The Daily Northwestern October 2017
NU alum steps into the wizarding world p.8 STUDENTS CROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PERFORM AT FRINGE FEST P.4 FORMER NU FOOTBALL PLAYER SEEKS TRUE LOVE ON AIR p.10
SEPTEMBER 23, 2017–MARCH 11, 2018
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THE MONTHLY Contents
Across the Atlantic
NU students immerse themselves in Scottish theater scene
Under Broadway’s Spell
‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ casts NU alumnus
Brains, Brawn, Bachelor
Former NU football player reflects on ‘The Bachelorette’
Reel Horror
NU alumnus develops contest pitch into horror film
04 08 10 12
Staff of The Monthly Issue 4
Stavros Agorakis A&E Editor
Ruiqi Chen Design Editor
Jane Recker Assistant A&E Editor
Jerry Lee Caitlin Chem Amelia Beck Designers
Ben Pope Madeleine Fernando Writers
Cover photo: Counse/Flikr/Creative Commons BY 2.0/Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theater Page 3 photo: Allie Goulding/Daily Senior Staffer
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ACROSS THE ATLANTIC Musical project immerses Northwestern student actors into Scottish theater scene
— by Ben Pope
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ommunication senior Reed Lancaster hails from England, attends college in the U.S. and, over the summer, played a Scot. As Quinn in “Atlantic: A Scottish Story,” one of two musicals produced in a collaboration between Northwestern and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Lancaster immersed himself in Scottish culture to play the show’s lead. The musical premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. “It was (an) incredibly magical experience, and it was lovely seeing how people were moved,” Lancaster said. “It’s just so rewarding when you’re telling a story and you physically move (someone) to tears.” Thousands of people from across Europe and the rest of the world flocked to Edinburgh for the renowned amateur theater festival — an event Lancaster described as “tightly organized chaos.” University President Morton Schapiro and School of Communication Dean Barbara O’Keefe were among the attendees. At the center of it all were a handful of NU actors, three recently graduated
Photos: Source: Brannon Bowers
writers, Communication Prof. David Bell and their musicals — the crown jewels of a year-long undertaking by the University’s American Music Theatre Project. The two musicals explore similar themes of transatlantic separation and interpersonal discovery from opposite perspectives and were performed on alternating days throughout the festival. Planned as two acts of the same show, the musicals, though written by different teams, are thematic sequels. “Atlantic: America & the Great War,” written by Christopher Anselmo (Communication ’16), Desiree Staples (Communication ’14) and Ryan Bernsten (Communication ’14), tells the story of a Nebraska girl who travels to Europe during World War I. “A Scottish Story,” written by members of the RCS, portrays a Scottish girl receiving letters from her boyfriend — Lancaster’s character, Quinn — as he explores the U.S. in the 19th century. With the project, Anselmo, Staples and Bernsten revived a connection dating back to their days at NU’s annual Waa-Mu Show. Staples and Bernsten served as head
writers of the Waa-Mu Show in 2013 and were co-chairs in 2014, while Anselmo worked as a musical composer for the show from 2013 to 2016. “I truly think we’re a dream team,” Bernsten told The Daily while working on the project in June. “This triumvirate ticks all of the creative, musical, developmental, structural and logistical boxes so necessary for a writing team.” Eleven Northwestern undergraduates and 21 RCS master’s degree students, divided into two teams of 16, performed the two musicals on stage in Scotland. Many of the characters were written with specific actors in mind, Anselmo said, helping bring the shows to life with the “new blood” provided by a mixture of Evanston- and Glasgow-based performers. Bell, who oversaw the process, said he was particularly excited that roughly half of the NU student actors performed in “A Scottish Story.” The rest of them performed in “America & the Great War.” “That show was not only a wonderful artistic experience for them, but beyond that, it was a really immersive cultural
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“Not only working with other cultures, but actually creating a work of art where we are all contributing equally, was in every way enlightening and embracing — the world got smaller in a good way.” — Communication Prof. David Bell
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experience,” Bell said. “That kind of collaboration with other cultures really can teach you more than anything I can imagine in terms of how to … communicate with other artists that do the same thing that you do.” Lancaster said his experience in the Scottish show was exceptionally positive because he felt his fellow actors and the producers created the story organically, rather than forcing him into a predetermined role. Communication junior Marielle Issa, meanwhile, appeared in both shows, playing an ensemble member in “America & The Great War” and filling in for an absent actor to play a schoolteacher in several performances of “A Scottish Story.” In between preparing for a role she never expected to fill, Issa said she noticed a great difference in the music each show employed. “The shows are really different stylistically,” she said. “The American show has a lot of American folk music, (with) a lot of guitar, piano, long ballads and high harmonies. The Scottish show took in a lot more traditional Scottish music.” One of the most distinct differences, Anselmo said, manifested at the conclusions of songs. Anselmo and his fellow NU writers followed the American standard of ending numbers with an emphatic note known as a “button,” but the Scottish writers instead gently meshed their songs within the scenes. The number of spectators who noted the difference taught him about the intelligence of Scottish theater audiences, he said. “So many people asked … the composer of the Scottish story if any of those songs were actually old folk songs, and obviously she had written all of them,” Anselmo said. “It was just interesting to see how Scottish audiences are able to pick up on the unique aspects of the
