UNMASKED!

No. 1 — Fall 2019 — Spring 2020

UNMASKED!

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UNMASKED! Magazine ft. plays by: Riley Cohen Aidan Bradley David D’Silva Jaime Ryan Ben Harris Anna-Reine Beaulieu ft. photos by: Artie Ghosh (production photos) Shira Weiss (headshots and portraits) Issue No. 1 — Fall 2019 — Spring 2020

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Letter from the Staff Members of Silver Masque: It is with great pleasure that the Silver Masque Lit Mag Staff presents to you the first issue of UNMASKED!, a literature magazine that aims to expand the lifespan of our live performances beyond the ephemeral nature of Fortnight. We hope to unmask the creative processes of our student-written plays as well as to spotlight the student artists who contribute to our club.

This first issue of UNMASKED! comes with a caveat: it partially features two semesters, Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. Though this is not ideal, it is the most that could be completed. The Silver Masque Lit Mag Staff was created halfway through the fall semester, and the interruption of the ensuing spring semester due to COVID-19 led to our decision to release this first issue as a compilation of two uncompleted parts.

During this uncertain time, we hope you take the time to flip through these pages, to look back, and to remember

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the nights when we gathered to celebrate each other. As you do, hold on to the hope that, as one of the greats said it best, the world only spins forward.

Sincerely, Kaitlyn Fiery, Editor Samantha Krot, Designer Ashley Lyon, Writer Pavithra Rajesh, Writer Rachel Erwin, Writer Shira Weiss, Photographer

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Part 1— Fall 2019

Original design inspiration by Erin Solomon and Adam Regenstreif

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Table of Contents See page 44 for Part 2 — Spring 2020

Fortnight 9/19 — 8 A White Person Thing — 10 Firing Squad — 16 Order Up — 22 Milk and Honey Bible Camp, Cabin 3 — 32 Senior Fortnight — 42 7

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FORTNIGHT 9/19/19

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A White Person Thing Written by Riley Cohen Directed by Carla Mirabal Produced by Alyse Clinton Performed at Fortnight on October 2, 2019 with the following cast: MARIELA: Karl Adrianza NANDINI: Pavithra Rajesh RASHIDA: Isabella O’Keefe MICHELLE: Peri Griffiths ROSA: Christelle Girimana

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Riley Cohen is a second year student at Northeastern University majoring in Media and Screen Studies and Theatre. Her primary interests lie in performing and writing for the stage and screen, with acting credits from the last three years including Bye Bye Birdie (Mrs. Petersen), Macbeth (3rd Witch, 2nd Murderer, Attendant, Gentlewoman, Seyton), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Mrs. Appleyard), On Set (Jesse Reyes), Nuclear (Eleanor), Line in the Sand (Jen), Swiped: An Ode to Tiner (Jay, Date, Man 2, Singer, Dance Partner) and writing credits including You Called? and A White Person Thing. Currently, she is working on Strangers in Proximity, a short film set to premiere in the summer.

She is a member of the Northeastern improv troupe No Jokes.

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I love this line because it seems so ridiculous in the context of the United States, but people throw it out all the time about countries in Africa. Reframing things in a new context can reveal meaning, and here it shows just how insane it is to think you know something about a culture from a short trip motivated by a god-complex. with ‘dignity.’

I was trying to find something that not only fits into the Wisconsin stereotype, but has a negative connotation. I’m told in parts of Wisconsin all there is to do is hunt, drink, and hang out with friends so this seemed right.

Playwright’s Pages Playwright Riley Cohen annotates two pages of A White Person Thing.

MARIELA: My friend went to Wisconsin once on a mission trip and he said that everyone has weird ceremonies there and speaks in a different language.

MICHELLE 2: It’s just a fast food restaurant. Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone…

MARIELA: Well, he said there were a bunch of kids wearing makeup? And eating? And yelling! Even boys were wearing makeup. He felt like he was intruding on something.

MICHELLE 2: The kids at my school who did theatre liked to go to Culver’s after shows. It could have been that.

MARIELA: Seems unlikely. Ooh, another question! (She gets quiet suddenly, as though she’s about to ask something forbidden) Does everyone in Wisconsin have, you know, an alcohol dependency?

MICHELLE 2: What?

MARIELA: An alcohol dependency? Like, are they all addicted to it? I read that it’s prevalent there.

MICHELLE 2: Are you trying to ask me if I’m an alcoholic?

MARIELA: NO! I would never say that!

MICHELLE 2: So you’re trying to ask me if all of my friends are alcoholics?

MARIELA: I mean, I didn’t put it that way…

MICHELLE 2: That doesn’t change what you asked.

MARIELA: Ok, then yeah. I just didn’t want to sound that aggressive when I asked it.

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MICHELLE 2: Oh my god. Ok. A lot of people drink. I don’t know if everyone is an alcoholic or not. (under her breath) I can see why some people would be with all of these questions. Christ.

MARIELA: Oh, it’s kinda weird that I know more about your state than you do, isn’t it?

MICHELLE 2: What?

MARIELA: I’m an American studies major!! I’m concentrating in the history of the Midwest! Like, did you know that Wisconsin is the leading producer of Ginseng in the United States?

MICHELLE 2: Yes. MARIELA: What about that Wisconsin contains more ghosts per square mile than any other state?

MICHELLE 2: Yep. MARIELA: Ok, what about that Wisconsin is the dairy capital of the US?

See how ridiculous this sounds when it’s placed in the context of the United States? Why would any other region be different?

This is my favorite Wisconsin fact. I’m also fairly certain that Wisconsin has the highest concentration of serial killers because of the max security federal prisons, but I’m not positive.

MICHELLE 2: (sarcastically) No, I had no idea about that one. That’s so crazy.

MARIELA: See! I know more than you.

MICHELLE 2: Dear god.

MARIELA: Oh, you just slipped into your midwestern accent there! That’s so funny!

MICHELLE 2: You think my accent is funny?

Sometimes I slip into a southern accent and get laughed it. Usually it’s fine and I’m laughing along, but sometimes I just want to throw this line out at them. Wow.

