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11/1/10Keiser-Ft. Lauderdale233-9105-MMKSHS-search-hs-4x4Michael M Krop Sr. High School4x 4MF10/6

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PLAY

The Gay Straight Alliance presented Living Rainbow to teach the school about the importance of equality. Billed as a socio-dramatic play, students displayed an array of raw emotions and voiced their personal experiences.

GSA members strive to promote safe schools, but even more they want to teach acceptance of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

They hoped to accomplish this in the play and performed it for the faculty and student body.

Living Rainbow was the brainstorming idea of a GSA member last year who wanted to reach out to the public and advocate equal rights. Another student thought that the play might communicate the overall issue to the school’s population. Both concepts eventually morphed into the socio-drama that consisted of two “machines” showing reactions to discovering one is gay.

Socio-drama is a unique approach to address social issues through improvisation. It begins with an idea and then with events on stage both movement and words planned to touch the audience.

The audience is introduced to 12 students dressed in colors of the spectrum who form a “living rainbow” on stage. The “machine” meant to represent homophobia, shows the negative side of society that discriminates against people who are different. The second is the “affirmation machine,” which shines light on understanding and acceptance of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Using nothing but a chair and white masks, characters connect to the audience through the use of raw emotion. Various times, director Lisa LaMonica calls out “Freeze,” and the audience can ask students questions, or respond to what they have just watched.

“The audience’s reaction was overwhelming,” performer and vice president of GSA, Newval Nelcha, said. “I saw teachers cry because they did not understand why people would be so hateful toward others.”

The students’ main objective was to wake up the audience and allow them to see the reality of others who are bullied for being different. Not only did Nelcha feel he was getting his message across, but he learned through the process as well. The kaleidoscope of emotions expressed during the performance captured the cruelty towards gay youth. When Samantha Eackheim

screamed “your dead to me” three times in a row the audience could identify with the outright hatred those who are gay or transgender experience in a lifetime.

In the play no elements are written down and students don’t memorize a script. The performers were well coached by Lamonica.

“A young man I knew from Safe Schools was doing something similar in Broward called One Heart,” Lamonica said. “He helped our students create their own act.”

GSA performers were able to represent team-work and the art of expression through Living Rainbow. President Nicole Elimelech believes the play was successful because more members have joined the club.

“I think Living Rainbow will go on as long as GSA exists and as long as people keep advocating equality,” Elimelech said.

By Alice Neirastaff writer

New officers of the class of 2014

CLUB

Brianna LindenLIVING RAINBOW: Each student acted out a word that might be offensive to someone of different sexual orienta-tion or gender identity. This is GSA’s first performance of the play ‘Living Rainbow’.

I feel that freshman are often misrepresented. We need a voice; I want to be that voice. I want to show that it’s everyone’s school.

I wanted to be able to make an impact on my class. So as Treasurer, all fundraising for our class is in my hands, and I hope to raise as much money needed to give the class of 2014 the best four years they could ask for.

Being an officer gives me a chance to get involved in school from the beginning of my years at Krop. I look forward to motivating other freshman to become active in our class through social and community service activities.

As Recording Secretary, it is my responsibility to take notes during all the meetings and keep track of important events, and as a freshman I wanted to be able to make a difference in my class.

GSA presents ‘Living Rainbow’

Chelsea Katz-Recording Secretary

Javier Storch-Senator

Danielle Mackson-Corresponding Secretary

Blake Mars-Treasuer

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Compiled by Pablo Storch

Guadalupe Suarez- Historian

Tal Harel-Vice President

I want to encourage freshmen to get involved in the 2014 club because we make decisions every week regarding all of the events for this year, and it would be a big help if we had more people come to our meetings.

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I am historian, so I want to have as many pictures as memories for our senior year.

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Pictures by Maria Carla Canizares Otero

Feature Page 14 The Lightning Strike . November-December 2010