DOCSLIB.ORG

Hierarchical Methods for Optimal Long-Term Planning

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hierarchical Methods for Optimal Long-Term Planning UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Hierarchical Methods for Optimal Long-Term Planning Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/34q2f9vm Author Wolfe, Jason Andrew Publication Date 2011 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Hierarchical Methods for Optimal Long-Term Planning by Jason Andrew Wolfe A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Stuart Russell, Chair Professor Christos Papadimitriou Professor Rhonda Righter Fall 2011 Hierarchical Methods for Optimal Long-Term Planning Copyright 2011 by Jason Andrew Wolfe 1 Abstract Hierarchical Methods for Optimal Long-Term Planning by Jason Andrew Wolfe Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Stuart Russell, Chair This thesis addresses the problem of generating goal-directed plans involving very many elementary actions. For example, to achieve a real-world goal such as earning a Ph.D., an intelligent agent may carry out millions of actions at the level of reading a word or striking a key. Given computational constraints, it seems that such long-term planning must incorporate reasoning with high-level actions (such as delivering a conference talk or typing a paragraph of a research paper) that abstract over the precise details of their implementations, despite the fact that these details must eventually be determined for the actions to be executed. This multi-level decision-making process is the subject of hierarchical planning. To most effectively plan with high-level actions, one would like to be able to correctly identify whether a high-level plan works, without first considering its low-level implementa- tions. The first contribution of this thesis is an \angelic" semantics for high-level actions that enables such inferences. This semantics also provides bounds on the costs of high-level plans, enabling the identification of provably high-quality (or even optimal) high-level solutions. Effective hierarchical planning also requires algorithms to efficiently search through the space of high-level plans for high-quality solutions. We demonstrate how angelic bounds can be used to speed up search, and introduce a novel decomposed planning framework that leverages task-specific state abstraction to eliminate many redundant computations. These techniques are instantiated in the Decomposed, Angelic, State-abstracted, Hierarchical A* (DASH-A*) algorithm, which can find hierarchically optimal solutions exponentially faster than previous algorithms. i Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Classical Planning . 3 1.2 Hierarchical Planning . 3 1.3 Outline of the Thesis . 6 2 Background 10 2.1 Classical Planning and Search . 10 2.1.1 State-Space Search Problems . 10 2.1.2 Planning Problems: Representations and Examples . 13 2.1.3 State-Space Search Algorithms . 17 2.1.4 Partial-Order Planning . 22 2.2 AND/OR Graph Search . 23 2.2.1 AND/OR Search Problems . 23 2.2.2 Bottom-Up Search Algorithms . 30 2.2.3 Top-Down Search Algorithms . 31 2.2.4 Hybrid Search Algorithms . 41 2.3 Hierarchical Planning . 44 2.3.1 Historical Approaches . 46 2.3.2 This Thesis: Simplified Hierarchical Task Networks . 51 3 Decomposed Hierarchical Planning 60 3.1 Decomposition, Caching, and State Abstraction . 61 3.1.1 Decomposition and Caching . 61 3.1.2 State Abstraction . 65 3.2 Exhaustive Decomposed Search . 69 3.3 Cost-Ordered Decomposed Search . 70 3.3.1 DSH-LDFS: Recursive Top-Down Search . 70 3.3.2 DSH-UCS: Flattened Search . 74 ii 4 Angelic Semantics 77 4.1 Angelic Descriptions for Reachability . 78 4.1.1 Reachable Sets and Exact Descriptions . 78 4.1.2 Optimistic and Pessimistic Descriptions . 81 4.1.3 Simple Angelic Search . 83 4.2 Angelic Descriptions with Costs . 85 4.2.1 Valuations and Exact Descriptions . 85 4.2.2 Optimistic and Pessimistic Descriptions . 88 4.3 Representations and Inference . 91 4.3.1 Interface for Search Algorithms . 91 4.3.2 Declarative Representations: NCSTRIPS . 93 4.3.3 Procedural Specifications . 100 4.4 Origins of Descriptions . 102 4.4.1 Computing Descriptions . 103 4.4.2 Angelic Semantics, STRIPS, and the Real World . 105 5 Angelic Hierarchical Planning 108 5.1 Angelic Hierarchical A* . 109 5.1.1 Optimistic AH-A* . 109 5.1.2 AH-A* with Pessimistic Descriptions . 112 5.2 Singleton DASH-A* . 118 5.3 DASH-A* . 