Adele rolls in the deep in Electric Factory performance

Adele played a sold-out show at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on Friday, May 13^th as part of her North American tour supporting her newest album “21.”

Opening for Adele was a band called The Civil Wars, whose performance began at 8:30 p.m. Relatively new to the scene, as their first album debuted in February of this year, the Southern-based band’s sound served as an elegant warm-up for Adele when their beautiful harmonies rippled over the Electric Factory. Comprised of singer/songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White, the duo played a 6-song set including their hits of “Barton Hollow” and “Poison & Wine.” Also included was a folksy-cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Armed with just a guitar and two voices, the duo’s beautiful blending and brilliant chemistry offered the crowd forty-five minutes of musical excellence.

As The Civil Wars’ set began to wind down and the crowd grew anxious to see Adele, White joked, “we know you didn’t come to see us, and that’s just fine.”

With a twenty-minute turn-around, Adele claimed the stage around 9:30 p.m., singing “Hometown Glory” from “19,” the first song she ever wrote, with just her and her pianist on stage. After that song, the stage opened up to reveal two back-up singers, a drummer, a banjo player and a guitarist. As per usual, the stage was adorned with lampshades hanging that added dramatic lighting. For example, during “Set Fire to the Rain,” the lampshades’ light bulbs ignited. However, dramatic lighting was not the only captivating element of her performance.

Playing around twleve songs, including ones from both “21” and from her debut album  “19” which came out in the summer of 2008, the crowd was enraptured in her—her sound, her stories told in between each song and the idea of seeing her standing just feet away. Whereas most performers these days sound better in a studio recording, Adele managed to blow the crowd away by providing deviations to the recorded tracks that still sounded just as good—if not better.

At one point during the performance, Adele stopped to thank Philadelphia for being so receptive. Fans passed up a couple posters and a t-shirt that read “PhilADELEphia” as tokens of their appreciation. In these ways and more, Adele managed to interact with the crowd in the midst of her singing. She also felt her lyrics, as several times she paused to wipe tears from her eyes, to which the crowd responded by showing their support through cheers. Also, the crowd consistently sang along, offering a symbiotic community, if only for that one performance. After about an hour into the performance, Adele exited the stage, but then returned to offer an encore performance including her playing guitar for the introduction of “Someone Like You,” and then ending the show with a “Rolling In the Deep” finale extravaganza, as the windows of the Electric Factory shook and the crowds’ ears echoed with such catchy and inspirational lyrics, such as “throw your soul through every open door.”

Ending at around 11 p.m., a satisfied crowd exited the premises, enthralled after a few hours of an incredible performance.

Jeremy Kane Benefit Run: a success

About 200 runners took part in the Second Annual Jeremy Kane Benefit Run on Sunday, May 1, 2011.  The two-mile run was held as a fundraiser to support scholarships for student veterans at Rutgers University Camden, in honor of Jeremy Kane.

An East graduate, Kane studied Criminal Justice and Political Science at Rutgers before joining the Marines in 2006.

In his memory, the Jeremy Kane scholarship fund has raised money through runs, bake sales and memorabilia sales on and off of the Rutgers campus. At last years’ run, about $9,600 was raised from almost 160 runners, and this year, with a larger number of participants, the amount raised looks much higher, although not yet calculated.

“It helps [the veterans] with any needs they may have,” said Fred Davis, the director of veteran affairs at Rutgers’ Camden campus.

For a minimum donation of $10, runners received a T-shirt and were able to participate in the run, starting from East.

Before the run started, the participants sang “the Star-Spangled Banner” and heard from four different speakers. First was Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt, followed by the Rutgers Camden veterans’ association director, then Rabbi Barry Schwartz. Then a Rutgers Camden student and veteran read a letter from Congressman John Runyan. Last to speak was Melinda Kane, mother of Jeremy, Dan and Ben, who thanked everyone for their attendance and cited some fallen soldiers statistics, especially compared to this time last year when the first walk took place.

The run finished at Congregation M’Kor Shalom, where buses shuttled runners back to the East parking lot.

“We anticipate next year to have a group come in that organizes timed running events,” CJ Davis, East Activities Director said. “We’re looking into doing that with walkers, too.”

The Rutgers Foundation and the Jeremy Kane Scholarship Fund look to continue raising money to help students reach their academic goals. The groups accept all small and large donations that will contribute to their goal of $50,000, which will make for a permanent Jeremy Kane Scholarship.

“This is a little thing to pay honor to such a person that gave up his life for the country so that all students, whether in high school or college or wherever in the United States of America can live in freedom,” said Davis.

Directly following the walk, a small group of friends and family gathered at Dublin Square to eat, socialize and celebrate the successful day.

Donations can be sent to the Rutgers University-Camden Veterans Affairs Office at 303 Cooper Street in Camden, New Jersey, 08102 or online at http://jeremykanebenefitrun.webs.com/.

 

Vegan Reflection: Avra Bossov (’11)

The things that I do for Eastside… Last year: an appearance makeover. This year: an appetite makeover. For three weeks, I immersed myself into being a vegan—a task that offered me quite a change in perspective.

Although I have been a vegetarian for four-and-a-half years, being vegan, I realized, is completely different. In addition to not eating meat, poultry or fish, veganism expands into the prohibition of dairy products and eggs. I did not realize the extent to which these restrictions meant. They meant more expensive grocery store trips, more reading of ingredients than ever before, more having my life revolve around food than to my liking.

While before the experiment I thought veganism was a little ridiculous, at least now I have gained the experience to know what it is like to live as a vegan. Part of what justified my prior thoughts is the fact that despite veganism’s efforts to live au naturel, many of the products offered in grocery stores that were marketed as vegan-friendly included many chemicals in the ingredients that sort of defeated the purpose of being a more natural lifestyle.

Overall, I’m glad I participated, but one thing’s for sure: I sure missed cheese.

