FastForward | November - December 2023

FastForward T H E B R OA DWAY I S S U E

No. 33, Vol. 2 | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023

A Juliet for the 21st Century “& JULIET”

AN INTERVIEW WITH BEN JACKSON-WALKER (ROMEO), RACHEL WEBB (JULIET) & JUSTIN DAVID SULLIVAN (MAY)

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MUSEUM OF BROADWAY AN INTERVIEW WITH THE FOUNDERS

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CONTENTS

this month...

Connection. It’s a word we use often. One mission of FastForward is to connect Marin students through journalism, creative writing, art and media, and provide a platform for young people to share their thoughts and experiences.

“Hope” is a theme for this issue. For our cover story, we saw a broadway show in New York City, & Juliet. We interviewed the three principal performers ­—­Romeo (Ben Jackson Murphy), Juliet (Rachel Webb) and May (Justin David Sullivan) to learn how they made it to Broadway and what it takes while performing live shows daily. We learned of their private struggles to be accepted for who they are. Our reporter Haley Lefferts writes of her hope in her review of the play [P.7], “that someday soon all stories can be told without compromise, and everyone will have a place on the stage.”

We visited and interviewed the two co-founders of the new Museum of Broadway, an interactive and experiential museum that celebrates Broadway’s rich history with hundreds of rare costumes, props and artifacts. We interviewed author Jon Klassen to gain insight in “finding our own voice in the noise.” Artists and writers from San Domenico School and Miller Creek Middle School share their art and writing about their passions.

Check out the upcoming FastForward Photography Contest. Send in your entries by December 1st.

FastForward PHOTO CONTEST 2024 Send 3 images — high res jpegs or PDF’s Deadline: December 1st, 2023

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4. “& JULIET” — AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PEFORMERS 8. MUSEUM OF BROADWAY — A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE 16. THE ART GALLERY — SAN DOMENICO SCHOOL 18. JON KLASSEN — ­ FINDING YOUR VOICE 20. MARIN SANITARY SERVICE — ALWAYS MORE TO LEARN AND PRACTICE 24. MILLER CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL — OUR PASSIONS 27. OPINION: HARMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA 28. ENVIRONMENTAL PAGE: MARINE MAMMAL CENTER 29. GARDEN PAGE — TAM VALLEY SCHOOL GARDEN 31. ART PAGE — MILLER CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL 32. MARIN BALLET — “NUTCRACKER”

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PUBLISHER: Winifred MacLeod winifred@fastforwardweb.com Published by KidSpeak, Inc., Vol 33 #2 www.fastforwardweb.com Phone: 415.272.3569 ADDRESS: FastForward 775 E.Blithedale Ave #388 Mill Valley, CA 94941 ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Mindy Cooper STUDENT EDITOR: Emerson Swift CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS/WRITERS: Giuliana Alfieri, Elizabeth Bogak, Elsa Block, Liam Callahan, Penelope Carroll, Emilia Carisetti, Nicholas Chin, Cameron Colpitts, Catarina Danicli, Harper Dean, Corrine Dillingham, Phoebe Disharoon, Keira Eisenbud, Matthew Feldman, Ezra Trost-Goldhammer, Tina Gan, Sara Hartje, Josie Hayden-Smith, Haley Lefferts, Audrey Lowell, Charlotte Martin, Amanda Mauzy, Finn McMullen, Brooke Note, Lauren Olsen, Jordan Potter, Mia Kaster, Samar Khan, Brandon Pang, Ashley Parades, Semira Robinson, Shushanik Sepan, Finn Snekkevik, Jake Snekkevik, Chloe Sumner, Emerson Swift, Jenniffer Valiente, Brigitte Whittle, Owen Wenzel and Callie Zimmerman.

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Benjamin B., Lucy Campo, Eddie Dristell, Lila H., Hannie H., Liam Harbridge, Noe Hopkins, Weston K., Lucy L., Madan Muguruza McDonnell, Sahiti Namburu, Camilla 0., Clover P., Jordan Potter, Vivienne Russell, Rawlings S., Roxanne S., Chris T., Arthur W., Anna Wallen, Paloma Y. and Alina Yee COVER & FEATURE PHOTOS: Matthew Murphy

Marin Horizon School Speak kindly. Act courageously. Learn joyfully.

Marin Horizon sixth graders studying tectonic plates and fault lines around the globe as they kick off their “Rumbles” earthquake project in our brand new 5th and 6th grade science room. Our young scientists will be working together to collaboratively engineer, design, and build an earthquake-safe structure out of toothpicks.

Each structure will be tested at our upcoming science learning exhibition to see which ones can withstand The Great Shake!

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& This Juliet will win you over WRITERS: YOGA WENG, HALEY LEFFERTS REPORTERS: CAMI COLPITTS, HARPER DEAN, JOSIE HAYDEN-SMITH, AMANDA MAUZY, CHARLOTTE MARTIN, ERIN OLSEN, JORDAN POTTER, SEMIRA ROBINSON, EMERSON SWIFT, JENNIFFER VALIENTE FROM: Branson, Marin Academy, Marin Catholic, Tamalpais High, Redwood High and Urban School of San Francisco

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he Stephen Sondheim Theatre thrums with pop-anthem basslines and glitters with flashing lights, its purples and blues and dazzling golds a far cry from the Shakespeare tragedy that inspired & Juliet, the “jukebox musical” that’s been breaking box office records since it opened here in 2022.

This vibrant production revels in its contradictions, subverting the audience’s expectations to drive its story both thematically and artistically. & Juliet reimagines Romeo and Juliet as a freewheeling frolic that doesn’t end with Juliet committing suicide but instead joins her on a journey of self-discovery ribboned with witty, metatextual one-liners and a chandelier-swinging romp through Renaissance-era Paris. We met up with Rachel Webb (she/her), primary understudy and the actress who played Juliet the night we saw the show, to talk about her (and Juliet’s) journey on the Broadway stage.

