Aspen Middle School Mayhem - Issue 3

By Ember LaPenna

Aspen Middle School Mayhem

Volume III

Tension on the Tarmac: Aspen Airport Advancements

Harry Spitteler, Staff Writer

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Aspen and thank you for flying with us!” This is a sentence that people hear a lot when coming into Aspen whether you are a tourist, businessman or woman, or someone living here. Aspen airport was founded as a public airport in 1956 and was named “Sardy Field” in 1958 after the founder, Tom Sardy. The airport currently has a 8,006 foot long runway. While this seems long, and it is, because the air is thinner up here, planes need more runway to stop and take off. This means that the only commercial aircraft that can land at Aspen are CRJ700’s. CRJ700’s are small commercial planes that fly into small airports like Aspen. These aircraft hold 70 passengers and crew. The problem about these planes is that they are very old and out of production. This means that they are hard to maintain and there are failures all the time. The new planes they want to bring in are E175’s which are slightly bigger and much newer planes. The big debate is whether we make the runway wider for these bigger planes or not. One side of this is that people living near the airport might get annoyed with the louder planes and noise. Another side is that if we don’t upgrade the airport we could end up with no way for commercial planes to get in or out which will cut off all passenger service other than private jets and people who aren’t uber rich. This means that we would have to go to Vail just to catch a flight.

One person I interviewed about this matter is Wyatt Weihs, a 7th grader who’s dad is very involved in the airport.

“The runway should be widened because more tourists would come and increase the economy.” Is what he said about the matter of if we make the airport bigger at all. He also said that the airlines might take advantage of the situation and upcharge people.

The Aspen Airport currently has 1 terminal with only 8 gates but if we did expand the airport, we would have 2 small terminals. Unfortunately, every spring Aspen Airport does runway renovations to keep it maintained but just recently the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cut off the funding to do that which could be a major issue

Matilda the Musical

Come see Matilda the Musical on May 16,17, and 18 at 7:00 and then on the 19th at 2:00. This musical is an ensemble-heavy musical that took two months to make 9 hours of rehearsing a week. These actors rehearsed tirelessly to perform this play, so please come see Matilda Jr. (pg. 4)

because there is only a certain amount of wear and tear a runway can have to safely operate at a commercial airport. This could turn into a very big issue if we can’t maintain the airport.

Another person I interviewed was Garrett Seddon who is an aeronautics instructor at Aspen Middle School who also serves in the military. When asked if we should widen the runway at Aspen Airport, he said, “Widening it would be helpful for the bigger aircraft but depending on the new aircraft we wouldn’t have to lengthen the runway but it would have to be widened. So it depends on the aircraft brought in as well as the safety threshold.” Another matter Garett touched on was the topic of the effect of the people who live near the airport. He

AMS Clubs!

Ever wonder what could possibly be more interesting than recess? Well, I have an answer. Clubs! Clubs are a way to connect with your friends and do activities that interest you. There’s at least one club every day, and many are trying to recruit more members. (pg. 2)

said, “Due to current regulations planes usually stay quiet and hush kits keep older planes engines quiet but with newer planes, there are these things already built in with bypass exhaust softening the sound. It still depends on the aircraft which could be quieter than the current planes.”

The Aspen Airport is looking ahead to a remodel which will finally modernize the airport! This remodel would mainly entail making the terminal more modern and newer. It would also come with a newer, bigger check in and gate area, and more shops in the terminal. The Aspen Airport is a great resource to access the valley and it would be a huge bummer if we lost it.

Occasionally, she would summon a spirit recently dead just to see their despair. She did not send them back nor sate their curiosity; instead, she sat in her field of crocuses, laughing meanly. She was just another cruel creature, she thought, just another stinging thistle in a field with one shining flower. (pg. 4)

Photo by Maddie McAllister

Planes on the Denver International Airport tarmac.

Overview of Aspen Middle School Clubs

Dora Milinovic, Staff Writer

Ever wonder what could possibly be more interesting than recess? Well, I have an answer. Clubs! Clubs are a way to connect with your friends and do activities that interest you. There’s at least one club every day, and many are trying to recruit more members. A great example of a club searching for new people is the YLA.

YLA stands for Young Leaders of Aspen. As the name suggests, they try to find problems in the community that they are passionate about then fix them. Last year, they raised money for the animal shelter through the fall dance. Alex Brands, a seventh grader and loyal YLA member says that why she comes to the YLA is “It’s nice to have a say in the community.” Right now, they are working on getting defibrillators for small communities.

