News The Spoke is published seven times per year at Bartash Printing. It consistently receives a Gold rating from PSPA and CSPA, and it is a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker award-winning publication. The Spoke serves as a public forum for student expression.
Camille Kurtz, Meagan O’Rourke
Editors-in-Chief Betty Ben Dor
Managing Editor Eric Xue
News Editor Ian Ong, Matt Paolizzi
Student Life Editors Lyvia Yan
Center Spread Editor Matt Soderberg
Opinion Editor Elizabeth Billman, Neil Goldenthal
Sports Editors Cissy Ming
Copy Editor Adam Lockett
Head Designer Pallavi Aakarapu
Cartoonist Avery Maslowsky
Business Manager Caleigh Sturgeon
Managing Editor Spoke.news
Monday, June 6, 2016
‘Guys and Dolls’ rolls big win at Cappies Jordan Liu Co-Convergence Editor After months of rehearsals for “Guys and Dolls,” ’Stoga Theatre won its first Cappie theater award for Best Musical at this year’s gala. Cappies is a national high school theater organization that sends student critics to review and nominate performances from various schools in their respective areas. Conestoga participates in the Greater Philadelphia branch of Cappies. These reviews and critiques culminate in the annual Cappies Gala, where schools are presented with awards based on the critics’ votes. This year, Conestoga was nominated in 15 categories, winning in five of them, including Best Pit Orchestra and Best Special Effects, as well as the school’s first ever award for Best Musical for “Guys and Dolls.” According to senior Emmi Dolph, who served as the assistant director of “Guys and Dolls” and Conestoga’s lead critic, the Cappie awards solidify Conestoga’s reputation for show production.
Ashley Greenberg, Kyle Kennedy, Jahnavi Rao, Warren Zhao
Staff Reporters Susan Gregory, Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt
Faculty Advisers Submissions: Letters to the editor may be submitted to Camille Kurtz or Meagan O’Rourke, or advisers Susan Gregory or Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt. Unsigned editorials represent the views of The Spoke editorial board, not necessarily those of the administration, student body, community or advertisers. The opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of The Spoke. The Spoke accepts paid advertisements.
/thespoke @thespoke @thespoke the_spoke www.spoke.news hello@spoke.news
2 The Spoke
“The key was our drive. From day one, everyone was pretty focused and high energy, wanting to put on the best show we could,” Hunter said. While Conestoga won several Cappies, Dolph believes the awards are not the most important aspect in producing a musical. “Best Musical puts a little pressure on us for next year because it would be nice to win again, but at the same time, it’s most important that we feel we put on a good performance,” Dolph said.
Senior Kathryn Lenker, who won Best Stage Management and Stage Crew, agrees with Dolph in that the awards are not the main focus in ’Stoga Theatre. “This Cappie doesn’t mean too much for ’Stoga Theatre. Yes, it’s a great honor and all, but we don’t put these shows on to win awards,” Lenker said. “We put these shows on to please the thousands of people who come to see them. We put these shows on to satisfy our love for theat, and getting awards for that only makes it greater.”
Neil Goldenthal/The SPOKE
Luck Be a Cappie Tonight: ’Stoga Theatre celebrates its numerous wins at the Cappies Gala. It won its first Cappie for Best Musical.
Lack of interest pauses CAPCO tradition Meagan O’Rourke Co-Editor-in-Chief
Allan Du, Jordan Liu
Spoke.news Editors
“Winning the Cappie for Best Musical is a huge deal for ’Stoga Theatre because it shows that every aspect of the show was strong,” Dolph said. “It’s one thing to have good sound or a few good performers, but we can say that the show as a whole was great.” Schools can be nominated in several categories for both plays and musicals, including Best Costume and Best Choreography. While ’Stoga Theatre was nominated for several awards, there were categories, such as Best Costume, that Conestoga is ineligible for as Conestoga depends primarily on adult volunteers. This year, “Guys and Dolls” merited the school’s first Best Musical award. However, choral director Suzanne Dickinger was surprised upon hearing this. “The Cappies critics usually pick something more off-beat, and ‘Guys and Dolls’ is (one of) the most performed shows in high schools across the country,” Dickinger said. Senior Callum Hunter, who won Conestoga’s first Cappie for Sound, believes that the energy was a key factor towards Conestoga’s success.
From Dave and Buster’s to bowling to silent discos to silence. For the first time in 17 years, the Conestoga After Prom Celebration Organization (CAPCO) did not host an annual after-prom party. In prior years, CAPCO offered a safe, alcohol-free environment where junior prom goers could continue the fun beyond the last dance. Although CAPCO event attendance has dwindled in recent years,
the price tag has remained in the tens of thousands. Community and Volunteer Services Coordinator Jeanne Braun worked over the past three years with CAPCO, organizing with parent socials and donations from local businesses in order to cover all costs of the celebration. “You spend $20,000 on a party and only 100 kids come. That’s kind of frustrating,” Braun said. In a survey given to 30 percent of the junior class, only 12 percent of respondents certainly wanted to go to CAPCO, possibly foreshadowing another relatively low turnout. Additionally, there was little
CAPCO Survey Results Attendence: 0 (2016) 275 (2015) 100 (2014)
12% would attend 52% maybe would go 36% would not attend *Results taken from 30% of the Class of 2017
Adam Lockett/The SPOKE
interest among parents to serve on the committee and to raise funds to cover the party expenses. “It was a difficult decision, but given what seemed to be a lack of student interest and no parent to step up and chair, that was the decision they had to come to,” Braun said. However, this year, CAPCO helped raise over $1,500 to cover safety costs of prom such as hiring bathroom attendants and police officers, thus lowering ticket prices. Senior Mandy McHale enjoyed CAPCO’s silent disco last year more than her junior prom and she wanted to attend CAPCO’s event this year. “When I heard CAPCO wasn’t happening, I was super disappointed,” McHale said. “It was a really chill thing — you could dance if you want to, talk to people who you didn’t get to talk to at prom.” McHale acknowledges that while CAPCO “discouraged” people from drinking after her junior prom, it “didn’t stop them,” as many of her classmates last year went to parties after CAPCO’s party. This year, however, no parties were broken up by law enforcement because of underage drinking without a CAPCO party,
according to the Tredyffrin Township Police Department. For junior class parent Lorraine Miller, CAPCO’s parties go beyond safety and celebration — they are about inclusivity, inviting all juniors from all friend groups, even if they did not attend prom. Miller is disappointed CAPCO did not offer “a party for kids who don’t have somewhere to go.” But for junior Kailyn Woyak, the group aspect of the CAPCO party would be a reason not to go. The CAPCO party “would be like a second prom. But you want to be with individual friends, not the whole grade,” Woyak said. Junior Robbie Torpey also says he would not have gone to CAPCO’s event because he would “want to go where the other kids are going,” as his friends would have forgone the parent-sponsored party. However, CAPCO is not disbanded forever. The Class of 2018 will be surveyed about its interest in a CAPCO party, potentially resurrecting the after-prom tradition. “I don’t want it to be seen as ‘this is the class that ended CAPCO.’ I don’t think that is fair,” Braun said. “This class just decided we are going to pause CAPCO for a year.”