Aged Scout: I sincerely thank the Law Society of America for honoring me in this way. You know my father once told me to never judge a person until you walked around in their skin first. Being lawyers, you musn’t lose sight that you are dealing with individuals, who may appear different on the outside, but inside are no different to the rest of us. Remember there are two sides to any story, it just depends on what you go looking to find. Go searching for evil and you will find it, go searching for good and that too you will find. I ask you to make that choice, make that change and maybe, just maybe, together you’ll make a difference. You know as a child I always seemed to be getting myself into trouble. No matter how hard I tried, it was almost like trouble found me.

Miss Caroline: Have you forgotten your lunch Walter?

Little Scout: Well you see Miss Caroline, Walter here is one of the Cunninghams.

Aged Scout: I thought I had made myself perfectly clear, but apparently not. Those adults never seemed to understand me, they would sometimes ignore me completely.

Mob: alright Mr Finch, you better get them outta here before we do it for you.

Little Scout: Dont you touch him. Ain’t nobody gonna do Jem that way, except me of course but still, get your hands off of him. …Oh hey there Mr Cunningham, I didn’t see you there. Dont you remember me Mr Cunningham, I’m Jean Louise Finch, I go to school with Walter, he’s your boy ain’t he sir? Mr Cunningham? Mr Cunningham?

Atticus: Scout, the story is, Mr Ewell, he fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand that?

Little Scout: Well Mr Arthur was only trying to save us. Having it any other way would sorta be like killing a mocking bird wouldn’t it?! Don’t worry Atticus, I understand.

Aged Scout: It because of influential people like yourselves that those among us who used to be discriminated against, now make up some of the biggest parts of our society.

Radio: The continuing persecution of Jews under Hitler has resulted in an influx of Jewish migrants seeking refuge in America. However, the government has still not granted entry to many of these Jews, which closely matched popular American sentiment.

Man: I’m sorry man but the last thing we need after having to deal with all these Negroes roaming around is letting Jews into our country to pollute our land and contaminate our blood.

Paper: Extra Extra….Read all about it….President Roosevelt creates the War Refugee Board.

Jewish Man: It is good to finally have a place to go. Condition for Jews here in not perfect but at least we have some to escape the horror of what is happening to our people at home.

Lady: Those here to enlist for the Army, step right up.

Man: (writing) Adriel Wiesel.

Presenter: And the 1947 Oscar for best film goes to Gentleman’s Agreement.

News reporter: Bella Abzug become first Jewish women to be elected into congress.

Bella Abzug: This woman’s place is in the house – The House of Representatives.

Lady: Hey Julie what are you reading?

Lady2: Its the latest thing in town – Ms. Magazine

Gloria Steinem: After founding Ms. Magazine I remember there came a point where those of us who wanted to marry a doctor or a lawyer, discovered we actually wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer ourselves. We women have a come a long way, it was all thanks to finding acceptance in our world.

Activist: Acceptance is a lovely lady. Caring, tolerant and oh so very accommodating. At times, she alone, has held societies and even nations together. But she wasn’t there when they needed her most. She was nowhere to be found. America turns its back on Jewish migrants. Acceptance is nowhere to be found. Women not permitted to vote. Acceptance is nowhere to be found. Rosa Parks found guilty. Acceptance is nowhere to be found.

Middle Aged Scout: Your Honour, how can America possibly be the land of opportunity when it is filled with discrimination and oppression. It is more so like the land of restriction. But even so, if we are to abide by the laws put in place by segregation, our client Ms Parks was seated in the seats allocated for Black Americans. If there was anyone who committed some what of a crime it was the man who asked her to move. Ms. Parks did nothing illegal.

Jury Man: After much consideration, we the Jury find Ms Rosa Parks guilty on all accounts.

Aged Scout: You see even though the result that day wasn’t perfect it still remains as one of the most memorable moments in my career. That day, everyone involved went down in history as the people and community that helped change the world. So we hand the torch over and urge you to find your own moment that will never be forgotten. Now, its your turn.

Now, As I was thinking about the pocket watch as a inherited item from Atticus, I began to think about a discussion in the novel where Atticus tell Scout that when she grows up she will get her mothers pearl necklace. So, that lead me to consider my Costume. My costume, is going to be official work wear, pretty formal. She is a lawyer after all. I thought black would be good to suit to other character as well and I decided to go with pants instead of a skirt or dress because, Scout was always a tomboy as a child and I wanted subtle evidence of that to come through in her later years as well. I will also be wearing a pear necklace which would be true to the character in the novel as it is implied that she will inherit the necklace.