East’s theater performs To Kill A Mockingbird

East’s theater department’s rendition of Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” fall play premiered the weekend of December 3, 2010. Following its first official performance on Thursday, December 2 for Beck and Rosa’s eighth graders, opening night occurred on Friday, December 3, with the red cast beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s performance, also beginning at 7:30 p.m., was the premiere of the white cast.

“To Kill A Mockingbird” takes place in a fictional town called Maycolmb, Alabama, loosely based off the town in which Lee grew up. The play outlines the Finch family and what they face when Atticus (played by Mike Buono (’12) – red cast and Ian Parker (’11) – white cast) decides to defend Tom Robinson (played by Jorden Edwards (’12) – red cast and Andrew Athias (’11) – white cast), who is a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell (played by Alexandra Mesh (’14) – red cast and Sara Apple (’11) – white cast). Seeing as though the play is set in the 1930s, the inherent racism of the era contributes to the controversial nature of the play.

After weeks of preparation, members of the cast were thrilled about the success of the show’s first weekend.

“[My favorite part was] when it all came together—the set, the makeup, the cues,” said Michal Kortsarts (’13), who plays the role of Scout for the red cast.

Given the popularity of “To Kill A Mockingbird” as a novel, film and play, members of both the red and white casts went through various methods of preparing their characters.

“To prepare for Atticus, I watched the movie very carefully studying how Gregory Peck portrayed the character, but I also added my own twist on the character that made it my own,” said Buono.

The set for East’s rendition of “To Kill A Mockingbird” features the street on which the Finch family, Mrs. Dubose (played by Riley Lassin (’12) – red cast and Samantha Fine (’12) – white cast), Mrs. Maudie Atkinson (played by Molly Nugiel (’13) – red cast and Samantha Kovnat (’12) – white cast) and of course: the mysterious Radley family (Boo was played by Joey Ciurlino (’13) – both casts), with the tree through which Boo gives Scout and Jem treasures.

“The set was big, but we were able to manage it. Mr. Weaver designed it, and it’s made of plywood, one-by-threes, and Styrofoam,” said Merissa Roth (’11), student technical director. “A lot of detail work went along with it.”

The cast featured several new faces to East’s stage, including a couple freshmen that had significant parts. Max Hoffman (’14) was one of them.

“[Playing Dill in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ was] amazing because it’s my first impression of the [East] drama department,” said Hoffman.

The play certainly reflects Weaver’s hope that the cast, crew and audience “will be able to change our corner of the world by reducing the number of young minds who engage in some form of racism,” in that the overall performance causes the audience to reflect on the play’s application to our lives today when faced with complex issues of justice in society.

Freshmen English classes will be viewing the play on Thursday during the school day, since they read Lee’s novel in their English classes this year.

“To Kill A Mockingbird” will be performed Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11 beginning at 7:30 p.m. with tickets being sold at eight dollars for students and ten dollars for members of the community.

Now That’s What I Call Music! volumes reflect on popular music trends

Before iTunes’ Top 10 Songs list on its homepage, an indicator of the most popular songs was the Now That’s What I Call Hits! CD series. Although an international series, the United States’ spinoff series began in 1998.

The first U.S. Now! compilation included hits such as “As Long As You Love Me,” “MMMBop” and “Barbie Girl.” These hits reflected the popular spirits of the alternative and boy band genres of the 90s. Now That’s What I Call Music! Volumes 2-5 continued the trend.

However, Volume 6 began to show the gradual switch in popular genres from boy band hysteria to rap, still fused with grungy alternative, with tracks like “Shake It Fast,” “Lucky” and “Kryptonite.”

Now, today’s billboard toppers of Now That’s What I Call Music! 36, released November 9, 2010, features “Teenage Dream,” “Dynamite,” “King of Anything” and “If I Had You.”

Although several years have passed between the first Now! album and the latest release, the common theme remains: songs popular on the radio reflect the  somewhat varied music taste of the country’s youth.  Upbeat songs with a thumping bass will always catch its attention, as will the most clichéd love song lyrics, and even the defiant drum and electric guitar combination.

The 36 Now! compilations will certainly prove that.

A “Night of Gleeful Singing” at the Cherry Hill Public Library

On Monday, October 18, beginning at 7 p.m., Friends of the Cherry Hill Public Library proudly presented a “Night of Gleeful Singing,” in recognition of National Friends of the Libraries Week.

The a cappella groups from both Cherry Hill High School East and West performed. Coordinated by Maria Montroni, the evening’s emcee, the assembled audience of about 100 people gathered to hear East’s “The Key of She” and “Casual Harmony,” as well as West’s “Chamber Singers,” “Fermata” and “Men of Note.”

In fact, the performance was “The Key of She’s” debut. The girls a cappella group sang the national anthem, “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Killing Me Softly,” with soloist Namarah McCall (’11).

“I think ‘Key of She’ had a really great performance. It was outstanding,” said McCall, in regards to their debut performance.

To transition from “The Key of She” to “Casual Harmony,” McCall, Ethan Saviet (’11) and Mike Buono (’12) performed a trio rendition of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga’s “Telephone.”

Montroni remarked, “The energy in [this room] is ridiculous. I may just have to take my sweater off.”

“Casual Harmony,” East’s boys a cappella group, which has recently won a national competition to sing with the professional Straight No Chasers a cappella group, sang “For the Longest Time,” “I’ll Be There”—with soloist Eric Zimmerman (’12) and “Hey Soul Sister”—with soloists Griffin Back (’11) and Saviet, with Andrew Athias (’11) beat-boxing. “Casual Harmony”’s final selection was “Lean On Me.”

Then, the audience was wowed by West’s “Chamber Singers,” who sang “Danny Boy,” “Goodnight My Angel” and “Java Jive.” Composed of about twenty individuals, the voices of “Chamber Singers” blend together as both genders sing in the same group (whereas the other a cappella groups are gender specific).

Next was West’s “Fermata,” directed this year by Jennah Delp upon Mr. Jim Boeckle’s retiring. This group sang “One Fine Day,” “Emotions” and in honor of National Friends of the Libraries Week, arranged their own parody of “I Gotta Feeling” by replacing the original lyrics with quips such as “gotta keep reading ‘cause this book’s gonna be a good book” and “pick up that book and turn that page.”