MARIELA: No, wait. I didn’t mean – MICHELLE 2: Look, I’ve got to go. It was nice to talk to you, I guess.

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FORTNIGHT 10/3/19

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Firing Squad Written by Aidan Bradley Directed by Dan Lutz Produced by Erin Solomon Performed at Fortnight on October 17, 2019 with the following cast: OWEN: Jacob Barrett CHILD TOM: Alyse Clinton WAR FRIEND TOM: Aron Farber DATE TOM: Kelli Laflin

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Aidan Bradley is a 4th year Electrical Engineering major and Theatre minor. Aidan enjoys writing things he has experienced - which is boring, so he usually writes pieces he hopes makes an audience think. Or laugh. If the audience can do both, he’ll actually feel accomplished. Thank you for reading his shit!

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Playwright’s Pages Playwright Aidan Bradley annotates two pages of Firing Squad.

Director Dan Lutz split the character of Tom into three acting parts. That interpretation is not reflected here.

If the ten-minute was dealing with two men handling grief and certainty of death in their own warring ways, here is where they are individually condensed. Owen is cynical, and Tom tries to face eternity with ‘dignity.’

TOM: Bringing it up or thinking about it?

OWEN: Why are you thinking about fishing.

TOM: I like to fish?

OWEN: But why now?

TOM: Last chance I’ve got.

OWEN: To fish?

TOM: Not easily.

OWEN: The memory then?

TOM: Yes. OWEN: That’s gonna be the last thing going through your head?

Tom is realistic - though he exists in a farce, it is not one that can deny the circumstances the pair find themselves in.

TOM: Well I’m sure the last thing going through my head will be the bullet.

OWEN: But fishing?

TOM: Why not? Fishing is fun. It’s relaxing. It’s distracting.

OWEN: Distracting? As I know it, it’s a whole lot of waiting, then a

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flash in the pan, followed by a whole lotta splashing, cursing, and ultimately, nothing.

TOM: You’re not very good at fishing.

OWEN: I’m very dedicated, though.

Owen needs reason and purpose, as those are what informs his decisions. Futility does not mesh well with Owen’s view, and so he finds even Tom’s thought’s disagreeable. Boiled down, it’s two incompatible men condemned to spend their last moments together.

TOM: Is that your decision?

OWEN: May as well be. Whose decision is it regardless? We could discuss that forever.

TOM: For eternity.

OWEN: If we had it.

(Beat).

TOM: Eternity. Should be terrifying, right?

OWEN: Why? You’re dead for most of it.

TOM: Shouldn’t that be terrifying?

This is a line I think I stole nearly verbatim from R&G. It stuck with me when I heard it, and I suppose I wanted to create an homage to it in the form of a one-act. The pair face eternity, but don’t greet it as if they are terrified, and instead cling to the petty squabbles that made up their lives.

OWEN: Should not that be terrifying?

TOM: I said “shouldn’t.”

OWEN: That’s what it means. “Should not.”

TOM: Then that’s what I meant.

OWEN: Is it?

This is a useless discussion.

It means nothing, and adds nothing. But it’s in character, which is what the two men above all else remain.

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FORTNIGHT 10/17/19

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Order Up Written by David D’Silva Directed by Aidan Bradley Produced by Adam Regenstreif Performed at Fortnight on October 31, 2019 with the following cast: JOHN: Ishaan Lohia PHILIP: Ben Harris CARL: Gabby Hernandez

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David D’Silva is a second-year Computer Science major who wrote Order Up produced by Silver Masque. David has written short plays and directed productions in high school, but this is the first play he has written and seen performed. Although David enjoys writing, he was also fairly active in his high school drama club and is acting in several projects right now, such as a web series and scenes in an acting class. He hopes people enjoyed viewing the show as much as he enjoyed writing it.

Also, try to be nice with feedback; he’s fragile.

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Playwright’s Pages 1. The filth Phil is covered in indicates his inability to take off his double knotted apron.

Lights up on the kitchen. JOHN and PHILLIP enter again. PHILLIP’s apron is covered in filth. 1 JOHN: Okay, I understand that, but you came rushing into the party three hours late, when the party was over, yelling “I’m Johnny Knoxville -.”

PHILLIP: Yeah! From Kick-Ass.

2. This was a really fun activity me and my friends would do in high school. I really recommend it.

JOHN: It’s Jackass. You yelled, “I’m Johnny Knoxville and this is fruit punch” to which you slammed your fist into the snack table, breaking your hand, and not even denting the table. 2 PHILLIP: It’s a movie about a group of bro’s being bro’s.

JOHN: We had to take you to the hospital. You insisted we called an ambulance even though you were able to run around the house, screaming something about the table being “rigged”.

PHILLIP: I know your mind can’t comprehend my niche sense of humor. But other people took away something more than a joke, memories that will last forever.

JOHN: Literally everyone was asking you to leave.

PHILLIP: Okay, do you want to hear Carl’s request or not?

JOHN: Yes. Yes, I do.

PHILLIP: Alright, so… he wants two pints of ice cream.

JOHN: Jesus.

PHILLIP: Oh, mint chocolate chip.

3. Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death in 1997, however the story features criminals throughout history. The show’s timeline in history is ambiguous.

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JOHN: Who is this guy?

PHILLIP: Timothy McVeigh. But I know… Not exactly what you were looking for…

What do we have? 3 JOHN checks the freezer.

JOHN: Vanilla… and Mint Cookie Neapolitan…

PHILLIP: Wait, that’s good, right? Let’s just scoop out what’s left of the Mint Chip side.

JOHN: No, it won’t be enough. Plus, someone just ate the Mint Chip side of it anyway.

PHILLIP: Wait wait this wasn’t the ice cream left in the break room fridge, was it?

JOHN: No. I just found it here.

PHILLIP: Yeah, I definitely finished that.

JOHN: I’m just gonna’ go to the store.

JOHN grabs his keys and jacket.

PHILLIP: Yes, I like it. Road trip!