Another club linked to the community is Best Buddies. “Best Buddies was originally for one to one connectionsconn-

nections but I feel like we’ve expanded the club into community connections,” says Logan Novak. They are the vice president of the club. Best Buddies is completely student-ledstudent lead, and they host many fun parties. Recently, they’ve hosted a valentines day party, a mocktail party, and a get together kickoff party. All of the events Best Buddies hosts are open to the public and a great opportunity to meet new people with the same interests.

Another club that is centered around people’s interests is Robotics. This is an after school club made for people who love tinkering. The best part is that members get to make a working LEGO robot! This year the club had five teams, The Fithys, Robotix Octopoda, the Robot Rookies, Lightning Strikes!, and the Bolt Bears. If you’re not interested in coding, don’t worry! There’s a whole other part, all about making an original project and presenting it. All of these components are then judged at competi-

tions, all over Colorado! There are many parts here, and that’s what makes it so diverse and fun.

A club with even more parts is Dungeons and Dragons. Seven different dice, infinite possibilities. LedLead by the wonderful Dungeon Master Charlotte Case, this club is ready for the most impressive figments of your imagination. First, a character must be made. This character can be anything, from a svirfneblin to a tieflingteafling. Then, a campaign started campaign is started. In this campaign, the players must defeat any enemies they encounter and survive to tell the tale. If your character dies though, don’t worry! You can always make a new one with different traits. Backing out of the realm of imagination, we have a very down-to earth club. Quite literally. Climate in Action is working on making the world a better place, as co-leader Samuel Strigler said; “EnvironmentalEnviornmental club is a club that makes people more aware of

the critical state of the environment in Aspen, and the world.” Sam can’t run the show alone though! Spencer Ward is also a vital part of the club. Both of these environmental passionists made this club happen together and helped the whole school become more aware. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, do you remember the day everybody went out to pick up trash during school? Climate in Action was behind that. They also made the composting bins in the cafeteria and sent out the survey that the whole school filled out during community. Climate in Action really are living up to their name, putting their plans for saving the valley into action.

That was only about half of our school’s clubs, and the rest are just as interesting. All of the clubs in AMS are looking for new ideas, and the playground is crowded enough as it is. Finding your people is easier with clubs that suit you, and there’s something for everyone,

The Potential Aspen High School Cell Phone Ban

Annabella Maupin, Staff Writer

In today’s generation, virtual reality seems to have become the only reality for people. Everyone is going crazy over technology. People are bringing their phones to their classes and using them instead of paying attention. Children below ten are getting more modern phones than their parents. They are glued to their phones, and because they don’t have a limit to the amount of time they spend on their screens, they become addicted to them, making them disrespectful, ignoring their parents, and not taking care of their responsibilities. That isn’t everything screens can do to people; phones affect people’s health when they are on them 24/7, and sometimes, even less than that can affect them. They aren’t as focused on what is happening in the world. People aren’t doing their best at their jobs, children aren’t keeping up with school work, and they don’t have the best education even when their parents are paying for one. In my perspective, we just need to balance school, activities, studying, and screens along with following the regulations

that the school and other places provide. I interviewed students, the high school principal, and others about this issue. According to the people that I interviewed, there are some bad sides to people having phones at school and good sides to having phones at school.

Harry Spittler is a 7th-grader at Aspen Middle School. Spittler will be an 8th grader next year and attend high school in two years.

Spittler said, “It is good because phones won’t have to go to their classes, but the bad side is that if there is an emergency like your teacher collapses, you won’t have anyone to call, and if it is a life or death emergency, then you won’t have time to go to the office and say, “My teacher collapsed on the floor,” and some other people said that if they wanted to let their parents know of something, like an after school activity just to let them know that they are there, they couldn’t call them.”

Ember LaPenna is a 6th-grade student at Aspen Middle School. LaPenna will be in 7th grade next year and will be in high school in about two to three years.

Her mom is a teacher at Aspen High School.

LaPenna said, “Students shouldn’t have cell phones at school or even have phones until the age of thirteen because some of the social media platforms do present risks for them like bullying, harassment, misinformation, and inappropriate content, and it is also addicting, especially to the youth. “Students also wouldn’t be distracted in class.” According to her, If there were an emergency, the teachers could call and if they had to tell their parents something, they would have to ask the front office to call for them or even just email their parents from their computers.

Elsa Tullar is a senior student at Aspen High School. Tullar is going to be graduating this year and helps out in the AMS journalism club.