“Men of Note” was the final a cappella group to perform. They sang “Pretty Woman,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “The Longest Time.”

During “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” the entire group stepped down from the stage and sang to the closest female audience member, Samantha Pleat (’12). Pleat said that the moment “ killed [her].”

The “Men of Note” members acted as animals towards the end of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which added a dynamic element to the performance.

“My favorite part was the gorilla guy,” said Arielle Sosland (’11), an audience member and “D-Winger.”

Also, before singing “The Longest Time,” “Men of Note” consciously made the decision to sing the same song as “Casual Harmony.” Apparently, “Men of Note” had “no hard feelings” about doing so.

Mrs. Laurie Lausi, an East vocal department director, said, “From beginning to end, there was such energy and they were having such a good time.” She added, “The best is yet to come.”

Indeed, both high schools’ vocal programs have talent. Cherry Hill can certainly expect many more creative performances throughout the school year.

Senior prom recap

There was quite a large showing of East’s senior class that came out to celebrate their Senior Prom on June 3. Everyone in attendance dressed their finest (see the Fashion Trends http://www.eastside-online……) when arriving around 6:30 at Merion Caterers in Cinnaminson. The theme of the prom was “classy”, as it was simply the colors black, red and white.

With over 570 guests, the dance floor was packed throughout the night under the red lighting of the ballroom. According to Mr. Jeff Killion, math teacher and prom chaperone, “the kids seem to all be having a good time are dancing in an ‘interesting way.’”

The atmosphere at prom was upbeat and lively. “I see people I don’t know and I’ve never talked to [but I] say hi [tonight]. I’m in that good of a mood,” said Daniella Castro (’10).

As an example of the intensity of the dance floor, Julia Susuni (’10) said, “I’m having fun because Adam Conn is sweating on me,” as other seniors also remarked of Conn’s enthusiasm and skill.

The reasons people were having such a great time varied. Kosta Vrontis (’10) said, “Just being around my friends I guess—that’s what’s fun [about prom].” But being with friends isn’t the only fun element of prom, Samantha Burns (’10) said, “It’s unity in our class.”

If the seniors were not dancing through the chaos on the dance floor, prom was still enjoyable. Zach Roomberg (’10) said, “I’m having fun because I’m not making a fool of myself.”

According to many, prom was a great way for the Class of 2010 to end their high school careers. As Kevin Tonczyczyn said, “It’s the best [senior memory] so far this year.”

Members of the senior class and their dates were served food ranging from salmon to salad, and for dessert– a congratulatory cake and a Neapolitan ice cream sundae bar.

Another special feature of this year’s senior prom was a photo booth located in the side room, where students could take pictures free of charge. These Polaroid strips were yet another way for prom guests to capture the memories of the night.

As seniors left at 10:30, they received the customary souvenir of a t-shirt, featuring the theme by being white with black writing and illustrating the class with a large outline of “2010” on the back.

Consummately, “the food was good, the music was good and the dance floor was bigger so it was more fun,” said Cara Berkowitz (’10).

The Class of 2010 certainly ended their year with class with a successful and nostalgic senior prom.

Check out Eastside’s Senior Prom Fashion Trends

All photos taken and assembled by Avra Bossov (’11)/ Eastside News/Features Editor

Check out Eastside’s Junior Prom Fashion Trends

All photos taken by Paige Hymson (’10)/ Eastside Entertainment Editor

All photos assembled by Avra Bossov (’11)/ Eastside News Features Editor

Cast members of the Lion King hold forum at CHPL

On Monday, April 5, members of the Cherry Hill community gathered in the conference room of the Cherry Hill Public Library for a forum being held with 3 cast members of the Kimmel Center’s production of Disney’s “The Lion King.”

For about an hour, beginning at 7 p.m., about 150 residents of all ages—from young to old—had the opportunity to watch a brief video with footage of previous performances, ask the cast members questions and then to receive cast members’ autographs.

The cast members present included Erynn Dickerson, a member of the ensemble, Rhea Roderick, a graduate of nearby Hallaghan High School, and Ben Lipitz, who plays Pumbaa and graduated from Cherry Hill High School West.

Mr. Tom Weaver, head of East’s drama department, mediated the event by relaying audience members’ questions to the cast members. Questions ranged from “how long does it take to get your makeup on?”, “how do you get into the costumes?”, “are there children in the cast?” and “do you have any advice for aspiring actors and actresses?”

The cast members revealed being a member of the ensemble requires knowledge of every single animal character within the ensemble. Each character’s makeup takes different lengths to apply. In the cast there are about 500 costumes, each of which is personalized per cast member. The cast members described how for the giraffes, those cast members must climb a ladder in order to reach their stilts, then must be handed their head to put on, after which they lean forward to reach their stilts for their arms.

Lipitz in particular described the fiasco at the beginning of the national tour concerning how the stilts for the giraffes’ arms didn’t have rubber stoppers on them, so the giraffes had slipped.

In reference to being asked what it feels like to get in costume and be in the production, Dickerson said “you really become what you are,” as she described how the directors were helpful in guiding members of the ensemble to become one with their animal parts by studying animal temperaments and movements.

On that same topic, Lipitz said, “the duality that’s designed into [the show]…you see the humanity within [the animals].”

Many aspiring actors and actresses were in the audience, such as a few members of East’s theater department.

When asked how valuable the forum was to Taylor Brody (’11), he said, “You don’t get this chance very often. It’s important to listen to people who have already been there and done that.”

Dakota Judge (’13) agreed with Brody, in that “[this was] a very good opportunity to learn how to get started.”

Justin Parker (’10) summarized his experience at the forum by saying, “[the forum] gave [me] another look from a professional standpoint of the show. It helps me as an actor to understand the business and to not give up if you hear a ‘no’—you need a ‘no’ to be a better actor.”