JOHN: Actually, I’d prefer to go alone.

PHILLIP: Are you kidding me? What’s wrong?

4. Something else I really recommend.

JOHN: I just don’t think we need a whole team.

PHILLIP: There’s two of us.

JOHN: It’s a crowd.

PHILLIP: Is this about Saturday? I’ll totally pay for the ambulance. Or maybe just half of the ambulance. My money’s kind of tied up in this timeshare thing. Someone came to me and offered me one but I was able to swindle him for two— 4 JOHN: It’s everything! It is literally everything about you. I can’t stay in the same room as you for more than a minute. You just constantly keep pecking at me and it’s getting so unhealthy. You can’t take a hint. You’re just this parasite that keeps nudging me and nudging me. I can’t stand it anymore. Can you just let me do my work for once? 5

5. Throughout the show, Phil is constantly trying to impress John. We see here the consequences of being disengaged, with John’s unintentional outburst towards Phil. Communication can be warped when posturing and aimed neglect is involved.

PHILLIP: Yeah. I’ll let you do your work.

JOHN: Thank you.

PHILLIP: Sure.

JOHN grabs his coat and keys.

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Serving Personal Stories with a Side of Prison Written by Pavithra Rajesh

While plays that have straightforward, single stories are entertaining and appealing, sometimes it is the ones that make us think about the variety of layers encased into one single scenario that leave us with the biggest impact. “Order Up,” written

by David D’Silva and directed by Aidan Bradley, revolves around two chefs and the dishes they cook in their kitchen.

The restaurant? Prison.

The customers? Criminals facing the death penalty.

John and Phil, played by Ishaan Lohia and Ben Harris respectively, the prison’s resident chefs, cook the last meals for those who are nearing their ultimate end. The play delves into the relationships held between the three men, the position they play in this workplace as they are overseen by their cold boss Carl (played by Gabby Hernandez), as well as the acknowledgement of their severe task and environment. Both the playwright and the director had interesting thoughts regarding the play, yet it was how their starkly different interpretations came together in one heavily packed movement that left the audience entranced.

Surprisingly enough, D’Silva’s inspiration behind the setting of the play came from a high school internship at a prison.

“I got to know the prisoners there really well, and they’re all just people,” said D’Silva, referring to how society tends to dehumanize criminals in jail.

D’Silva spoke about how he watched a video that detailed the last 24 hours before a prisoner was put on death row, observing how the prisoner’s order for their last meal was taken and prepared which

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piqued his curiosity.

However, one may find it interesting to note that D’Silva did not intend for the focus to be on the prison system itself, but rather on the relationships and the stigma around masculine identity between the three characters.

“It could take place in any environment,” said D’Silva. The choice of a prison was simply to place the characters in an extreme scenario, using the setting as a device to prove how even in chaotic, unusual circumstances, there is still an intricate focus on the people around you.

Bradley’s vision favored the toxic, crushing association with the death penalty, drawing on the personas of each of the characters to form the high-tension environment that was the kitchen where the last meals of soon-to-be corpses were cooked.

“What an interesting optic through which to see the finality of man, the final breath of the people being discussed,” said Bradley, referencing his first thoughts after reading the script. “The story shows the journey of acceptance, repentance, and understanding the world around you through the lens of mortality.”

In a way, it was Bradley’s focus on each character, which was D’Silva’s intention, that allowed him to shine a light on the dehumanizing effect of the environment they were in.

“John’s opinion of his profession is that this is the last service he provides to those condemned to death. He feels very righteous, very serious about the work he does,” said Bradley. “Whereas, Phil doesn’t have that kind of attitude towards his work.

It’s more ‘job’ for him. Phil tries to deny that this end-

less stream of death going around him is affecting him, and he kind of brushes it off. John has seen it before, and he has had to cope with it.”

The clashes seen between John and Phil owe greatly to their respective reactions to the situation they’ve been placed in. John seems to believe that he has accepted reality, and he won’t admit that he still has deep-seated uncertainties.

This gives reason to why Phil’s eager-to-please and throw-away attitude would conflict with his own. Moving towards the examination of masculine identity that D’Silva wanted to explore, this story shows how these two strong, male personalities come into conflict with their contrasts and are not willing to accept the views of the other.

Perhaps one of the most startling parts of the play was the role of Carl. Carl is seen at the beginning of each scene dictating the prisoner and their last meal under ominous lighting, only seen with the boys once in the kitchen. According to D’Silva, Carl is “mainly used as a tool to introduce Phil back to reality”, seen when Carl makes Phil watch one of the killings. Until that moment, Phil could live his life in stubborn avoidance of the fact that he is lending a hand towards the killings. In a twisted way, he is allowing these people to be killed by cooking their last meals.

“Carl has been doing this for twenty-five years. He’s jaded, he’s tired, and he’s seen more people die than he can count on hands and feet,” Bradley said. “Carl is whatever everyone ultimately fears, which is having no reaction to even the worst circumstances.” Carl has sunk so deeply into his role in the prison that he has been desensitized to even the most extreme circumstances, and he ceases to acknowledge the horrors around him.

Clearly, a play with so much thought and impact laced into it is bound to leave the audience stunned.

“I want people to take away that it is a big deal, and it is a bigger deal than some people are willing to admit,” said Bradley. “The idea I wanted to push forward is about how human life becomes cheap when it’s the end of it. An individual dying means something, no matter what that individual did.” The play begs the question of whether anyone should have that much of a degree of control over another individual’s life, to the extent that they can ultimately end it for them.

D’Silva simply wanted the audience to observe the touching and often surprising relationships between the three men. “Part of the social message is that there is no social message,” D’Silva admitted candidly. “It’s a little story we view.

People should pay more attention to individual stories, about what people are insecure about saying, and what they are scared about saying.”

What’s interesting was how two seemingly opposite ideas merged into one. The play that was ultimately performed at Fortnight showed how there can always be, and sometimes must be, a slice of humanity in even the dimmest of scenarios in order for us to continue on. Through the personal, human touch of the relationship between John and Phil—in contrast to the cold environment and the lost persona of Carl—the audience can observe how humanity still prevails in even the worst circumstances of itemized, clinical killings—and that was the most magical part of the night.