Till’ next time

• Jews in America from the mid twentieth centurey through to today:

http://www.icsresources.org/content/curricula/HistoryOfJewsInAmerica.pdf

• Women’s history in America By Women’s International Centre:

http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

So most of my ideas pretty much spring-boarded off these two documents. I also found some interesting connections which suit my purpose. Like, Gloria Steinem (whom I’m a pretty big fan of) who is a well known female activist in the 70s is Jewish. Also, Bella Azbug who famously said “This woman’s place is in the House – The House of Representatives”, before being elected into Congress, was also Jewish. So I used these women as a link between the two minorities being explored and hence it all easily ‘flowed’ pretty smoothly!

Till’ next  time..

So I performed my Stem and dot point one for Cash on the last day of school, which ended up being not as hard as I thought it would be despite still being a challenge. Anyhoo, so now, I have pretty much got A stem, Dot Point 1, Dot Point 3 and a bit of Dot Point 2 (which I dont really like!). Will give a longer post detailing my progress over next weekend. So just to record that I have been progressing with my solo.

On a personal note, got some test results from the doc back and apparently I have some deficiencies which has been able to explain some of my symptoms but all is good. Got all the meds to fix that up and I should be as good as new soon. Thats basically it..

Sorry its a really short post…..I promise there will be a longer one soon.

Till then….

Today in class, I worked on my Stem and dot point one. I wanted to make sure that I was addressing every aspect of the stem without spoon feeding the audience/assessors. So I went over it a few times and refined the content and my actual choice of language used to convey the message. Also, I worked on my script for dot point one. I was slightly concerned that my script for dot point one was too similar to the exact words in the book so I worked on playing around with the language to make it my own without losing the essence of the scene.

Anyway, afterschool while waiting for my turn, I performed my stem for Abbey and Alex. That was the first time I have performed for anyone other than the mirror so it was a big step for me. They were very supportive and made it a lot easier. Then I managed to perform for Cash which was hard at first but not when I got into it. It really was good. I finally feel like a Drama Girl again. And I’m getting on track with the help of so many people who have been way too good to me; which I’m thrilled about. Cashy gave me a few pointers which is always helpful so this some of what he had to say and what I have to work on:

• I keep slipping in and out of my accent so I need to work on that.
• Need to be louder.
• Applause in the beginning could be more stylised to show bigger audience
• stem overall has a good script but its quite long so I need to think about cutting down.

Now, I’ve set an ideal to get my dot point one blocked and the script for it memorised by Thursdays class so that I can perform it to Cash script free! If I can do that, I’ll be really happy and it would also allow room for more feedback from Cash which is always useful. So as of now, I’m smiling.

Till’ next time…

Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen, I urge you to please give a warm warm welcome to Ms Jean Louise Finch, who tonight, will be accepting life membership of the Law Society of America. Everybody, Ms Jean Finch. Sorry, I forgot this bit earlier!

Aged Scout: My father once told me to never judge a person until you have walked around in their skin first. I’m blessed, my profession has allowed me the chance to walk miles in stories that are not mine. As lawyers, in your daily quest to serve justice, you must not lose sight that you are dealing with individuals who may appear different on the outside but inside, are no different to the rest of us. Remember, there are always two sides to any story, it just depends on what you go looking to find. Go searching for evil and you will find it. Go searching for good and that too you will find. I ask you to make that choice, make that change and make a difference. I graciously accept this award and from the bottom of my heart I thank you and wish you well.

Till next time..

Anyhoo, my research raised another question: what exactly would qualify as a “minority in the US” . You see, at one point I was sold on the idea of women, even though I’m not so keen on the idea now it actually pointed out something I think is worth noting. In terms of numbers, women are not the minority in the US…infact men are! Statistically speaking, women outnumber the males in America by quite a bit. So despite being under represented in certain professions, governments, etc., they technically are not considered a minority. Just made me be a little more careful when narrowing it down. Something else which was interesting is that Hispanics are the largest minority group in the US. What is even more fascinating is that some people predict that the current minority groups in the US are soon to become the majority in many states.

So, as for my possible choices:

• Black Americans
• Hispanics
• Women
• Jews
• American Indian/Native American
• Asians

Will update the list as I go….

STRANGE FRUIT
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black body swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
– Music and lyrics by Lewis Allan, copyright 1940

Until next time..

