2008 Woodie Awards
Featured Student Independent Projects: Part 1
Scott Sell and Maret Weinberger
Issue date: 12/10/03 Section: Features
English Department
Laura Bogart
Laura Bogart '04 has taken a fearless approach with her in-the-works novel, The Death of Lobster Boy, which encompasses modern philosophy and her own artwork within the weird realm of circus freaks. It's the story of twin brothers, Simon and Felix, brought up in a family full of oddballs: their old man is the Dog Boy and their mother is the Fat Lady, which, undoubtedly, makes them the twin Lobsterboys. Simon hates his family, his disfigurement and the whole freak circuit. He strives in vain for normalcy while Felix remains content and enthusiastic with his celebrity status. Then, on the day of the operation that will turn Simon into a "regular" human being, Felix breaks into the hospital and fatally shoots his brother. Why? Bogart isn't letting anybody know that yet.
"This is an examination of the socially and medically defined constructs of the human body through the family history of ex-sideshow performers," Bogart explains. "It's about the values we all place on being 'normal' and differences in the human form, but there's also a secret behind the whole thing that I'd like to keep a secret for now." Whoa.
Set in Baltimore, the story takes place over the course of a single day and jumps back and forth in narrative between the two brothers and a mysterious killer called "The Surgeon," who has a special interest in freaks. Felix, now on the lam, flees to the homes of several ex-carnival performers while both the police and "The Surgeon" pursue him. Meanwhile, Simon wakes up in an afterlife in which he is finally normal, but surrounded with other sideshow oddities. He becomes convinced he will find his mother, who died when he was twelve, and his search for her parallels Felix's quest to evade capture.
"The idea came to me this summer while I was watching this True Hollywood Story on E! [Entertainment Television], which I normally don't do," Bogart says, "It was all about a dysfunctional family of circus sideshow folks - carnies - and I just couldn't stop watching it."
This fascination soon turned into a valuable story idea. Bogart, an art major, first developed drawings and paintings as an extension of the carnival theme, some of which are now hanging in the Meyerhoff gallery. Drawing all of these elements together, a solid thesis idea was created. "I had a sketchbook full of stuff from my life drawing classes and have always been interested in different body types," Bogart says. "This was a way to really get down to the bare bones about the people whose physical limitations were brought from out of the shadows."
So far, Bogart has finished seven "cycles" of Lobster Boy, which she estimates to be around sixty pages. She has been working with Madison Smartt Bell over the course of this semester, meeting regularly and making great strides. She has also been receiving additional support and advice from her philosophy and art professors, Steve DeCaroli and Allyn Massey.
"Weaving the art into the writing has been pretty rewarding, but organizing the writing is quite a task. It looks like it's starting to go somewhere, but it's definitely a work in progress."
Nate Gach
A major in English and creative writing, Nate Gach '04 has been developing a children's book over the past few months, called Sent to Bed. Geared for kids between the ages of seven and ten, the story is written in the vein of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Our misbehaving hero, eight-year old Adam, is sent to his room, only to be sucked into a book and thrust into an alternate universe that is strangely familiar. Exploring the world around him, he meets up with ominous characters, including a centaur, a many-armed librarian, and a friendly giant, all of whom resemble members of his family.
"In some ways it mirrors my own family and experiences I've had," Gach says.
"Writing this in the viewpoint of a kid whose imagination is still running rampant is a lot of fun and gets me thinking back to when I was smaller."
During a past independent study with art professor Stuart Abarbanel, Gach was commended for his work, but was told it lacked realism. Gach decided to put some of this art in the form of a story. Having worked with Madison Smartt Bell over the course of his four years at Goucher, he brought the idea for a children's book to him and has since been gradually piecing it together with his help.
"I was always interested in the darker, stranger books when I was younger - they were the ones that stuck with me the most. For that reason, I tried to avoid a lot of the cutesy aspects of typical children's books."
Admitting to writing and enjoying grotesque fiction, Nate finds comfort in presenting more mysterious ideas. Tim Burton, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Clive Barker and, of course, Maurice Sendak are the points of reference that he says inspire both the text and artwork in his book.
"The weirdness of all their stories and illustrations, I think, better prepares kids for their growing fears and this really scary world we all live in. A base fear is being left alone or lost, as Adam is in the story, and this kind of gives a taste of the darker side of things."
Hoping to have the book finished by winter break, Gach is anxious about its completion, but is also aware of his meticulous nature.