actual writing in addition to the surface things that identify each individual show.” The theater festival, widely considered the largest in the world, annually attracts an eclectic mix of performers, producers and onlookers, many of whom are dedicated to breaking away from the tours of mainstream musicals. The likes of Anselmo, Bell and Issa — none of whom had ever attended before — all said the spectacle was overwhelmingly eye-opening, opening their horizons beyond the well-traveled world of American theater. “Growing up idolizing theater artists, you really have Broadway glasses on; you only see the actors who are really prolific and you only know the shows that get a lot of press,” Issa said. “To go to the fringe festival, which is all people showing passion projects together in tiny garage spaces, it ... made me more appreciative of what it is I do.” The pair of “Atlantic” musicals — which Anselmo said are undergoing preliminary talks to run in a Chicago-area theater — received excellent reviews from Scottish media amid some other 3,400 shows that played in locales as inglorious as a bathroom. Both The Herald and Pocket Size Theatre gave the shows five stars, and The Scotsman wrote that the ensemble pieces “really fly here, with beautifully pitched harmonies,” all adding up to an “absorbing hour.” Bell, however, said the lessons learned and perspective gained by the undertaking far outweigh the satisfaction of positive reviews. “Not only working with other cultures, but actually creating a work of art where we are all contributing equally, was in every way enlightening and embracing — the world got smaller in a good way,” he said. “It was an incredible educational experience for everyone involved.” ◊
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UNDER BROADWAY’S SPELL Northwestern alumnus cast in ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ on Broadway
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fter Inauguration Day, Alex Weisman (Communication ’10) needed an escape. To brighten his day, Weisman picked up a copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” returning to the Wizarding World for the first time since college. Within six weeks, Weisman had devoured all seven original books cover to cover, and had even gone further to read the latest addition to the popular franchise, the script for the West End production of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
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— by Madeleine Fernando
Soon after Weisman finished the play, his agent called with an audition opportunity for the Broadway arrival of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Five weeks later, as if by magic, Weisman had an offer to be on the show. “All of the timing was a little too perfect,” he said. The show received critical acclaim in London’s Palace Theatre since its premiere in July 2016, boasting sold-out performances. It won a record nine Olivier Awards, including Best New Play and Best Director.
Following a successful run in the West End, the play will open in New York on April 22 at the newly-renovated Lyric Theatre. The Broadway production will feature seven members from the original cast and several new actors, including Weisman in an undisclosed role. Madeline Weinstein (Communication ’14) will also join the Broadway cast, but could not be reached for an interview. Although Weisman is prone to becoming “starstruck,” he said he is approaching this opportunity just as he would any other role. Photos: Source: Alex Weisman
to learn my blocking, then I have to fill my intention, and then I just have to look at my scene partner and tell the truth,” he said. “Also J.K. Rowling is in the room. Also it’s on Broadway. Also there’s magic. But I know how to be in a play, and at the end of the day, that’s what I’m doing.” Weinstein will make his Broadway debut after a decade based in Chicago, he said. In the past, he recurred on NBC’s “Chicago Fire” and performed regularly at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and with the TimeLine Theatre Company. Now, he’ll have the chance to perform in one of the season’s most anticipated productions. Based on an original story by Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” picks up 19 years after the original series leaves off. As it was in London, the play will be split into two successive parts. Weisman said the play stands on its own, and does not rely on the fame of the Harry Potter franchise to draw audiences in. “It would be too easy for (the writers) to have been lazy, for them to have written a mediocre play and done a shabby job and just relied on the name to create a commercial success,” Weisman said. “But instead, it’s John Tiffany who’s one of the most inventive and intelligent directors of our time right now.
