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ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2023 | The Observer
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Keenan Hall hosts 47th annual Revue show By KATHRYN MUCHNICK Associate News Editor
“I t h in k t hat we a re going to f i nd ways to d isappoi nt ou r pa rents t hat nobody t houg ht was even possible.” T hat is how Sa m my Kacius, a sen ior i n Keena n Ha l l, descr ibes t he 47t h a nnua l Keena n Rev ue. Kacius is t he d i rector of t he Rev ue, wh ich w i l l k ick of f Thu rsday i n t he Stepa n Center a nd r u n u nt i l Sat u rday. The Rev ue is Keena n Ha l l’s sig nat u re event, a nd t h is yea r, t he t heme is “Hig h School Rev uesica l.” “It just felt l i ke t he t heme to do,” Kacius sa id of t he “Hig h School Rev uesica l” decision. “You get a l l t he cha racter t ropes t hat you ca n put i n t here, you get t he music — ever y t h i ng about it is just so rev ue-able.” T he decision process for t he t heme beg i ns i n t he fa l l semester, when t he Rev ue sta f f posts pieces of paper a rou nd t he dor m for Keena n residents to w r ite ideas on. T he sta f f t hen selects t he f ina l t heme f rom t he crowdsou rced l ist. Bobby Nichols, t he rector of Keena n Ha l l, sa id t he t heme decision isn’t just about what is f u n n iest. “The t heme doesn’t necessa r i ly matter [i n t he show]
beyond t he t heme sk it,” Nichols ex pla ined. “W hat rea l ly matters is : How do we ma rket it? W hat’s t he logo goi ng to look l i ke ? ” A f ter t he t heme is decided, t he rector, d irector a nd execut ive producers f ina l i ze music a nd host sk it t r y-outs. A ny member of Keena n Ha l l ca n w r ite a sk it a nd pitch it to t he Rev ue sta f f. A f ter sk it ca l lback s, t he scr ipt is f ina li zed a nd each role is cast. Nick Slusher is one of t wo execut ive producers for t he show, a nd he sa id h is role is sl ig ht ly d if ferent f rom t he d irectors. “T he d i rector is ver y much i n cha rge of t he show itself — t he comedy, t he way t he sk its a re la id out, t he blocki ng, a l l t hat good st u f f,” Slusher sa id. “The producers a re more in cha rge of t he log ist ics — beh ind t he scenes st u f f to ma ke su re t hat t he show is r u n n ing smoot h ly.” Tickets for t he show were d ist r ibuted last Monday in Da h n ke ba l l room. A lu m n i ent irely cover t he cost of t he show, so st udents were g iven t ickets for f ree — w it h a l i m it of 2 t ickets per st udent ID. “We a re ex pect ing about 1,600 people a n ig ht,” Slusher sa id. The Rev ue sta f f reser ves seat ing for
Keena n residents a nd V IP aud ience members — a lu mn i a nd fa m i lies of per for mers — before d ist r ibut ing t he rema in ing t ickets to st udents. Instead of cha rg ing for t ickets, Keena n col lects donat ions for Dismas House, a loca l nonprof it t hat prov ides t ra nsit iona l housing for people recent ly released f rom inca rcerat ion. Nichols sa id a g roup of f ive to eig ht Keena n residents volu nteer at Dismas House ever y Monday, a nd members of Dismas House w i l l be at t he Rev ue to int roduce t hemselves. “We rea l ly wa nt to see t hem as a n integ rated pa r t,” Nichols sa id. “Ou r hope is t hat, whatever money t hat you t houg ht was going to be spent on a t icket, donate t hat to Dismas House.” The Rev ue moved into t he Stepa n Center on Monday for tech week. Rehea rsa ls r u n f rom 5 to 11 p.m. ever y day u nt i l open ing n ig ht last n ig ht. “Tech week is a mag ica l, weird, somewhat t ir ing t ime,” sa id Ber i Ta ng ka, t he ot her execut ive producer. “I t h in k it’s just f ina l ly seeing what happens when a l l of t hese pa r ts come toget her.” Nichols sa id t hat a lt houg h he helps to choose t he d irectors, producers a nd how
to nav igate SAO, t he Rev ue is r u n a l most ent irely by t he st udents. “My role is, I t h in k, just to accompa ny t he g uys,” Nichols sa id. “I rea l ly w i l l defer to Sa m my, Ber r y a nd Nick — as d irectors a nd producers — to ma ke t he decisions.” Nichols ta kes t he scr ipt to va r ious ca mpus orga n i zat ions, includ ing Resident ia l L ife, SAO, Pr ismND, Diversit y Cou nci l a nd Mu lt icu lt u ra l St udent Prog ra ms a nd Ser v ices (MSPS), to ma ke su re t hat none of t he jokes cross a line. “Ou r goa l rea l ly for a l l of t he sk its a nd t he process is t hat … we ma ke a show t hat’s welcom ing a nd inclusive to a l l,” Nichols sa id. “We won’t hold back on jokes, but … we don’t wa nt a nybody to feel sl ig hted or upset.” The vast major it y of Keena n residents a re involved in t he Rev ue, according to Nichols. T he Rev ue sta f f note t hat it is cent ra l to Keena n cu lt u re. “I’ve never seen a not her event at Not re Da me t hat gets people as im med iately into it as t he Rev ue,” Kacius sa id. Music d irector Mi ke Ha n isch sa id t he Rev ue ma kes ever y resident of
Keena n feel l i ke t hey a re essent ia l to t he dor m. “T he Rev ue is a g reat place to just a l l have a common goa l, br ing what you have to t he table a nd rea l ly feel l i ke col lect ively, you’ve created somet h i ng — wh ich just ma kes you feel so much closer to ever yone involved,” he sa id. T he music tea m has been rehea rsing ever y Sat u rday f rom 10 : 30 a.m. to 2 p.m. t h is semester. Ha n isch sa id he is excited for t he Not re Da me com mu n it y to see t he “dept h of ta lent” in t he ba nd t h is yea r. “We have a couple of f resh men on g u ita r who a re going to blow people away, I t h in k, especia l ly a lu mn i com ing back,” Ha n isch added. Ta ng ka sa id t hat t h is yea r’s Rev ue w i l l be a not her step back to “nor ma l” a f ter t he show was hosted in t he stad iu m in 2021. A s of now, he’s look ing to t he f ut u re of t he Rev ue. “I rea l ly l i ke t he place t hat t he Rev ue has in t he cu lt u re of t he t r i-ca mpus com mun it y a nd what we ca n do to sor t of com ment on t h ings a nd suggest new, f resh ideas a nd just ma ke ever y t h ing a l itt le bit si l l ier,” he sa id. Contact Kathryn Muchnick kmuchnick@nd.edu