"I'm playing a lot with color now," Gach said. "Beginning things is easy since there are so many interesting things to create and do. Finishing things when you want them done perfectly is tough."
Skyler Breeden
Skyler Breeden '04, another English and creative writing major, has also opted to stray from the usual work of fiction. Her book, Gin in August, is an illustrated novel (not a graphic novel, as she makes a point to clarify) and is done entirely with a black Sharpie marker.
Simplistic in design, but dark in subject matter, the story involves a distant family returning home to see their alcoholic father before he dies. While there, they have to unpack a lot of demons that have been suppressed over the years.
"Madison [Bell] and my friends have been really helpful and supportive of the ideas I've had for the story, and I'm really grateful for that."
The process for putting the book together hasn't been easy: Breeden prints out the text from the computer and spreads everything out on the floor, chronologically. Then she gets down with her Sharpie and puts it to good use. As of now, Breeden has about 130 pages, and is excited to see a completed project.
"I've been working on this since last winter break and spent the summer writing, as well as working on the illustrations for this," Breeden says. "I'm about ready to finish it up and see how it turns out as a whole piece."
Rebecca Garonzik
Rebecca Garonzik '05 had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic this summer, sent as an intern for the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). While there, she put her well-tuned Spanish ear, as well as an old tape recorder, to the test. She had the chance to visit numerous sweatshops and talk to more than a dozen union leaders who were important members in the Federation of Dominican Free Trade Unions (FDFTU), documenting their interviews.
"I had limited preparations going into this whole thing," Garonzik said. "Now that I'm sitting here listening to these tapes with poor quality, people talking in the background, and sounds of buses driving by, I feel I have a better command of the Spanish language than I thought I did."
Back at Goucher, she is translating all the talks she had with these leaders as part of an independent project for the interdisciplinary major that she's created, combining elements of English, Spanish, and women's studies. Garonzik first went through a period of loose translations, picking apart things she could easily comprehend, and currently she is in a stage of editing and transcribing. The trick, she says, is improving her ear to the point where she can understand everything that has been said on those tapes.
With attention and guidance from professors Michelle Tokarczyk, Christina Saenz Tejada, and Irline Francoise, her goal for this semester is to put the interviews together as a comprehensive publication for the FDFTU, as well as reading material for the general public. "I want to get eight of those fifteen done, translated really well so it really can be something of importance."
Next semester, she's planning to head to Salamanca, Spain, where her hopes for improving her Spanish are even higher.
"Now that I have one aspect of the language almost figured out by being in the Dominican, I'm excited to see what I can do in Spain itself. It'll be totally different."
Dance Department
Nicholas Pabst
Nicholas Pabst, a Goucher student majoring in dance and communications, wishes to be quoted as saying, "I love dancing at Goucher!"
Pabst, along with several other dance students, is choosing to expand his horizons. Like many dancers, he is a driven, goal-oriented person who possesses motivation and determination.
Pabst is a prime example of an ambitious dance student. In addition to his demanding schedule here at Goucher, he is lending his talents to various Nutcracker performances in Maryland: The Baltimore County Youth Ballet in Pikesville and the Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance in Bel Air.
He will be performing the part of the Cavalier, who dances with the Sugar Plum Fairy and has a solo (in other words, it is a really great part). Pabst, as mentioned before, loves Goucher's dance program, and is an extremely successful participant.
Hans Nelson
Last year, Hans Nelson appeared in Washington Ballet Company's Nutcracker as the Nutcracker. Nelson was also in the highest levels at the School of American Ballet and the Universal Ballet Academy.
Now, while studying dance at Goucher, he is reprising his role as the Nutcracker with the Potomac Classical Youth Ballet. In addition to his starring role, Nelson will appear as Spanish, and Russian.
Nelson is the product of numerous famous teachers, such as Azari Plissetski and Maya Plissetskaya.
Amy Berger
Many dance students are participating in an Outreach program entitled "The Geometric Garden," and Amy Berger was willing to talk about the program and her Pilates certification. The Outreach program is a collaboration between the dancers and the education department in an effort to bring the arts into the educational system.
Berger and her classmates are gearing the program towards first- and second-graders from Baltimore County schools, teaching them lessons on rhythm, movement qualities and shapes. The elementary school students will be invited to attend the Goucher spring dance concert, in which they will interact with the dancers. The performance will incorporate the teachings of "The Geometric Garden," hopefully sparking an excitement for the arts.