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ORDER UP

CAST AND CREW

Question to the cast:

What would your last meal be?

AIDEN BRADLEY: DIRECTOR “My last meal would be a single cyanide tablet because I’d die on my own terms, dammit! And that’s it.”

BEN HARRIS: PHILLIP “My mom makes a killer lobster mac and cheese with shells. It’s so good, so creamy, so much lobster. She learned to make it because I stopped eating meat, but I kept eating fish and I thought that was really sweet.”

ISHAAN LOHIA: JOHN “I think my last meal would be classic steak and mashed potatoes because it’s one of my favorite foods, and when I was young I would always order it from any menu, and my family makes fun of me for it.”

GABBt HERNANDEZ: CARL Gabby Hernandez: “I believe my last meal would be an eggs-in-the-basket meal from Cracker Barrel with a side of grits and a large sweet tea, because I was born and raised in the South and every time I eat it I’m reminded of that.”

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Ben Harris Phillip

Aidan Bradley Director

Gabby Hernandez Carl

Adam Regenstreif Producer

Ishaan Lohia John

“I think the actors did an INCREDIBLE JOB and I especially loved Carl’s part at the end... the DIRECTING was probably my favorite piece of it, especially with the little kicks and just the DYNAMIC between the two of them was really powerful.”

“I think that the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT of Ben’s character was very interesting... it just felt very

relatable and there have been times I felt somewhat similar to that.”

“I actually REALLY ENJOYED IT. I thought it was cool.”

“I thought the script did a great job of

keeping you in the dark about what was happening until the right moment.

Then, all of a sudden, you were like,

‘wow, that’s what’s happening here,’ and that did a really good job of keeping you engaged the entire time and interested to see what was going to happen next.”

AUDIENCE RESPONSE

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Fortnight 10/31/19

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W

Written by: Jaime Ryan 32

Milk and Honey Bible Camp Cabin 3

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Milk and Honey Bible Camp, Cabin 3 A Quest for the Truth Written by Rachel Erwin

Closing out the fall semester, Jaime Ryan’s 10-minute play, Milk and Honey Bible Camp, Cabin 3, explores the relationship with faith in the queer community. The performance of her piece, directed by Anna Macek, took Fortnight by storm, evoking heartfelt responses and tears from many.

The story centers on a cabin of four girls at Bible camp and their counselor, Jen (Carla Mirabal). We see cabin drama unfold as Olive (Sydney Love) accuses each girl of playing different roles in the “recreation period incident,” with Taleah (Juliet Trautman) expressing her jealousy at the fact that her best friend, Imani r (Elise Pilponis), continues to ditch her to spend time with Abby, a timid family friend o t c e r i (Kaitlyn Fiery). As a result, we come to learn that Imani and Abby are actually a couple, cek : D a which is something they have kept hidden their fellow cabinmates. The scene unfolds as M Anna Abby and Imani address their fears over being queer and loving God at the same time.

This ends in a beautiful moment as they pray together.

Why is Ryan’s play so impactful in today’s world? In her words, “the popular opinion is ‘the most horrible lie’.” People often assume that “queer people should and must stay out of Christianity to be truly free,” yet the playwright disputes this sentiment. According to her, “we need to use the arts to set truth, and ourselves, free,” so Milk and Honey Bible Camp, Cabin 3 clearly delivers. The play is meant to challenge the so-called “popular” perspective on faith and queerness, and leaves the audience with much to ponder.

Erin

ucer At its core, “the essence of this show is the idea of identity,” according to Macek. As d o r P eux : the director, Macek felt that Fortnight audiences deserved to hear stories about identity and Dever

“It was very

beautiful ... a really interesting exploration of how gay relationships can exist at a spend-the-night

summer camp.”

change. Therefore, her focus was on exploring the identities and circumstances of these adolescent girls and looking at how “those around us shape who we are.” In her eyes, identity is an essential part of the necessity of this play, and she challenges the Fortnight audience to examine their own identities, hoping that we will remember “who we were before we ended up in this moment.”

Both the playwright and the director bring differing levels of experience with the subject matter to the table, which makes for an intriguing and dynamic performance. Ryan, who considers herself a devout Christian, “served as a counselor at a Christian performing arts camp.”

She does not identify as queer herself, but, rather, is a witness to “queer Christians who have fought through so many hateful fallacies to reach a place of truth and love with God.” Her experience with Bible camp taught her that the kids who attend are often struggling to define their relationship with

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God by “looking at what the Bible actually says instead of what people tell them they should believe.”

On the other hand, Macek has almost no direct experience with faith, queerness, or summer camp. Despite this, her goal was always to “put an authentic story onstage and to represent both queer and religious communities in a way that was respectful and honest.” According to her, it was the cast and producer (Erin Devereux) who aided her in telling an honest story. Macek shares that “their willingness to be open about their experiences” helped her to create “this piece of theatre without telling or projecting a single story.”

Despite their varying degrees of experience with the subject matter, both had clear inspiration when it came to the creation of the piece and performance. Ryan names Jesus Christ as her inspi“It’s great that ration, and shares that “he put the sentiment of this play on [her] heart.” She also derives inspiration from “everyone who feels like Fortnight Imani and Abby--inundated in society’s messages that steer them is able to tackle away from considering a life with God.” Her faith led both comedies her to write the play, and she prays that audience members learn how to approach their fears about and real-world seeking God by asking for help rather than giving up. ni issues.”

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Elise

is : Im n o p i l Pi

Macek takes her inspiration from the girls in the cast themselves. Her direction, as she states, is inspired by “the girls that we all were when we were teens,” “the girls we knew back then,” and “the amazing women that those girls have become.” Her and her cast’s memories of the “lovely nightmare” of being an adolescent girl drove her to strive to represent these experiences truthfully onstage.

“It spoke to me in a really profound way.”

