eleven functioning elementary schools that are currently serving Alameda students in grades K through 5, along with the three remaining middle schools (To be reduced to two next school year) and the two traditional high schools. State funding, however, is continuing to shrink every year and as a result, Alamedans have turned to local Parcel Tax measures to keep the current AUSD schools open. Measures A and H, both previously approved by Alameda voters, are parcel tax measures that tax residents and businesses in Alameda in order to keep funding for AUSD schools. Both of these parcel tax measures are set to expire in June of 2012, and members of the community have proposed a new parcel tax measure, known as Measure E, in order to keep our schools open. If approved, Measure E would immediately replace both Measures A and H and would continue to fund our increasingly underfunded education system. In order to pass, Measure E would require a 66.6% ‘Yes’ supermajority in compliance with California Proposition 13, which was passed by California voters in 1978 in order to limit property taxation in the State of California. Measure E would tax residential property owners $659 per parcel in Alameda, and would tax $0.13 per square foot for Alameda Businesses, however, those who cannot afford to pay the parcel tax for reasons such as living on Social Security or Fixed Income are permitted to apply for an exemption. According to the AUSD’s website (http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us), exemptions may be granted for property, “(a) owned by one or more persons aged 65 years or older, and (b) which is the owner’s principal place of residence,” known as the Senior Citizen Exemption. Exemptions may also be granted for property, “(a) owned by one or more persons receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability, regardless of age, and (b) which is the owner’s principal place of residence,” known as an SSI Exemption. Without Measure E’s passing, the AUSD is faced with the closure of most elementary schools, at least one middle school, and one high school.

Measure E will not be polled at designated polling places. Instead, orange ballots will be mailed to registered Alameda voters at their homes in the last week of May. These ballots will be primarily mail-in; however a drop-off box will be available at City Hall. (2263 Santa Clara Ave. at Oak St.) The deadline to mail in or drop off your ballot is June 22, 2010.