Four types of government are: oligarchy, aristocracy

Angela Ge ’23 Did you know that LM has an array of a cappella groups, otherwise known as LMAC? A cappella is a form of musical performance in which a group or solo artist sings without tational, a larger investigation was needed to hear to what the members of the club had to say regarding a cappella as an art form. The frst member interviewed was O’Bannon, who is Perfect pitch

Photos Courtesy ofThe Enchiridion

instrumental accompaniment. However, what is unique about LMAC is that the arrangement of the groups change yearly. In the past, LM has organized many groups including Standard Voices, Ars cantiqua, Ace’s Angels, and currently, a co-ed group, Ace Harmony. This ensemble focuses on contemporary a cappella, but they also perform other styles like barbershop and traditional glee club material. Ace Harmony has sixteen members and the student ofcers are Lewis Kothmann ’20, Noah Scher ’21, and Rachel Forman ’21. LMAC performs at various events throughout the year, such as the upcoming LMAC currently in her fourth year at LMAC. When asked what makes a cappella so remarkable, she noted, “one person is not in control of the rest of the group and you all come together, combining only trust and some basic rules about music and music theory to create something altogether.” Lila Elkins ’23 also ofered her thoughts on this question: “A cappella is diferent than other forms of music because all of the sound comes from your mouth!” When asked about the future of this art form, O’Bannon, “believes a cappella, since the rise of the commonly-known music group, Pentatonix, and the movie The members of Aces Harmony rehearsing in the music room determined to put on a stellar performance for the Amazing Ace.

Photos Courtesy ofThe Enchiridion The Aces Harmony crew jumps for joy at one of their rehearsals.

Winter Invitational on Wednesday, February 12, and the Amazing Ace competition two weeks after that. For the LMAC Winter Invitational, LM invites many local schools like Cheltenham, Baldwin, Germantown Friends, and Harriton to come perform various pieces from their repertoire and share their music together as a community. Brigit O’Bannon ’20 mentioned, “I love the invitationals because we kind of give up the standard of behaviour for a concert. It is a really great way to bring people together.” After learning about LMAC and their Winter InviPitch Perfect over the course of the last decade, is growin in popularity, but I do not believe enough people are aware of or familiar with it. I think it has so much potential to grow and gain popularity.” A capella is such a special art form because one’s voice is something that they can take with them everywhere they go, and without the mechanical restrictions of an instrument, the possibilities are endless for a variety of creative opportunities. As our understanding not only for this art form but for music itself grows, we will learn to appreciate a cappella on a deeper level.

PLAYERS through the years

Mark Bluemle ’21

From timeless, iconic musicals such as Chicago, West Side Story, and The Addams Family, to artistic blackbox shows ranging from Macbeth to Much Ado about Nothing, and mainstage comedies like Red Herring and Noises Of, PLAYERS has done it all. Since its founding ffty fve years ago, PLAYERS has put on countless shows, featuring hundreds of students’ hard work. Over the past ten years, specifcally, PLAYERS has evolved and succeeded in creating some amazing products with game-changing costumes, sets, and technology. In 2010, PLAYERS kicked of the decade with the well-known musical of Urinetown. And yes, they did it again eight years later. Musicals have always been held on the mainstage in the auditorium. At this time, however, LM was in the processing of constructing the new building. Because of this transition, they could not hold a unique production on the stage. Instead, the wildly hilarious and intricately detailed show was performed in the Blackbox. Global Studies teacher John Grace, the head coach of PLAYERS, has been through every production ranging all the way from the fall of 2002. Grace said: “What was so cool about the frst production of Urinetown in the blackbox is that it accomplished two things. To start of, it resolved how well PLAYERS transitioned into new building. This was done because the main theater wasn’t functional yet —as they were still building it.” He then went on to describe how it proved the fexibility of PLAYERS by saying it was a wise decision to pick a show that we could do in the Blackbox. “The second reason being with some things not ready to go—PLAYERS was rockin’ and it was exciting to put on a show in the blackbox.” This was a pivotal part of PLAYERS history because it showed the full capability of what the cast and crew could really accomplish. Most recently, PLAYERS put on one of the most well-known musicals in Broadway history, Chicago. This tells a story of Roxie Hart (Noa Webner ’20) and Velma Kelly’s (Amalia Schneider ’20) fght to fame. This show is iconic, especially in the way that PLAYERS reenacted it. One of the most incredible aspects of the show that comes to mind was the set. Set Designer Max Fishman ’22 says that “the hardest part of making the set was that it was massive. It took lots of communication with everyone and it was a really hard task. The most accomplishing achievement was the show orchestra on stage. In Chicago, we had eight, ten, and twelve foot platforms that could ft all of shorch on stage - twelve feet in the air.” With the success of publicity, every night had a full house flled with amazing and interactive crowd reactions. At intermission, snack lines were always packed and the cheers at the end of the show kept getting bigger as the actors took their fnal bows. Besides the musicals and their challenges and successes, blackbox shows are some of the most artistic and hard-to-put-on shows for PLAYERS. From the small sets to the limited lighting plots, creating a cohesive world for the audience to observe is a lot of work, but the fnal product always turns out great. One of the most artistic unique shows this decade was Much Ado About Nothing (2018). The costumes were one of a kind and divergent for this unique blackbox drama. As this play was set in the iconic era of the 1980s, costume designers, Camryn Amen ’18 and Chloe Amen ’20, had the task of making these costumes ft the time period. This was something PLAYERS hadn’t yet done, and with a Shakespeare play set in such a distinctive time period, the designers really had to tap into the fads and culture of the 80s. They did that through exploring the vibrant colors and distinct fashion like pufy sleeves and baggy pants, while also making sure hair and makeup was at its biggest and boldest. All in all, this show demonstrated how well PLAYERS could take a show as classic as Shakespeare and transform it into a fashy 80s masterpiece. The future of PLAYERS is strong and promising, especially with its upcoming show already in the works. This April, PLAYERS will be putting on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). This comedy centers on people making fun of Shakespeare while having audience interactions throughout the show, and doing improv as the time comes. This style of show is unique, and something PLAYERS doesn’t do often. Having the opportunity to participate in this kind of production, therefore, gives amazing opportunities to actors, designers, and members of crews to try new aspects of theater. Grace said that he is excited to see wait awaits for PLAYERS, especially with the debate surrounding school start times coming to an end. “I think that means that if the school board pushed back start times, then I’m excited to see how PLAYERS will maintain the level of excellence that with their reputation and how it will adjust, but if there’s no decision, then it is always exciting is to see what comes next.” The crew of LM PLAYERS’ hard at work designing on the set for the production of Yerma. Photo Courtesy of LMPLAYERS.com Photo Courtesy of LMPLAYERS.com LM PLAYERS composed a production of Yerma during the spring of the 2017- 2018 school year.