… Every detail has such thought and is so brilliant.” Weisman said he grew up as a “casual fan” of the series, having read the books and watched the movies once. However, after re-reading it, he realized how special the series really was. “These are masterpieces,” he said. “This is just the great mythology of our generation and we are so lucky to have these books. … I just really became a fan with a capital F.” The jump to Broadway marks the next big step for the NU alumnus, who performed with The Titanic Players improv team and was a member of Northwestern Sketch Television while on campus. Before he makes the leap, Weisman will make his final run in Chicago as Jordan Berman in “Significant Other,” a play produced by About Face Theatre and Theater Wit. Communication Prof. Gail Shapiro, who taught Weisman for three years while he was at NU, said Weisman is a “courageous actor” who is not afraid to lose himself on stage. Although he was always a tenacious performer, Weisman’s work became more meaningful and inventive over time, she said. “He thinks about more than just himself, and I think has always been that way,” Shapiro said. “But his idea of what good work is evolved. … He shifted out of being smart and
clever to someone … (whose) work became beautiful and deep.” Communication senior lecturer Melissa Foster, Weisman’s former vocal coach at NU, said his genuine spirit and energy are two features that distinguish his talent and personality. Foster recalled a day when, after trudging to class in traffic and getting her car stuck in the alley, Weisman lifted her spirits by beaming with excitement upon experiencing his first snowfall. Ever since, her nickname for the Florida-raised actor was “snow angel.” “I was like, ‘Wow that’s such a childlike … joy about life,’” Foster said. “And he brings that to his characters. I think what is different is that there’s also a very honed skill set, and I think the two make him so loveable on stage.” After he was cast in the play, Weisman took his mom to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios for Mother’s Day — the first time either of them had been. Walking through real-life interpretations of the series’ most iconic settings, Weisman said the reality of being cast in the latest entry finally hit him. “I just started crying and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to go on the Hogwarts Express in a year,’” he said. “I literally feel like I’ve been accepted to Hogwarts.” ◊
“I just started crying and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to go on the Hogwarts Express in a year.’” — Alex Weisman, Communication ’10 9
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Brains, Brawn,
Bachelor Former NU football player Anthony Battle reflects on experience as contestant on ‘The Bachelorette’ — by Madeleine Fernando 10
rom teaching English in Indonesia after graduation to spending nine months in Côte d’Ivoire as a Fulbright Scholar, Anthony Battle (Weinberg ’13) is no stranger to throwing himself into unconventional experiences. So it came as no surprise when, at his co-workers’ urgings, Battle applied to become a contestant on the 13th season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” Six months later, Battle got a phone call and went through an extensive selection process. Not long after, he found himself in a limousine on his way to meet Rachel Lindsay, the season’s coveted Bachelorette, and take his shot at finding true love. “Coming out of the limo, it was extremely surreal,” Battle said. “That scene is just iconic and to find myself in the middle of a dream was very strange. … But once I stepped outside, I was looking at Rachel and … I just had to go on autopilot and live in that moment.” One of 31 suitors on the show, Battle combined brains and brawn in hopes of winning over Lindsay. A former football player at Northwestern — one who was part of the team that won the Gator Bowl in 2013, his senior season — Battle entered the show as an education software manager at EverFi, a position he had accepted after traveling abroad to teach English to young students. Battle said Lindsay, a 32-year-old attorney from Dallas, had many qualities he looks for in a partner. “One of the rarer traits is just finding … 1 someone who gets it and someone who’s funny and smart,” Battle said. “Those things are very important, and I saw them in her.” Battle was Lindsay’s pick for her second one-on-one date, which featured a horseback riding adventure in Beverly Hills, California. Through this, Battle said he got to know Lindsay better in the absence of the other suitors. The surprise competition: Battle’s horse, Ted. “Me and Ted got pretty close from that date,” Battle said. “I was actually surprised that riding a horse was so natural to me. That was the first time I’d ever ridden one, but as soon as I jumped on there it just felt like I was supposed to be there.” The date ended with a slow dance and a tender kiss from Lindsay. Weinberg sophomore Simone Laszuk said she watched every episode of Lindsay’s season and held frequent watch parties with friends Photo: Source: ABC/Craig Sjodin
Battle, she said, came off as a genuine person on the show. “He seems more like the kind of guy you would date in real life rather than on ‘The Bachelorette,’” Laszuk said. “There were some crazy things happening that season … (and) the way he responded to some things is the way a human would respond to them, not a character.” Battle has warm memories of living at “The Bachelor” mansion in Agoura Hills, California, and said he developed close friendships with several of the other contestants. In their downtime, the men often played card games — with Spades being a favorite — and indulged in the unlimited food and alcohol the producers provided. “A lot of it doesn’t make it on TV because … if you’re not on a date, you’re just hanging out at the house with the other guys,” Battle said. Battle was eliminated during Week 5 of the show. Although he wasn’t Lindsay’s final rose at the end of the season, he said he has grown from the experience and looks back on