“When Lorna [Courtney, the play’s usual star] calls out, it’s because she needs to rest her voice and her body,” Webb said as she relaxed in her hot pink dressing room.

“I’m told sometimes an hour before the show, sometimes five hours before the show.”

For Webb, a big part of this role is about being flexible, as she can be called to play Juliet at any time. She even had to jump into the role midway through the show not once but twice. The first time it happened, the audience ohh’d in collective disappointment when the casting change was announced.

“I was like, okay. I have to make these people like me,” said Webb. “So I sang ‘Since You’ve Been Gone,’ and I told one of the script’s perfectly written jokes, and they laughed. And I thought. ‘Great. You’re on my team.’”

Like the musical she was starring in, she played with the audience’s expectations and won them over.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

“Continue to be brave and continue to be resilient. And just because there isn’t space made for you, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be there.”

The Marin County Free Library’s Mission is to provide welcoming, equitable and inclusive opportunities for all to connect, learn and explore.

A core strategy to achieve our Mission is providing resources and information that will help build equity in our community. » MARINLIBRARY.org

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For Justin David Sullivan (he/she/they) and Ben Jackson Walker (he/him), the subversion goes beyond & Juliet in that they’re queer actors playing queer characters on the Broadway stage. In & Juliet, Sullivan plays Juliet’s best friend and close confidante May, a canonically nonbinary character. Sullivan told us how their/her character, and by extension themselves/herself, also helps upset the expectations of what traditional theater looks like.

“When I first fell in love with musical theater, I pretty quickly came to a realization that my existence and everything that makes me, me, doesn’t naturally fit in a world of traditional musical theater,” Sullivan said. “I didn’t see a lot of roles that were written that I saw myself in.” As such Sullivan avoided musical theater for an extended period. “I was not willing to change anything about myself in order to fit into the mold of Broadway or musical theater as it was. So I’m really grateful this show came along, and this character came along, where I felt like I didn’t have to change anything about myself. And actually, I was able to help inform this character and introduce this character into the musical theater canon.”

May starts out as the “queer best friend” but moves beyond the stereotype, transforming the cliché into a fully formed character with the agency to move beyond a mere “best friend to the protagonist.” Sullivan hopes this character will help enlighten and inform audiences. “I love getting to represent my queerness and my gender fluidity onstage because I think it’s opening doors in people’s hearts, it’s opening their eyes and their minds to be able to see people and perhaps relate to them more than they initially thought they would.” Sullivan and May serve as vital queer archetypes in an institution — Broadway — that is often

more binary than it seems. In a time of rising anti-trans and anti-queer legislation, it’s more important than ever to carve out space for queerness. “To me, [theater] is the queerest art form in the whole world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that our stories are the ones that are being told most often,” said Sullivan.

“Continue to be brave and continue to be resilient. And just because there isn’t space made for you, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be there.”

The theater world’s traditionally binary nature has also restricted the roles Ben Jackson Walker auditions for. “There’s this thing with roles I’ve auditioned for when there are certain words that turn me off,” said Walker, who plays Romeo. “’Athlete’ or ‘macho’ person or anything that makes me feel like I’m going in for this straight character that I’ve seen on TV or Broadway portrayed in a certain way. And it automatically makes me feel like, oops, I kind of know what it is they’re looking for. I don’t know if that’s for me, I don’t know if that is me.” As such, he didn’t necessarily see himself as Romeo, who in Shakespeare’s original concept is a normative, quintessentially heterosexual figure. What’s more, in & Juliet, he can be conventionally masculine at times, making his first entrance, for instance, to a strong rock ‘n’ roll beat. But working with director Luke Shephard, Walker introduced more fluidity into the character and brought out both the feminine and masculine aspects of Romeo. “We tried to work on the sensitive sides of Romeo, the emotions, the parts of him that I could really connect with,” he said. “And that’s something that I’ve realized, from this point on, I’m always going to bring to any character. No matter what a character breakdown says, I’m always going to bring these things because this is who I am.”

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

REVIEW

A message of hope

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by Haley Lefferts, Tamalpais High School sat in the audience, brimming with excitement to see my first Broadway show, house lights still up, the sound system’s energetic music mixing with the chatter of the arriving audience, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement on the stage. One by one a parade of characters appeared. Some smiled and waved, some interacted with the people in the front rows; others rearranged big block letters scattered across the stage to spell out “ROMEO.” Dazzled by how the company captured the audience’s attention even before the show began, I had high expectations for & Juliet.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The musical’s combination of witty dialogue, spectacular dance numbers and a unique and delightful score created a world I didn’t want to leave. In & Juliet, Romeo’s death isn’t the end of the story but a new

beginning for Juliet. William Shakespeare himself and his wife, Anne Hathaway, insert themselves into the story in an attempt to rewrite Juliet’s future (or lack of it), but their plan fails, and we see Juliet take control of her life and pursue her own happiness instead of abiding by the expectations placed upon her by society.

And Juliet isn’t the only character going her own way. Adorned with a corset and a crown of flowers, May, played by Justin David Sullivan (he/she/they), starts off as Juliet’s nonbinary best friend, but the character grows beyond a typical supporting role. We follow May as they navigate their way through a complicated love triangle and discover who they want to be. The character is a standout from the beginning, not only because of their fashionable outfits and undeniable wit and charm, but (most importantly) the way they’re unapologetically represented on stage. May meets François, a French prince, in a picture-perfect meet-

cute — and sparks fly. After the party May confides in Juliet, sharing the struggle of navigating a very gendered world in which they feel they don’t have a place. The play’s theme of unbelonging and estrangement is a reality non-gender conforming and trans people face every day.

The message of & Juliet is hope. For Juliet, it’s hope for a better future with Romeo, one on her own terms. For May and François, it’s hope for a happy relationship in which they can be accepted. For me, it’s hope for a better Broadway — one of inclusivity, diversity, and representation. The LBGTQ community’s longtime lack of representation onstage makes members feel like they don’t have a place in a space largely built by and for this very audience, but & Juliet, with its inclusivity of different stories and identities, gives me hope that change is not only possible, but happening. That someday soon all stories can be told without compromise, and everyone will have a place on the stage.

