This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
The middle school fall play production, “The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet,” took Shakespeare into whimsical and hilarious territory in late November.
Directed by Monica Colletti, the wacky retelling of the Bard’s famous tragedy moved the drama ahead several centuries into the late 1980s with dialogue inspired by another beloved composer of rhymes, Dr. Seuss, alluding to some of the author’s most famous stories, such as “The Sneeches” and “Green Eggs and Ham.” The plotting was mostly familiar territory, with Romeo of the cleverly renamed House Monotone (Aditya Dhar, grade 8) falling head over heels for Juliet of the rival House Capitulate (Zahra Budhwani, also grade 8). With both houses in disarray over the affair (and Juliet arranged to be wed to the unbearably narcissistic Paris), the two lovers concoct a plan involving a fake suicide that, as is now known to many, goes spectacularly awry. Along the way, the feuding of the two houses culminates in a sword fight that ends tragically.
This being no ordinary interpretation of Shakespeare, however, much of the material has been lightened up in accordance with the allegorical lessons of Dr. Seuss books. The “poisoned cracker” that Romeo consumes upon seeing apparently (but not actually) dead Juliet was switched for a normal cracker, instead, and the sword fight turned out to not be so deadly after all. In the end, the two families reconcile and, as the saying goes, live happily ever after.
But not before performing a sped-up and highly amusing redux of the entire story. Set designer Paul Vallerga and prop designer Carol Clever created an environment worthy of the humorously affectionate play. Clever also designed the cast’s often garish costumes, which were more than appropriately representative of the time period in which the play took place.
All the while, the student crew of Sneha Bhetanabhotla and Justin Culpepper, both grade 8, and Praveen Batra and Justin Su, both grade 7, made sure the show was smoothly run and free of technical hiccups.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Before their performance at the Harker Concert Series in late September, renowned jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, bassist John Shifflett and rummer Jason Lewis held a master class in the Nichols Hall auditorium to help upper and middle school students improve their musicianship both as individuals and members of a group.
Students gathered around Eigsti as he sat at the piano and offered his advice. When improvising, he told the students, it is good to “leave a little space” so that he can hear what his bandmates are doing and perhaps give them some room to add flourishes of their own.
The upper school jazz band played their rendition of John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” for the trio, who then gave them advice on how to improve, warning them against cutting into one another’s soloing time and advising them to be mindful of signals from their bandmates.
On Oct. 26, the members of the Parker Quartet gave a special master class to Harker music students prior to the quartet’s performance at the Harker Concert Series later that evening, offering advice on both how to improve their individual technique as well as how to play as a more cohesive unit.
Members of the upper school string quartet played portions of a piece they were learning and received pointers on how to bring about the desired emotional impact. Parker Quartet members also sat in with the Harker student musicians as they played through sections of the piece to demonstrate the principles they spoke about.
Parker Quartet violist Jessica Bodner advised the students to interpret the music they played “not so much as a technician but as a musician,” while violinist David McCarroll noted, “There are a lot of very fast changes of character that you could bring out more,” and that the musicians should be “looking for differences of character as much as possible.”
See the full story on both these concerts at the links below.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the 2012 fall play produced by the Harker Conservatory Oct. 25-27, offered a refreshing take on the revered, centuries-old tale of the rotten happenings in the state of Denmark.
Featuring no fewer than five capable actors and actresses in the title role – Cecilia Lang-Ree, Rahul Nalamasu, Hannah Prutton, all grade 12, Jai Ahuja, grade 10, and Namrata Vakkalagadda, grade 11 – director Jeffrey Draper’s take on one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays uniquely depicted Prince Hamlet’s various and often conflicting mental and emotional states; the transitions as each actor handed the role off to the next were interesting and seamless.
Other characters were portrayed by multiple players: Hamlet’s mother, gertrude, was played by Shazdeh Hussain, grade 11, and Cristina Jerney, grade 12; sophomore Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari and junior Ian Richardson were Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and murderer of his father; and Ishanya Anthapur, grade 10, and Apurva Tandon, grade 12, portrayed Ophelia, Hamlet’s would-be lover.