Tullar said, “Coming from a student perspective, phones should still be allowed in high school.” She said that “it is beneficial so students can communicate with their parents, friends, and upperclassmen who go off campus for lunch.” She thinks that it is a necessity

for communication purposes. She also said, “I also use my phone for my journalism class for interviews and emailing all the time. So I think it would be difficult not to have my phone at school.” In conclusion, a majority of people think that phones should be allowed at school in case of an emergency, as well as calling their parents to let them know where they are going after school. However, some other students and people think that phones shouldn’t be allowed in school because of health risks, lousy education, disrespect, and less perseverance, along with kids bringing their phones inside their classes and being lazy in school. As the high school principal stated, if people continue disobeying this rule, the school will ban phones for all districts, especially the high school. However, if we follow the rules and do not bring them into classrooms anymore, then there will not be a cell phone ban. So you can decide how you want to be, an addict to technology or not.

3 Barrels, 2 Hearts, 1 Dream

Tsarina

Andrews, Staff Writer

Construction began on the long-awaited project in August after the last rodeo of the season. In addition to renovations to the parking lot south of the rodeo arena, the current phase of construction will tackle the activity fields to the north of the arena, re-orientation of the rodeo

grounds, a filtration pond to protect water, and installation of a bleacher structure. The town council initially approved $5.3 million for the first phase of improvements, and an additional $1 million was added to the 2023 budget for a maintenance facility.

Pandas: A Full Perspective

Sloane Alexander, Editor-in-Chief

When you think of pandas, you probably think of an adorable black and white bear, but underneath the layer of cuteness, lies conspiracies and politics that are anything but fuzzy. Recently China has “recalled the Pandas” from several zoos, most notably the National Zoo in D.C. after 50 years of residency. At its peak the US has had 15 pandas in various zoos, but the number continues to dwindle. To understand the conflict, it is important to understand the bear itself. Pandas come in many shapes and colors. From brown to black scientists have discovered many genetic features and qualities that make up this adorable bear. Pandas have sharp teeth that are strong enough to chew bamboo. 1,500 currently live in the wild. In the wild, they eat, sleep, and thrive, but can that be said for zoos? To find out the real state of pandas in zoos, 2 interviews were conducted. One student who visited the Houston zoo said the pandas were “cute and fluffy, they seemed relatively happy and they had a clean habitat”, yet a visitor of the Vegas, Belgrade, and Denver zoos said that Pandas were “dirty and lying miserably. The pandas were around fake bamboo and seemed like they yearned to be back in the wild.” these contradicting views give multiple perspectives into the state of pandas. These quotes cause confusion, but also questions of

what could be done better. One student says that “there are too many rocks” and another thinks that “pandas shouldn’t be used as political tools in the first place.”. If we started to implement better treatments and kinder methods, would the pandas be able to stay? And more importantly, will they be able to thrive?

When we were first given Pandas, it was a significant step toward having peaceful relations with China, says Georgetown University. The Pandas were put into the national zoo in the capital and treated like royalty. We viewed them as cute and cuddly and it made us have a positive association with them and consequently, China. The root of the problem may go back to when China first said pandas were of “Major political and diplomatic needs” because they can help gain influence. An example of this influence is in our own USA when we were given 2 pandas, which turned into 5, then 10, and higher the numbers rose until the pandas were more loaned than given. China saw how much we adored the creatures and used it to their advantage. The national zoo started paying half a million dollars per year and the Zoo in Atlanta said that “since the program started 25 years ago they have contributed 16 million to the Chinese government”. These numbers are crazy, but we are not the only country affected by this.

Australian and Scottish zoos are also down to just 2 pandas and pay ridiculous rates. Many people are sad, but there is truly not much we can do about it unless somehow we tie them into politics. As much as we love them, Pandas may be better off in a place where they can thrive, politics or not.

China admitted that the research and conservation being done in the states was good, but an incident in Memphis Zoo contradicts this. Earlier in 2023, a video went viral accusing the staff of mistreating the Pandas, although the zoo doctors insisted they weren’t, China spread this video more throughout their social media. That is when we started to lose pandas and doubt of their well-being was brought up more. The government involvement was seemingly unnecessary, as other Asian countries such as Russia and Qatar gained pandas we lose them. There might still be hope for pandas, but for now, we will go without unless we find good solutions to benefit pandas. The pandas do end up in a good home in China where they can thrive and continue to grow the population. According to CNN Pandas are no longer on the endangered species list and although we can’t see them it’s for the greater good of these lovable creatures.