While participating in this program and attending all of her Goucher classes, Berger has achieved certification in Pilates. She was required to complete 75 hours of pilates training and train in New York City. In order to be certified, she performed the demanding exercises in front of the master Pilates instructors, and was successful. Her time in New York was spent working out, practicing, teaching and observing her instructors.
She considers the 600 hours of tests, teaching and learning to be one of the best experiences of her life, saying, "I learned so much about the human body and all of its amazing capabilities. I learned how much of a genius Joseph Pilates was. I gained the knowledge of learning how to really look at an individual's body. I am now able to help people move in the most efficient way possible through correct posture, flexibility and strength."
Berger teaches Pilates on campus, and after graduation will continue to teach at Goucher full-time.
Danielle Fey
Danielle Fey has chosen to take her love of dance to an even higher level as the creator of the Liturgical Dance club. According to Fey, "We are not merely a group who dances, but we dance with a purpose: we dance for God."
For the past three years she has acted as president of the club, one of her many accomplishments being the instatement of an Easter service on campus. The Liturgical Dance club has performed in Umoja's Ashanti Talent Show, Lessons and Carols, and Revelations' Spring Concert.
In addition to on-campus productions, the club goes out into the community to perform in various churches and at a "Gathering of the Harvest" gospel concert at Loyola. Fey's club has continued to grow in number, and she invites anyone interested in dancing for a higher purpose to contact her.
Kathryn Holmes
Kathryn Holmes, though still a Goucher student, has already taken steps towards her future career. Holmes is double-majoring in English and dance, and is interested in journalism. In an effort to combine her majors in one job experience, she applied for positions at various dance magazines and received an offer from Dance Teacher.
She spent eleven weeks in New York City, working on the preeminent publication for dance education professionals, and was involved in all aspects of production: checking names and addresses, editing articles, setting up and carrying out interviews and putting text into the layout program.
According to Holmes, the most rewarding aspect of her internship was the writing she did. "I was able to write news briefs for the September and October issues, and my internship culminated with an actual article that will be published in the November issue!" So pick up a November issue of Dance Teacher and look for the Kathryn Holmes byline.
For this issue, Scott Sell '05 contributed the pieces about English department students, and Maret Weinberger '07 contributed the pieces about dance depatment students.
Laura Bogart
Laura Bogart '04 has taken a fearless approach with her in-the-works novel, The Death of Lobster Boy, which encompasses modern philosophy and her own artwork within the weird realm of circus freaks. It's the story of twin brothers, Simon and Felix, brought up in a family full of oddballs: their old man is the Dog Boy and their mother is the Fat Lady, which, undoubtedly, makes them the twin Lobsterboys. Simon hates his family, his disfigurement and the whole freak circuit. He strives in vain for normalcy while Felix remains content and enthusiastic with his celebrity status. Then, on the day of the operation that will turn Simon into a "regular" human being, Felix breaks into the hospital and fatally shoots his brother. Why? Bogart isn't letting anybody know that yet.
"This is an examination of the socially and medically defined constructs of the human body through the family history of ex-sideshow performers," Bogart explains. "It's about the values we all place on being 'normal' and differences in the human form, but there's also a secret behind the whole thing that I'd like to keep a secret for now." Whoa.
Set in Baltimore, the story takes place over the course of a single day and jumps back and forth in narrative between the two brothers and a mysterious killer called "The Surgeon," who has a special interest in freaks. Felix, now on the lam, flees to the homes of several ex-carnival performers while both the police and "The Surgeon" pursue him. Meanwhile, Simon wakes up in an afterlife in which he is finally normal, but surrounded with other sideshow oddities. He becomes convinced he will find his mother, who died when he was twelve, and his search for her parallels Felix's quest to evade capture.
"The idea came to me this summer while I was watching this True Hollywood Story on E! [Entertainment Television], which I normally don't do," Bogart says, "It was all about a dysfunctional family of circus sideshow folks - carnies - and I just couldn't stop watching it."
This fascination soon turned into a valuable story idea. Bogart, an art major, first developed drawings and paintings as an extension of the carnival theme, some of which are now hanging in the Meyerhoff gallery. Drawing all of these elements together, a solid thesis idea was created. "I had a sketchbook full of stuff from my life drawing classes and have always been interested in different body types," Bogart says. "This was a way to really get down to the bare bones about the people whose physical limitations were brought from out of the shadows."
