Christine Howe

Puppet Show Reflection

I connected with this project through love of analyzing works of art and liked that it gave
me a chance to take on a leadership role in a theatrical situation that I have never experienced
before. Last semester at DHS I analyzed ​The Poisonwood Bible ​for a class and found that I
really enjoy digging into texts and finding new meanings, hidden messages and metaphors that
the author placed for the readers to find. During this project we did some of that with
Shakespeare’s works, which I have never really gone in depth with before. Some of this
analyzing was finding ways for it to fit into the blocking and themes of an onstage production,
which was also something that stretched me as a leader. I had never before done anything with
theater, and I really enjoyed being able to experience that kind of creativity and interpreting a
script. Some of my best moments as a leader were those when I used initiative and
resourcefulness to learn how to use new software even though I was not in that role in the class.
I am proud that I took action to accomplish some of the things that were not getting done, and
proud that I did not have to constantly go to a teacher or another student to tell me what to do.

This project was difficult in many ways, mostly because I felt I was not getting the
support and collaboration that I needed from my peers. Though I am very grateful that this
project stretched me as a leader and pushed me to take more initiative and do efficient and
beautiful work, I also felt that I was doing the all work that was meant to be distributed
throughout an entire class of students. Towards the end of the project I was feeling very
stressed and flustered, which was challenging and did not help me make progress towards the
end goal. As we were nearing the exhibition date, there were many things that were not finished
that needed to be done. I feel that this was an instance where I had to persevere through
something difficult, utilizing an acessive amount of adaptability. A few days before the exhibition,
we still did not have all of the puppets made; I felt that continuing to use the software we were
using was not an effective use of our time because we were not familiar enough with it. So, me
and some of my peers started making puppets by cutting them out by hand to account for the
minimal time we had remaining. By adapting to this situation, we got all the puppets done in
time by persevering through the situation.

I grew and learned many things about myself and working with others during this project;
most prominently, I learned that as a leader I need to work on effective communication and
collaboration with my peers and to not be afraid to make it clear what needs to be done. During
this project, I feel that I did not use my leadership role to the extent that I could have. I was
afraid to tell my friends and peers what they needed to do, not wanting to seem to bossy. In
retrospect, I think that pushing myself to find a way to do it would have made the project much
less stressful for myself and everyone else that was a part of it. Doing this would have allowed
everyone in the class to be more on the same page and understand what had been done and
what still needed to be done to achieve our goal.

I talked about this a little bit already, but I think I grew in my ability to adapt to the
situation and use my sense of responsibility to get something done. Referring back to the first
 Christine Howe

and second paragraphs, I had to use this a lot during the last bit of the project when we were
trying to get around technology barriers. In the past, I might not have tried to solve this problem
at all, instead expecting a teacher or another one of my peers to figure it out for me. There was
always a net to catch me if something wasn’t working in middle school. However, during this
project I felt much more responsibility attached to the puppet show and it made me want
everything to work out without having someone else fix it for me. Therefore when something
was not going as planned in this project, I tried to figure it out myself instead of running to
someone else to tell me how to fix it.

After studying some of Shakespeare’s works I have multiple theories as to why his works
are still celebrated and obsessed over. I think that his stories gave the basis to most of the
stories that are written today. I can think of numerous stories that are based of off “Romeo and
Juliet” and so many of his other plays. I think people see his works as the basis of modern
storytelling. I also think that the way he shapes our language into such a beautiful work of art
unlike any other pulls people in. There is something fascinating about the way he molds our
language into something that is so hard to understand at first glance and has so many layers
and meanings to it. Another thing that causes people to gravitate towards his art even after 400
years is that it is relatable to so many people. In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, though it may
not be as deep as some of his other plays, there are many metaphors and messages that can
be connected and related to our everyday lives. The same is true for “Romeo and Juliet”. No
one can forget their first love!