The inspiration shared by the aforementioned aspiring actors and actresses echoes the advice given by the cast members, mainly as Lipitz described, “learn to separate yourself from the work. Get a bigger problem—there are more important things than what we do,” in reference to actors and actresses coping with rejection.

Lipitz also gave the advice that “so long as you’re pursuing your art, and it contributes to the bigger picture,” encouraging aspiring actors and actresses to continue on their paths.

As Roderick said, “I remember thinking I wanna do it all. The sky is the limit.”

Overall, the forum provided members of the community with insight into the Kimmel Center’s production of “The Lion King,” whose run time has been March 23-April 24. The cast members reiterated the notion of reaching for the stars, to those members of the audience who wish to become stars.

Learn how to make homemade ravioli

Meredith Medoway and Andrew Huff show viewers how to cook ravioli from scratch in the latest episode of Barefoot Editors

Sophomore cotillion recap

On Saturday, February 27, the sophomore class and their dates gathered in Cafeteria 1 for sophomore cotillion, themed “Cities of the World.”

Over 500 people were in attendance, which is more than the amount of people in the sophomore class. Tickets cost $20 and were sold the weeks prior to the event during lunches.

“I thought it was a great success. We had loads of people, we definitely made money off of it and everyone had a great time,” said Mike Berkowitz (’12), Sophomore Class Vice President.

The hallway leading into the dance was decorated as North America, featuring a cutout of President Obama and a face-in-hole cutout of two people at the beach to match the blow-up palm tree. Each wall of the cafeteria was decorated as a different continent, being Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. The walls contained everything from flags to an elaborate jungle scene consisting of several stuffed animals, vines and plastic plants.

“I borrowed most of the stuffed animals from friends and then cleared out my sister’s bedroom, which happens to have a jungle theme. I made the display boards, computer print outs and the vines, [which were made] out of brown grocery bags,” said Brendon Rush, the main contributor to the wall representing Mombasa, Kenya specifically. “It was fun being involved and a good way to get to know everybody in SGA a little better.”

The refreshments provided included a variety of foods from around the world, including nachos, pirogi and egg rolls, while DJ Jack Friedberg (’08) played all the latest hits as sophomores and their dates danced the night away.

Since sophomore cotillion used to be referred to as the “ring dance,” sophomores who purchased class rings were available to pick them up from a Jostens table set up in the faculty lounge adjacent to the cafeteria. About 90 sophomores purchased rings.

“Overall, I couldn’t be more happier with the way everything turned out. I would like to thank the sophomore class and anyone else who was in attendance, and the sophomore SGA reps for helping with the planning process. Thanks for making this year’s cotillion the best,” said Adam Rosenthal, Sophomore Class President.

Check out Eastside’s fashion trends from the Sophomore cotillion!

Wing Bowl results and photos

On Friday, February 19, at 7:30 p.m., spectators gathered in East’s auditorium to watch the epic showdown between Erdong Chen (’11), seeking a three-peat championship, and Mr. Rick Friedman, winner of the 2006 Wing Bowl. Friedman was victorious, with a two-wing lead.

Although originally scheduled for February 5, Cherry Hill East’s 5^th Annual Wing Bowl competition drew a steady crowd. All proceeds, totaling $400 after all materials and promotions, benefited Haitian relief efforts. Buffalo Quarters provided the wings.

Cherry Hill East welcomed guest Bill “El Wingador” Simmons to co-emcee the event with East’s own Mr. Greg Gagliardi. “El Wingador” began the competition by demonstrating how he properly eats a wing and then donned his cape to preside over starting the rounds, as Gagliardi provided the commentary throughout the event.

Eighteen competitors sought to consume the most wings overall. In the first round, which lasted 6 minutes, Vinny Lombard (’10) ate 22 wings, Mr. Bill Semus ate 23, Max Kimball (’10) ate 26, Bryan Barkow (’10) and Cristine Cirillo (’10) both ate 27, Sam Stern (’10) ate 30, Brad Cutler (’11) ate 31, Dov Halevy (’10) ate 32 and Anna Metzger (’10) ate 34. However, at the end of the first round of contestants, Chen arrived late from a wrestling tournament to contend for the title.

Also competing was Ms. Ann Tirocke, an ardent vegetarian, who protested the event by wearing tape over her mouth and holding up a sign that said “Give Peas a Chance” and on the other side “Got Soy?”

The second round of contestants also lasted for 6 minutes. The Top 8, being Greg Frank (’13) in 8^th, Halevy in 7^th, Metzger 6^th, Onajeme 5^th, Rob Riches (’10) in 4^th, Rubin in 3^rd, Chen in 2^nd and Friedman in 1^st, moved on from there.

Amid the competition, Max Rubin (’10) publicly asked Anna Johnson (’10) to Senior Prom. How romantic.

The Top 4, being Onejeme, Rubin, Chen and Friedman moved on to the next round for a 4-minute session. At that point, Friedman had a 7-wing advantage over Chen.

From there, Chen and Friedman were tied with 122 wings in total. Both entered the tiebreaker with high hopes for becoming Wing Bowl Champion, however, it was Mr. Rick Friedman who ultimately defeated Chen by just two wings. The totals were Chen 143 and Friedman 145 wings.

Wing Bowl will certainly be interesting next year, as it will be Chen’s senior year at East. Will it be another Friedman v. Chen showdown? Who will be victorious?

Opera Night presents “A Night of Gershwin”

On Thursday, February 4, 2010, beginning at 7:30 p.m., the Cherry Hill East music department premiered this year’s Opera Night, themed “A Night of Gershwin.”

George Gershwin was an American composer whose composition Porgy and Bess (1935) is considered an important modern American opera due to its “folk opera” appeal, as Gershwin himself called its style.