The guileful Polonius, royal counselor and Ophelia’s father, was played by junior Damon Aitken, who brilliantly put across the character’s stately yet playful attitude. In the role of Horatio, Claudia Tischler, grade 11, was more than effective as Hamlet’s best friend and confidant, and the brash, vengeful Laertes was expertly portrayed by Vishal Vaidya, grade 10.
The Saturday matinee show featured an understudy cast that was very warmly received by the afternoon audience. Freshmen Rachel Renteria and Gurutam Thockchom, and sophomores Maya Nandakumar and Simran Singh were stirring as Hamlet, while Aashika Balaji, grade 9, and Madi Lang-Ree, grade 10, had convincing turns as Gertrude. Claudius was well-played by freshmen Dhanush Madabus and MC Smitherman, and Shannon O’Shea and Cordelia Larsen, both grade 9, deftly handled the challenging role of Ophelia. Grade 9 students Rishabh Chandra and Janet Lee were both strong as Polonius and Horatio, respectively.
Paul Vallerga’s set design made clever use of a large video monitor that changed with each setting. Natti Pierce-Thomson’s evocative lighting was also a key feature, particularly in the scenes in which Hamlet speaks with his father’s ghost (played by Justin Gerard, grade 12, also cast as the player king, messenger and priest, and by Kaushik Sankar, grade 9, at the understudy show). They were drenched with red light and intensified by the reverb and bass that boomed throughout the Blackford Theater when the specter spoke.
Eschewing the usual period garb, costume designer Caela Fujii placed the characters in modern attire more befitting a gangster movie, evidence of the transcendent power of the play’s themes of betrayal, revenge and moral conflict. The climactic sword fight sequence was well-choreographed by Kit Wilder, managing director of San Jose’s City Lights Theater.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the 2012 fall play produced by the Harker Conservatory Oct. 25-27, offered a refreshing take on the revered, centuries-old tale of the rotten happenings in the state of Denmark.
Featuring no fewer than five capable actors and actresses in the title role – Cecilia Lang-Ree, Rahul Nalamasu, Hannah Prutton, all grade 12, Jai Ahuja, grade 10, and Namrata Vakkalagadda, grade 11 – director Jeffrey Draper’s take on one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays uniquely depicted Prince Hamlet’s various and often conflicting mental and emotional states; the transitions as each actor handed the role off to the next were interesting and seamless.
Other characters were portrayed by multiple players: Hamlet’s mother, gertrude, was played by Shazdeh Hussain, grade 11, and Cristina Jerney, grade 12; sophomore Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari and junior Ian Richardson were Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and murderer of his father; and Ishanya Anthapur, grade 10, and Apurva Tandon, grade 12, portrayed Ophelia, Hamlet’s would-be lover.
The guileful Polonius, royal counselor and Ophelia’s father, was played by junior Damon Aitken, who brilliantly put across the character’s stately yet playful attitude. In the role of Horatio, Claudia Tischler, grade 11, was more than effective as Hamlet’s best friend and confidant, and the brash, vengeful Laertes was expertly portrayed by Vishal Vaidya, grade 10.
The Saturday matinee show featured an understudy cast that was very warmly received by the afternoon audience. Freshmen Rachel Renteria and Gurutam Thockchom, and sophomores Maya Nandakumar and Simran Singh were stirring as Hamlet, while Aashika Balaji, grade 9, and Madi Lang-Ree, grade 10, had convincing turns as Gertrude. Claudius was well-played by freshmen Dhanush Madabus and MC Smitherman, and Shannon O’Shea and Cordelia Larsen, both grade 9, deftly handled the challenging role of Ophelia. Grade 9 students Rishabh Chandra and Janet Lee were both strong as Polonius and Horatio, respectively.