Carla

Overall, these two women’s perspectives comJuliet Trautm bined to produce a play that will leave its mark on an : Ta leah Fortnight and Silver Masque going forward. Whether or not you identify with the identities represented in the piece, we can all understand the quest for the truth about ourselves and how we fit into the world. We all seek our own version of “the land of milk and honey,” or a Promised Land, where we can be free to love and live authentically.

J en : l a b Mira

ful Kai

bby A : y r e i tlyn F

insight-

“The show was really and the way they handled the ideas of and ... sent a strong message.”

ty

religion

identi-

Sydne y

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Love : Olive

Multi-f perspec on Queer

Interviews by Ashl Photography by Sh

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faith ctives rness

ley Lyon hira Weiss

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“I think [having a role model] made me feel more confident in who I am. I’ve always been proud to say I am Jewish whenever people are talking about religion… but in terms of being Pansexual in a lot of spaces, especially in school and those types of things, I’ve always been a lot more hesitant to put my two cents in. But ever since, like, having a couple different role models who are Jewish and Queer, I’ve felt like I can bring the more Queer side of my identity both into Jewish spaces and into regular spaces.” “[Milk & Honey] made me feel lucky that I’ve never had Anna Birnholz really to fear that personal rejection, “I’m Anna, I identify as because in my relationship with Pansexual and Jewish.” my religion, I’ve always very much been of the essence that God teaches us to love unconditionally. I’ve struggled with what I view God as and a higher power’s role in my life, but I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that whatever that higher power is, ultimately, if I’m not going to live my life full of love and as who I authentically am, that spurring of self-hatred isn’t helpful to anyone, especially myself.”

Harrison Garcia

“I’m Harrison Garcia. I am a gay male, I use he/him pronouns, also Hispanic and Jewish.”

“Seeing on Snapchat and Instagram a lot of my gay friends from camp still doing Jewish things and still incorporating Judaism into their everyday lives helps reinforce for me that I’m not the only ones doing this, like it’s not just for me and everyone else in [JQNU] being queer, it’s our generation; our age group is finding a good place because of the people who lead it.”

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“For every other queer person out there who is kind of struggling between [queerness and religion] and thinks that it is a

choice, that it is a zero sum game -- that’s not how the world is.”

“I came out to the rest of my bunk and everyone started crying and it was really cute and wholesome. And then they were all like, “B’tzelem elohim. All in the image of God, you’re perfect the way you are” which was just really nice, especially being in a Jewish camp, like where all these values are constantly being instilled in us, it was amazing seeing them come to life in acceptance and love of Judaism and of being alive and the power of Hashem, of all being here for a reason.”

Ashwini Asirwatham

“My name is Ashwini Asirwatham, I’m bisexual and I grew up Christian.”

“Christian media never really included queer people, and queer media separates itself from the church a lot or from any religion a lot.

Which like, I feel like I pass churches that have rainbow flags pretty often so the intersection is not as far-fetched as people think, but when it comes to media representation and stuff, I just don’t think that’s there.”

“I was crying and I felt so bad. [Y]ou know the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ruggles? I know lots of people try to look away and don’t want to make contact with them but I was like, ‘they are Christians, hopefully they’ll be nice to me.’ And I went up to this lady, and she was like ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, it sounds like this lady broke your heart’ and she opened her bible and showed me that verse about how God has a plan for you, to give you a hope for a future, and she says, “You know, that’s not just for a selected, you know, that’s not just for a few people, that’s for everybody, and that’s not, you know -God’s love is for everyone, including you.” And she comforted me. That was a moment I really needed and I really appreciate her and that meant a lot.”

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Fortnight 11/14/19

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Senior Fortnight

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Graphic by Erin Solomon

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Senior Fortnight 12/5/19

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Original design inspiration by Erin Solomon and Kaitlyn Fiery

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SPRING 4646

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Epitaph

Pagar el Prec

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Table of Contents Part Two

by Aidan Bra

dley

by Anna-Rein

The plays im

e Beaulieu

pacted by CO

VID-19 47 47

001.30 1 30 Ryder Thh a Theatre La

CR M ORR P N S

CRIME OR PUNISH Written by Ben Harris Directed by Madi Williams

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HMENT Ben Harris is a junior at Northeastern University studying Communication Studies and Theatre with a minor in Political Science. He is currently working on principle photography for his short film The Untitled Broken Window Project, to be released in the summer of 2020. Other writing credits include Laugh, a self-produced short film, and No Pineapple, produced in Reground Theatre Collective’s Spring 2019 festival. He has served as the secretary of Silver Masque for both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years.

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Director Madi Williams

In CRIME O

written well in advance of Ameri can military action. In

R PUNISHMEN

Classic

Literature and

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Current Event

August of 2019, Harris learned of Iran’s seizure of an Iraqi oil tanker, prompting him to write a play in a world where the U.S. goes to war

s Collide

By: Ashley Ly on

nikov, a comparison brought to light by sister Halle (Abby Kesselman), whose quoting of the “Russian paperweight” leads to a touching moment of the siblings putting on imaginary raincoats in preparation for everlasting tempest.

“I like the idea of two siblings sitting down and having a little joke like this, but the stakes are so much higher, because obviously one of them might die,” Harris explains.

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interesting to explore in a brother and sister relationship.”

With looming shadows on the wall and an omnipresent heartbeat, Williams’s direction of the play aimed to evoke the same fear and panic experienced by Aaron. “Aaron is our way in… My hope is that the audience will feel the discomfort and feel the tension and look at the way our military system affects people and affects families.”

For Harris, the play’s message can be distilled into Aaron’s line, “I’m not a Superman. I’m not special…

But I shouldn’t have to be something special to be allowed to live."

In his own words, “the question of war shouldn’t even be on the table for most of us…

We should all be allowed to be alive.”

“This is something in the wheelhouse of what my brother and I would do, I felt like it really tied their dynamic together and I was really happy with how it came out.”

