The
RUNNERS UP
Tiger HI-LINE
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015
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Volume 56 Edition 8
Two fall plays promise mixes of loss, acceptance The cast of the fall play has been preparing next week’s show for months. Late nights and early mornings have added up to countless hours spent on the stage in contributing to this year’s show. First up is a one act, titled “Variations on a Theme,” featuring a young boy, Nick, who breaks up with his girlfriend just before college. After realizing his mistake, he runs back to the train station just before she leaves in hopes of working things out. As he’s waiting for her to arrive, he imagines all the different scenarios of what could happen, but when his consciousness is led to the reality of the situation, Nick is forced to make a choice: either change his future or simply accept that some things truly are meant to be. The second main piece, “The Diviners,” is a reflection of the good times prior a teartriggering tragedy. When a disenchanted preacher comes to town, Buddy Layman forms a unique friendship with the man. As C.C. Showers (the preacher) helps Buddy overcome his fear of water, the small town of Zion, Ind., with some not-so-small problems prays for a fresh start, but it’s taken away before they know it. “‘The Diviners’ is all about understanding what a miracle is, or how good things really are,” director Michelle Rathe said. “Too often people think things aren’t good enough or that they need to make things better instead of realizing how good things really are until they’re lost.” She said the themes of loss and acceptance are carried throughout the two productions and are very applicable to the high school and world at large. “I’ve tried really hard this year to give students the full perspective of acting,” Rathe said. With special guest work provided by UNI associate professor of theater director Richard Glockner, the actors are utilizing different practice styles and learning things together as a team with pieces that aren’t easy, though Rathe said she expects the audience to walk out of the auditorium speechless. “There will be laughter, surprises and
Tech crew adds essential details to show Hidden behind the curtains, an entire cast of students crowds together while they prepare for the big night. Somebody rolls up the curtain, and the actors take front stage, but several other students all dressed in black stay behind and watch as the show progresses. These cast members, otherwise known as techies, work backstage on a range of tasks from painting sets, working lights, adjusting sounds, helping with makeup, creating costumes, moving sets and preparing props. Essentially, techies are the glue that sticks everything together to make a show. With so many jobs, each section of tech requires a leader. Senior Cayla Rasmussen fills in a leadership role as the stage manager. She directs all of the other techies on what they need to do backstage. Once it comes closer to the performance dates, Rasmussen sits with the director and takes notes on assignments. She learns about certain tech cues such as when the curtain needs to be closed, when the props need to go on and when the sets need to change. Afterwards, Rasmussen assigns these cues to other techies and they rehearse working through them similar to how the actors rehearse their lines. “I love having the responsibility. I love seeing the end product and seeing that everybody worked really hard to make this show absolutely the best that it could be,” Rasmussen said. She has been involved with tech since her sophomore year. She aimed to become the stage manager after seeing the connection all of the techies shared. “I thought it was great, and I saw that the stage manager then had this kind of control, and I like having control,” Rasmussen said “You had to work hard in making something great, and I wanted to do that.” Working on the other side of the auditorium is senior Jared Rickard, who sits inside the booth and runs all of the lights for the show. sorrow. My goal is for our audience to come out with a new knowledge about the importance of taking the time to appreciate how
Whenever he’s not in the booth, Rickard is setting the lights up above the stage and making sure that they all work. Rickard has been doing lights for the drama department since his freshman year. “If I had to say a fun part about it all, it’s pulling it all together. “ Rickard said “Like setting up the lights and figuring what angles it needs to be.” Inside the costume room, senior Meredith Brich works by helping an actress put on her dress, filling out her role as the manager of costumes and makeup. Brich’s work usually consists of keeping track of costumes, helping actors find their costumes, helping actors put on their stage makeup, making sure that the makeup is put in the right places and fixing any rips and tears in the clothing. Brich joined the costume team last year as a junior after being persuaded by her friend who was the previous costume manager. Hearing stories about the students in theater and the family-like bond drew her in. “I didn’t really have a group of friends at that point, so I was like, alright, this seems pretty cool,” Brich said. “I didn’t exactly want to be on stage because that was scary to me, so I thought that backstage was the perfect thing for me.” All of the contribution from the techies haven’t gone unnoticed by theater director Michelle Rathe. “You can’t ever have a production without them,” Rathe said “As techies, you act more like a family because you have more time to communicate on and off than the actors do, since they’re always onstage.” Although typically unseen, Rasmussen noted that techies are slowly gaining more recognition from everybody around them. “Since my sophomore year, a lot more actors have started thanking the techies and realizing all the work that we do,” Rasmussen said.
to come is welcome,” Bauman said. They are going through the book of Ephesians. The group is more of a conversation than a lecture of the book. In the first meeting, 25 students showed up. “There were no expectations going into this, but so far it has been a success,” Bauman said. Senior Avri Anderson was one who attended. “It was nice to be able to take a break from school and meet and dis-
STORTZ
good life can be with what you have now,” Rathe said. With such an emotionally demanding
Bible study group opens new chapter Power Hour is home to a new club on Mondays during A shift. The Bible study club met for the first time on Oct. 26 in the auditorium. The idea came when a few students who thought it would be cool to unite the high school and provide an opportunity for anyone who was interested in learning about their God and their Bible. Senior Matthew Bauman has been one to advertise the group. “Anybody who wants
By News Editor Sarah
cuss the Bible with people that you can trust,“ Anderson said. Members said they want somewhere for anyone to come and learn about their God. The group will meet next Monday, Nov. 9, in the auditorium during A shift of Power Hour. “It might not be a long time to talk about our faith, but I think we all learn and gain things from each other talking,” Anderson said. By Staff Writer Emma
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show, the actors are prepared to give all they have on show night. “We’re here every day. You have to be willing to come in and give everything you have, both physically and emotionally. There’s a lot of pressure,” said Claire Chenoweth who plays the character of Buddy Layman. As the plot strongly revolves around her character’s story, the pressure is on for Chenoweth. “We’ve put a lot of work into this. The audience needs to be willing to free their emotions, get involved and commit,” she said. But in the beginning, things weren’t working out as smoothly. “We’ve come a really long way. At first I didn’t really feel very in touch with my character, but as we worked with Rathe, Glockner and the other students, we’ve adapted into these characters and their intentions,” senior Leo Gibson said. After coming together and producing a memorable show, the story isn’t the only thing that members of the cast will remember. “Having people who are funny, kind, genuine, supportive and to be there to help with hards times, and then to go with them to go on stage and grow together while doing what we love is one of the greatest feelings out there,” Gibson said. With the production coming to an end and show night nearing, students have prepared themselves for what’s ahead. As they step out onto the stage and fall back into character, the slate is wiped clean for the actors to lay all they have on the stage and for the audience to experience a story they’ll never forget. By Staff Writer Allie
TAIBER
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Students attended the first Bible study, now meeting Mondays during A shift of Power Hour in the auditiorium.