Paul Vallerga’s set design made clever use of a large video monitor that changed with each setting. Natti Pierce-Thomson’s evocative lighting was also a key feature, particularly in the scenes in which Hamlet speaks with his father’s ghost (played by Justin Gerard, grade 12, also cast as the player king, messenger and priest, and by Kaushik Sankar, grade 9, at the understudy show). They were drenched with red light and intensified by the reverb and bass that boomed throughout the Blackford Theater when the specter spoke.
Eschewing the usual period garb, costume designer Caela Fujii placed the characters in modern attire more befitting a gangster movie, evidence of the transcendent power of the play’s themes of betrayal, revenge and moral conflict. The climactic sword fight sequence was well-choreographed by Kit Wilder, managing director of San Jose’s City Lights Theater.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the 2012 fall play produced by the Harker Conservatory Oct. 25-27, offered a refreshing take on the revered, centuries-old tale of the rotten happenings in the state of Denmark.
Featuring no fewer than five capable actors and actresses in the title role – Cecilia Lang-Ree, Rahul Nalamasu, Hannah Prutton, all grade 12, Jai Ahuja, grade 10, and Namrata Vakkalagadda, grade 11 – director Jeffrey Draper’s take on one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays uniquely depicted Prince Hamlet’s various and often conflicting mental and emotional states; the transitions as each actor handed the role off to the next were interesting and seamless.
Other characters were portrayed by multiple players: Hamlet’s mother, gertrude, was played by Shazdeh Hussain, grade 11, and Cristina Jerney, grade 12; sophomore Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari and junior Ian Richardson were Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and murderer of his father; and Ishanya Anthapur, grade 10, and Apurva Tandon, grade 12, portrayed Ophelia, Hamlet’s would-be lover.
The guileful Polonius, royal counselor and Ophelia’s father, was played by junior Damon Aitken, who brilliantly put across the character’s stately yet playful attitude. In the role of Horatio, Claudia Tischler, grade 11, was more than effective as Hamlet’s best friend and confidant, and the brash, vengeful Laertes was expertly portrayed by Vishal Vaidya, grade 10.
The Saturday matinee show featured an understudy cast that was very warmly received by the afternoon audience. Freshmen Rachel Renteria and Gurutam Thockchom, and sophomores Maya Nandakumar and Simran Singh were stirring as Hamlet, while Aashika Balaji, grade 9, and Madi Lang-Ree, grade 10, had convincing turns as Gertrude. Claudius was well-played by freshmen Dhanush Madabus and MC Smitherman, and Shannon O’Shea and Cordelia Larsen, both grade 9, deftly handled the challenging role of Ophelia. Grade 9 students Rishabh Chandra and Janet Lee were both strong as Polonius and Horatio, respectively.
Paul Vallerga’s set design made clever use of a large video monitor that changed with each setting. Natti Pierce-Thomson’s evocative lighting was also a key feature, particularly in the scenes in which Hamlet speaks with his father’s ghost (played by Justin Gerard, grade 12, also cast as the player king, messenger and priest, and by Kaushik Sankar, grade 9, at the understudy show). They were drenched with red light and intensified by the reverb and bass that boomed throughout the Blackford Theater when the specter spoke.
Eschewing the usual period garb, costume designer Caela Fujii placed the characters in modern attire more befitting a gangster movie, evidence of the transcendent power of the play’s themes of betrayal, revenge and moral conflict. The climactic sword fight sequence was well-choreographed by Kit Wilder, managing director of San Jose’s City Lights Theater.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Upper school English teacher and prolific poet Alexandra Rosenboom’s latest chapbook, “In the Way of Harbors,” was recently accepted for publication by the Chicago-based independent publisher Dancing girl Press. One of the poems in the chapbook, “Reconstruction: Christchurch, New Zealand,” was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize, which is awarded to the best poetry and literature published in small presses. “It’s fairly special and unusual to be nominated for this prize in the poetry world, so I am really thrilled to get the news,” Rosenboom said. The chapbook is scheduled to be available some time between January and April 2013. For more information on the publisher, visit the Dancing girl Press website here, at www.dancinggirlpress.com.
