The Smoke Signal

By: Staff Writer Pratham Gupta

MSJ Drama attended the Ohlone College Annual Theater Festival from March 20-21. The second largest event of its kind in California, the Festival encourages students from all over the Bay Area to participate in Performing Arts Marathon competitions and events. Awards are given to aspiring high school actors performing in over three dozen categories including: musical theater, contemporary and classical plays, improvising, video, and dance.

MSJ Students won three awards at the festival. Junior Allama Pattanashetty won third place in the film category for his film, ‘Power Man’ which he made as part of a film class at Ohlone. The film is about a homeless man who thinks he has super-powers. Regarding the production, Pattanashetty said, “My film explores the theme of how we judge people based on their appearances and economic standing rather than what’s inside”.

In a different category, senior Kathy Liu went Top 5 in World Dance, in which students presented culturally themed dances. She did a solo which was a contemporary modern piece which she choreographed herself. The improvising team from MSJ, consisting of Senior Chris Pynchon and  Juniors Allama Pattanashetty and Abhishek Singh, won first place in the category, where they were judged based on teamwork and flexibility.

Speaking about her student’s recent successes, Ms. Roundy said, “Our drama kids, as always, rose to the occasion”.