Williams also found both a challenge and satisfaction in staging Aaron and Halle’s sibling dynamic. “It’s really not often that we get to see a healthy brother and sister relationship onstage and have it be the only characters in the show, with the exception of the TV announcer… The physical connection and the spatial connection between Aaron and Halle and when they’re close to each other and when they’re not is something really

Playwright Ben Harris

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Playwright’s Pages Playwright Ben Harris annotates two pages of Crime or Punishment.

It troubles me when rhetoric belittles those it is meant to serve.

The current national ethos asks us to assume we are disposable, and I challenge that.

AARON: I’m not a Superman. I’m not special. I’m just a man, and I don’t even feel like that anymore. But I shouldn’t have to be something special to be allowed to live. We’ve been cheated. People tell us that if our country decides to do something then the right thing is to do it but we all know that’s bullshit. We get coerced by the silent shaming and the passing judgement but at the end of the day none of us want this. None of us like this. And if somehow the only way for me to voice dissent is to take a shovel to my foot then maybe I don’t even want to live.

HALLE: What’s the hard part, the decision or the doing it?

AARON: The doing it.

HALLE: What if you didn’t have to do it?

(AARON is confused, but then he gets it.)

AARON: Halle no.

Technology has evolved so much since the last draft, I wanted to place the idea in here that state surveillance has so much more invasive potential than it did then.

HALLE: I could do it.

AARON: That’s crazy.

HALLE: Think about it. They could tell if you did it to yourself. The angle it breaks at or whatever, they’d be able to figure it out. But if your crazy sister did it in a fit of rage... well then what can they say? And you wouldn’t have to press charges.

(AARON contemplates, then drops the shovel and sits. HALLE sits with him. They enjoy each other’s company in silence.)

A 21st century draft would be a gendered political issue, and action serious on conversation which has yet to happen because the draft is an abstract thought. If it became real, conversations like this would become more common.

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AARON: I’m sorry for what I said. About women not being able to get it. That was rude.

HALLE: It was. Thank you. But you’re right that this isn’t my decision.

AARON: What would dad say?

HALLE: Does it matter?

(They continue to sit. HALLE grabs AARON’s hand reassuringly. AARON smiles, then stands and begins pantomiming putting on a raincoat. He has made a decision.)

HALLE: What the hell are you doing?

AARON: Putting on a raincoat. Everlasting tempest, you know?

(HALLE responds by getting up and pretending to put on a rain jacket as well. They share a brief moment of levity as they joke with each other about putting the jackets on.)

HALLE: You should put your hood up.

AARON: It’s just a little water. I’ll be fine.

HALLE: Even Superman gets wet.

AARON: But he’s used to it. He doesn’t get cold.

This is my favorite moment in the whole play! It reminds us that Halle and Aaron are siblings whose lives are being destroyed by this.

They have sibling jokes and such, but they really love each other, enough to do something truly horrific.

HALLE: Well you’re not Superman. And I don’t want to watch your lips go blue.

AARON: At the end of Crime and Punishment, what happens to Raskolnikov?

HALLE: (She lies) He’s forgiven. He makes a life for himself, and he’s forgiven.

He lives happily. He leaves Russia with his love, and they get everything they wanted.

(AARON sets his foot forward. He is ready.)

AARON: To the tempest.

This is kind of the truth?

Raskolnikov and Sonia do end up back together, but only after he spends most of a decade in a Siberian labor camp.

HALLE: To the tempest.

(HALLE raises the shovel. They freeze.)

(We hear the sound of rain falling. It slowly grows louder and louder until it drowns out everything.)

(AARON looks into HALLE’s eyes and nods. Silence. They both smile. Blackout.)

(End.)

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CRIME OR PUNISHMENT: Audience Reacts and the Team

“It was scary how well it predicted the future.”

“It explored a lot of really deep ideas and I liked the way that it was presented.”

Halle: Abby Kesselman

Announcer: Kate Kelly

Aaron: Christian DeKnatel

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“I thought that it was a really interesting commentary on the world we’re living in.”

Producer: Erin Devereux

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GENDER AND THE DRAFT:

A BRIEF HISTORY 56 Written by Pavithra Rajesh

used during the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Even today, the Selective Service System still requires all male U.S. citizens or immigrants between the ages of 18 and 25 to register, remaining in place as a contingency plan. However, while the history of men in the war effort is straightforward and easily traceable, the lines are blurred when it comes to other genders.

Since the creation of the military, there has been a lot of back and forth about the eligibility of trans people to serve. Until 1960, there were never any objections against transgender people serving in the military. From 1960 to mid-2016, a blanket ban on all transgender people serving was put into effect. However, that ban was lifted, and transgender people were once again allowed to serve in their preferred gender upon completing transition – up until April 2019.

On April 12th, 2019, the Directive-type Memorandum-19-004 was signed by David L. Norquist of the United States Department of Defense, virtually prohibiting trans people from serving unless they enlisted as their original sex assignment. This also meant that transwomen who were required to register with the Selective Service System, since they were assigned as male at birth, would not be allowed to serve even if they were drafted. Clearly, there is a long way to go before transgender people are guaranteed a permanent presence in the military.

Till this day, women are not required to register with the Selective Service System which means they cannot be drafted. The presence of women

National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System case decided in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas declared that the exclusion of women from the draft was unconstitutional. While it has no immediate effect, it did reignite the debate over gender equality and the necessity of including women in the draft in order to uphold ideals of a fair and equal society.

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The night before Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for a love letter, right?

Epitaph, a play by Aidan Bradley, is a “love letter to female artists,” in the words of director Kaitlyn Fiery.

Featuring the intersecting stories of two women, Rose and Lily, Epitaph explores women, art, death and love through a series of journal entries presented as monologues. Rose (Bianca Vranceanu) cares for her mother, whose memory is rapidly fading. Lily (Erin Rosenfeld) grows up as she writes, learning new things about the world every day. It gradually becomes clear that Lily is a younger version of Rose’s mother.

“It tells this beautiful story of this relationship between this mom and her daughter,”said Fiery.

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play. He was also inspired by his great-grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. She is one of the many women he hoped to pay tribute to by writing Epitaph. The pair also took a similar approach to death.