Photo: Source: ABC/Paul Hebert
it fondly. One of his biggest takeaways is to pursue things whole-heartedly, without letting fear inhibit passion, Battle said. He added that it is important to remain authentic to oneself. “The most attractive and beautiful things to see in a human being is their honest, true self,” he said. “Take risks, but while taking those risks, be honest. … Those are my two cents.” Despite being anxious the first night the show aired, Battle said it painted an “honest representation” of him. Communication junior Sam LiVigni, a longtime fan of “The Bachelor” franchise, said Battle stood out among other contestants through his poised reaction in “The Bachelorette: Men Tell All” — a special feature episode of Season 13 — when eliminated suitors reflected on their experiences on the show. During the episode, Battle confronted fellow suitor Lee Garrett and questioned whether his negative attitude toward some contestants was spurred by “invisible racism.” “I was just really impressed and in awe of how articulate and powerful his words were,”
LiVigni said. “(The Northwestern community) creates really well-rounded, strong, upright people that can stand up for themselves and … produce arguments in a really powerful way.” Currently, Battle is exploring opportunities in the entertainment industry. He has several “passion projects” in the works, he said, including making podcasts and continuing to write. “(I’m) kind of just getting in that space of using my voice, my words (and) my face in different ways to create content that is meaningful to me,” he said. In the future, Battle said his goal is to take advantage of his English Literature degree and become a university professor. Eventually, he wants to have a book published and share his ideas about life and other people. Though Battle decided not to go on “Bachelor in Paradise,” a spin-off show that places past contestants in a tropical resort to find a partner, he remains single. “I’m always still searching for love … whatever form that takes,” Battle said. “Love doesn’t only exist in Bachelor Nation.” ◊
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REEL HORROR After winning horror contest, Northwestern alumnus Anthony Williams begins developing pitch into feature-length film
— by Jane Recker
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ow do you stop a ghost from haunting you? By bringing it back to life, of course. It’s a premise that sounds like a silly joke, but it won writer Anthony Williams (Communication ’08) and director Danny DelPurgatorio $300,000 from “Clive Barker presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest” to develop their pitch into a feature-length horror movie. The duo’s story, titled “Wither,” revolves around a doctor who is haunted by the ghosts of his deceased patients and his family. Driven mad by grief, he attempts to stop the ghosts by bringing them back to life. In doing so, however, he also revives dark monsters and creatures of the afterlife. The film, which has a script and recently began pre-production, has come a long way since its initial pitch, especially because the duo only entered the contest on a last-second whim. “We were so close to not submitting (a project) at all,” Williams said. “I was really sick at the time and we were both super busy. If I had said to Danny I wasn’t feeling it, we would have backed out.” Williams and DelPurgatorio put together their pitch with no expectations of advancing to the next round. When they made the top five in early May, the producers flew them to New York and asked them to develop a short video based on a $2,000 budget and a 25-line script. On Aug. 2, they received the call that they had won the contest. “This was no slam dunk,” Williams said. “It’s incredibly humbling to have won considering how good everyone else’s work was.” The upcoming movie utilizes elements of
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“body horror,” a subgenre of horror filmography that exploits the fear of watching one’s body decay, Williams said. Williams said body horror resonates with audiences due to its universal nature. “Even though it’s fantastical, it’s something that’s easy to relate to,” he said. “It’s a lot like having an illness or something else happening to your body that you can’t control.” Having relatable characters is crucial to maximizing fear, Williams said. Much of “Wither” centers on the doctor’s obsession with the ghosts of his past, so watching the protagonist descend into madness and make “terrifying” decisions can appeal to audiences, he said. “When you feel like the main character is a real person, someone you could grab a drink with, (and they’re) put in a dangerous situation, the care for them amplifies that fear,” Williams said. Williams and DelPurgatorio have always focused on incorporating deeper messages in their projects. The duo first met seven years ago through a mutual friend who thought Williams would be the ideal writer to realize one of DelPurgatorio’s concepts. DelPurgatorio said he instantly connected with Williams’ “weirdness” and passion for creating new work. “A lot of people will talk about making new stuff but never actually do it,” he said. “(Williams) will talk to me about an idea and come back with stuff the next day. It’s been very inspiring for me.” Williams’ creative passion was especially noted by Communication Prof. Debra Tolchinsky, who teaches in the Radio, Television and Film department. She said Williams was always
