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Show f 4 TX.LAKESIDE Thursday September 24, 1 998 Lakeside Review THEY CALL IT STAGE FRIGHT Judges Theres no need to panic, shy teens By DANI ALLRED TX. 4 t correspondent i. i chool .has ? i - slyly K H I snuck up 4 I t 1 I f - fu U f rf ti f$ s (in us, cutting summer down fight in its prime. And as classes begin, some of you pay be having a little anxiety about the inevitable threat of the jrpcoming oral report. j Its bad enough to have to research and write a paper, but to get up and talk about it in front pf the class . . . thats just pressing the line. Maybe so, but as teenagers in & world of adults, we have no phoice. 2 It cant be that bad, can it? I Jnean, the cheerleaders are always up in front of the student body, and Id much rather give a little speech than attempt to Jdance for everyone or do the I J A I 1 f- $ t 1 - i J "4 J " & I f I t . i f , jf f u -- 1 ?! BONNIE volunteer at the beginning. The longer you sit around and worry about it, the more nervous you will get. Watch your breathing. When you get nervous, you may start breathing shallowly, which can add to the feeling of Visit with your audience, think about your speech or review your notes to keep your mind from focusing in on the fear symptoms. Some people prefer counting ceiling tiles or singing to themselves. I say, whatever works for you. Research and preparation! The best way to conquer stage fnght is to know your matcnal. In a nutshell, remember that everyone else is just glad its not them. Your audience wants you to do well and will forgive you for your mistakes. And dont picture the TOMUNSONStandarcl-Examine- f audience in their underwear. I think Id be a LOT more nervous in a room full of d people than speaking to normal people who dress themselves in the morning. Dani Allred, a junior at Weber half-nake- High School, is very involved m ith her city's youth council and Governor's Youth Councd programs. She loves music, theater and welcomes at frogger782(a aol com. rr MORE TIPS Realize that KRISTEN JENSEN rtX correspondent Das jelly? Are pyour hands r'clammy and psweaty? Has ''nausea attacked you hard you youll vomit? ! ? These are only a few of the symptoms of laliophobia, commonly known as stage fright. l should know, I endured all this ryust recently. ' Several weeks ago, on a y Sudden impulse, a good friend of mine and I decided to audition ?for The Sound of Music at the Heritage Theatre in Perry. But r little did we know what an rso I Jordan District life will and altos. For those of you who dont know what those are, dont feel bad. Neither did I. When they announced this plan to split into sections, I nearly died. Sections? I thought to myself. I thought w e all just sang the melody! Fortunately, I made it through the night with shreds of still intact And here is what I learned about battling stage fnght: Take a few deep breaths. This advice has been around for generations, but it really does work. By taking in more oxygen, your brain is likely to get out of its panic mode. Positively visualize yourself. Think like Tbe Little Engine That Could. You are much more likely to succeed if you have a positive image m your mind. self-respe- ct I Realize that the sun will still come up tomorrow. No matter how horrible your expenence is, life goes on. Preparation. For musical auditions, it is helpful to have your song memorized. Be sure to have music andor accompaniment. Smile. People are more likely to look at a friendly face. Also, it shows that you are human. Many people might ask, Why expose yourself to such humiliation? For me, it is all for the love of the theater and the chance to be a star. Kristen Jensen, a junior at Weber High Si hool, is involved m theater. She loves to play the flute and piano, and is a member of her city's youth councd. She ailmits she would sell her soul for cheesecake. schools headcount tops list takes over title of most Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY - The Jordan School j! District has overtaken the Granite district as I Utah's most populous district. count showed Granites tl - A preliminary declined by 880 students from last tyear, for a total of 72,192, while Jordan has 73,301 students, or 173 more than a year ago. ! If in fact we are the largest, that is not 'necessarily an honorable distinction, said Jordan Superintendent Barry Newbold. 1 go on after performance adventure we would have. Like most auditions, we were required to sing 1 6 measures of an upbeat song. When I was called up to sing, I thought I was going to faint. I sang (if thats what you call the sound that came from my throat) hombly! Since I dont have all day. Ill spare you the gory details. It was one of the most horrendous experiences for me. But at least it was all over, and my buddy and I laughed at what dorks we had acted like. Imagine my surprise when I was called back for a second audition - and hard as it is to believe, it was worse than the first. For the second audition, I was a song required to sight-rea- d from the musical. If this wasn't enough torture, they wanted us to divide into sopranos, seconds j: populous school district ,lxne it Brendon Stahle, 1 5, agreed that anyone could be teen judges. In fact, they believed that similarities between judges and defendants did not weaken justice, but strengthened the bond and understanding between both sides of the bench. I feel pretty privileged to be a youth judge. Ive been in their (defendants) shoes. I wasnt always on this side of the bench. Being on the youth court has helped me stay on this side of the bench, Stahle said. But, where is exactly is the line between good and bad friends, high or low values? We had a smoking case one time. Well, I smoke so I cant really tell him that he cant. We kind of take that into consideration. We cant really counsel the parents. We basically have to deal with the teen. But we take the parents into consideration. We normally ask the parents what we can do to help. Sometimes they give sugges- tions, sometimes they dont. The line is drawn at what is breaking the law or obeying the io i can do Current Syracuse Youth Court judges Christensen and -- i Any teen 4 ' Are some people just more fcomfortable getting up in public? Qbviously some people must nave an easier time with it, but ieVeryone gets nervous. The key is figuring out what stage fright is and how to handle it. I " Stage fnght is just what it says, (a fear of being on stage. Personally, I think its a silly 'term - its not the stage Im afraid of, its the audience. Get !me in an empty auditorium and T d love to give you a speech on any topic. Heck, if you ask nicely ;Cd sing for you and maybe do a 'little dance. But as soon as people start filing in, your face blushes red, Hjur palms get sweaty, you cant tireathe, and you think, Im too lyoung to be having a heart attack, right? As soon as you Drave an audience, it becomes jiiary. For some