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WRITERS: SEMIRA ROBINSON, YOGA WENG REPORTERS: CAMI COLPITTS, HARPER DEAN, JOSIE HAYDEN-SMITH, AMANDA MAUZY, CHARLOTTE MARTIN, ERIN OLSEN, JORDAN POTTER, EMERSON SWIFT, JENNIFFER VALIENTE FROM: Branson, Marin Academy, Marin Catholic, Tamalpais High, Redwood High, Urban High

&

&

the Museum of Broadway is an experience as magical and awe-inspiring as sitting front row center on a razzle-dazzle opening night. Each room of this three-story treasure trove just off Times Square is dedicated to a different groundbreaking New York production, featuring re-creations of sets dressed with tons of historical memorabilia, letting the museumgoer become part of the show. Making your way among the props, costumes, photos, sheet music, playbills, and artifacts, you’ll find yourself in Oklahoma’s field of corn “as high as an elephant’s eye,” on The Wiz’s yellow stairs, swinging through Hair’s psychedelic scenery, and striking a pose in Chicago. It’s a fantastic interactive backstage deep-dive into centuries of Broadway history.

Your time-traveling journey begins with the first documented performance in New York in 1732 before as New York’s theaters moved uptown from the financial district to Midtown Manhattan around the turn of the 20th century and continues as you immerse yourself in landmark productions from The Ziegfeld Follies, Show Boat, and West Side Story to Rent, The Producers, and Hamilton, among others. It concludes in a large backstage moment where you learn how a Broadway show evolves from concept to opening night through the hard work of sound and lighting designers, stage managers, and other often overlooked partners in creation.

The museum is the first permanent exhibition space dedicated to the history of the Broadway theater. Open since November 2022, it was co-founded by 2-time Tony-winning producer and entrepreneur Julie Boardman and event producer and Rubik Marketing founder Diane Nicoletti, who have been friends since their college days at USC. They also share a lifelong love of musical theater. When Boardman was five, her mother took her to see a friend perform in Annie. “I said “Mom, I want to do that,’” she says. “So then I was in The Sound of Music, and that’s when it started.” Her producing credits include A Doll’s House with Jessica Chastain, the hit revival of Funny Girl, Company, The Inheritance, Indecent, An American in Paris and many more.

A different musical got Nicoletti hooked on the Great White Way. “When I was a kid in elementary school, my parents took me to see Phantom,” she says. “Then I got involved in plays and musicals in high school. It’s always been a passion for me.” Her expertise at building experiences for Game of Thrones and other fan favorites was invaluable in curating the museum’s exhibits. “The projects I was most interested in were the ones with fan engagement, and things that were interactive but had an educational component to it.”

Making the Museum of Broadway a reality was a collaborative effort demanding loads of determination driven by the duo’s love of Broadway, its history and traditions. The Broadway community is smaller than you might think, with 41 theaters, so “we worked from within the community to create a museum that would honor what we live and 10 FASTFORWARD NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023

breathe every day,” says Boardman. After going back and forth over what the museum’s central theme would be, “we landed on the idea that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. If they hadn’t pioneered and broken ground and pushed forward, we wouldn’t have what the art we have today.”

While Nicoletti and Boardman were responsible for the museum’s overarching theme, every exhibit was built in collaboration with independent artisans. “We’d work together on the sort of story we wanted to tell within a particular room, and then we partnered with an artist to help bring that story to life,” says Nicoletti. Each room presented the complex and involved challenge of finding costumes, props, and other bits of history that were a part of each show. “It involved this whole community network to find where items live.”

One of Nicoletti’s favorite moments was when representatives of The Walt Disney Company, which has a 99-year lease on the New Amsterdam Theatre, gave them a tour of one of the oldest operating theaters on Broadway, and then loaned the Museum of Broadway many of the treasures stored within it. “It provid-

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ed an exciting new opportunity for Disney to showcase this wonderful archive,” she says. “The Ziegfeld Follies costumes you see in one of the first exhibits dates back to the early 1900s.”

Another artifact that survived decades of unconventional storage came from Merle Frimark, a publicist who worked on the groundbreaking 1960s rock musical HAIR. When the show closed, she kept its iconic American flag. “She was like, ‘No, this is really important,’” says Boardman, and for years stored it in her home. Now, thanks to Frimark, it’s on proud display in the museum. Other memorabilia, like André de Shields’ costume from the original Broadway run of Hadestown, were found through a chance conversation Boardman had with the show’s producer who she ran into on a stroll through Manhattan. It’s clear that the Museum of Broadway was built upon a community-wide dedication to preserve the history of this singular art form.

Boardman and Nicoletti have built the museum to last. They’ve filled it with fascinating and esoteric details that will delight everyone, no matter how much they think they know about Broadway.

There’s an interactive anagram tribute to devout puzzler Stephen Sondheim

by David Kwong; notes and correspondence from Rent playwright-composer Jonathan Larson; the costume Jennifer Hudson wore in The Color Purple; a massive, sparkling display of crystals for The Phantom of the Opera, each crystal representing a Broadway performance. “We knew we were going to be a permanent space and that we wanted to attract mega fans but also casual fans,” says Nicoletti.

The result is an awesome assortment of attractions where “everyone’s getting a little something different out of the experience.”

“We hope that people can learn from the past, so as we continue to grow and evolve, it comes from a place of understanding where we come from,” Boardman says. “Using history, we can continue to build a more inclusive, diverse, equitable future and world, on stage and off.”

Meaningfully engaged

Working side-by-side

Passionate

Join a community that pushes intellectual boundaries, immerses itself in critical and creative thinking, and cultivates the tools to live life fully.

Visit our website to explore the school and submit an inquiry. www.ma.org 1600 Mission Avenue, San Rafael

Saint Isabella K-8 School provides a wholesome nurturing environment that establishes a foundation for lifelong learning.