The night commenced with the combined ensembles (soloists Namarah McCall (’11), Alex Belfer (’10) and Erica Cavaliere (’10)) singing “I Got Rhythm.” Then, Jazz Standards, Vocal Workshop, Concert Choir and Celebrations, along with Mr. Cohen on the piano, performed “A Foggy Day.” As the night progressed, the audience heard favorites like “Love is Here to Stay” performed by East Singers. East’s smaller vocal groups (Belles, Casual Harmony and Madrigals) performed “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Then string orchestra and the select Symphonic Band played “It’s All About Love.” An aspect of the Opera Night concert is the middle school involvement, for Beck Choir performed “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”

Then, there was the finale. As with the annual Opera Night, the vocal department invites professional opera singers to perform and work with the students to help them develop in their musical learning and experience. This year’s guests were Cynthia Cook (soprano, singing “Summertime” & “Ah Lawd, I’m on my Way!”) and Norman Garrett (baritone, singing “Ah Lawd, I’m on my Way!”); both performers are from The Academy of Vocal Arts. In between Cook’s and Garrett’s performances, Chansons, Jazz Standards and Symphony Orchestra performed “The Man I Love.”

Opera Night offered a silent auction before and after the show. Proceeds from the auction and ticket sales benefited the Music Boosters to help continue the excellence of East’s music and vocal departments.

Freshman dance recap

On January 22, 2010, freshmen and their dates came together to dance the night away in Cafeteria 1 for Freshman Dance, themed “Mardi Gras.”

543 tickets were sold, which is a significant number compared to past freshman dances. The 543 tickets did not, however, set an in-school dance attendance record—Homecoming 2007 did, with the sale of over 600 tickets.

The cafeteria entrance had a sign above that welcomed the freshmen into the dance. The cafeteria itself was decorated with purple and yellow streamers, a purple and gold Mardi gras backdrop on the far wall and purple and yellow beads on the other exit of the cafeteria. In addition to the cafeteria space, the freshmen opened up the teacher’s lounge as a space for attendees to relax and get some air. In the teacher’s lounge, there were purple and yellow tablecloths, centerpieces and candy on each table.

“The dance was good, but it would have been better if we had Jay Z perform,” Ravin Patel (’13), Freshman Class Vice President.

Masks and beads were distributed as well, as attendees danced the night away.

Eastside Salon Rouge Makeover: Avra

Generally, I don’t spend much time grooming myself. It’s not that I don’t care about my appearance; I just don’t understand how girls my age spend hours perfecting every little detail of their outer shell.  I spend about five minutes putting one product in my hair; the most makeup I wear is chapstick; I don’t own Ugg boots.

However, upon hearing about the opportunity to have a makeover for Eastside purposes, I jumped at it, just because I figured out of all the Board, my appearance would be the most drastic. The idea of my characteristic curly hair, glasses and no makeup changing to straight hair, no glasses (briefly) and lots of makeup, if only for a day or two, seemed very appealing, just so I could see people’s reactions.

And reactions I saw…. The next day, we had an Eastside issue to hand out. Just the Board’s reaction was enough for me to know that the rest of the school day would be filled with several comments of “oh my gosh you look so pretty” or “wow, you look great.” Typically I walk down the hallway and say hi to about ten people at least between classes; that day, people said, “it looks great” instead. In fact, more people called me pretty that day than I have heard in my entire life put together.

That afternoon, I made my facebook default picture a picture with my new look. I kept it up for a few weeks, just to see how many people would comment on it. For the record, about ten people “liked” it and about forty people commented things like “gorgeous” or “love it.” These were facebook friends from all walks of life: camp, school, where I used to live.

What I learned from this experience was that my change from looking like I usually do to looking like I came to school prepared for the prom for a day didn’t necessarily alter people’s perceptions of my personality, they just saw the potential I had to look like that everyday. I learned that no matter what my outside is, people still appreciate whom I am within.

Theater department produces excellent fall show

What fools these mortals be indeed. The Cherry Hill East theater department has done it again—produced an excellent fall show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.

Close to 1,000 tickets were sold throughout the show’s 4-performance run (December 4, December 5, December 11 and December 12 at 7:30 p.m.) Tickets were $8 for students and $10 for the general public. There were roughly 300 people in attendance each performance; however, the December 11^th performance was the highest attended. As a fall show, attendance was up to par, especially since Shakespeare is not as popular as it was back in the 16^th century.

“I enjoyed directing the play immensely, partly because [the play] is William Shakespeare’s wit and this was his funniest of comedy. Also, the kids [involved]. At 56, they make me feel 26. The third reason is that we modified the play to the late 1960s and that was for our purposes a fun time to produce this play in,” said the play’s director Mr. Tom Weaver.

“Initially when we began the show I was nervous about how we could make Shakespeare appeal to a high school audience. However, as the rehearsal process continued, we added a lot of funny antics to the show and modernized it to make it appear in the setting of the 1960s. This modernization really helped to get our creative juices flowing as a cast creating an extremely enjoyable rehearsal atmosphere,” said Shari Rosen (’10), who played Helena in the White Cast.

“It’s been a wonderful experience working with Mr. Weaver and all the talented students,” said Mr. Charlie Musumeci, co-director of the show.

The play itself is the story of four lovers that are trapped in a love-square, a situation made more complicated by fairies and parental influence. Hermia (Red Cast – Arielle Sosland (’11), White Cast – Lindsay Lehrman (’10)) and Lysander (Red and White Cast – Luke Kappler (’10) wish to elope, while Hermia’s father, Egeus (Red Cast – Mike Rubinson (’10), White Cast – Carlos Roman (’11)) bids Hermia to marry Demetrius (Red and White Cast– Mike Buono (’12)). Hermia’s best friend Helena (Red Cast – Lauren Berman (’11), White Cast – Shari Rosen (’10)) is in love with Demetrius, who only has eyes for Hermia.

Being a sophomore with a lead role, especially single cast (meaning that Buono performed Demetrius in both Red and White Casts), Buono thought it “was a great honor” and “a great acting challenge because of the Shakespeare dialogue.”