reason, their Opinion of you is of some importance to you. You could just take a backseat imd watch from the sidelines, but sometimes youre going to have just get up and do it - that oral report, for example. Youre iieing graded. Therefore, its a good idea to figure out how to Stand up in front of your peers 'without your voice cracking. s '. Thats why Im here. To offer iome tips in your time of need. ! Walk around just before you speak to bum some of that excess energy. If you cant get up rdnd walk around, try flexing one muscle group at a time (without making a spectacle of yourself) to bum a couple calorics. If it's a case like a school rj Hpport, where everyone is going to have to take a turn eventually, t; i k .1 y, 2 4 splits. pBy From 3 good kids but anybody who wants to join, Robinson said. It was kind of weird. In junior high I was kind of going along, not getting good grades and hanging out with the people that I shouldnt have been hanging out with, said Laura Christensen, 17, a senior at Clearfield High School. Then I got on the court system and my grades went up. Everything just changed. We acknowledge our size, but in education we would like to be recognized for our quality, said Newbold. We w ill probably continue to be the largest district with continued growth. The Jordan District, on the south end of the valley, is home to a growing number of children. families with school-ag- e Granite, which spans the middle of the valley from east to west, has more established neighborhoods whose children are graduating and not being replaced as quickly with younger students. The Jordan District predicts it will have 87,000 students by 2006, with a sharp enrollment climb beginning in three years. We understand Jordan is now the largest district, and they can have it, said Granite spokesman Kent Gardner. In northern Utah's Davis District, enrollment has declined nearly 500 pupils from last year's 58,812. Spanish Forks Nebo District in southern Utah County reports an increase of 500 more pupils than last year, for a total of 20,003. Final fall enrollment figures will not be compiled in most districts until October. law, she said. We try to get to know what they are like, what they are thinking when they did this, if theres any real problems. Usually we find that most kids are with friends and their grades go down. Really, I dont try to judge their friends or their grades, I just notice a decrease or an increase or if their fnends are doing good things or bad things and just try to help them understand where they're going in life. We try to help them realize that one thing leads to another, said Robinson. We judge them on their attitude, Stahle said, depending on if the attitude is good or bad, we are stricter. Values are up to the parents, we just go by the law. When asked what qualities she would want in a youth judge. Tiffany Allred, an old Roy Youth Court Judge and Erin Cowles, a recent graduate from Roy High School, each wanted a youth judge. I think that I would want a youth judge because theyd be more understanding. They would know what you were thinking, theyd be on the same level as you, so theyd be more able to know what youre going through, Cowles explained. I would want to have a hard judge because I'd be more likely not to do it again. I mean, not so strict that Id be too overwhelmed, but pretty firm in their punishment. It feels condescending when adults tell teens what to do and better when teens tell other teens. We talk to them after the disposition (sentencing) and tell them kind of why we gave them that and why we think they shouldnt be doing that, Allred said. ar Peer court Haake has also found that youth court is affective in deal . ing with minor Class B misde-meanors. Youth courts deal only with mild, usually first-tim- e offenses such as smoking, day-- , time curfew (sluffmg), and van- dalism. As a social worker I am in- volved with the Juvenile Court-quita bit. Without a question,1 with the kids we see, the peer court holds the ki&s much more' accountable. Punishment is1 more of an educational tool. The kids know exactly what they did wrong and are account able for it, Haake said. While not replacing the juve- -' nile court system, youth court has its place. It allows teens to talk about issues that pertain tor teens, something different from adult courts. While being educated in the legal system, teens form bonds with then- - peers. ! Its not just a learning experience for the defendants, but for the court as well. Teens can attend court and be intimidated about what they have done, instead of what they dont know about the court procedures. The judges are serious about their jobs. Its not we have something over you, ha ha ha. No. Its very serious to them. Its remarkable to see the growth in them, to see the Haake said. f When I first started I just kind of sat there; now I ask questions and write up con- tracts. The responsibilities of being a senior on court are kind of hard sometimes. You look at all of them to help me out. When I get stumped sometimes Im like, Ok, help me. But, I go through my questions and discuss it with the other judges, Christensen said. Its (youth court) a lot more personal. We do try to be professional, but in juvenile court there are so many kids, you just In youth get a court we are their age, or pretty close, and we know what theyre going through. Were really trying to help them and be their fnends, but also let them know what they need to do. h. How the system works After a trial, both judges and defendants have gained knowledge and expenence that can be situations. applies to real-lif- e Most judges had a sense of fulfillment when they watched a defendant walk away with a changed attitude. Its been interesting to see how the court system works, but Ive learned kind of how other people think about what theyve done. Mostly they dont think when theyre doing things. And I know just how to help my friends if they ever get in that situation, Allred said. Talking about her experience out of the court, Christensen said, Last year, the locker right next to me, the kid came from youth court. I was fnends with him, Id just talk to him. We didnt even talk about what he did. We were just friends. I Youth court helps all teens develop an understanding and a respect for others, and for the law. Through accepting responsibility, leadership and service, not only is justice served but deep and lasting friendships are formed. I feel its both judgment and being a friend. Most of them have broken the law. They need to be punished, but they also need to have a friend. I think that is the purpose of youth court, so its not so adult They can relate to us and we can be friends and be a judge as well," said Robinson. i ! :4 4 Angie Driggs, a recent greuiuate of Clearfield High School, loves sports and the outdoors. She also plays the piano anil enjoys music. i if Expert Appliance Repair rrrn ; POOR COPY ; |