We are a parent involved school located in Terra Linda on a private campus close to Hwy. 101. Our programs promote the academic, social, and spiritual development of our students.

School Tours are offered by Appointment To schedule a personalized tour, please contact us at 415-479-3727 x112 or admissions@stisabellaschool.org 1 Trinity Way Terra Linda – San Rafael www.stisabellaschool.org

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JOIN US FOR AN ADMISSIONS EVENT! Visit us at marincatholic.org for more information.

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JANUARY 9

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Where learning is revered, and education is joyful.

R EG I S TE R FO R A TO U R MOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOL K-8 School in Mill Valley | mttam.org

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Art Gallery

Sally Houston’s art students at San Domenico School

Chris T., 8th Grade

Roxanne S.., 7th Grade Lila H., 7th Grade Rawlings S., 7th Grade

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Clover P., 7th Grade

Lucy Li, 9th Grade

Camilla O., 7th Grade

Arthur W., 9th Grade Weston K., 8th Grade

Benjamin B., 8th Grade

Hannie H., 7th Grade

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Jon Klassen

The author as a child

Finding your voice in a world full of noise...

An Interview with Jon Klassen

WRITERS: CHARLOTTE MARTIN AND JOSIE HAYDEN-SMITH, JUNIORS, REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL REPORTERS: CAMERON COLPITTS, EMERSON SWIFT AND LAUREN OLSEN FROM: Marin Academy, Tamalpais High and Redwood High Schools

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“

t was one of those really weird ‘falling in love’ moments. That’s how it felt to do books for the first time,” says Jon Klassen, an award-winning writer and illustrator.

Growing up in Canada, Klassen always had a knack for drawing and art, originally striving for work in animation.

But like most individuals in this world, his path was not clearly paved. Yet, as fate would have it, Klassen managed to find his voice in a world full of noise.

Before claiming the title of New York Times Book Review’s “10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2011” for his best-selling book, I Want my Hat Back, Klassen started out working in animation, which he thought was his premier dream.

“I was always focused on a job. I never wanted an art life. I didn’t want to go painting in Paris or anything like that — I wanted a job. That’s why animation was so attractive,” says Klassen.

He studied animation at Sheridan College, which led to experimenting with illustrating sets and props for movies. He practiced this career on well-known feature films including “Kung Fu Panda” and “Coraline.”

“It’s very time consuming and really high pressure. I was just so stressed out,” states Klassen.

After being subjected to a long day of taxing work, Klassen found himself blocking out the noise by drawing simple sketches, contrasting the complexity of his work in the animation studio.

Klassen began publishing a compilation of these illustrations to a personal website, catching the eye of a few art directors. With the suggestion to continue this passion towards work in picture books, the direction toward a fulfilling career was becoming more distinct.

His first book, I Want my Hat Back, which later became a trilogy, began with only a cover; a person not wearing a hat, with a title reading, ‘I Want my Hat Back.’ Klassen was amused with this latent idea, and when proposed by his agent to give a shot at writing his own story, the rough draft was sent to publishers to potentially buy it.

The success of Klassen’s first story did not only come from his talented illustrations, but also from his craft in storytelling, which he developed through trial and error. He captured the depiction of his characters by acknowledging his personal expression.

“I was writing, and I hated how it sounded. I just didn’t think it sounded like me. I was writing narration and how I thought a children’s book sounded. All of a sudden, I thought, I don’t want to write a narration.

And it’s not that I hate narration in other people’s books, but I can’t stand the sound of

“It was one of those really weird ‘falling in love’ moments. That’s how it felt to do books for the first time.”

Your voice comes from your hobbies, your passion projects, and the things you do to combat the noise of the world.

The Skull by Jon Klassen was released July 11, 2023. — Candlewick Press

The Skull is Klassen’s adaptation of a traditional Tyrolean folktale, originating from the Alpine region of Austria.

“This new book is sort of the first time I think I’ve done like a let’s-tell-a-scary-story kind-of-feeling one.”

my own voice,” says Klassen.

Once Klassen sat with his self-doubt, it led him to see what he wanted to improve in his own writing and be more authentic to himself. “For those three days, I was ready to give up. But that self-doubt helps you make good work, it means you still care.” When writing his first story, he asked himself, “what if we did a book where it’s just people’s voices talking? And I was like, I can do that.

I stood up in front of a laptop. And it was like 15 minutes, the book fell out just right.”

Klassen emphasizes that writers who care tend to doubt themselves and don’t think they are the best but end up making good work because that doubt pushes them to progress. “If you think that you are doing great work and you are the best, then you should probably stop. But if you are constantly worried about yourself and thinking you might be an idiot, then I think you probably make some good stuff,” he says. For new writers and authors who face doubt and writer’s block, Klassen leaves a powerful message to embrace that doubt and sit with it because it will push them to be better writers.

When recognizing Klassen’s technique, it’s not only the perspective in which his stories are written that makes his books unique, but also the way he portrays his characters. With his experience in animation, Klassen was used to drawing inanimate things, he wasn’t familiar with presenting emotion through his illustrations. But in finding a way to express these emotions using his own voice, inspiration sparked when dressing a cat in a bumblebee costume.

“The cat was standing there, just furious that it was in this stupid costume. I was like, that’s how it feels. My characters feel that they shouldn’t be in this book, they feel embarrassed to be in a book of mine, and I feel embarrassed to have brought them into this thing,” said Klassen.

Using this outlook on his relationship with his characters, Klassen wanted to stay true to his own expression and have some dignity in his characters and in his work.

“No one’s showing very much in my books, emotionally. Everyone’s very, kind of stoic, and are wondering why they’re even doing this. So, I’ve found a way to do that so I don’t embarrass myself; or show too much of myself,” stated Klassen.

Klassen has now written and illustrated five of his own published pieces and has worked on illustrations for other collaborative projects. Though he would have never pictured himself to be where he is today, as a young adult with aspirations in animation, Klassen became proof that sometimes the best things come unexpectedly. Achieving gratification in the work you do can come naturally. Your voice comes from your hobbies, your passion projects, and the things you do to combat the noise of the world.