121 5.3.1 Introduction . 121 5.3.2 Overview . 127 5.3.3 Initial Algorithm . 132 5.3.4 Subsumption . 143 5.3.5 Same-Output Grouping . 144 5.3.6 Caching and State Abstraction . 150 5.3.7 Correctness of DASH-A* . 152 5.3.8 Analysis of DASH-A* . 155 5.4 Suboptimal Search . 157 6 Experimental Results 161 6.1 Implemented Algorithms . 161 6.2 Nav-Switch . 164 6.3 Discrete Manipulation . 167 6.4 Bit-Stash . 170 7 Related Work 174 7.1 Planning . 174 7.1.1 Explanation-Based Learning . 174 iii 7.1.2 Nondeterministic Planning . 175 7.1.3 HTN Planning Semantics . 175 7.2 Hierarchies of State Abstractions . 176 7.3 Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning . 178 7.4 Hierarchies in Robotics . 179 7.5 Interleaving Planning and Execution . 180 7.6 Formal Verification . 181 8 Conclusion 183 8.1 Summary . 183 8.2 Future Work . 184 8.2.1 Classical Planning . 184 8.2.2 Beyond Classical Planning . 185 8.3 Outlook . 186 iv Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have been possible without the help and support of advisors, colleagues, friends, and family. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Stuart Russell. His wisdom, ency- clopedic knowledge of the field, and ample guidance have shaped many of the ideas in this dissertation, and helped me become a better writer, researcher, and thinker. I would also like to thank Bhaskara Marthi, who originated this research project, con- tributed to and helped refine many of the ideas presented here, and has taught me a lot about research over the years. I am very grateful to Professors Christos Papadimitriou and Rhonda Righter for serving on my dissertation committee, and offering helpful comments on this manuscript. Along with Professor Dan Klein, they also helped guide this research in its earlier stages by serving on my qualifying exam committee. This space is unfortunately too short to thank all those who have shaped my educa- tion and research, including a great number of brilliant faculty and students throughout undergrad and grad school at Berkeley. Conversations with Malik Ghallab, Pieter Abbeel, and many of the great researchers at Willow Garage stand out especially. Working on side- projects with Aria Haghighi and Dan Klein was also a great pleasure. My fellow RUGS members have been a never-ending source of great conversations, inspi- ration, and helpful suggestions on countless research ideas, papers, and talks over the years: Norm Aleks, Nimar Arora, Emma Brunskill, Kevin Canini, Shaunak Chatterjee, Daniel Duckworth, Nick Hay, Gregory Lawrence, Bhaskara Marthi, Brian Milch, David Moore, Rodrigo de Salvo Braz, Erik Sudderth, and Satish Kumar Thittamaranahalli. I am also grateful for all of the reviewers, researchers, and others I've had the pleasure to interact with throughout graduate school. In particular, the ICAPS community has inspired and welcomed papers based on many of the ideas in this thesis. Last and far from least, I would like to thank my friends and family. My parents, Rich and Sue, have always offered unconditional love and support for my endeavors, whatever they may be. I can't thank you enough! My girlfriend, Sarah Reed, has been a pillar of support and a perfect partner in crime over the past three years | I can't wait for you to join me as Dr. Reed! To all of my family and friends: I can't tell you how much your love, support, and understanding mean to me | you've helped make my time in graduate school the best of my life thus far. 1 Chapter 1 Introduction A central aspect of intelligence is the ability to plan ahead, selecting actions to do based on their expected impact on the world, including their influence on potential future action choices. In fact, nearly all actions that humans actually carry out on a day-to-day basis | striking a key, articulating a word, and so on | are only useful insofar as they take us tiny steps closer to achieving our long-term goals. Since the early days of Artificial Intelligence, hierarchical structure in behavior has been recognized as perhaps the most important tool for coping with the complex environments and long time horizons encountered in such real- world decision-making. Humans, who execute on the order of one trillion primitive motor commands in a lifetime, appear to make heavy use of hierarchy in their decision making| we entertain and commit to (or discard) high-level actions such as \write a Ph.D. thesis" and \run for President" without preplanning the motor commands