The Six Forbidden Seeds

Ember LaPenna, Staff Writer

Mid-afternoon light made the crocuses glow as if they were crafted of butterfly wings. In their midst, seeming to grow out of the very Earth on which she sat, was a Goddess. Kore, the daughter of Demeter, wielded power over crops, grain, food, and the fertility of the Earth itself. Kore herself, however, was the goddess of springtime. She could grow flowers and give life to all she touched, but she was best known for her ability to commune with the dead. It was said that she could even raise them. Kore had decided to spend some time in the mortal realms, for her mother and she had gotten into a fight. The problem was that, as the centuries passed, Kore had only gotten more beautiful. She had many lovers, but her mother had forbidden her to marry. For Kore, an immortal, a day in the mortal realm was as ephemeral as a second. She would spend weeks there, just sitting staring at the clouds passing above, imagining a world where she was free.

Occasionally, she would summon a spirit recently dead just to see their despair. She did not send them back nor sate their curiosity; instead, she sat in her field of crocuses, laughing meanly. She was just another cruel creature, she thought, just another stinging thistle in a field with one shining flower. She did, however, banish these melancholic thoughts to the farthest corners of her mind. Kore frolicked in the flowers until the last rays of the sun steamed, just barely, through the misty mountaintops. She was not aware of the dark presence which observed her. It was just a wisp of shadow, a storming cloud in an otherwise clear sky. But even a wraith of such little magic can be dangerous.

For, as was not known by Kore, who did not even suspect the presence of the dark entity, the wraith’s master looked on through its eyes. As he watched the beautiful young woman leap around the field, her face reflecting the ambiguous concepts she thought of, he was struck by an emotion, strong and clear, that he had not felt in a millennia. Love. Unfortunately, Hades, lord of the underworld, reaper of souls, and merciless destroyer of families was not educated on romantic gestures. Greed overpowered his common sense, and, not considering the possibly dire consequences, he decided that he would have her as his bride. A few days later, Kore gazed at the clouds once again in her field of crocuses. As

Marine Biology

Sunny Morehouse, Staff Writer

she looked on, the sky darkened, and lightning flashed in bright streaks that stained her eyes. A raging storm meant Zeus was angry; perhaps his favorite mortal hero had died, or a king had made an inadequate sacrifice. She knew that her mother would be looking for her, but out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a flower she had never seen before. “ Oh!” She cried, “ How beautifully it shimmers, as though by magic!”

The flower was a deep purple with blue and copper veins. As she bent down to pluck it, the ground shook as though millions of fists were pounding to free their owners from beneath it. She stumbled, but because of this, she glimpsed yet another of the beautiful flowers. She leaned down to examine it and was thrown off her feet and onto the ground by yet another, more forceful quake. As lightning flashed above her, a deep, seemingly endless chasm opened beneath her, the earth around her crumbling. Kore’s breath caught in her throat as she hurtled downwards. She reminded herself, as she fell through the air, that she was immortal and could not die. Her mother was protective, to say the least, and had never let her get this close to the mortal concept of death.

Seconds later, though, that was who caught Kore from her freefall. Death himself. Hades, a name that she had only heard in whispers accompanied by fearful stares. A name shared with his realm, the prison of the dead. Hades was a brother of Zeus and Poseidon,

Seeing the world differently is how we know a lot more than we are supposed to. But yet, one thing has not fully been discovered. The ocean is the most Beautiful, Terrifying, and relaxing place ever; it has more than we could ever study and explore. We have only explored 5% of our ocean, meaning 95% still needs to be discovered. We cannot study these parts because of very high pressures, total darkness, extreme temperatures, and toxic chemicals in the deep. According to NOAA.gov, “Using devices known as drifters, scientists can study the complexities of global ocean currents, and, in turn, the many systems they influence. With technological advances, drifters now provide researchers with real-time information about ocean circulation patterns.” But the people who figure all of it out are the marine biologists. Marine biologists are scientist who study the ocean and the life that lives in it. Many people want to be marine biologists. According to Conservation Careers, “As a marine biologist, you could help us better understand marine life; create more sustainable fisheries; manage the impact of climate change, marine plastic pollution, and other human activities on species and ecosystems; encourage others to protect our oceans, and much more.” Being a marine biologist has many responsibilities, and the possibilities for discoveries are endless. If you want to be a marine biologist, you might make one of these discoveries.