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A N I N T E RV I E W AT M A R I N SA N I TA RY S E RV I C E

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THE ROLE OF AI (AND US) IN WASTE REDUCTION

TOO MUCH TRASH In 2018, Americans generated nearly 300 million tons of municipal solid waste

W

hat exactly do we mean when we say, “Throw it away”? In our lifetime, we don’t necessarily have to think about where everything that disappears in the garbage bin goes. That doesn’t mean that we should leave it up to mystery. We had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at Marin Sanitary Service (MSS), where our eyes were opened, and misconceptions cleared. A vibrant and robust facility it is— everything is moving, from the trucks to the conveyor belts, it is constant.

A relentless stream of trash cascades from a metal conveyor belt, forming towering hills of waste. The tallest among them stretches halfway to the ceiling of the building, showing the sheer volume of discarded materials. The amount of waste that they process is daunting, but they somehow manage to ship it all out — selling it as recycling, composting it, or sadly, finding a place for it in the landfill.

On a local level, the transportation of Marin’s waste to the landfill necessitates the use of 15 enormous semi-trucks, each stretching 72 feet in length. The methane emitted by the trash collected serves as an important reminder of the significant role that landfills play as major contributors to environmental pollution. Landfills rank as the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions, further emphasizing the critical need for education and understanding the importance of recycling and waste reduction.

One of the two new machines used to process recyclables is dubbed “the Tiger”, and the other, a more practically named “optical sorter.” The Tiger is a chamber that uses centrifugal force and metal teeth to violently and efficiently de-package food which is used as fuel for the Central Marin Sanitation Agency. By eliminating plastic from the compost, this saves time for restaurants and stores who can’t separate all leftover food from

269 million tons not recycled

6 million tons was recycled 25 million tons was composted

BY P E N E LO P E C A R R O L L & L AU R E N O LS E N M A R I N S C H O O L O F E N V I R O N M E N TA L L E A D E R S H I P A N D R E DWO O D H I G H S C H O O L FASTFORWARD NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023

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PHOTO ABOVE: RECYCLABLES COLLECTED AT MSS BEFORE BEING SORTED.

PHOTO, RIGHT: FOOD WASTE COLLECTED FROM RESTAURANTS AND GROCERY STORES TO BE PROCESSED INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

22 FASTFORWARD NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023

“The next technology that’s coming are robotic arms, which will use a suction cup to pick up items.”

DON’T WASTE A CHANCE TO EDUCATE

their containers. The optical sorter, paper, don’t degrade at all. At Waste on the other hand, uses AI to identiManagement in Oakland, they had fy lighter white paper from heavier to dig up portions of an old landfill cardboard, sending things into sepaand found homework from the 1960’s rate chutes at a dizzying pace. that you could still read!

The optical sorter, on the othThe work of Marin Sanitary er hand, uses AI to identify lighter Service is very important, and we white paper from heavier cardboard, shouldn’t take it for granted. Marin sending things into separate chutes County, like the rest of our nation, at a dizzying pace. faces a pressing waste problem. In “There’s an infrared light that de2018, Americans generated nearly termines what the material is, based have already been put into the trash. 300 million tons of municipal solon the shape and the density. It can When items are put in the trash, they id waste, with only six million tons determine what type of paper it is,” are not recyclable. Trash is never sort- being recycled and an additional 25 General Operations Director Justin ed. million tons composted.

Wilcock said. “It uses small bursts MSS Flying Can Ranch at the facilShould you find yourself having to of air to move things around as they ity is home to pigs and chickens. Pigs use non-recyclable items, it becomes come into the chamber.” were one of the original recipients of crucial to ensure that they find their Recycled glass, aluminum and food waste collected. Peacocks roam way into a garbage can rather than paper have the highest potential for the facility, adding a special attrac- being carelessly tossed into a recybecoming reusable for manufactur- tion, keeping other birds away at the cling container. MSS educates the ers. Thanks to the AI aspect, it will same time.

Marin community about the dangers become more and more accurate at Once waste reaches the landfill, our waste poses to the environment, its job over time. Both machines at there is little recourse other than to teaching people to consider using reMSS are equally innovative — they wait for the slow process of decom- usable products whenever possible increase the accuracy of the sorted position, which can take a long time and to consider the types of packag4R Planet Educational Programs help paper to be recycled properly. depending on the specific materials ing that is and is not recyclable. districts, schools, andinvolved. classrooms tosuch as We learned to avoid buying card“The next technology that’s comCertain objects ing are robotic arms, which will use a cardboard two months to board products coated with a layer develop comprehensive waste require reduction suction cup to pick up items,” Wilcox decompose, while certain plastics of plastic on the inside. This presents and recycling programscanwith andof years. itself in items such as non-dairy milk said. persistvirtual for hundreds They are still 80% effective despite Additionally, there are materials in cartons, such as almond, soy and oat in-person resources. a few inconsistencies managing the landfills that simply do not biode- milks. We also learned it’s important differing shapes of the packaging. grade. These typically include highly not to “wish-cycle” (trying to recycle Wehasn’t canyetprovide youspe-with the tools youlike need, ofthat charge, to implement MSS invested in this processed substances Styro-free things aren’t recyclable) and cific technology but keeps closely in foam and other petroleum-based to take the time to separate organic successful school recycling programs and comply with California state law! tune with where the industry is go- products, posing the greatest threat food and yard waste from the rest of ing, waiting for the day when it can to waste reduction efforts. In such the landfill. Educating the commu• anVirtual and In-Person Training Staff andis Students train automated system to have cases, the bestfor course of action to nity on the impact that our waste the flexibility to attend to different avoid using these materials altogeth- has on the environment is crucial to • Virtual and In-PersonerTours ourproducts.

Recycling Center items. and useof reusable ensure the health and wellbeing of While MSS is equipped to sort The reality is that in the landfill Marin’s environment in the future.