involved, even though these high-level actions must eventually be refined down to motor commands (through many intermediate levels of hierarchy) in order to take effect. Consider a simulated robot tasked with cleaning up a room by delivering a set of objects (e.g., dirty cups, magazines) to target regions (e.g., dishwasher, coffee table), an example that will be used throughout this thesis. To accomplish this task, the robot must execute a coordinated sequence of many thousands of low-level \primitive" actions, corresponding to small movements of its base and arm, articulations of its gripper, and so on. Attempting to find such a solution by directly searching over the space of all possible such sequences seems like a hopeless, or at least misguided, pursuit.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Fringe of Leaves”
    Cicero, Karina R. Time and language in Patrick White's “A fringe of leaves” Tesis de Licenciatura en Lengua y Literatura Inglesa Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Este documento está disponible en la Biblioteca Digital de la Universidad Católica Argentina, repositorio institucional desarrollado por la Biblioteca Central “San Benito Abad”. Su objetivo es difundir y preservar la producción intelectual de la Institución. La Biblioteca posee la autorización del autor para su divulgación en línea. Cómo citar el documento: Cicero, Karina R. “Time and language in Patrick White's A fringe of leaves” [en línea]. Tesis de Licenciatura. Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Lenguas, 2010. Disponible en: http://bibliotecadigital.uca.edu.ar/repositorio/tesis/time-and-language-patrick-white.pdf [Fecha de Consulta:.........] (Se recomienda indicar fecha de consulta al final de la cita. Ej: [Fecha de consulta: 19 de agosto de 2010]). Universidad Católica Argentina Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Departamento de Lenguas “Time and Language in Patrick White’s A Fringe of Leaves. ” Student: Karina R. Cicero Tutor: Dr. Malvina I. Aparicio Tesis de Licenciatura Noviembre, 2010 1 Introduction A Fringe of Leaves starts, just like two of the most significant events in Australian history - colonisation and immigration- with a journey across the sea. Journeys often entail changes in one’s personality. Sometimes, radical ones. Travellers have always ventured to meet the unexpected in order to find answers to unasked questions having as a consequence a different approach to existence. In A Fringe of Leaves (1976), written by 1973 Nobel Prize- winner Patrick White, the character of Ellen Roxburgh assesses her whole existence through the hardships she faces during her journey to and within Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • Tour Pack Alfred Jarry’S Ubu Roi in Object Theatre
    THÉÂTRE DE LA PIRE ESPÈCE (CANADA) PRESENTS ADAPTATION FROM TOUR PACK ALFRED JARRY’S UBU ROI IN OBJECT THEATRE www.pire-espece.com UBU ON THE TABLE THE WORLD’S GROTESQUENESS ON A TABLE! or What Happens When a Power-Hungry Vinegar Bottle, Hammer and Sugar Bowl Fight for the Throne. Two armies of French baguettes face each other in a stand-off as tomato bombs explode, an egg beater hovers over fleeing troops and molasses-blood splatters on fork-soldiers as they charge Père Ubu. Anything goes as Poland’s fate is sealed on a tabletop! Multiple film references spice things up as two performers hammer-out a small-scale fresco of grandiose buffoonery. UBU IN OBJECT THEATRE Ubu is undeniably comfortable surrounded by kitchen utensils that double as gorging tools and weapons to annihilate the “sagouins”. The banality of the objects dramatically underscores the grotesque nature of the characters: Captain Bordure, embodied by a standard hammer, is forever stuck in his rigid stance, forced to repeat the same ridiculous expressions over and over. The Object’s expressive limits force the creators to focus on the dramatic action rather than on the psychological development of the characters. The actor-puppeteers (in full view) appeal to the audience’s intelligence and imagination by conveying a second degree to the storyline. OVER 900 PERFORMANCES This adaptation of Ubu Roi has garnered much praise – the objects’ raw form and the performance’s frenetic pace are perfectly suited for Alfred Jarry’s cruel farce. Since its creation, the show has been performed over 900 times in 15 COUNTRIES (Canada, France, Germany, U.K, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Cuba, Finland).
