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Volume 53, Issue 34 | thursday, october 4, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
One-act plays address American dream FTT productions ‘WASP’ and ‘American Roulette’ present serious cultural themes in a comedic light By ERIN SWOPE News Writer
Starting Sept. 27 to Oct. 7, the Notre Dame Film, Television and Theatre (FTT) department is presenting two one-act plays through ND Theatre NOW! FTT will be presenting “WASP” by Steve Martin and directed by senior Najmeddine Harrabi and “American Roulette” by Tom McCormack and directed by senior Roisin Goebelbecker. Both plays present an absuridist take on the American Dream. According Harrabi, “WASP” is the story of a white family living in suburbia in the 1950s. The family is a stereotypical nuclear family and seems to caricaturize similar families from classic TV shows like “Leave It to Beaver.”
However, Harrabi said that, as an absurd comedy, “WASP” plays with these stereotypes and brings some darker themes into the play. For an example, Harrabi said the wife knows her husband is most likely cheating on her and the daughter is being molested by her choirmaster. There are even some supernatural elements such as when the son has an imaginary friend from space that he sometimes talks to and the mother has a female voice that she talks to. The play also touches themes with the treatment of race in the U.S. “I think that the ‘WASP’ specifically gives you a look not only into a WASP family of the times, but also a look into your inner self see THEATRE PAGE 3
Courtesy of Roisin Goebelbecker
Students act in “American Roulette,” a one-act play about how race affects the American Dream. Both “American Roulette” and “WASP” are playing at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center until Oct. 7.
Duke Dean speaks on imposter syndrome By LAUREN BAKKE News Writer
As part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, Dr. Valerie Ashby, the dean of Trinity College Arts and Sciences at Duke University, gave a lecture titled “The Imposter Syndrome” Wednesday. “One day they are going to find out, I’m not really supposed to be
here,” Ashby said to the audience. She said that if anyone else had ever felt this before, they might be experiencing the effects of the impostor syndrome. First identified by Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978, impostor syndrome is most commonly found “among high achievers who are unable to internalize and accept their success,”
according to the American Psychological Association (APA). It is often an effect of mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression. It can also be a byproduct of growing up in families that place pressure on achievement. Ashby said she first diagnosed herself with the impostor see IMPOSTER PAGE 3
Professor lectures on environmental policy By HANNAH THOMAS & SARA SCHLECHT News Writers
Chris Cobb, Saint Mary’s professor of English and environmental studies, spoke to students about environmental policy in an event called “Environmental Policy Explained” on Wednesday. The event was held as part of an initiative of the Office for Civil and Social Engagement to inform
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the Saint Mary’s community about relevant issues in the upcoming midterm elections. “Environmental policy itself is a broad term that describes any kind of law or rule or regulation that government would put into place in order to achieve certain kinds of environmental goals,” Cobb said. “Depending upon what the goal is, that may engage a different level of government, and there are many different kinds of
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laws or rules that might be set up.” The distinction between the levels of federal, state and local governments is an important part of understanding how such policies are created, he said. “The key thing to keep in mind when thinking about environmental policy in the U.S. is that the structure of government in the U.S. is highly influential in the see POLICY PAGE 3
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‘Dome-ish’ show to focus on privilege By tom naatz News Writer
The second season of “Domeish,” the television program showcasing diversity and identity problems at the University of Notre Dame, will premiere Thursday in the Duncan Student Center. While carrying over the message of the first season, the second run of “Dome-ish” will have a different stylistic and dramatic focus. Senior Erin Williams, one of the producers of “Dome-ish,” said the program will explore a variety of themes related to privilege. “We deal with all issues relating to privilege and inequality. That’s a very general way of saying it,” she said. “But race, gender, poverty, sexuality — more broad than sexual assault, just abuse in general.” Whereas the last season of “Dome-ish” had a more comedic focus with little or no story carryover between episodes, this season will feature a continuing narrative surrounding a set of characters, junior Durrell Jackson, another producer, said. “This year, we decided to take
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a different stylistic approach,” Jackson said. “One thing is we wanted to make an episodic series. We implemented main characters and a storyline that flows from episode to episode. These are main characters that you’re going to be able to follow. … We changed the face of it, but not the idea of it.” The sketch comedy-focused first season presented some problems, Jackson said. For example, he said the lack of a continued storyline made it difficult for people to get attached to the series. “Getting feedback from people who were watching it, they didn’t feel the need to follow when it was just skits,” he said. “It was just like ‘oh yeah, I should catch this skit this week and not worry about the rest.’ We wanted to develop something where you want to go back and watch that first episode, you want to follow along, you want to see how these characters develop. … We wanted to develop a following that’s just going to carry.” Williams and Jackson said the storylines will consist of “realistic fiction.” He said “Dome-ish” will see DOME-ISH PAGE 3
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