Overall, I am glad that I was a part of this project, and am proud and grateful for the part
that I played in it. I learned a lot about myself, working with others, creating a production, and so
many other things!
 Christine Howe

Puppet Show Reflection

I connected with this project through love of analyzing works of art and liked that it gave
me a chance to take on a leadership role in a theatrical situation that I have never experienced
before. ​Last semester at DHS I analyzed ​The Poisonwood Bible f​ or a class and found that I
really enjoy digging into texts and finding new meanings, hidden messages and metaphors that
the author placed for the readers to find. During this project we did some of that with
Shakespeare’s works, which I have never really gone in depth with before.​ ​Some of this
analyzing was finding ways for it to fit into the blocking and themes of an onstage production,
which was also something that stretched me as a leader. I had never before done anything with
theater, and I really enjoyed being able to experience that kind of creativity and interpreting a
script.​ Some of my best moments as a leader were those when I used initiative and
resourcefulness to learn how to use new software even though I was not in that role in the class.
I am proud that I took action to accomplish some of the things that were not getting done, and
proud that I did not have to constantly go to a teacher or another student to tell me what to do.

This project was difficult in many ways, mostly because I felt I was not getting the
support and collaboration that I needed from my peers.​ ​Though I am very grateful that this
project stretched me as a leader and pushed me to take more initiative and do efficient and
beautiful work, I also felt that I was doing the all work that was meant to be distributed
throughout an entire class of students. ​Towards the end of the project I was feeling very
stressed and flustered, which was challenging and did not help me make progress towards the
end goal. As we were nearing the exhibition date, there were many things that were not finished
that needed to be done. I feel that this was an instance where I had to persevere through
something difficult, utilizing an acessive amount of adaptability. ​A few days before the exhibition,
we still did not have all of the puppets made; I felt that continuing to use the software we were
using was not an effective use of our time because we were not familiar enough with it​. So, me
and some of my peers started making puppets by cutting them out by hand to account for the
minimal time we had remaining. By adapting to this situation, we got all the puppets done in
time by persevering through the situation.

I grew and learned many things about myself and working with others during this project;
most prominently, I learned that as a leader I need to work on effective communication and
collaboration with my peers and to not be afraid to make it clear what needs to be done.​ ​During
this project, I feel that I did not use my leadership role to the extent that I could have. I was
afraid to tell my friends and peers what they needed to do, not wanting to seem to bossy. ​In
retrospect, I think that pushing myself to find a way to do it would have made the project much
less stressful for myself and everyone else that was a part of it. Doing this would have allowed
everyone in the class to be more on the same page and understand what had been done and
what still needed to be done to achieve our goal.
 Christine Howe

I talked about this a little bit already, but I think I grew in my ability to adapt to the
situation and use my sense of responsibility to get something done.​ ​Referring back to the first
and second paragraphs, I had to use this a lot during the last bit of the project when we were
trying to get around technology barriers. In the past, I might not have tried to solve this problem
at all, instead expecting a teacher or another one of my peers to figure it out for me. There was
always a net to catch me if something wasn’t working in middle school.​ However, during this
project I felt much more responsibility attached to the puppet show and it made me want
everything to work out without having someone else fix it for me. Therefore when something
was not going as planned in this project, I tried to figure it out myself instead of running to
someone else to tell me how to fix it.

After studying some of Shakespeare’s works I have multiple theories as to why his works
are still celebrated and obsessed over.​ I think that his stories gave the basis to most of the
stories that are written today. ​I can think of numerous stories that are based of off “Romeo and
Juliet” and so many of his other plays. I think people see his works as the basis of modern
storytelling. ​I also think that the way he shapes our language into such a beautiful work of art
unlike any other pulls people in.​ There is something fascinating about the way he molds our
language into something that is so hard to understand at first glance and has so many layers
and meanings to it.​ ​Another thing that causes people to gravitate towards his art even after 400
years is that it is relatable to so many people.​ In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, though it may
not be as deep as some of his other plays, there are many metaphors and messages that can
be connected and related to our everyday lives. The same is true for “Romeo and Juliet”. No
one can forget their first love!

Overall, I am glad that I was a part of this project, and am proud and grateful for the part
that I played in it. I learned a lot about myself, working with others, creating a production, and so
many other things!