Fighting Segregation on Buses

Segregation was most visible on the buses in Montgomery. Blacks were told to ride in the back ten rows of the buses. The first ten rows were for white people and the center ten rows were whatever the bus driver wanted them to be. Many times the Blacks had to enter the front door to pay their toll, exit the front door and go in the back door of the bus. The bus drivers would quite often drive away while the Blacks were walking to the back door. Rosa had been very busy at work on December 1, 1955. She was preparing for a seminar for the NAACP and for elections. When it was time for her to go home, she got on the bus and sat in the first row of seats for black people. At the next stop, several white people got on the bus and the driver told the four black people in the front black row to stand up and give their seats to the white people. The other three Blacks got up, but Rosa did not. The bus driver called the police and they ended up removing her from the bus and taking her to jail.

The NAACP realized that Rosa’s case against the bus company was the perfect test case to use to fight segregation laws in Montgomery and all over the United States. Rosa, after speaking with her husband and mother, decided she would be the plaintiff in the bus segregation case. Her lawyers, Charles Langford and Fred Gray, tried to enter a plea of “Not Guilty” for her but they did not intend to try to defend her, because only in higher courts could there be any changes in the segregation laws. Rosa was found guilty, fined $14.00 in all, $4 for court fees and $10 for losing in local courts.

On the day of Rosa’s court case, Reverend Abernathy and some other local ministers formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). They formed the MIA because the NAACP was a relatively weak organization in Alabama. They elected Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as president of the MIA and he was chosen to be the person who would meet with the city people and work out an agreement to make the buses equal.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

When they heard of Rosa’s arrest, the leaders of the Women’s Political Council agreed to call for a boycott of the buses in Montgomery starting on December 5, 1955, the day of Rosa’s trial. They sent a flyer home with the local school children to spread the word, telling the black people to not ride the buses to school or work. Local black churches also helped get the word out about the boycott of the buses. The black owned cab companies agreed to make stops along the bus routes to help as much as they could.

On the day of Rosa’s trial, most black people had finally had enough with the segregation on the buses. They walked, shared rides, or took the black owned cabs to work and school. The buses in Montgomery were practically empty. Little did the people in Montgomery know that the bus boycott would last a year. A system was put in place by the Blacks for transportation. There were 20 private cars and 14 station wagons in place to transport people. There were 32 pick-up and transfer points and they ran from 5:30 in the morning to 12:30 at night. They transported about 30,000 people a day. The employers of the Blacks also transported their own employees.

In early February of 1956, Rosa’s lawyers filed suit in the United States District Court saying that bus segregation was unconstitutional. Her appeal on the original charges was upheld in the lower courts. The new court case was a way for Rosa’s lawyers to show they meant to take this case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In June of 1956, the District Court ruled 2-1 in favor ending segregation on the buses, but the city commissioners appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

On November 13, 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation on the Montgomery buses was unconstitutional. Dr. King called a meeting of the MIA to make the announcement that they had won. He did not tell people to go back on the buses yet. The written order from the Supreme Court did not come to them until December 20, 1956. The following day, the boycotters returned to the buses. Things did not go smoothly at first. The bus company set curfews on the buses, shutting them down at 5:00 PM. White people fired guns at the buses, and they tried to form a Whites only bus line, but that didn’t work. Eventually things died down and everything started running smoothly. The boycott in Montgomery inspired other cities to start their own boycotts of segregated buses.

Rosa, with her husband and mother, moved to Detroit, Michigan shortly after the bus boycott in Montgomery was over. She is still living there today. Rosa is well known for refusing to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, but has been very active all her life in the Civil Rights Movement. She is still active today at the age of 89.

Until next time..

Scout

Stimulus

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird

Performance focus

Create a solo performance based on the character of Scout (Jean Louise Finch).

Accepting life membership of the Law Society of America in 2009 for her work in the legal representation of

minorities, Scout challenges young lawyers to share her belief in the goodness of people. To do this she

• re-creates one or more examples from her childhood which show that the innocence of children can be wiser

than the wisdom of adults

• demonstrates her involvement in the legal defence of Rosa Parkes after the bus incident in 1955

• creates a montage of dramatic images which shows significant steps forward and/or back in the acceptance

of minorities in the US during her lifetime.

Performance style

Non-naturalistic

Theatrical conventions

Flashback, dramatic metaphor

Dramatic elements

Contrast, symbol

Reference material

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, any edition

The film To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962, directed by Robert Mulligan, starring Gregory Peck [PG]

http://www.michaelariens.com/legalhistory/timeline.htm