Derek Kameda, upper school registrar, hosted an Advance Placement coordinator workshop at the upper school campus, the first time Harker has hosted such an event. Last year, Kameda joined the College Board’s Consultant Advisory Panel, which provides oversight pertaining to managing and supporting consultants of the College Board. As an Advanced Placement coordinator consultant, he has offered his expertise to AP coordinators to help them improve how they administer AP exams.
Office of Communication writer and novelist DebbieCohen’s book, “Keeper of the Scale,” recently reached the top 100 free downloads for women’s contemporary fiction on Amazon.com. The story follows three women who form a support group to help one another lose weight, but soon learn more about each another than they had originally planned. The Kindle edition of the book is available on Amazon.com.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
The Parker Quartet, the latest in a line of top-flight classical performers to appear at the Harker Concert Series, put bow to string for a packed house at Nichols Hall auditorium on Oct. 26.
The quartet opened with famed minimalist Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres.” First violinist Daniel Chong and violist Jessica Bodner began with the piece’s foreboding harmonies, which were greeted by the cellist Kee-Hyun Kim’s percussive pizzicato, providing an effective, if somewhat violent, contrast to the delicate work of his partners. As second violinist Karen Kim was on sabbatical, David McCarroll served as her replacement that evening, providing a soft, constant hum behind the ominous and sometimes mournful lines.
Astara Marcia commented that the performance was “excellent. I’m a classical musician myself,” said the violist with the Palo Alto Peninsula Pops Orchestra. She also enjoyed the presentation of the event, saying “I’m very impressed. It’s a great way to get people to come back.”
The quartet launched into the evening’s big crowd-pleaser, Franz Schubert’s “String Quartet No. 14,” subtitled “Death and the Maiden,” known to many a listener of chamber music. The quartet took an almost explosive approach to the material, while at the same time allowing themselves plenty of subtlety in the quieter sections. The piece was a great showcase for the musicians’ splendid technique and tight interplay, which the audience met with loud applause.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Taylor Eigsti returned to a sold-out Nichols Hall auditorium on Sept. 28 to kick off the third season of the Harker Concert Series. Performing to a very enthusiastic crowd, the 27-year-old jazz piano phenom again dazzled an audience made up of everyone from budding jazz fans to longtime aficionados.
The slow, lilting chords of Eigsti’s version of the jazz standard “Cheryl” coursed through the auditorium as the show began. The trio soon brought up the volume, and Eigsti gave ample room to his partners to display their knack for tasteful soloing, in addition to showcasing his own immense chops.
For the last song of the first set, a rendition of Kenny Dorham’s “Lotus Blossom,” the trio was joined by Eigsti’s longtime friend and Harker middle school music teacher Dave Hart on trumpet. Hart navigated the songs shifting times and rhythms in seemingly effortless fashion and also showcased his formidable improvisational skills.
During the intermission, guests at the show remarked about the quality of the venue and reception. “It’s wonderful,” said Vickie grove of Portola Valley, a longtime Taylor Eigsti fan who attended last year’s concert. “I love the venue. It’s small. The food is excellent. It’s really fun.”
Among the more emotionally charged pieces performed was “Distressed,” which Eigsti composed for the 2011 film “Detachment,” starring Adrien Brody. Fittingly, Eigsti performed with no accompaniment for this brooding piece, which was at times also dissonant, plodding and atmospheric.