“Shakespeare may seem difficult but it is much easier to memorize than any other type of show because of the rhyming and iambic pentameter it is written in. I also had to deal with two different casts who work completely differently and I had to adjust my character to fit each performance,” said Kappler, who was also single cast as Lysander.

“[Being a lead] gives you the chance to become a character, and while staying true to the playwright’s ideas, make the character your own and add a little bit of yourself to who you’re playing. Helena was an amazingly fun character to portray, with all of her little quirks and head-over-heels infatuation with Demetrius,” said Berman. “I had a lot of fun making her my own.”

The lovers embark on a trek through the forest as Hermia and Lysander agree to meet there to escape Athens, and Helena, being so in love with Demetrius, told Demetrius of Hermia’s escape. The four find themselves hashing out all sorts of feelings, verbally and physically.

“My favorite part of the show was the fight scene. It was so much fun to rehearse and block. It [took] so much energy to do, from running up and down the aisles to jumping on to platforms and rolling down platforms and stepping over people and charging at people,” said Sosland.

The fight scene (Act III, Scene II) was also Lehrman’s favorite. “It was by far the most physically demanding scene…it always left me out of breath. And although I received many bruises on my legs, hips, and even my chin—it hurt really bad—it was all totally worth it,” said Lehrman.

Also in the forest are Oberon (Red Cast – Ian Parker (’11), White Cast – Kyle Northrup (’10), king of the fairies, and Titania (Red Cast – Erica Cavaliere (’10), White Cast – Namarah McCall (’11)), queen of the fairies. A comical scene is Oberon and Titania’s entrance as all the fairies act like a bunch of preteen girls meeting the Jonas Brothers. Oberon’s loyal assistant, Robin ‘Puck’ Goodfellow (Red Cast – Griffin Back (’11), White Cast – Zach Siegel (’11)) helps Oberon cast a spell on Titania that makes her fall in love with the next living thing she sees upon waking. And that’s when she falls in love with an ass.

An acting troupe is also in the forest, practicing to perform their play at a wedding festival in Athens. Puck, upon Oberon’s orders, turns Nick Bottom (Red Cast – Zach Siegel (’11), White Cast – Reuben Natan (’11)), who is the character playing Pyramus in the play “Pyramus and Thisbe,” into a donkey, an animal that matches his personality. Titania wakes up to Bottom and falls in love with him because of the spell.

In the East production, the acting troupe’s performance at the wedding festival scene near the end of the play was the most comical, for Nick Bottom is the pretentious lead, Pyramus Peter Quince (Red Cast – Taylor Brody (’11), White Cast – Griffin Back (’11)) is the exasperated director, Francis Flute (Red Cast – Eli Wood (’10), White Cast – Matt Bennett (’10)) is the reluctant male playing the female part of Thisbe, as was the custom in Shakespearian theater, Tom Snout (Red Cast – John Lorenz (’11), White Cast – Mike Rubinson (’10)) is the hesitant wall through which Pyramis and Thisbe speak, Snug (Red Cast – Carlos Roman (’11), White Cast – Justin Horowtiz (’10)) is the shy and quiet actor playing the lion, and Robin Starveling (Red Cast – Dan McDevitt (’10), White Cast – Justin Parker (’10)) is the feisty moon. Besides the whole scene being quite silly, Tom Snout brandishes a second “l” labeling him as the wall that did not fit on the wood placard under which he is only wearing a pair of red boxers and Robin Starveling gets so frustrated with the audience’s (the audience being the wedding guests) reception to his being the moon that he explains it, concluding his explanation with a stomp of his foot then a raspberry-spit triumphantly.

In order to make their rendition of the play more unique and to involve more actresses and actors, Mr. Weaver asked Laura Pawel (’11) to choreograph a ballet number for the fifteen featured fairy dancers to perform. Pawel said. “at times it was difficult” but “was very happy with the final product. [She] is very proud of how everything came together and how hard the cast worked.”

Besides acting, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes—literally.

“[My role] affords me the opportunity to work hands on with building and maintaining the set and props for the show.  Accordingly, here at East we are lucky to have a great Stage Crew who is passionate about its work and dedicated to a smooth show run.  They are the ones who really make my job fun and easy to enjoy,” said Mr. Pete Gambino, English teacher and Assistant Technical Director.

“The set is designed by Mr. Weaver and he tells us, the crew heads, then we go and build it. It takes about a month to build the entire set and then the painters start to paint it. It’s very stressful while we’re building it, but at the end of the day we see the work we have done and the stress disappears,” said Merissa Roth (’11), Student Technical Director.

When asked what her favorite part of the play was, Shayna Penn (’10), Stage Manager, said, “is the green room, where the cast and crew meets before the show starts. We all feed off of each other’s energy, and there’s this sense of camaraderie and it’s the last time I get to see everyone together as a group before I leave them o go upstairs and run the show. It’s my last time to connect with the cast.”

Penn also said this show could not be possible without the help of the Assistant Stage Manager, Olivia Buickerood (’11).

In addition to fundraising via refreshment sales during intermission, the theater department raised money for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, which is a national non-profit dedicated to supporting AIDS prevention and care. From all four performances, the department raised $620.86.

To gain a better understanding of how to play their roles, the cast and crew took a field trip to the Two River Theater Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Red Bank, NJ, where Mr. Weaver’s son-in-law Aaron Posner directed it. Posner gave Weaver permission to use elements of the show in East’s production, such as Puck’s opening monologue, written in rhyming, Shakespearian language, that reminds the audience not to use cell phones and various sound effects. Four actors from the Two River Theater Co.’s production came to the December 5^th performance and, according to Weaver, “loved it.”

“Having professionals in the audience always psyches the actors,” said Weaver.

The show was successful “financially, but more in the play because the audiences enjoyed it – it got an excellent response- and two months ago, when the actors got their scripts, they were panicked by the words and the language and the jokes. After all, Shakespeare was never designed to be read. From a teaching perspective, it’s always good to be prepared and that’s when we discovered the humor. Everyone began to understand [the play] and had a blast,” said Weaver, in retrospect of the show’s run at East being over.

