Hamilton Musical Synopsis and Reception

For nearly three decades, Josette Greechan served as a Senior Vice President with Merrill Lynch in White Plains, New York, leading a team of three women professionals managing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. Like many New Yorkers, Josette Greechan enjoys Broadway theatre, which has recently been dominated by American history musical Hamilton.

Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton chronicles the life of U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton in the form of a hip-hop musical with other musical influences used to highlight specific characters. It begins with the story of Hamilton's participation in the American Revolution, first as a soldier and later as assistant to George Washington. It later moves on to chronicle his time as the Secretary of the Treasury, his fall from grace, and his eventual death at the hands of fellow founding father Aaron Burr.

This biographical musical has earned considerable acclaim. In 2016, it earned the Best Musical award at the Tony Awards. It has also earned several other awards, including the Lucille Lortel Award and the Drama Desk Award.

Three Important Infield Drills for Baseball Players

A Maryland-based dental assistant, Luca Simmons is attending Johns Hopkins University, where he is working toward a bachelor's degree in business administration. Upon graduating from high school, Luca Simmons served for two years as a volunteer baseball coach and still enjoys teaching and watching the sport.

Being a good baseball player requires more than simply being able to hit the ball well. A valued player is one who can both hit and field the ball well. As with hitting, practice through repetition can greatly improve one's fielding ability. Below are three vital drills for infielders.

1. Double play workup: Players are situated in their positions around the infield and a coach or another player hits the ball to the third baseman, who is then responsible for relaying the ball to the second baseman to begin the double play. Players who make a throwing error in the drill go to the end of the line, which is first base. 

2. Carnival grounders: This drill helps players pick up the ball and throw it in one smooth motion. To begin, the coach throws or hits a slow-rolling ground ball, allowing the player to move in and field the ball to make a quick, accurate throw to first base. Coaches can utilize different scoring systems to keep players engaged.

3. Star game: In this drill, players are lined up at their infield positions, and a line is formed at home plate. A coach hits a ground ball to the shortstop, who then has to throw the ball to the first baseman. The first baseman then throws to the second baseman, who finally completes the star by throwing to the catcher behind home plate. All the while, a runner is rounding the bases and attempting to beat the throw home.

Learning to Strum a Guitar

A dental assistant by profession, Luca Simmons pursues a variety of active hobbies in his free time. Luca Simmons particularly enjoys playing the guitar.

To strum a guitar skillfully, a musician must learn both mechanics and artistry. Good mechanics depend on proper use of the arm, from the shoulder to the fingers. The fingers' job is to hold the pick, between the thumb and index finger, in a way that the pick points to the left when held straight out in front of the body.

The guitarist may hold the pick at whatever angle feels and sounds good, so long as the arm is relaxed. Many beginning players either lock the wrist and use the elbow to strum, while others stiffen the elbow and overuse the wrist. In either case, the player must learn to initiate from the elbow but keep the wrist loose, so that the motion is long and smooth.

Beginning musicians can practice this technique at the same time they work on the downstroke and upstroke. The former requires the musician to strum through all six strings, while the latter can skip the bottom one to three strings. Because performing both motions in quick succession can be challenging, many new guitarists choose to practice each in isolation before combining them.

As the guitarist becomes more comfortable with the strum, he or she can start to introduce patterns, such as down-up-down-up or down-down-up-up. These exercises help the guitarist to strum with consistent rhythm, while providing options for more musical playing.