Eigsti finished the show with the uplifting, groove-driven “Magnolia,” whose rousing mid-section and calming final moments drew a well-deserved extended ovation.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Parents Alan Zhang and Lucy Li (Bryan Zhang, grade 4) joined Ram and Ana Duraiswamy (Ashley, grade 5; Kevin, grade 11), along with other Harker parents, for a lovely evening held at the home of Rajeev and Geetha Madhavan on Oct. 18 in Atherton. The Madhavans (Meera, grade 12; Maya, grade 11) hosted the gathering which featured updates on the pending purchase of the Union Avenue campus and the planned addition of a gym and theater complex on the Saratoga campus. The night’s activities also included several pieces performed by an upper school string quartet.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Highlighted in this issue of Harker Quarterly are three generous Harker families who helped take science and technology programming to the next level – with leading donations of one million dollars or more.
The Jain Family
Following a distinguished career in technology, Dr. Navin Jain retired in 1993, with the goal of spending more time with his family and pursuing new levels of spiritual growth. That very year, reflective of his altruistic lifestyle, he and his wife, Madhu, became the first visionary benefactors in Harker’s Cornerstones Campaign to initiate the school’s K-12 expansion.
Today, the Jain Technology Center in Nichols Hall is a treasured resource that capped off years of support from the Jains via both financial gifts and volunteer hours.
Further channeling his passions and expertise, Navin Jain has served as a member of the Harker Board of Trustees and the Parent Technology Advisory Committee. Madhu Jain, meanwhile, has been a familiar face in parent volunteering, helping with classroom support, school pictures, and special events including Grandparents’ Day and the annual fashion show. The Jains’ daughter, Nalini ’10, was an active participant in the Harker journalism program and currently attends the University of Pennsylvania.
Eric Nelson, Harker’s computer science department chair, said he appreciates having rooms designed specifically for computer science education with appropriate electrical wiring and desk design, which allows faculty to focus on the material. Having an entire department dedicated to the subject of computer science is not commonplace among high schools; in fact, he noted that computer science was not even a choice on a recent national survey asking in which department computer science was taught.
The Ringold Family
Gordon and Tanya Ringold were integral participants in the launch of the upper school, serving on the campaign committee and speaking in promotional videos on behalf of Harker parents. The two have always placed great value on the well-rounded educational approach of Harker and wanted to help take the school’s formal research program beyond that of any other high school in the area.
The Ringold Research Center in Nichols Hall provides space for many long-term projects within the research methods class as well as the open lab after-school program, where students are currently advised by a team of 15 science teachers. Anita Chetty, science department chair, is proud to share that this state-of-the-art facility boasts college-level equipment such as a gas chromatograph and a spectrophotometer.
“As our boys became part of the Harker family,” noted Tanya Ringold, “I also wanted to participate in this wonderful community. I enjoyed working as a room parent for a number of years and then joined the Parent Development Council, where I found the increasing generosity of our families a truly rewarding experience.”
Gordon Ringold, who serves as the director for the Silicon Valley Initiatives program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, continues to support the career development of Harker’s science students through mentoring and internship leads in the field of biotechnology. The Ringolds’ sons, Alex ’10 and Gregg ’07, both went on to continue their outstanding Harker baseball careers at their respective colleges, Occidental and the University of California, San Diego.
The Pawlowski Family
Even knowing that their own child would not be on campus to enjoy the new amenities, the Pawlowski family decided to give a substantial donation just prior to their son, Nic ’02, graduating. Their appreciation for Harker and its teachers is now reflected in the Pawlowski Chemistry Center.
Upper school chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine is glad to be sharing one building with his department peers and using all new facilities. “We can coordinate better with lessons and check in to see what our colleagues are doing, helping us develop more dynamic and interesting lesson plans,” he said.
Brian Pawlowski and his wife, Aki, took an early lead in the Senior Parent Appreciation giving program, and Brian Pawlowski’s continued support as a mentor in computer science has led to several memorable experiences for students lucky enough to visit the research and development labs with him at NetApp.
Thanks to the gifts of Harker families like those featured here, outstanding science and technology facilities have been offered within Nichols Hall for years. Now, looking forward, a state-of-the-art gym and theater complex will also go a long way towards preparing Harker students to enter their future colleges and workplaces with competence, confidence and enthusiasm for lifelong learning.