Congratulations to all the cast and crew and volunteers. The theater department is already beginning the preparatory stages for the spring musical, which is Dale Wasserman’s “Man of La Mancha

Chess Club meets after school

 The Cherry Hill East Chess Club met today, December 1 after school in B232. Ten members, which is an average amount, attended today’s meeting. They divided into teams and played chess until the late bus arrived.

Gary Zhang (’10) is the club’s president. He is also one of the club’s six “hardcore” members.

Inauguration day countdown: after racial triumph, Obama prepares for the White House

November 4, 2008 was a day that made its mark on history, for the nation elected its first African-American President. People of all ethnicities and ages rejoiced as soon as it was projected at 11 p.m. that Barack Obama would win California’s 55 electoral votes. The final electoral count was 364 for Obama, and 163 for McCain. Obama also won the popular vote 53 percent to 46 percent. I myself cried, for America electing this man has shown the world that we need to move in a new direction-and President-elect Obama is ready to lead us. John McCain’s speech was also inspiring and complimented his service to this country, more so than any other individual.However, now that Obama has been elected, he has large shoes to fill, not in terms of his predecessor but of the whole world’s expectations, especially those of the American people. His job within the next 70 days (until Inauguration day) is to make the transition into the White House, and the position itself. Among this transition contains decisions, such as who his Chief of Staff should be, where his daughters (Malia, 5th grade, and Sasha, 2nd grade) should attend school and what his main agenda will actually include. Now is the pivotal moment in Obama’s transition, and all eyes are watching him.

President-elect Obama has chosen Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff. Emanuel, D-IL, is ranked as the fourth highest member of the Democratic leadership in the House, for he was appointed Democratic Caucus Chair; he has served in Congress since 2003. He is of Israeli descent, and actually carpooled with my father to religious school at the shul. Rahm Emanuel has also had a passion for ballet dancing since youth. Survey says: good choice, Obama! Emanuel will be a true asset to President-elect Obama, in both his heritage and his career experience.

President Bush and First Lady Bush welcomed Michelle and Barack to the White House yesterday. As the President and President-elect roamed the grounds, took a tour of the Oval Office and discussed the path of the nation, the First Lady and First Lady-elect discussed the lifestyle and conditions facing the Obama family. The main topic of discussion lately has been where to educate the Obama children, Malia (5th grade) and Sasha (2nd grade). There are pros and cons for the girls to be educated in either the District of Columbia public schools or in private schools in the area. While the Clintons chose to send Chelsea, age 12 at the time, to the Sidwell Friends School, a private Quaker school, the Carters chose to send Amy to public schools. If the Obamas decide to send Malia and Sasha to public school, they will be keeping the image of everyday Americans by sending the message that public schooling is good enough for their children. If the Obamas decide to send the girls to private school, where tuition is around $30,000 a year, these parents will be investing in their education at the expense of convincing America that public schools are acceptable. As for Malia and Sasha, they will have to be followed by security everywhere no matter where they attend; if they were enrolled in a private school, this would be potentially more common than in a public school.

As far as President Bush’s relationship with President-elect Obama, their relationship has been quite friendly, although it seemed that Obama was running against Bush in this election according to rhetoric. Some may call Obama being hypocritical for being chummy with Bush, but it’s a matter of respect. They are both extremely patriotic men and contrary to prior belief, have the country’s best interests in their hearts of heart. Disrespecting George Bush by not meeting with him and being friendly would be extremely detrimental to both Obama and the nation, for a smooth transition is essential for Obama, since he intends to implement a great deal of what he promised on the campaign trail.

Obama’s transition has been going smoothly thus far, and the next 70 days will be productive. Tickets to Inauguration Day are being distributed by congressmen according to districts. If you are interested in attending, contact your local congressman and explain to him or her why you deserve admission to one of the most important events in our nation’s history. Hopefully I will be among them, and if I am, I will be certain to tell you all about it.

Phrantic Phillies Mania impacts school day at East

As Phillies fans celebrated winning the World Series for the first time since 1980 and news that the parade was scheduled for Friday was made public, students and teachers alike had a choice to go to the parade—or school.

Students and teachers alike were both upset that the choice had to be made, and also that the choice interrupted what would have otherwise been a normal school day held on Halloween. However, many fans decided to go to the parade, leading to extremely low attendance rates at East.

On a normal day, the F-wing hallway where students who arrive before 7:50 am stand and mingle is crowded and difficult to get through. Today, it was desolate, with only about thirty people there. In a history class normally containing 25 students, only 18 showed up, and in a driver’s education class normally containing 75 students, only 38 attended. In a chemistry class that normally fills the whole classroom, only 7 students filled the desks. Thus, low attendance on October 31st was frequent.

In an effort to accommodate this lack of attendance, an e-mail was sent out to staff on Thursday saying that it would be a Day 0, meaning no lab would occur. Another message portrayed to students and teachers was that if members of the East community decided to go to the parade in Philadelphia, their absence would not be excused.

Many teachers had mixed feelings about this. Science teacher Ms. Mackley, a Philadelphia native, came to school bitter. She went to the parade in 1980 and sat on her dad’s shoulders.

She said, “It’s difficult not to be there.”

One of her colleagues, Mr. Frockowiak, said he was “too upset to conduct an interview.”

For these teachers who have been fans their whole lives, coming to work at school on Friday was a tough decision.

However, Spanish teacher Sra. Boucher felt that she was “responsible to be here” and that it would be “infantile to call in sick.”

She said, “I’m super excited [the Phillies] won, but I’ll be able to watch the parade on TV when I get home. My job is supposed to be here, with you guys.”

She anticipated Halloween on Friday, anyway, and her lesson plan included showing a video about “El Día de Los Muertos,” (The Day of the Dead), to compare and contrast Mexican culture with the holiday of Halloween, which is part of an element of the standards. When asked what her opinion of the day was, she said it was “not a lost day, but not a progressive day either” in terms of testing and teaching.

