KATERINA (KAT) GORLENKO
Arts Scholar
PENTATHLON
Semester 3
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my third semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
PENTATHLON 1: SKETCHUP
9/9/22, Next Now Fest, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
#theatre
Sketchup is a sketch comedy group here on campus that one of my roommates, and fellow Art Scholar, Alyssa Caruso, is a part of. Their show at Next Now Fest was extremely hilarious and I knew a big reason why. Last semester Alyssa and I both participated in Kyle and Victoria's Comedy workshop, and as I watched Alyssa on stage, I could see the skills we learned in class shine through in her performance, such as comedic timing and use of physicality and body movement to emphasize jokes. There are many elements that make something funny that sometimes people may not even realize, but now with my more trained eye following the scholars workshop, I can start to pick those things out. It is interesting to look at an art from a more informed or masterful perspective. I am very well versed in theatre, so I know when I watch shows, I am scrutinizing vocal performances; seeing if the lead role is straining for notes or flubbing a dance move, and analyzing how well they put emotion into their monologues. But with things like comedy, I had no idea what to look for, I just sat back and enjoyed, which I am sure is what most people do when watching a musical. Now that I have more knowledge I can see comedy through the technical lens, and really understand how they are being funny effectively, or how they may have not hit the punchline very well. It is a very interesting and cool new view on this form of art, that I knew nothing about before, and it was very intriguing to see how perspective and mastery level play into how you may perceive art. I am now thinking about potentially auditioning for a comedy group!
PENTATHALON 3: DON’T WORRY, DARLING
10/1/22, Greenbelt AMC, Don’t Worry, Darling
#film
Don’t Worry, Darling was an incredible movie and not at all what I was expecting! Director Olivia Wilde did a phenomenal job with creating a “perfect” world I was immersed in. Don’t Worry, Darling centered around one couple, Alice and Jack (portrayed by Florence Pugh and Harry Styles), living in a utopian, 60’s style dream world known as “The Victory Project”. I will not reveal the ending in case you plan on seeing it, but the twist was very surprising, to me at least. While watching, I was in awe of the set design, costume design, lightning design and artistry. Even though it was a dystopia, that ended up being undesirable in the end, I felt the whole time it could be somewhere I wanted to live. The houses were structured in really interesting geometric shapes, and the insides of them were bright and colorful. The dresses of the women had stunning patterns and the men drove beautiful old school sports cars. It just went to show me how important technical arts are, how much they can bring you into a world when you may not even realize it. The aesthetics of the entire movie were unreal, and I think it was honestly a huge part of why I loved it so much. If the set design and lighting and everything else were as picturesque as they were, it would definitely made me less invested. I feel the artistry behind film is often overlooked by people in exchange for plot and characters when deciding how good a movie is, but I feel like the physical art behind it should never be forgotten.
PENTATHLON 3: BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK
10/16/22, Kay Theatre, The Clarice Performing Arts Center
#theatre
By The Way, Meet Vera Stark is my new favorite play, hands down. A hilarious yet profound discussion of race in the old Hollywood industry. The first act was set in 1933, when our lead character Vera Stark was trying to land her first movie role and she finally does. The second act was an analysis in the year 2003 of an interview of Vera Stark in 1973, her last public appearance. I have never seen a play that does a time jump like that, and does basically an analysis of the show we just saw, within the show. It brought up a lot of ideas we discussed in my THET251 class: Broadway Mashup Remixing America through Musical Theatre last semester. The mistreatment of African American people has been rampant in the USA since its first establishment, but an area of particular focus in the 30's, was the entertainment industry. The Black Arts movement didn't begin until the 60's. Before then, black performers were basically stuck playing slaves, some form of housekeeper/laborer or one dimensional side characters. Some breakthrough shows and movies such as Show Boat and Gone With The Wind were starting to change that course, and it was people like Vera Stark who trail-blazed the way for African American people in Hollywood. Though she is fictional, she mimics the lives of many similar actresses, who persevered through immense challenges in order to have a successful career. It was so interesting to watch a show that looked at that perspective, and even discussed why someone who was "successful" may choose to stop working, because of the emotional turmoil and pain that working in the movie industry causes, especially for a person of color.
PENTATHLON 4: PUMPKIN FUNCTION
10/20/22, Cambridge Community Center, Arts Advisory Board
#ArtsScholars #visualart
Pumpkin Function was an event held by the Arts Advisory Board that included pumpkin painting, a Halloween themed Kahoot, and bonding time with fellow Arts Scholars! Me and Martha actually won 2nd place in the Kahoot, and received a little Halloween care package with candy! The entire event was so much fun because I made friends with Arts Scholars freshman I would not have otherwise met! We all helped each other think of ideas for designs and support each others art process. It was a great way to bond with the underclassmen (and start pitching my workshop). I forgot how much art can bring people together as a community, and honestly reminded me why I joined Arts Scholars in the first place. I missed being able to connect with others through art. I have the same feeling in the musical, A Chorus Line, that I am doing right now, because we are all working towards a joint goal, whether that is a performance or a painted pumpkin! I loved hearing all the supportive words coming from all corners of the room. It felt like a safe space to have fun and be yourself! I ended up painting 5 pumpkins with the help of all the girls at my table. I hope to be able to continue going to more Arts Scholars events in the future. I cannot wait for these sweet little freshman to be in my workshop! It was so good to see how the next generation of Scholars are so involved and excited about the program and all the opportunities within it! I am definitely a lot less worried about leading my workshop now, if these kind hearted and engaged students are going to be in it!
PENTATHLON 5: DAYGLOW CONCERT
11/15/22, 9:30 Club, Washington DC
#music
On November 8th, we had "The Drum Lady" come in, along with her colleagues, to show us different types of African percussion instruments and play them with all of us. The experience made me feel very connected with my fellow peers, and gain an appreciation for a piece of culture I did not know much about. The Dayglow concert I attended was a similar experience for me. My friends all loved and listened to this band, but I literally knew about 2 songs of theirs. Walking into the concert was very intimidating, cause I felt sort of like a poser; like just because I wasn't a true fan I didn't deserve to be there. But something the Drum Lady taught me is that no matter who you are or what you know, it is ok to learn and you are never unwelcome. Just because you don't know something YET doesn't make you fake or ignorant. It is the willingness to learn that is important. The concert ended up being loads of fun, and I now know a bunch of songs that I listen and jam to in my room. The drumming workshop also left me with cool skills I hope to use again and knowledge of a super cool new culture and new types of instruments. I can now confidently say I am both a new Dayglow fan and amateur African drum player, even though before I went into those experiences I was extremely nervous. Music is a beautiful art form that happily accepts anyone.