So far, Bogart has finished seven "cycles" of Lobster Boy, which she estimates to be around sixty pages. She has been working with Madison Smartt Bell over the course of this semester, meeting regularly and making great strides. She has also been receiving additional support and advice from her philosophy and art professors, Steve DeCaroli and Allyn Massey.
"Weaving the art into the writing has been pretty rewarding, but organizing the writing is quite a task. It looks like it's starting to go somewhere, but it's definitely a work in progress."
Nate Gach
A major in English and creative writing, Nate Gach '04 has been developing a children's book over the past few months, called Sent to Bed. Geared for kids between the ages of seven and ten, the story is written in the vein of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Our misbehaving hero, eight-year old Adam, is sent to his room, only to be sucked into a book and thrust into an alternate universe that is strangely familiar. Exploring the world around him, he meets up with ominous characters, including a centaur, a many-armed librarian, and a friendly giant, all of whom resemble members of his family.
"In some ways it mirrors my own family and experiences I've had," Gach says.
"Writing this in the viewpoint of a kid whose imagination is still running rampant is a lot of fun and gets me thinking back to when I was smaller."
During a past independent study with art professor Stuart Abarbanel, Gach was commended for his work, but was told it lacked realism. Gach decided to put some of this art in the form of a story. Having worked with Madison Smartt Bell over the course of his four years at Goucher, he brought the idea for a children's book to him and has since been gradually piecing it together with his help.
"I was always interested in the darker, stranger books when I was younger - they were the ones that stuck with me the most. For that reason, I tried to avoid a lot of the cutesy aspects of typical children's books."
Admitting to writing and enjoying grotesque fiction, Nate finds comfort in presenting more mysterious ideas. Tim Burton, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Clive Barker and, of course, Maurice Sendak are the points of reference that he says inspire both the text and artwork in his book.
"The weirdness of all their stories and illustrations, I think, better prepares kids for their growing fears and this really scary world we all live in. A base fear is being left alone or lost, as Adam is in the story, and this kind of gives a taste of the darker side of things."
Hoping to have the book finished by winter break, Gach is anxious about its completion, but is also aware of his meticulous nature.
"I'm playing a lot with color now," Gach said. "Beginning things is easy since there are so many interesting things to create and do. Finishing things when you want them done perfectly is tough."
Skyler Breeden
Skyler Breeden '04, another English and creative writing major, has also opted to stray from the usual work of fiction. Her book, Gin in August, is an illustrated novel (not a graphic novel, as she makes a point to clarify) and is done entirely with a black Sharpie marker.
Simplistic in design, but dark in subject matter, the story involves a distant family returning home to see their alcoholic father before he dies. While there, they have to unpack a lot of demons that have been suppressed over the years.
"Madison [Bell] and my friends have been really helpful and supportive of the ideas I've had for the story, and I'm really grateful for that."
The process for putting the book together hasn't been easy: Breeden prints out the text from the computer and spreads everything out on the floor, chronologically. Then she gets down with her Sharpie and puts it to good use. As of now, Breeden has about 130 pages, and is excited to see a completed project.
"I've been working on this since last winter break and spent the summer writing, as well as working on the illustrations for this," Breeden says. "I'm about ready to finish it up and see how it turns out as a whole piece."
Rebecca Garonzik
Rebecca Garonzik '05 had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic this summer, sent as an intern for the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). While there, she put her well-tuned Spanish ear, as well as an old tape recorder, to the test. She had the chance to visit numerous sweatshops and talk to more than a dozen union leaders who were important members in the Federation of Dominican Free Trade Unions (FDFTU), documenting their interviews.
"I had limited preparations going into this whole thing," Garonzik said. "Now that I'm sitting here listening to these tapes with poor quality, people talking in the background, and sounds of buses driving by, I feel I have a better command of the Spanish language than I thought I did."
Back at Goucher, she is translating all the talks she had with these leaders as part of an independent project for the interdisciplinary major that she's created, combining elements of English, Spanish, and women's studies. Garonzik first went through a period of loose translations, picking apart things she could easily comprehend, and currently she is in a stage of editing and transcribing. The trick, she says, is improving her ear to the point where she can understand everything that has been said on those tapes.
With attention and guidance from professors Michelle Tokarczyk, Christina Saenz Tejada, and Irline Francoise, her goal for this semester is to put the interviews together as a comprehensive publication for the FDFTU, as well as reading material for the general public. "I want to get eight of those fifteen done, translated really well so it really can be something of importance."