    [Show full text]
  • © 2018 Susanna Jennifer Smart All Rights Reserved
    © 2018 SUSANNA JENNIFER SMART ALL RIGHTS RESERVED GROUNDED THEORY OF ROSEN METHOD BODYWORK A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of Kent State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Susanna Jennifer Smart April 4, 2018 i GROUNDED THEORY OF ROSEN METHOD BODYWORK Dissertation written by Susanna Jennifer Smart BSN, Sonoma State University, 1986 MSN, Kent State University, 2008 PhD, Kent State University, 2018 Approved by ____________________________ Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Denice Sheehan ____________________________ Member, Dissertation Committee Christine Graor ____________________________ Member, Dissertation Committee Clare Stacey ____________________________ Member, Dissertation Committee Pamela Stephenson Accepted by ____________________________ Director, Joint PhD Nursing Program Patricia Vermeersch ____________________________ Graduate Dean, College of Nursing Wendy Umberger ii ABSTRACT Complementary approaches to health and wellness are widely used and research is needed to provide evidence of their utility. Rosen Method Bodywork (RMB) is a complementary approach with a small, but growing body of evidence. The purpose of this research study was to explore the processes of Rosen Method Bodywork to develop a theoretical framework about what occurs over the course of receiving sessions RMB, both within the recipient and between the recipient and the practitioner. In this grounded theory study, data from interviews of twenty participants was analyzed and a theoretical model of the overall process of RMB was constructed. The model consists of the five integrative phases through which these participants moved within the iterative RMB process from Feeling Stuck and Disconnected to Feeling Connected. Mindfulness is observed to be a central component of the RMB process which participants describe as helpful for trauma recovery.
    [Show full text]
  • Selves, Subpersonalities, and Internal Family Systems Leonard L
    University of Florida Levin College of Law UF Law Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Faculty Scholarship 1-1-2013 Managing Inner and Outer Conflict: Selves, Subpersonalities, and Internal Family Systems Leonard L. Riskin University of Florida Levin College of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/facultypub Part of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons, and the Psychology and Psychiatry Commons Recommended Citation Leonard L. Riskin, Managing Inner and Outer Conflict: Selves, Subpersonalities, and Internal Family Systems, 18 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 1 (2013), available at http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/facultypub/323 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at UF Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UF Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Managing Inner and Outer Conflict: Selves, Subpersonalities, and Internal Family Systems Leonard L. Riskin* ABSTRACT This Article describes potential benefits of considering certain processes within an individual that take place in connection * Copyright © 2013 Leonard L. Riskin. Leonard L. Riskin is Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law, and Visiting Professor, Northwestern University School of Law. This Article grew out of a presentation at a symposium entitled "The Negotiation Within," sponsored by the Harvard Negotiation Law Review in February 2010. I am grateful to the HNLR editors for inviting me, to its faculty advisor, Professor Robert Bordone, who suggested the topic and deliberately limited his explanation of what he meant by it, and to other participants in that symposium.