Professors comment on U.S.-China relations By LIAM KELLY News Writer
Over the past few weeks, the United States has witnessed a heightening of tensions with China, raising concerns about a potential conf lict between the two world powers. On Feb. 4, a U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean that had made its way across the U.S. after being spotted by bewildered onlookers in Montana, according to a story published by the Associated Press. Speaking on the f light and subsequent neutralization of the Chinese spy balloon, Zoltan Buzas, associate professor of global affairs at Notre Dame, said the incident will “complicate efforts to improve SinoAmerican relations.” Buzas noted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned visit to Beijing after the balloon was shot down. This deterioration in U.S.-China relations comes at a time when the two countries are voicing fierce disagreements over Taiwan and China’s relationship with Russia. Notre Dame professor of
law and global affairs Diane Desierto explained that it is “not altogether clear what China stood to gain” from taking this step. Buzas argued the use of the spy balloon gave China a tactical advantage to survey U.S. military sites when compared to surveillance satellites. “Radars have a harder time detecting balloons, which have less predictable trajectories than satellites,” he said. “Balloons can also collect better images, given their proximity to their targets.” W hile the response of the Biden administration to the balloon incident has been criticized by some as weak, Desierto said she does not see it that way. “I actually think the United States had a calibrated response,” Desierto stated. “It made the determination of the threat assessment, it made the determination of the possible consequences for its population and ultimately, it did make it very clear to China that this is an obvious breach of international law.” Both Desierto and Buzas made the point that the balloon incident will likely harm China’s reputation on
the world stage. “Employing spy balloons might be a good way to gather military intelligence, but it might strike people as amateurish,” Buzas argued. “China’s already in standing breach of many of its international obligations,” Desierto added. “It’s just a f lagrant invitation to worsen existing relations with many states around the world.” Early in February, the U.S. announced that it had secured access to four new military bases in the Philippines, aiming to improve their tactical position in the South China Sea and counter China’s territorial ambitions for Taiwan, according to an article published by the BBC. Desierto argued that while China will strongly oppose this move, “it also has reason to be very cautious, because now there will be more permanency and regularity with respect to the presence of American troops in Southeast Asia.” Since the shooting down of the balloon in early February, tensions have further worsened, with Secretary Blinken revealing that China is considering sending lethal support to Russia in their war
against Ukraine. In a story published by the Wall Street Journal, Blinken firmly stated that such a move would cause a “serious problem” in America’s relationship with China. China’s close alignment with Russia — in addition to its violation of U.S. airspace and threatening of Taiwan — raises the frightening specter of a military conf lict between the two nuclear powers. In a letter to his officers, U.S. Air Force General Mike Minihan made the startling prediction that the U.S. will likely be at war with China by 2025, which was made public by NBC. Commenting on this assessment, Desierto argued that things weren’t quite that simple. “There have been many assessments that yes, conf lict with China is imminent, but nobody has ever pinned a date,” she said. Desierto also argued that a military conf lict between the two nations might not be as direct as many believe, adding that it is a “question of the degree to which the United States will be engaged in that conf lict.” W hile the current situation
might appear to be dim, there are still reasons to be optimistic, Buzas said. “The two countries have shared interests. SinoAmerican trade is high despite efforts to decouple. There are global problems such as climate change that require SinoAmerican cooperation,” Buzas noted, insisting there remain areas where cooperation can still take place. Desierto emphasized that in order for relations to improve, more communication is necessary from the Chinese government. “There needs to be better diplomatic communication,” Desierto said. “It certainly does not help when President Xi Jinping’s government issues inf lammatory language. The Foreign Ministry pronouncements have been very inf lammatory and have been very quick to characterize the United States as somehow the culprit.” Much may depend on the two countries’ ability to accomplish this, Desertio emphasized. Contact Liam Kelly at lkelly8@nd.edu