Next semester, she's planning to head to Salamanca, Spain, where her hopes for improving her Spanish are even higher.
"Now that I have one aspect of the language almost figured out by being in the Dominican, I'm excited to see what I can do in Spain itself. It'll be totally different."
Dance Department
Nicholas Pabst
Nicholas Pabst, a Goucher student majoring in dance and communications, wishes to be quoted as saying, "I love dancing at Goucher!"
Pabst, along with several other dance students, is choosing to expand his horizons. Like many dancers, he is a driven, goal-oriented person who possesses motivation and determination.
Pabst is a prime example of an ambitious dance student. In addition to his demanding schedule here at Goucher, he is lending his talents to various Nutcracker performances in Maryland: The Baltimore County Youth Ballet in Pikesville and the Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance in Bel Air.
He will be performing the part of the Cavalier, who dances with the Sugar Plum Fairy and has a solo (in other words, it is a really great part). Pabst, as mentioned before, loves Goucher's dance program, and is an extremely successful participant.
Hans Nelson
Last year, Hans Nelson appeared in Washington Ballet Company's Nutcracker as the Nutcracker. Nelson was also in the highest levels at the School of American Ballet and the Universal Ballet Academy.
Now, while studying dance at Goucher, he is reprising his role as the Nutcracker with the Potomac Classical Youth Ballet. In addition to his starring role, Nelson will appear as Spanish, and Russian.
Nelson is the product of numerous famous teachers, such as Azari Plissetski and Maya Plissetskaya.
Amy Berger
Many dance students are participating in an Outreach program entitled "The Geometric Garden," and Amy Berger was willing to talk about the program and her Pilates certification. The Outreach program is a collaboration between the dancers and the education department in an effort to bring the arts into the educational system.
Berger and her classmates are gearing the program towards first- and second-graders from Baltimore County schools, teaching them lessons on rhythm, movement qualities and shapes. The elementary school students will be invited to attend the Goucher spring dance concert, in which they will interact with the dancers. The performance will incorporate the teachings of "The Geometric Garden," hopefully sparking an excitement for the arts.
While participating in this program and attending all of her Goucher classes, Berger has achieved certification in Pilates. She was required to complete 75 hours of pilates training and train in New York City. In order to be certified, she performed the demanding exercises in front of the master Pilates instructors, and was successful. Her time in New York was spent working out, practicing, teaching and observing her instructors.
She considers the 600 hours of tests, teaching and learning to be one of the best experiences of her life, saying, "I learned so much about the human body and all of its amazing capabilities. I learned how much of a genius Joseph Pilates was. I gained the knowledge of learning how to really look at an individual's body. I am now able to help people move in the most efficient way possible through correct posture, flexibility and strength."
Berger teaches Pilates on campus, and after graduation will continue to teach at Goucher full-time.
Danielle Fey
Danielle Fey has chosen to take her love of dance to an even higher level as the creator of the Liturgical Dance club. According to Fey, "We are not merely a group who dances, but we dance with a purpose: we dance for God."
For the past three years she has acted as president of the club, one of her many accomplishments being the instatement of an Easter service on campus. The Liturgical Dance club has performed in Umoja's Ashanti Talent Show, Lessons and Carols, and Revelations' Spring Concert.
In addition to on-campus productions, the club goes out into the community to perform in various churches and at a "Gathering of the Harvest" gospel concert at Loyola. Fey's club has continued to grow in number, and she invites anyone interested in dancing for a higher purpose to contact her.
Kathryn Holmes
Kathryn Holmes, though still a Goucher student, has already taken steps towards her future career. Holmes is double-majoring in English and dance, and is interested in journalism. In an effort to combine her majors in one job experience, she applied for positions at various dance magazines and received an offer from Dance Teacher.
She spent eleven weeks in New York City, working on the preeminent publication for dance education professionals, and was involved in all aspects of production: checking names and addresses, editing articles, setting up and carrying out interviews and putting text into the layout program.
According to Holmes, the most rewarding aspect of her internship was the writing she did. "I was able to write news briefs for the September and October issues, and my internship culminated with an actual article that will be published in the November issue!" So pick up a November issue of Dance Teacher and look for the Kathryn Holmes byline.
For this issue, Scott Sell '05 contributed the pieces about English department students, and Maret Weinberger '07 contributed the pieces about dance depatment students.