• Guides, instructions, and worksheets for Waste Activities through the received recyclables, it environment (compacted materials cannot do anything about the recycla- without much air or water getting • Compiled lists of articles, games, and lessons that can be done in the ble items that don’t make it there and through) most materials, including

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Miller Creek Middle around the room looking for ideas. Meanwhile, I can’t stop thinking of that tasty pizza. My fingers grip the pencil tightly to make straight lines and be precise. Ten minutes later I hear my name, “Catarina the pizza is ready!”

Swimming

By Sara Hartje

Sahiti Namburu, 8th Grade

FastForward visited Alison Campagna’s 6th Grade students to conduct writing workshop.

Surfing

Painting

Salty wind whips my face as my wet hair falls loosely on my shoulders. I hear waves crash behind me and I glance back.

My friends shout, “look out!” and soon I’m tossed on the ocean floor as a huge wave passed over. Relentless, I get back up and paddle out farther, in search of the perfect wave. Finally, I’m past the big waves and I’m being gently rocked by the steady pulse of the sea. I lie back and my hot pink surfboard glows in the bright sun. Soon a smooth rolling wave finds me, and I roll over onto my stomach, the rubber of my wet suit squeaking. I start to paddle, and the water sweeps me up. I pop up and throw my arms out for balance.

I smell the fumes of the fresh new paint. I smile as I pluck out the little pieces of plastic that are holding my painting back. I open the painting drawer and pull out my gigantic paint pallet. I pull off the dry paint from yesterday’s session, satisfyingly getting it all off in one peel. I laugh, watching the paint as it smooths out on the canvas. I bite the end of the paint brush, thinking about what I will do next to this hidden masterpiece.

By Mia Kaster

Hockey

By Liam Callahan The splendid spotlights at the acropolis of the stadium stream down upon the glazed ice. The Zamboni has just cleansed the ice of its cuts and scrapes, and my team waits patiently behind the puck-battered boards. My goalie pads squeak and my helmet dongle clacks against the shiny metal.

The neat array of bleachers readies me to perform for my fans. As the buzzer sounds, I skate rapidly to place my water bottle on the bench.

24 FASTFORWARD NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023

By Corinne Dillingham

Soccer

By Brandon Pang The magical touch of the ball and the sprinkled dew on the morning grass, recently cut. Frosted posts on crisscrossed netting and fresh paint to mark the setting. The sun splits the clouds and the game begins, a perfect cross and a shot top bins. Our team celebrates – this is where I want to be.

Drawing

By Catarina Danicli I sit down, pick up my pencil and make my first line. I smell the whiff of pizza floating through the house. I make the second line and hear my music softly playing in the background. My eyes wander

I feel the adrenaline pump through my body, my swim cap tugging at my forehead.

The smell of the chlorine fills my nose as I stand on the block, just seconds away from the water. “Swimmers take your mark” calls the announcer, his deep voice radiating through the crowds. And then it happens: I hear the loud beep, marking the start of my race, that noise locked with anticipation. I push off the block and smoothly hit the surface, my arms in perfect streamline as I glide down the pool.

My nervousness melts away because for now, it’s just me and the water. Whatever happens above the surface doesn’t matter right now because in this moment it’s just about me. I begin to move my arms, pulling at the cool water, propelling myself forward. I do a tight flip turn and push off the wall with force. The rest of my race goes by, my arms and legs moving as fast as I can until I make it to the wall, finishing off strong with extreme force. For now, I don’t care if I won, I just care that I swam.

My Dog Viggo

By Elizabeth Bogak My dog lays in the shade, sleeping soundly as I hear him snoring like the river coming. I see him move his paws like he is running. I think he saw a squirrel, as he is enjoying his dream. His little ears are moving up and down, up and down. His nose twitches like he smells something. He may be running in a meadow like never before, but in reality, I see him lying and dreaming.

Baking

By Giuliana Alfieri The whisk splashes batter in my face.

I take a fluffy piece of cloth and wipe my face. The sun shines through the glass reminding me to check the timer to see if the cookies are done. I take them out of the oven and a gush of hot wind lingers on my face – the cookies smell as if they are from heaven. I pop one in my mouth and the sweetness and gooey chocolate overwhelm me. I hear my brother say he wants one as he takes it from the tray.

Things We Know to be True Ms. Campagna’s students

Anna Wallen, 8th Grade

Dancing

By Samar Khan I put my hair into a messy bun and place my cold foot on the bronze floor. Suddenly I jump as if I were on a trampoline. I take a whiff of the sweetly scented room and fall to my feet. My messy brown hair falls in front of my face as my dark brown orbs widened. I place my warm brown hand on top of my chest and can feel my heart almost gasping for air.

Basketball: Winning a Championship

by Jake Snekkevik

At the championship game I am tasked

with inbounding the ball. There is one second left on the clock. Lights shining in my eyes, spectators screaming in my ears. The score is 30-31 and we are up. This pass will decide the game. My hands tremble as I lift the ball up. After a slow inhale I release.

It seems that the ball floats in the air for hours. All is silence. The ball comes rocketing down straight towards my teammates’ hands. I exhale right as he catches it. The clock hits zero and the crowd erupts. What seems like the sound of thousands of footsteps hits my ears, as spectators and playing alike storm the court. I can’t believe it.

We are champions!

Continued on Page 26

Listen to your dreams, they are smarter than you.

Birdwatching is a golden gift.

Happiness is easy to shatter.

If it ain’t broke, don’t swap it, especially with friends.

Music is sound therapy.

I can think outside of the box, but I need a box to think outside of.

You will never find it if you never look.

Life is like a poem that never ends.

People are like mirrors, you never know their true colors because they are always a reflection of their surroundings.

As soon as you get what you want, you might end up not wanting it.

Don’t be afraid to ask.

Sometimes it gets ugly before it gets pretty.

Life is unfair, but don’t burn out trying to fix it.

Underwater is true peace, but you always have to surface, like peace it can never last We need to work to save our Earth — now!