    [Show full text]
  • William Baldwin
    CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE POSSESSION KIND As you read this volume, be prepared to meet otherworldly beings in a form never before imagined. There are alien colonists, alien scientists, alien castaways, alien/human hybrids, and many others. There are many nonphysical, unearthly beings who impose mind control at a whole new level, revealing a sinister side of the UFO phenomenon previously regarded as absurd and only hinted at in other books. In acknowledgment of his pioneering exploration of science and spirit in his groundbreaking work, Spirit Releasement Therapy: A Technique Manual, Dr. William j. Baldwin was honored with the 1994 Franklin Loehr Memorial Award by the International Association for New Science in Ft. Collins, Colorado. He has received other awards for lifetime achievement and contribution to the transpersonal field in the tradition of bridging Mind, Body, and Spirit. Now Dr. Baldwin further expands his fascinating explorations into consciousness and documents what many hundreds of clients have discovered in clinical session. CE-Vl: Close Encounters of the Possession Kind catapults the reader into the many-layered realms of human consciousness and experience, revealing unwanted intrusions by alien "others." This kind of ET/UFO encounter appears to be nonphysical yet every bit as intrusive as the well-known abduction scenario. Addressing the heart of the matter, CE-Vl illuminates a path for overcoming fear, and embracing the fresh, eternal, indestructible light of human freedom. CE-VI CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE POSSESSION KIND By William J. Baldwin, Ph.D. CE-VI: Close Encounters of the Possession Kind by William J. Baldwin, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall Tv Preview Specialties Cast Wider Nets, While Conventionals Strive to Stay on Top
    THE BATTLE FOR EYEBALLS: FALL TV PREVIEW SPECIALTIES CAST WIDER NETS, WHILE CONVENTIONALS STRIVE TO STAY ON TOP IN THE RIGHT RETINA, ONE OF CORUS STIFLES SCREAM, BOWS THE NEW COMBATANTS BROADER-FACETED DUSK BRAND OF THE YEAR STEP CHANGE CCoverJul09.inddoverJul09.indd 1 77/10/09/10/09 99:55:18:55:18 AMAM SAVE THE DATE October 7 Design Exchange An exploration of cutting-edge media executions with global impact. Presenting Sponsor To book tickets call Presented by Joel Pinto at 416-408-2300 x650 For sponsorship opportunities contact Carrie Gillis at [email protected] atomic.strategyonline.ca SST.14386.Atomic.ad.inddT.14386.Atomic.ad.indd 1 77/13/09/13/09 55:30:26:30:26 PMPM CONTENTS July/August 2009 • volume 20, issue 12 4 EDITORIAL Instead of campaign, think election 10 6 UPFRONT How Canada fared in Cannes, Caramilk’s 16 secret revealed and answers to other life-altering questions 10 WHO Bud Light’s Kristen Morrow brings the bevco’s booze cruise to Canada 14 CREATIVE Pepsi and Coke take a page from the same book of warm, fuzzy feelings 16 DECONSTRUCTED Beer wars: Kokanee vs. Keith’s (people have gone to battle for lesser things) 19 FALL TV 14 Find out what the big nets have lined up, which new shows will burn out or fade away and how specialties are evolving to woo new audiences (and advertisers) 48 FORUM Will Novosedlik on the unrelenting power 19 of TV and Sukhvinder Obhi on getting inside consumers’ brains – literally 50 BACK PAGE Lowe Roche breaks down an agency’s thought process…this explains why there’s so much Coldplay in commercials ON THE COVER Our very cool (and a little creepy) cover image was brought to us by the dark minds at Dusk, the newly rebranded Corus specialty channel replacing Scream this fall.