Mr. Killion of the math department agreed with Sra. Boucher.

He said, “I try not to abuse sick days because I would feel guilty of gypping students of their education.”

He noticed that student attendance at school on Friday was “half of what it should be,” although students tended to show up in his Calculus classes more than his others because he gave them a test.

Some kids came to school, and then left early to go to the game. Matt Orwitz (’09) came to school, and then left after third period, planning on going to the parade. When he got home, however, his dad had already left to go to Philadelphia. It was a “waste of time” in Orwitz’s mind, especially because the classes he did go to didn’t have more than 10 students in them. He attributed not having any tests or assignments due on Friday to being “the beauty of senior year.” Other students who came to school and left early to go the parade found that when they got to the train station, the line was backed up for a couple hours.

For students who did make it to the event, they did not regret missing school at all.

“I had a really fun time and this could be an event that could very possibly never happen again in my lifetime,” said Andrew Kaplan (’11).

When asked whether or not teachers were willing to accommodate Josh Basak (’10), who went to the parade with some of his school friends, for missing class, he said, “No, not really.”

The experience was different for Sam Kotler (’12), who also went to the parade without regrets. His mother works at The University of Pennsylvania Health System, so Kotler and his mother parked there and then walked to Locust for the parade. He had a literary essay due, and also a math test, but his teacher “gave an option to the students that were there if they wanted to take it.”

Most students who went to the parade have been fans for most of their lives, but Marie Boisvert (’11) has only been a fan since last season.

“I started to watch them last year, and this year I started watching them more because their record was better,” she said.

She traveled to Philadelphia by taking the speedline and subway.

“I saw a couple [of students from East] but there were so many people it was hard to find anybody,” Marie said.

Besides being the day of the Phillies Parade and Halloween, the East girl’s field hockey team also had their last game of the season against cross-town rivals of the Cherry Hill West Lions. An East policy states that in order to play in a sporting event after school, that athlete must be present at least five class periods of the day. Many members of the team were upset, including seniors; although this was their last game of high school field hockey, going to the Phillies Parade was a once in a lifetime experience. Coach Habina and the team had a heated discussion over attendance, and Habina stood firmly behind the policy. In the end, all the seniors came to school and played in the game, and beat Cherry Hill West. Of the three sophomore players that went to the parade, two of them came back to play, but were not allowed to.

Friday October 31, being Halloween and the day of the Philadelphia Phillies’ victory parade, proved to be a day lowly attended by East students, as both students and teachers were faced with the difficult decision of going to the parade or reporting to school.

Equus

Although Daniel Radcliffe is often associated with Harry Potter, Radcliffe deserves to be free of the Harry Potter persona for at least another twenty weeks. His recent role as the star of Peter Schaffer’s masterpiece play, “Equus” has proven Radcliffe’s acting skills to be genuine, and will help him to step out of his previous roles. 

The story depicts Alan Strang (Radcliffe), a deranged boy under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Martin Dysart, played by Richard Griffiths. Strang becomes one of Dysart’s patients after committing a crime the authorities cannot understand: he blinded six horses in the barn he worked at. Schaffer wrote the play based on this incident; however, all the details surrounding the crime are fictional. The only truth is that a troubled boy did in fact commit the crime. 

Alan is a 17-year-old, and troubled by his conflicting childhood. Raised by both parents, yet receiving a warped love from them, Alan is forced to deal with their conflicts as well as his own internal problems. For example, his mother reads him the Bible, as his father despises religion, and his mother permits Alan to watch television, as his father forbids it. More details unfold about the boy’s home life as Dr. Dysart examines him. Through careful methods of psychology, and many interviews with Alan’s parents and others who know him, Dr. Dysart solves the mystery of Alan’s reasoning for attacking those horses, and begins to understand the troubled boy. 

Richard Griffiths does a stunning job portraying Dr. Dysart, with just enough wit and charming humor. His character leads the audience through his path to cracking the case, with frequently occuring soliloquies. Dysart’s own life permeates his medicinal abilities, and Alan tries to manipulate Dysart through confronting him about his own life. Dysart’s life and Alan’s case eventually intertwine, for Dysart reexamines his personal life after understanding Alan’s perspective, especially his relationship with his wife. Dysart learns that there are some things in life worth believing in, as he discovers Alan’s self-proclaimed religion to the spirit within horses, called Equus, (the Latin word for horse). 

Playing in the Broadhurst Theatre, the set of “Equus” consists of lighting, four wooden boxes that are maneuvered by characters throughout the play, six muscular men wearing horse head masks and stilt-like attachments on their feet and the actors themselves. In other words, much of the imagery of the play is left up to the imagination, and enables a more open thought process while analyzing the significance of the play. 

“Equus”, with the same cast members, played in London’s Gielgud Theatre before moving to Broadway for a 22-week run. Special previews of the show began on September 5th; however, the official opening night was September 25th. Children under the age of four are not permitted into the theatre, and children under the age of sixteen are cautioned due to the play’s content. The show has one, ten-minute intermission, and overall is 2 hours and 35 minutes long. 

The controversy over the play revolves around Daniel Radcliffe’s nudity scene. He is only naked for one scene, and the scene is the pivotal moment of the play, for it is just as Alan is about to attack the horses. Although Broadhurst Theatre offers seating above and behind the stage, hence very close to the actors on it, specifics of Radcliffe’s figure cannot be clearly seen from most of the seats in the theatre. The publicity the play gets should only focus on this element of the play if the writers are showing this element as a rite of passage for Radcliffe as an actor. 

The story of “Equus,” although very much fictional, allows a deeper meaning, as discussed through the character of Dr. Dysart. The play, ultimately captivating, allows reflection upon one’s morals, and teaches the age-old lesson of trying to walk in someone else’s shoes, and not judging a book by its cover. Alan Strang’s crime was not out of malice—it was a cry for help that Dysart eventually fulfills, although Dysart comments during the last scene of the play that Alan will perhaps never be whole again, and that there will always be something missing.

Grade: A