“Death is a part of everyone’s daily lives,” said Fiery. “We kind of approached it from a way of life.”

Bradley agreed, saying that he hoped audiences would walk away feeling less morbid in the face of death. The play focuses more on the lives of these two women, and looks at death as the beginning of a new adventure for both of them.

The Fortnight audience appeared moved by this story, with some attendees even shedding a tear. Fiery encourages people to self-interpret her work, yet she hopes that audience members walked away with more appreciation for the women in their life. Bradley hopes that the audience walked away with a greater love for storytelling in all its forms.

“Everyone travels with their own internal journal,” said Bradley. “You can glean so much by listening to a few entries.”

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real the words and thoughts in our mind. Diaries, to that end, document and prove the existence of the stories contained in their pages. By writing down a

and burning books act as a form of historical erasure; with the physical

thought or even a simple recitation of the day’s event, our days are made permanent and contained to a physical form. Our stories are held, if only for ourselves, long after they have faded from memory.

“Who else but me is ever going to ready these letters?”

-Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank’s diary is perhaps one of the most famous examples of a temporal existence outlasting the mind which composed and contained the memories documented. Chronicling her time in hiding during the Holocaust in a journal, Anne Frank, whether intentionally or not, cemented her story

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Christian DeKnatel and Julia Barksdale sing a song about their favorite colors.

Fortnight

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I’m Sorry, What Did You Say? Written by Pavithra Rajesh

Parts of the script were written completely in Spanish, and while there were translations for the actors to understand the playwright’s lines, there was no translation for the audience when the play was being performed.

“I think [the audience] might be surprised because one of the characters speaks solely in Spanish,” said Beaulieu. Hernandez spoke about her deliberate choice to not include English translations for those audience members who didn’t understand Spanish.

“You speak English, and people aren’t going to understand English sometimes,” said Hernandez. “It’s a division, but you have to be able to appreciate other languages.”

Both Hernandez and Beaulieu agreed that it was an appropriate time for a message like this to be heard.

“A lot of the time, people become xenophobic towards each other when they hear people speaking languages they can’t understand, especially Spanish,” said Hernandez.

Spanish-speaking communities are becoming increasingly prevalent in our society today, and its time that people learn to acknowledge and embrace the culture and language that comes with it.

“I think Spanish is just beautiful to listen to,” said Hernandez. “If people don’t know Spanish, I kind of like that, because then you just get to listen to the beauty of the language and understand that people speak this, and this is their language – that’s their lives.”

With the discrimination and hostile treatment that many people face today,

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especially those who are from a Spanish-speaking background, a story like this serves to remind many about how communities that are different from their own still deserve equal respect and space.

“There’s a little bit about the attitude that some white people have towards teaching Spanish and Latin American culture, and how a white person will go into a Spanish classroom and teach Spanish while having no formal knowledge of it, not interacting with Spanish-speaking people, not being a member of a Spanish-speaking community,” said Beaulieu. “You can’t separate language and culture, because language comes from culture, and that’s the coolest part of it.”

Ultimately, this script is a comedic reminder of the importance of embracing diversity in our day to day lives, and Hernandez describes the play’s appeal perfectly.

“I’m glad that you’re not going to understand what is going on, and that you’re going to have to listen to Spanish for ten minutes,” said Hernandez. “I think people are going to love it, no matter what.”

Alex (Ivy Kee) resists participating in Greg’s (Travis Bergmann) shenanigans.

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This entire play was based on a pun and the idea “what if, in the movie ‘La Llorona’, no one really spoke Spanish?”

Being a second-language learner myself (with American Sign Language and Spanish), this is legit the most highly used phrase in the first few years of learning any language. That and “sorry”.

I figured I had to have at least one person that spoke Spanish otherwise it wouldn’t work at all because - rather than miscommunication - there would be no communication. I also struggled with how to make Dee have enough of a knowledge of Spanish that they could communicate, but not well.

In the end I decided to stick with them having a grasp of the grammar but a limited vocabulary.

I didn’t really have a bad experience with a language teacher that I based this on because, well, I was home-schooled. So this character of a public school, white, American, non-native Spanish speaker is based on stories my friends have told me and also every depiction of high school language teachers in media.

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Playwright’s Pages Playwright Anna-Reine Beaulieu annotates two pages of Pagar El Precio.

Bolded lines were the lines spoken during the performance.

JOSÉ (English translation) Her! This is the person I was supposed to haunt! She must pay the price! Where is she? Ella! Este es la persona que se supone debo que vengo a maldecir. Ella debe pagar el precio! Donde esta ella?

DEE (English translation) Slow, please, slow, I can’t understand you!

Lento, mas lento, no te entiendo!

GREG(to DEE) How are you the one that can speak Spanish?

DEE My mom’s mom, my abuela, is from Ecuador and we lived with her when I was little. She used to only speak Spanish to me.

JOSÉ holds up the photo to show it to DEE and taps MRS. GONZALES’ face.

JOSÉ (English translation) Where is she? (slowly) Donde esta ella?

ALEX What’s he saying?

DEE He’s asking where Mrs. Gonzales is.

“I pictured Greg as a pot-stirrer but only because he’s too much of a bimbo to realize when he GREG Probably to murder her. shouldn’t say things.”

ALEX Why?

ALEX WHAT?

“I always pictured Alex as very long-suffering but in the way where they’ll roll their eyes at their friends’ antics while, inwardly, they wouldn’t have it any other way.”

JOSÉ (English translation) What what? Where is she? Qué qué? Donde esta ella?

ALEX You can’t murder her!

JOSÉ (English translation)I have no idea what you’re saying! (slowly and loudly) No tengo idea de que dice!

DEE (English translation) Uh, they said, you can’t, uh, Ellos dicen que no puedes(English) -fuck, what’s the verb “to murder” in Spanish?

On the flip side of Alex and Greg not being able to understand José is José expecting to be able to fully communicate with the people he was going to materialize in front of and then he can’t. He wouldn’t just stand there and calmly watch the English conversation back and forth like a ping-pong match, so I tried to find ways of him communicating that didn’t rely on a understanding (in either direction) of spoken language.

