DISASTER MONTHLY

Written and Performed by Students at The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High School.

Reimagining the Creative Process in the Time of Pandemic

Just when we thought there was no opportunity to produce or perform when COVID-19 shut down our beautiful spring musical in March, Disaster Monthly made its way and The Show Must Go On!  Theater is the most collaborative of all art forms and the ancestor to entertainment. The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High is dedicated to keeping the work alive and this amazing project written and performed by students under the direction of Kennedy Pugh is a living testament to our commitment to Arts in education!

Roxanne Pignanelli • Founding Director • The Arts Academy

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE (PDF DOWNLOAD)

Our Educators are Innovators.

‘Disaster Monthly’ showcases the powerful ‘can-do’ attitude of students and faculty during a time when it appeared no productions would open to audiences and stages around the world would go silent. The Arts have always played a critical role in understanding our humanity and even in the time of pandemic, leadership and passions prevailed and fueled the creative process to complete a fresh and new musical work in response to Covid-19.

At The Arts Academy, all faculty members are required to have spent significant time in the professional entertainment industry as well as being licensed as a certified teacher in the State of Colorado. This provides students with a learning opportunity from instructors that can impart the "real world" application of the techniques and studies that they are receiving at the Academy. ‘Disaster Monthly’ embodies a pure spirit of creativity and poignantly reflects the nature of our times.

Here are the key Teaching Artists who worked with the students on this project. To view the Teaching Artists biographies and experience in the arts, click on their picture and then hover over the image to read and learn more. The Arts Academy and the students were so fortunate to have the opportunity to work and learn with such experienced professionals during COVID-19.

JOY

1. I was both the writer and actor for my piece.

2. My piece was called “These Walls”.

3. My favorite line has to be “Is this my chance to really look at myself and change for the better. It was a pandemic that I needed to finally stare at my self, the self I have ignored for so long”, just because I feel like for all of us, quarantine gave us the ability to better ourselves which we had neglected in our day to day lives.

4. The best part was being able to talk to others and see how they were handling everything. The worst would be the deadlines.

   JOY LOPEZ

ALEXANDRIA

1. I wrote and played the character 2020. I also wrote and sang Static Noise, Some Day, Best Friend Lullaby.

2. My pieces were called Disaster Monthly (monologue) and I'm Not Sorry (monologue).

3. My favorite mind is "I can hear your kids scream out in pain, because you have failed."

4. Best part - the fact that as a group we were all able to bring the project together. Worst part - the deadlines were brutal.

   ALEXANDRIA SHRUM

CHLOE

1. I acted as Darcy, I wrote my monologue, and I wrote the song “Simple Things”. I wrote the acrostic poems, and I made two pieces of artwork (the eye and how to build a raft cover).

2. My song was “Simple Things” and my piece was called “Dear Darcy”.

3. The best line of my piece was “I know I am strong enough to get through this, and everyone else is too.”

4. The best part of the project was being able to express myself creatively, and the worst part was trying to scramble to get everything done in time. 

   CHLOE VANEVERA

Bryana

1. Actor/singer/writer.

2. The protest/Monet.

3. “ONE nation under god indivisible with liberty and JUSTICE for ALL” was my favorite because it really just tops off everything in the piece.

4. The hardest part of the project was staying focused and trying to manage time. Even though it was summer a lot of us were working and had family events, but we got it all done and I’m proud of us!

   BRYANA LARK

Gavin

1. Actor, singer, and writer.

2. “Shark and a Wet Place” was my personal tune and “Theme for Change” was the jazz song that Barclay Moffitt also helped me write and perform.

3. Probably the best lines of my piece are the verse, “The place that I go is to back in time. There’s a spot on the beach that is only mine. Where the people there, are the best. No violence, anger, or regret”

4. I would say the best part of this project was working with all of these great people that helped us write and perform our own music. Kate, Mary Ann, and Mr. Kennedy taught me a lot of lessons that will stick with me for my entire music career. The worst of this project would be not being able to work together in person as a group. There were definitely some issues and constraints from us not being able to sit at a table and discuss the project, but I also believe that out of those constraints, creativity sprouted. In a way, I believe a lot of the worse things about the project connected us together, because together, we tried to work around and solve our problems, chipping away day-by-day at the feat of making a musical online. 

   GAVIN GRANT

Mark

1. Actor (Evan Grover) and writer (Brighter Day)

2. Name of Song: Brighter Day

3. Best Line: “At the end of every storm there’s a brighter day.”

4. Best - I loved getting together with my friends and teachers. Worst - Not being able to do this with everyone in person.

   MARK GOMEZ