Waves don’t like to stop dancing.

We need to work together to succeed.

Kicking a ball with a friend, seeing the blue sky and fresh air makes me happy.

Learning never ends.

Alina Yee, 8th Grade

Eddie Dristell, 8th Grade

FASTFORWARD

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

2023

25

Miller Creek Middle School Continued from page 25

Sadness

By Noe Hopkins, 8th Grade

By Ashley Paredes Sadness always wears a dark hoodie with tears splashing down her face.

Sadness has tangled dark hair and blurry eyes.

Sadness always carries a blank piece of paper in her cold, pale hands. Sadness is mostly alone but occasionally hangs out with her only friend, sorrow.

Sadness is locked away hugging herself on the inside.

Anxiety

By Chloe Sumner Deep holes form in their heart as they worry about what could go wrong. They curl into a grey blanket, unable to think straight. Unable to eat or get a wink of sleep. Anxiety worries about what their parents would think if they found out about their grades — all Ds. Anxiety’s strict parents would freak, or cry, or yell.

They can’t decide, which only makes it worse. Biting their nails, they fret, almost crying. They do not want their parents to hate them for this. They just want to go back to sleep, hoping to wake up when it’s all over.

Where Did She Go

By Brooke Note

Confusion woke up confused. “Is it morning?” she asked as she drove to school. Later that day, Funny got mad and started a fight – Confusion didn’t understand and skipped along. At 10:00, she thought school was over and drove – she didn’t know where, she just drove.

She stopped at a hotel: “Wait what?” she said. All the time she asked, “Where am I?” “You’re in Florida,” someone replied, “we moved.” Everyone at home was very confused where she went. As for Confusion, she started a new confusing life.

26 FASTFORWARD NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023

By Matthew Feldman

Stuck in focus, trying to get every detail.

With each stroke, trying to not paint over paint, making sure it’s perfect. With every small detail I make, more mistakes. When I finish, I gaze at my work. I am happy and I store it away with all the small miniatures I have made.

By Phoebe Disharoon

By Owen Wenzel

Students personified Emotions

Miniature Painting

Stress

Shaping a Photo Imagine you are standing in the middle of nowhere – it’s 5am and you have a camera in your hand. I’m poised like a cat ready to strike, ready to take the perfect photo just at the right time. Waiting, waiting, waiting. The sun rises and I see my opportunity. Then click, click, click and it’s over, 5 seconds after it started.

getting softer if I don’t press down as hard.

The black and white patterned keys get a turn to be heard, and some keys don’t get heard at all. Each piece that I play and each song I desire always sound different and produce a new tune. This is my instrument— the piano.

Sitting in the corner, hoodie pulled tight, the room is trashed, and the walls always seem to be getting closer. Mountains of work and piles of dishes that have overtaken the house. Bloodshot eyes and stains all over her grey hoodie. She sits, trying to hide from her problems and escape life. Tear-stained cheeks and a migraine pounding her until she decides to breathe.

Piano

By Shushanik Sepan The keys are heavy under my fingers.

Then they gradually get lighter, if I please.

The music is loud in my ears, sometimes

By Liam Harbridge, 8th Grade

By Tina Gan, 8th Grade

Opinion

Our Generation A LOOK INTO WHAT IS WRONG WITH HOW WE USE SOCIAL MEDIA

T

one of the main apps; Snapchat, TikTok, and/or Instagram. Since people typically want others to only see their successes on these platforms, they often only post what puts them in the best light. Therefore, followers are only exposed to limited perspectives on others’ lives. Posting only the best snippets creates a distorted view of success and happiness on social media and hides the real picture. This generates a false sense of what’s attainable and creates an impossible standard that people are working to achieve.

Seeking Approval Teenagers brains are naturally wired to seek approval from others. This causes us to be especially vulnerable to social media.

We may feel pressure to overachieve for the approval of others rather than doing what we truly want to do. This jeopardizes mental health because living/doing things for others’ approval and attention doesn’t produce happiness. We start to live for other people and lose our sense of self.

he pressure for high school students to overachieve is greater than ever right now. We attend classes seven hours a day, study late into the night, and participate in extracurriculars and sports outside of school. You might think, wow that’s a lot!

Even so, the question still lingers Conclusion Comparison in the back of our minds if we are As social media becomes more popu& doing enough and if we should lar — often dominating our lives as teenCompetition be doing more. Teenagers feel agers — the pressure to a massive pressure to succeed Social media can be a heavy in school and get into a great creates a culture I believe that overachieve weight. If we can understand of comparison and college. This is already enough focusing on what’s causing these prescompetition. On these to overwhelm us, but this stress Josie Hayden- Smith our paths and sures, we might discount apps, we continually Redwood High School bleeds into other aspects of our and focus on what we Grade 11 trusting them them see what everyone lives — sports, school and social truly care about. Overachievelse is doing and their is what will ing for the sake of keeping up activities. Why do highschoolers successes, which with the harsh standards and lead teenagers have an intense feeling to obtain perfecnaturally causes us to compare pressures that come from sotion, more than ever right now? Does to being ourselves to others. We think cial media isn’t the recipe for excessively overachieving make us happy we need to overachieve to the most happiness. Overachieving to and successful, or is it a false sense of stand out and reach goals that successful get into a competitive school other people seem to be easily comfort? doesn’t necessarily lead us to and happy.” reaching. We feel we must live being successful. up to other’s perceived suc— Josie Hayden-Smith Social Media I believe that focusing on cesses rather than being happy Social media plays a big role in creating our paths and trusting them with ourselves. We experience feelings pressure for us to overachieve. Almost is what will lead teenagers to being the of competition, which can add stress and everyone has a social media profile on most successful and happy. cause us to feel inadequate.

“

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Congrats!

USATF JO All American Ellie McCuskey-Hay Heptathlon and Long Jump 2023

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

2023

27

Picture this: the salty breeze on your face, the not so faint smell of fish, and the sounds of screaming seals in their pens! Now imagine experiencing all of this while making a difference.

witness their incredible transformation.