the most powerful gods of all. He rode on a chariot of obsidian; the wheels and reins formed of smoke. His stallions were dark as a moonless night, and they radiated the same strange, dark beauty as Hades. He gently, more gently than Kore expected from the lord of death, set her down in the seat of the chariot. She peered over the side and was astonished by the sight of seemingly endless fields of glowing, somewhat transparent people. These people were more like blurry silhouettes than mortals and had no distinguishable facial features. They roamed around aimlessly, so close together that their shoulders, instead of touching, passed through each other with a small puff of smoke. Kore recognized them as spirits, ghosts, not just by their appearance but also by the dark corner of her mind that knew she could bend them to her will, whatever it was. Suddenly, the panoramic picture below her was disrupted by a river, with water as clear as glass, though it appeared to have no bottom. She sucked in a breath: The Lethe. Kore was used to readily believing the legends of earth, because she herself was one, but when she heard that all who drank from the Lethe lost all of their memories, even she was skeptical.

Continued on Page 4

Graphic by Ember LaPenna

Matilda the Musical Comes to Aspen

Hailey Ward, Head Manager

Matilda is a classic novel published in 1988 that has been read by millions of people for years and now this popular story is being performed in the Black Box.

Come see Matilda the Musical on May 16,17, and 18 at 7:00 and then on the 19th at 2:00. This musical is an ensemble-heavy musical that took two months to make 9 hours of rehearsing a week. These actors rehearsed tirelessly to perform this play, so please come see Matilda Jr. Some of the leads in Matilda are Wesley Lodal as Matilda, Parker Loeb as Trunchbull, Channing Kenning as Miss Honey, and Ryan Umansky as Lavender.

Wesley Lodal is a fifth grader and has been casted as the lead of Matilda. She can’t wait to perform and connect with Matilda’s character on stage.

“I’m very excited because I get to see the world through Matilda’s eyes and be able to express my feelings through her, and it’s just an amazing opportunity and I’m really excited,” Lodal said.

With approximately 150 lines, Lodal has the same standards as the rest of the cast when it comes to memorizing.

“I still need to have a good memory,

Six Forbidden Seeds

Continued from page 3

On one side of the river, souls roamed about everywhere, but the other was lush with ghostly plants but no other sign of life. The trees were death white, Their phantom branches bearing a strange fruit boasting a scarlet halo of light that seemed like a warning. The chariot arrived in front of a huge dark castle with a jolt that shook Kore out of her reverie. The fortress’ looming towers cast shadows on the ground so dark that she would have dismissed the hunched figure near the gate as a shadow if it had not spoken.

“My Queen,” the figure said in a raspy voice, “ Please help yourself to anything in the castle orchard.” Kore was startled; she was nobody’s queen! “Ahem,” the lord of death cleared his throat. “ I had meant to talk to the lady about this myself.” Kore whirled on him, any fears she might have had before forgotten in her rage. “ Talk to me about what, exactly?” she asked, her voice trembling with barely contained fury. The figure straightened, allowing Kore to look at his face. He was gaunt and sickly-looking, with hair as white as snow and eyes the same. His appearance couldn’t have diverged more from Hades’, who was muscular and tan and had dark eyes and hair. She decided to call the other man Snake because his eyes darted about, and he offered to show Kore to her rooms. She took his offered hand numbly as she was going into shock. Hours later, when she woke from a fitful sleep, Kore looked around at her surroundings in wonder. She was in a vast room, with decorations such as black drapes of silk, shadowy cushions, and pictures depicting scenes that she was sure were from the underworld with their ghostly auras. She stood, accompanied by a rush of dizziness, and drew back the drapes, gasping openly at the landscape below her. There were rolling hills and some mountains in the distance, with trees, bushes, and even some animals that radiated the same phantom energy as the rest of the underworld. Kore’s first thought was: How desolate it is, without any sunshine or color at all! But her next was: It is so strangely… beautiful. She quickly banished these thoughts as the sky above her swirled with crows, and three women in dark cloaks swooped down and hovered in front of her open window, kept aloft by their

and you know if you mess up your line it’s a little upsetting but you still just stay calm and I know because I’ve done a lot of performances in my life, and sometimes I can have a really good memory,

mighty webbed wings resembling a bat. Their ruby-red lips glinted dangerously when they, in unison, smiled eerily at her. “ Hello, child,” said the first, “ You have been the subject of much interest of late.” The next perched on her windowsill, “We have come to deliver a warning.” Kore’s mind was racing; a warning? “Yeah, well, I think it’s a little too late for that,” She said, her voice trembling. “I’ve already been kidnapped.” The third woman rose above her, saying, “Child, we are the FATES, and we have never been wrong!”