I actually did learn this verb in my Spanish 101 class but I feel like that’s an anomaly so I kept it out of their vocab.

GREG How the hell should I know? We didn’t exactly cover that in the “fun activities” unit!

ALEX (at JOSÉ) Hey! HEY! Look at me! Tu no ALEX makes a violent stabbing motion.

-Ella! (pronounced like the name “Ella”) ALEX is going back and forth between miming stabbing someone and doing a big “X” with their arms while vigorously shaking their head.

JOSÉ (English translation)(to DEE) What the fuck are they doing? Que carajo estas haciendo?

It was super important to me that, as a white queer & genderqueer playwright, I wasn’t just creating roles for straight, cis, white, able-bodied people. Lord knows theater has enough of those.

It’s always weird to me in horror movies/plays when ghosts are so serious all the time and they never say Bad Words. Like - were they all just Super Boring in their lives?

Boring people make boring ghosts and José was not a boring person.

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A Note on Spanish Class Written by Rachel Erwin

Travis Bergmann (Greg)

Ivy Kee (Alex)

Picture this. It is the last period of the day. You are swamped with homework. That test you took earlier feels like a million years ago. To make matters worse, you are listening to your Spanish teacher, who can barely speak the language herself, go over how to say “Nice to meet you” for the hundredth time. Sound familiar?

82% of teachers in K-12 public schools are white, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Simultaneously, more than half of the students they teach are non-white. Of course, there are plenty of white Spanish teachers who teach the language effectively. However, we should be questioning why there is a lack of teachers who are native-speakers.

Many of us grew up being taught Spanish only by white people, which is something Pagar el Precio, by Anna-Reine Beaulieu, touches upon.

“Gonzales wasn’t even her real last name - it was her ‘Spanish name.’ Her real last name is ‘D’amore’ or something equally pretentious and white,” says Greg in the play. “Plus, everything she taught us was wrong or outdated.”

Megan Warshofsky (Producer)

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This sentiment is all too common today. Why is this? Due to many teacher evaluation systems, we are actually denying Latinx teachers the opportunity to teach. Currently, 40 states require potential teachers to submit the edTPA, a performance assessment evaluation. According to a recent study, Latinx candidates are more than three times more likely to fail this assessment than their white competitors. This is likely because the assessment requires proficiency in English writing

and grammar. Submitting detailed lesson plans in English is part of the edTPA, which seems to be part of the reason many Latinx teachers who are not fluent in English are failing. The assessment also comes with a cost, and it has to be paid again each time it is submitted. The companies screening the edTPA are consistently making money off the candidates who fail.

It would certainly make sense to have more native-speakers in our Spanish classrooms. However, hurdles like the edTPA only make it harder for native Spanish-speakers to find a job here in the United States. This seems to be why so many people know almost nothing about Latinx culture or the nuances of the Spanish language. The students in Pagar el Precio have a right to be frustrated, for they have been denied a proper education thanks to a teacher who is less-qualified than they are.

Karl Adrianza (José)

Peri Griffiths (Dee)

The path forward is clear: We need to work to remove any obstacles that may prevent native-speakers from teaching in our schools.

Audience Reacts “I actually liked that a lot of the Spanish wasn’t translated… As someone who is bilingual in Spanish and English, I felt like I was in on the joke.”

“Flawless comedic timing.”

“It was hilarious, I was laughing the whole time.”

The Team On February 27, 2020, the company of four actors, Travis Bergmann, Ivy Kee, Karl Adrianza, and Peri Griffiths presented Pagar El Precio. Megan Warshofsky served as the Producer, meaning she curated and sourced the technical elements for the performance.

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Gwen performs stand-up comedy for the Fortnight audience.

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...and then the Pandemic hit On March 14, 2020, Northeastern University reduced the density of the Boston campus and students living on campus were asked to vacate their rooms by March 17.

Silver Masque cancelled the rest of the Spring 2020 season, including: Rochambeau written by Jacob Barrett, Oedipus: The Musical written by Ciara McAloon and Ben Harris, and Overcome written by Catherine Giorgetti. We pay tribute to the teams that worked on these abandoned pieces of art.

Rochambeau Directed by Peri Griffiths Produced by Alyse Clinton Ian Davoren (L) Kelli Small (Q) Oedipus: The Musical Directed by Dan Lutz Produced by Emma Nafz Composed by Christian DeKnatel Music directed by Madi Vespa Assistant music directed by Evan Penn

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Oedipus: The Musical (cont.)

Isaac Shur (Oedipus) Alexander Langrock (Laius) Madi Vespa (Jocasta) Erin Elizabeth Devereux (Oracle) Sam Krot (Creon) Ivy Saltsman (Tiresias) Jacob Barrett (Ensemble) Avi Natan (Ensemble) CJ McDonough (Ensemble) Jacob Kemp (Messenger) Overcome Directed by Emma Hunt Intimacy Direction by Ted Hewlett Choreographer: Elise Piliponis Technical Director: Ciara McAloon Lighting Designer: Matthew Hosking Scenic Designer: DesirĂŠ Bennett Sound Designer: Jackson Roberts Costume Designer: Ashley Lyon

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Overcome (cont.)

Production Manager: Kaitlyn Fiery Stage Manager: Meredith Lineman Assistant Stage Manager: Joshua Erickson Sydney Maloney (Becky) Bianca Vranceau (Emotion A) Isabelle Hahn (Emotion B) Jacob Barrett (Carter) Chloe Evans (HR Committee Member 1) Kate Kelly (HR Committee Member 2)

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On April 15, 2020, Silver Masque hosted a Virtual Senior Fortnight to honor graduating theatre majors, minors, and other students heavily involved with theatre on campus. Goodbye and break a leg!

Seniors Tierney Banco Lia Capotorto Carla Miraba Zoe Unverferth Emma Hunt Alexa Balint Zaara Gidwani Marissa Wolf Hayley Cashman

END.

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