    [Show full text]
  • To View Submission Call As a PDF
    It’s a jolly holiday with the 34th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival! Join Fringe Theatre Adventures on a whirlwind adventure with… SupercaliFRINGEilistic There’s something magical about it…just like that singing nanny you’ve heard so much about! But what does SupercaliFRINGEilistic look like? That’s where you come in! We are looking for submissions that capture the enchantment of the Edmonton Fringe Festival. Much like Mary Poppins, the Edmonton Fringe is a vibrant, animated world that blows into Old Strathcona every summer then is gone just as quick, in a most delightful way… Mystical chalk drawings, chimney sweeps above a London skyline, fantasy and exploring your imagination; channel your inner child and be creative! Design illustrations will be accepted in any size or medium. You just need to get it to us! FTA will be determining our Festival design direction based on what you and select artists from the community submit. We plan to share submissions via social media and our website (so everyone can see the cool ideas out there!) and make a decision on our design direction in late January. Get your design in today…. deadline is January 30, 2015! All design illustrations become the property of Fringe Theatre Adventures and will not be used in any way other than as noted without permission. FTA reserves the right to purchase any design treatments or portions thereof for further development at their discretion. FTA also reserves the right to commission a professional designer to develop the theme and is not obligated to use a design received through this call for illustration.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Death in Historical Perspective Author(S)
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by HKU Scholars Hub Title ‘Closer to God’: Child Death in Historical Perspective Author(s) Pomfret, DM Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, 2015, v. 8 n. 3, p. Citation 353-377 Issued Date 2015 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/217977 Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth. Copyright © The Johns Hopkins University Press.; Copyright © <year> The Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in TITLE, Rights Volume <#>, Issue <#>, <Month>, <Year>, pages <#-#>.; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. DAVID M. POMFRET “CLOSER TO GOD”: CHILD DEATH IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE INTRODUCTION In recent times the historiography of death has expanded considerably, but dead children have rarely been its central focus.1 The same could be said of research in the history of children and youth. Though this field witnessed an early flourish of interest from demographic theorists and historians of the family in parental responses to early mortality, in the last few decades it has generally been haunted by the dead child’s absence.2 After the controversy sur- rounding Philippe Ariès’s “parental indifference hypothesis” faded, historians of childhood prioritized efforts to uncover the values adult societies attached to “child life” or to recapture the agency of living children. This relative neglect of the dead child may owe something to the fact that death has been, statisti- cally, in decline as an aspect of children’s experience in modern times.
    [Show full text]
  • California State University, Northridge
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE JOURNEY INTO SELF JUNGIAN DREAM ANALYSIS AS A STEPPING STONE TO INDIVIDUATION A graduate project submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education, Educational Psychology, Counseling and Guidance by Linda Wood Loomis May 1988 The Graduate Project of Linda W. Loomis is approved: Luis Rubalcava Bernard Nisenholz, California State University, Northridge ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my family: To my Group family and its leader, Bernie, from which it was born. To my Four Seasons Support Group and the three women who nurtured it and me as family during its inception and growth. To my therapist, Les, who was the holding container for me as I lived the dying, rising and rebirth of its process. To my husband, Len and my four children, for supporting and encouraging its process and helping me survive through to its completion within our family experience. To my mother and father, my family of origin, without whom I would never have had the courage and the consciousness to live it. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ii Dedication iii Table of Contents iv Abstract v I. Chapter One 1 A. Definition of Terms II. Chapter Two 5 A. My Chalet Dream III. Chapter Three 82 A. Review of the Literature IV. Chapter Four 111 A. The Father-Daughter Relationship: a cultural perspective. B. References for Chapter Three 135 V. Conclusion and Lysis 137 VI. References 139 iv I ' ABSTRACT JOURNEY INTO SELF: JUNGIAN DREAM ANALYSIS AS A STEPPING STONE TO INDIVIDUATION by Linda Wood Loomis Master of Arts in Education Educational Psychology, Counseling and Guidance Individuation, the conscious realization of one's own part in the process of human growth, is a unique psychological reality, including strengths and limitations, which leads to th~ integration of the Self as a whole being.
