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May 5, 2011 The Stampede
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The Unpredictable “Smell” of Success Drama department debuts new play “The Star-Spangled Girl” tonight nick green
If Kyle Wood had to offer a short promo for the upcoming play it would be: “I like the way you smell.” Wood, quoting from this week’s production The Star-Spangled Girl, is one of only three students starring in the Neil Simon comedy. “Following American Roulette (the last drama production) we wanted to do a comedy,” Wood said. Juniors Drew Sorrusten, Kyle Wood, and senior Aly Hutchinson are starring in the play coming out today and runs through May 7. Admission is $6 for students and seniors and $8 for adults. Wood first got into drama because his sister had been and he had, at that point, not found an extra-curricular activity. Wood further added that because the play has already been performed across the country, (the previous play American Roulette being written by drama teacher Chris Evans) it was an easy choice to be the next production. “It’s basically a story about two hippies, they’re brilliant students
at Dartmouth who publish a protest magazine. But, to mix things up a beautiful Olympic swimmer who’s sort of the Fox News type, moves in next door to the hippies and peculiarly one of the hippies falls in love with her based on her smell,” Hutchinson said. “There’s another twist, though. The girl likes the hippie who doesn’t like her even though she has an eight-foot boyfriend. It’s basically a love quadrangle,” The play is certainly a different play from any performed this year. “This play is Chris Evans unique because it’s so darn funny; it’s not a deep thinking play,” drama teacher Chris Evans said. “Imagine Fox News and MSNBC as boyfriend and girlfriend. The play was written in the 60’s but you can still see some of the political arguments we’re having today.”
“Imagine Fox News and MSNBC as boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Such a convoluted plot naturally requires a lot of forethought and practice. Wood said the most difficult part of preparing has been memorizing lines. “The lines are all pretty dependent on each, and we all rely on each other,”
I am a part-time history geek. I’m not exactly sure as to when this development occurred, but somewhere along the line I started hanging out in the Barnes and Noble history section and stealing my dad’s Ben Franklin biographies for road trip reading. Admittedly, this isn’t as cool as being a part-time computer geek (I can’t hack anything) or a part time math geek (my homework takes me a long time). But at least I can stake my news-opinion editor claim somewhere in
Chasing Sanity katie hodges
Wood said. As the last play of the year, “StarSpangled Girl”holdsspecial significance for senior Aly Hutchinson. I had surgery the week before the show, and it’s going to be pretty difficult running around the stage on Thursday,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson added that while “it’s nice that we get class time,” it’s still pretty stressful. Evans, however, feels that all the work is worth it, “It’s just a funny, funny, play and even though I’ve seen it several times it still makes me laugh.” “I’ve got three of the hardest workers, it’s very rare to see any of them without books in their hands,” Evans said. While her time with CMR Drama is nearly at an end Hutchinson, is sad but optimistic. “I’m excited to go to college, but I’ve been in every mainstage show since I started; and I’m really going to miss the people.”
the large world of geekdom. Being a geek used to be well…Geeky. But thankfully sometime over the past 10 years, it became cool to be a geek about something. This is a good thing. Period. The end. Everyone should have one thing they love and devote time to, one thing to geek out over. Encouraging people to be geeks means encouraging people to take an active interest in things that they love. It means that people are passionate about things. And when people are passionate about things, the things they create or do are better. Someone who geeks out about brain surgery is most likely going to be a better brain surgeon than someone who sort of tolerates it, and had that
Pictured at upper right, Juniors Kyle Wood and Drew Storrusten rehearse a fight scene between their respective characters. Wood later exclaiming “that actually hurt.”). Pictured above, junior Drew Storrusten suffers the effects of his ‘wounds’ after dueling Wood. Pictures by Nick Green.
brain surgeon not been encouraged in his geekiness, there wouldn’t be a great brain surgeon. So be a geek. Even if the thing that you geek out over won’t save a life, you will probably be a more happy, productive person for it. Finding something to be passionate about means that not only will your passion benefit, but everything else in your life will benefit from it. Having something in your life that you love will make everything else seem better. A passion might not always bring fame and succes (whoever heard of a rich history geek), but it can at least bring happiness, corny, but the most important thing. So find something to be passionate about. Find something to love.