Preparing fish smoothies, watching the seals gain strength, and ultimately witnessing their return to the wild are just a few of my favorite components in this program. Sure, the fish kitchen might be a bit smelly and loud, but the reward is beyond words.

The Marine Mammal Center Youth Crew program isn’t just about caring Welcome to the Marine Mammal for seals—it’s also about becoming Center Youth Crew High School proan environmental ambassador. gram, where adventure, learning, Through the environmental and seal-saving collide! education component of the The Marine Mammal Center program, you’ll learn about Youth Crew program for highclimate change and its impact schoolers offers an unforgettaon marine life. With this ble opportunity to step into the knowledge, you’ll be able to world of marine mammal rescue educate visitors at the center, and rehabilitation. As the largest spreading awareness and Emilia Carisetti marine mammal hospital in Marin School of inspiring change.

Environmental Leadership the world, the Marine Mammal Some of the most fun I had Grade 10 Center is on a mission to save in the animal care part of the and protect these magnificent program was pushing seals creatures. By scrubbing their pens with around in wheelbarrows, or what we a long brush, spraying their pens down, like to call “seal-barrows”. I will always and prepping fish for feeds you’re helpremember how to wrap their heads in ing these amazing creatures! a towel like a burrito, and then unwrap In this hands-on program, you’ll find their small faces and big eyes after I am yourself involved in animal care. Get up settled sitting over them and holding close and personal with adorable seals their heads in order for another volunas you feed them, clean their pens, and teer to tube feed them. These unique

experiences will leave a lasting impression on you. Every time I would enter a pen with my wooden board protecting myself and a few other volunteers the seals would come running and poke their little heads either over the pools or scoot themselves closer to the door. It is these experiences that have led me to discover my love for the ocean and the animals within it!

After weeks or even months of care, seeing a seal make its return to the ocean is an unparalleled experience.

The sheer joy of witnessing these rehabilitated seals running towards the water, their playful spirits rekindled, will fill your heart with an indescribable sense of fulfillment.

The Marine Mammal Center Youth Crew program offers an extraordinary experience for high school students to explore their love of marine creatures, and the ocean. By actively participating in the rehabilitation of seals and engaging in environmental education, volunteers not only gain valuable skills but also a connection with the natural world. The program creates hope for future generations of environmental stewards, reminding us of the value of marine life and to always protect our environments and oceans!

PROUD TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.

36

Central Marin Sanitation Agency l Novato Sanitary District l Sanitary District No 5 of Marin County Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District l Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District l Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin To report a polluter call 1-800-SAV-R-BAY

FASTFORWARD MARCH 2020

SPONSORING TAM VALLEY SCHOOL GARDEN Each month Sloat Garden Center offers a $250 garden grant to a new Marin County school.

Betsy Chatton’s Garden Class I loved planting Snapdragons and onions in the flower bed. The Snapdragons were red and orange. I enjoy being in the garden.

— Maeve Chandler I love the tasty oranges, the juicy apples, the orange carrots and the sour onions. I love it all and can’t wait to try more. — Ava Desmond The flowers wake up from a three-month sleep.

The butterfies fly. The plants and trees grow tall, the apples fall into the buckets. The golden state poppy is soft like a pillow. — Zheng Wang I love sitting in the garden in nature with plants and animals. — Hunter Lewis I love pressing flowers from the garden for our moms on Mothers Day. — Elizabeth Vinegar I loved when I walked through the wish garden making wishes and hoping they will be fulfilled. — Ella Jorgenson I love the ladybugs in the garden.

— Locklyn Neiner

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To learn more about our work with Bay Area school gardens, visit www.sloatgardens.com

I love planting flowers in the garden. It was so fun! — Chase William Booie I love to come to the garden and see all the plants.

— Katherine Kaliontzkis

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Art Gallery

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Christina Aguila’s art students create pop art.

Eddie Dristell, 8th Grade Noe Hopkins 8th Grade

Lucy Campo, 8th Grade

Sahiti Namburu, 8th Grade

Alina Yee, 8th Grade

Vivienne Russell, 8th Grade

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Marin Ballet

Front, left to right: Cali Schroeder, Ruby Dawydiak, Cata Wilson and Harlow Deane.

Middle Row, left to right: Lucy Bornstein, Zoe Chesler, Kira Shoup, Eliana Carter, Will Wundrow, Valentina Leiva, Addison Paull and Gaia Kotlarsky.

Back Row, left to right: Ariella Abta, Valentina Medina-Magdaleno, Corinne Jonas (Artistic Administrator), Ellie La, Amira Davies and Gwen Stallings.

United Markets congratulates all the teachers, staff and parents who help make it possible for students to discover the magic of dance. This year Marin Ballet will once again present its beloved full-length production of Nutcracker, with a magically re-imagined version at the Marin School for the Arts Theater in December. The students are preparing with hard work and long rehearsals for the joy of performing for the community in the colorful and fun show, with amazing costumes and sets. It is an enormous commitment, but it is so exciting to be able to experience the payoff for the dedication, when they hear the applause and cheers from the live audience ringing in the holiday season.

The Director and students share thoughts about ballet and dance: “Nutcracker is always a time of excitement. You practice different roles every year, and it’s amazing to see how a little Level 2 student can one day become the Sugar Plum fairy.” ­— Ariella Abta, 7th Grade “I love ballet because it is an art expressed through movement.” — Cata Wilson – 7th Grade “I love Nutcracker because we have so much fun and make great memories.”­­­— Amira Davies, 6th Grade “I love ballet because of the thrill of being on stage.

Everything else disappears when you fall into the roles you have practiced so hard.” ­— Eliana Carter, 6th Grade “When Nutcracker season starts, my heart starts pounding louder than ever, and there is so much excitement performing with so many talented dancers.” — Gaia Kotlarsky – 6th Grade “At Marin Ballet we nurture students to become strong and confident dancers, who feel the freedom to express their individuality in both class and performance.” — Catherine Hader, School Director

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