    [Show full text]
  • 2021–2022 SEASON Welcome Back! TAPE FACE America’S Got Talent Finalist
    2021–2022 SEASON Welcome Back! TAPE FACE America’s Got Talent Finalist Sunday October 17, 2021 – 7pm Mime with noise, stand-up with no talking – drama with no acting. Viral sensation Tape Face has to be seen to be believed. Tape Face is a character created by performer Sam Wills; delightful, wry, many- layered, hilarious and with universal appeal. He accesses an inner child in us all that must be fed. Through simple, clever and charming humor, aimed at satisfying that We want to thank all of you who We are excited to share with you our hunger, this America’s Got Talent Finalist supported us during our dark theatre time lineup for our 2021/2022 season. Some of gives a performance which is delightful, wry, last year and are eternally grateful. these shows were scheduled prior to the and hilarious. Through simple, clever and shutdown and others are new offerings. charming humor, Tape Face has created During the shutdown last year, I think one of the most accessible and enjoyable most of us learned how important certain While we are planning to be opening shows the world has ever seen. things are in our lives, and for me it was up at 100% capacity in the Armstrong getting together with friends to hear live Theatre, we want you to know that your music, see mind-blowing magicians health, safety and comfort are our first and fun theatre. I watched so many priority. TOCA will continue to work with livestreams and that helped me stay the City of Torrance to make sure the connected but once it was live again it most current Covid protocols are in place was like breathing fresh air after being in a for your safety.
    [Show full text]
  • ***************************$T************************* Reproductions Supplied by EDRS Are the Best That Can Be Made from the Original Document
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 320 869 SP 032 385 AUTHOR Stinson, William J., Ed. TITLE Moving and Learning for the Young Child. Presentations from the Early Childhood Conference "Forging the Linkage between Moving and Learning for Preschool Children" (Washington, D.C., December 1-4, 1988). INSTITUTION American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Reston, VA. SPONS AGENCY American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Reston, VA. National Dance Association.; Council on Physical Education for Children. REPORT NO ISBN-0-88314-449-2 PUB DATE Dec 88 NOTE 270p. AVAIL,%BLE FROMCOPEC/NASPE, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021) EDRS PRICE MFO1 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Child Development; Dance; Early Childhood Education; *Health Promotion; Integrated Curriculum; *Movement Education; *Physical Education; Physical Fitness; Play; Student Centered Curriculum ABSTRACT These papers focus on four themes: (1) young children: active learners; (2) physical education: the forgotten aspect of early childhood education; (3) dance: bringing movementas art into the early childhood curriculum; and (4) the child asan energetic, moviag learner. Common threads of emphasis were woven through the content of the presentations: movement is learning for all children; movement is both an ehd in itself and a means to an end; the child is central to the learning process; movement and learning are for all children; and education for young children isan integrated curriculum. (JD) ********************************************$t************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *******************x************************************************** Moving and Learning for the Young Child William J.
    [Show full text]
  • Braiding the Dreamscape
    Braiding the Dreamscape by Cathie Sandstrom It's dark on purpose so just listen. Lawrence Raab, “Visiting the Oracle” The doors into the gallery were massive: 10 feet tall and 3 inches thick. But when I pressed my palm against one, it opened with so little effort I remembered turning a 19th century lighthouse lens on a frictionless mercury float. At the slightest nudge from my finger, the 4- metric-ton lens rotated. I felt that same sense of wonder at the door’s surprising weightlessness as I slipped inside into a dream-like darkness broken only by pools of light. Illuminated free-standing glass cases held sculpted figures taken as if from someone’s dreamscape. Each one held a fragment of narrative but offered no answers, only caused questions to rise. In Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Jung says, “The crucial thing is the story.” As I moved from case to case through four rooms, I felt compelled to braid the images into a narrative I could understand. I wanted to know why I was so affected by this exhibit, why I was so drawn to it. I went back to it over a dozen times looking for a thread of story to help me navigate its mystery. Each time I entered the gallery that odd, mute, all-my-senses-on-stalks feeling would enfold me and silence would descend over me like a glass bell. The works in the gallery were by artist and sculptor John Frame, who had been jolted awake from a dream in the middle of the night.
    [Show full text]