dedicated to crafting the subtext of his films and wasn’t afraid to take risks in her class. Tolchinsky added that Williams’ enthusiasm with horror was “infectious.” “Horror is a great lab for experimentation,” Tolchinsky told The Daily in an email. “Since it’s generally considered low-brow, it enables filmmakers to let their hair down and play without all of the pretension that often accompanies film.” Williams said he credits the support he received at Northwestern for much of his current success. “Northwestern is mainly an academic university, so it can be hard when your favorite genre involves hatchets and blood spilling everywhere,” he said. “My professors helped encourage my vision even though it was different from what other people were doing.” That vision has now led to the development of a full-length feature film, which the pair hopes to complete by next fall. They plan to present it at various festivals, with a possible follow-up release in theaters. DelPurgatorio said the process of creating a film usually takes much longer. “You hear a lot about people taking two to four years before their film even gets financed, so it’s really cool that everyone is behind this and really pushing for a quick turnaround,” he said. DelPurgatorio said he wants audiences to enjoy “Wither,” but ultimately, he hopes to succeed in scaring them. “I’ve always loved polarizing films that half the people hate,” he said. “What’s powerful is that you can create something that can pull something out of the viewer and make someone have a reaction.” ◊ Photos: Source: Daniel DelPurgatorio
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Fear the Femme Northwestern alumna Megan Rosati develops TV pilot from feminine horror pitch
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lush couches, light pink dresses and soothing voices aren’t typical trademarks of horror, but they’re exactly what helped Megan Rosati (Communication ’05) get a contract to develop her own TV show. The application for “Clive Barker presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest” asked filmmakers to submit short video pitches detailing their ideas. While other entries included blood, guts and monsters, “Bloom” featured Rosati sitting on a bright red sofa, drinking tea. “I want to make a trippy nightmare of a body horror movie that is also soft, quiet, feminine,” Rosati says in the video. “Because in my worst nightmares, I’m too scared to scream.” Rosati did not win the final round of the contest, but some of the producers were impressed and offered her a contract to create a pilot and storyboard the series, she said. Rosati is currently in the process of developing the pilot’s script. Kate Grady, one of the producers for “Bloom,” said she’s excited to see how the series grows from the original video Rosati submitted to the contest. “Her unique pitch opened us up to a world of dark twisted horror within an Instagram perfect wrapper,” Grady told The Daily in an email. The show’s prospective plot revolves around a young woman, Anne, who is obsessed with maintaining her appearance. Anne works for a health and wellness company, and, as an employee, receives its supplements for free. While those supplements help at first, she later begins to decay from the inside out, and strange, dark cysts grow on her body. To develop realistic aspects of the show, Rosati said she drew on personal experiences from her most recent job in the health and wellness industry. “Let’s just say if this show was an ex-boyfriend, he’d be so offended,” she said. The horror elements were inspired by Rosati’s disapproval of the industry equating beauty with health and preying on the confusion of young women, she said. “I just think it’s spooky how people just trust the makers of these products and trust that they’re not going to do something crazy to you,”
— by Jane Recker
she said. “Bloom” is Rosati’s first professional foray into horror. She previously focused on comedy due to the low budget necessary to create high-quality material, she said. Her most recent web series, “52 Ways to Break Up,” was profiled by New York magazine. Theater Prof. Mary Poole, Rosati’s former acting teacher at NU, said Rosati was very talented in balancing both serious and comic projects during her college career. Poole said she’s glad Rosati finally discovered her niche in the entertainment industry. Poole said most students in her class wanted to partner up with Rosati on acting assignments. “(Rosati) was always enormously collaborative,” she said. “She worked beautifully with other students.” Rosati said her experience in comedy benefitted her transition to horror, as both genres utilize similar techniques to achieve different goals. “Both are all about timing,” she said. “In comedy you build up to the laugh, in horror you build up to the scare.” Her interest in horror began at a young age, and came largely from its favorable portrayal of female characters, she said. “(Horror is) one of the few genres where a woman can go on an adventure and be the center of attention, and it’s not about finding a guy,” Rosati said. Rosati said although the horror film industry is dominated by men, she has never felt belittled by her male colleagues and has received strong support throughout the entire production process. If anything, it was Rosati who had the upper hand in a recent production meeting for “Bloom.” She wrote a graphic sequence involving period sex, and the men in the room continually referred to it as “that one scene,” she said. “I was like, ‘I wrote it, it’s OK, you can say it,’” Rosati said. “Part of the reason I got into this genre is because there aren’t many women working in it. I want to be like the Lena Dunham of horror. It’s definitely been a victory for me as a feminist and a filmmaker, getting guys to talk about period sex.” ◊ Photos: Source: Megan Rosati
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