The first hung her head, “ Such is our gift and our curse.” Kore was awestruck, for the Fates were legendary as the most powerful beings in the universe. She also felt a twinge of remorse because the Fates were rumored to be unable to rid themselves of their fortune-telling powers and had to travel about warning people about their futures. Kore hastily bowed and said, “Please, O powerful Fates, tell me my future.” The Fates spoke in unison again, “ Your mother will search for you, condemning the world to winter in her mourning, and you will change, for better or worse, until you become a creature of both worlds. Do not eat the fruit of the dead.” Kore was at first relieved that she wasn’t going to die until the truth of what the Fates had said sunk in. I will stay in the underworld while the world above suffers because of my mother. She couldn’t allow that for the people above.

But… the longer she stayed, the more drawn she became to the strange world she was in. She felt so out of place in her tattered pink sundress, her golden hair braided with flowers, and her bare feet. Kore had entered that room as a goddess of spring; Persephone walked out of it as a queen of the dead. As she passed an undead servant in the halls, it bowed low enough to see the tips of her black heels pocking out from the floor-length dress that seemed to be made of shadows and cobwebs.

When Persephone made her way down the spiral staircase to the dining room in the middle of the night, past the doorway, the gates, and into the orchard, do not eat the fruit of the dead…It was now or never. She walked up to the phantom trees as if in a trance, her feet barely touching the ground. She plucked a fruit off the tree, which pulsed with red light. She recognized it from the above: A pomegranate. She opened it before she could change her mind with one long, perfect, black nail. Six seeds fell into the palm of her open hand, and

and I try my best to work whenever I can,” Lodal said.

Clare Williams is a junior at Aspen High School and assistant director in Matilda the Musical. In the past year Williams has been in The Women of Lockerbie, Spamalot and The Tempest. Some other highlights for Williams are The Drowsy Chaperone and Twelfth Night. Williams has now decided to take a shift from acting to directing while working on her own skills.

“I thought I’d take a step back from being in a show, so I could direct and I wanted to focus on training, my personal skills more without being in a show, because I had several auditions coming up,” Williams said.

Williams is impressed with the actors so far.

“I am very proud. I think it’s gonna be an excellent show. I for one, know how difficult a musical is. And I think it’s always a big push. So there’s, you know, like, I definitely see that there’s a struggle, but I have the utmost faith that it’s going to be incredible.”

she ate them one at a time, relishing each. She left the opened pomegranate on the ground near the tree and rushed back to her room to sleep.

Over her time in the underworld, she grew to love it more and more, as well as her time with Hades. Each day, he would leave a gift by her door. Today it was a flower, one of those purple ones that she had glimpsed just before she had come into the underworld. This reminded her to check on the above world. She used a scrying bowl to check on it and was filled with misery to see that her mother, Demeter, was still searching for her and condemning the above world to suffer in snow and ice as she did so. The next day, as she prepared to tell Hades that she needed to leave, he proposed. This would have put her in a very awkward situation because as much as she would have loved to marry him, the world above was suffering. She was about to say just that when someone cleared their throat behind them, and they both looked over. Hermes, the messenger God. “I hate to interrupt, but Kore’s-- Persephone’s --mother knows where she is, and she is threatening to coat the world in snow and ice eternally, blah blah blah, so Zeus orders you to return Persephone this instant,” Hermes said. Persephone felt something at the back of her mind…What was it the Fates had said? But she went willingly to Olympus. She arrived in front of all the gods in the middle of the room, her eyes still adjusting to the brightness of the world above. Demeter rose from her seat to embrace her daughter. “Oh Kore, I am so glad you have returned from that foul place home to me, and you did not eat, or you would have had to stay forever.”

Persephone smiled. “Oh, but mother,” she said in her sweetest, most innocent voice, “ I did eat something.” Persephone looked at her mother through her lashes and said, “ I ate six pomegranate seeds.” Snake, who had accompanied her, verified her claims and held up the pomegranate she had eaten from.

“Nooooooooo!” Demeter wailed, “How dare you take my daughter from me!” Persephone knew that the world would be covered in snow for the six months she was gone each year, for her mother would be mourning. And although she loved her mother and the light of the world, she was happy with her decision. Because as she stepped into the shadows, she realized that there could be no light and beauty without darkness, and she had room in her heart for both.

Photo Courtesy of Clare Williams

Half of the Matilda Cast posing for the end of the show during a challenging rehersal.