the stentorian I ncssm
news/lifestvie
October 2015
Promethean Players perform Almost^
Maine for fall drama production
Marvalyn (Donovan O’Daniel) kisses Steve (AJ Goren) in the laundry room of "Ma Dudley s Boarding House, ” a fictional setting
on a backdrop of stars in the fictional town of Almost, Maine. The play had no shortage of romance and kissing, which played out
onstage alongside scenes of heartbreak and lost love.
BY AJ Goren
Editor-in-Chief
Jeezum Crow! The
NCSSM Promethean Players
performed Almost, Maine, a
critically acclaimed play by
John Cariani, the weekend of
October 24.
A cast of 19 students staged
at 9 p.m. on a chilly January
Friday in the fictional northern
town of Almost, Maine. Four
student directors assisted
theater instructor Adam
Sampieri in directing the show,
which cast its roles and began
rehearsal at the beginning of
September.
The show opens with Pete,
played by Kevin Jarman,
and Ginette, played by Perry
Healy, struggling to profess
their love for one another, but
an offliand comment from Pete
about the nature of distance
drives Ginette to walk away.
Next, Almost resident
East (Jordyn Jones) falls for
reluctant out-of-towner Glory
(Sophie Holmes), who has
come to pay her respects to her
ex-husband Wes, whose death
she feels is hcr^Jault,
Then, lonely bar-goer
Jimmy (Calvin Lane) runs
into Qx-girlfriend Sandrine
(Morgan Pyrtle) at what he
glumly discovers is actually her
bachelorette party, but waitress
Villian (Darith Klibanow) is
there to comfort him.
Next, an inadvertent whack
with an ironing board brings to
gether two emotionally abused
Almost residents - Marvalyn
(Donovan O’Daniel), whose
troubled relationship isn’t ex
actly hidden, and Steve (AJ
Goren), whose inability to feel
pain gives his brother an oppor
tunity to exercise eontrol over
him.
- Finally, devastated wife
Gayle (Grace Marshall)
demands that husband Lendall
(Miguel de los Reyes) return
the love she gave to liim. and
he obliges, presenting her with
an engagement ring. In the
second act, we revisit Pete, who
is wistfully looking off towards
where Ginette walked out.
Following this, we meet
Randy (Eric Seiler) and Chad
(Liam Becker), beer-drinking
best buds who quickly - and
literally - fall in love with each
other.
Next, the other shoe drops
after a tense argument between
husband Phil (Amruth Srip-
erumbudur) and wife Marci
(Jennifer Daiker) when Phil
forgets their anniversary.
Then, Hope (Sarah
Stephens) is left feeling
hopeless after she returns to
Almost to answer yes to a
years-old marriage proposal
by ex-boyfriend Daniel
(Darvin Hco), who has
already gotten married since
Hope left for college.
After this, sexual desire
builds between a snowmobile
riding couple - boyfriend
Dave (Colin Johnson) and
girlfriend Rhonda (Claire
Amon) after Dave gives
Rhonda a homemade painting.
Finally, Ginette returns from
her instantaneous walk all
the way around the world to
reunite with Pete.
Staff and students who saw
Almost, Maine had nothing but
praise for the show.
Student Life Instructor Ross
Knight called it the best show
he had seen in his four years at
NCSSM.
Junior Emily York was
enthusiastic after seeing the
show two nights in a row:
“The play was amazing!
The different love stories
shared enough similarities
to be a cohesive play, yet not
enough to be repetitive. I
especially liked the prologue,
interlogue and epilogue, as
they were adorable.
Junior Miehael Carter
shared similar enthusiasm for
the production:
“I thought that Almost,
Maine was a fun look at the
ups and downs of love. It kept
me interested and laughing
through every scene.”
Cast members felt a similar
love for the show, as well as a
bond to castmates as a result of
long hours in the auditorium
for tech week.
“It was a good first show.
It even inspired one of my
friends to fall down in front of
a girl to ask her out,” remarked
Amruth Sriperumbudur, who
played Phil.
NCSSM Tech had
significant interest this year,
which was important to this
show due to the many tech and
staging needs.
Tech jobs included rigging
up a boot to drop from the sky
and making fake snowfall by
cutting up plastic bags. The
set and staging came together
under the stage management of
senior Mack Harrison.
Adele says ^^Hello” to
top of charts
photo courtesy of Vanity Fair
BY AJ Goren
Editor-in-Chief
Acclaimed British song
stress Adele has returned to
the charts with Hello, her first
single in three years. Adele’s
2012 album 21, featuring inter
nationally known hits such as
Rolling in the Deep and Some
one Like You, won her six
Grammy awards. Previously,
her debut album 19, featuring
heartfelt ballads like Chasing
Pavements and Hometown
Glory, won her two Grammy
awards including Best New
Artist in 2009.
Adele is now 27 years old,
and her third volume of work
is on its way. 25, set to be
released Nov. 20, is sure to
arrive to a spectacular level
of worldwide anticipation,
particularly after the singer’s
extended absence from the
music scene while she focused
A still from the
"Hello ” video, which
debuted Friday,
October 23rd to
extreme critical
acclaim. "Hello"
precedes Adele s
upcoming album,
"25, ” out next month.
on her health and personal life.
Adele announced 25 and its
first single. Hello, on October
22, releasing Hello and its
accompanying music video
the following day. Already,
the video has broken the
Vevo record for most views
in 24 hours across Vevo and
YouTube, amassing 27 million
plays in a single day. As of Oct.
30, Hello had been downloaded
or streamed over 150,000
times, with ample time left to
eclipse Elbe Goulding’s Love
Me Like You Do as the song
with the greatest first-week
sales this year.
The song is a powerful tale
of love lost, complemented by
Adele’s flawless vocals. The
Guardian called it “striking,
witty and lovelorn,” and it sits
comfortably at number one
on both the global and United
States Spotify Top 50 charts,
well ahead of Justin Bieber’s
Sorry and Drake’s Hotline
Bling. Adele says 25 will not
portray the same themes of
devastating heartbreak that she
belted out on 21. Regardless, 25
is sure to make a great splash in
the music world, and Adele is
surely soon to sit atop the charts
once again.
Ask Charlie!
How can I open my closed-minded roommate up
to the world of rap music? -A Jay Z lover
Excellent question, A
Jay-Z Lover. First, you should
consider how you came to
be roommates with someone
who is simply not cool.
Perhaps some of the blame
is your own. Regardless, it is
important to not overwhelm
your roommate when first
introducing them to the world
of rap music. For some people,
heavy beats and lightning
fast lyrics - while excellently
written - can be off-putting
initially. If your roommate
says they do not like this
kind of rap, it is probably
because your roommate is
not very knowledgeable on
how to fit in and be cool. It
would be smart to introduce
them to less intense rap
and then build up to your
favorite tunes. The beginner
rap-listener starter pack
includes: the full Iggy Azalea
discography. Beats by Dre
headphones, “Macklemore
is the best rapper,” and the
clean version of Super Ba.ss
by Nicki Minaj. Once your
roommate feels comfortable
with this fake social persona,
they might be ready to move
on and become an actual rap
fan. Lucky for your riwmmate,
rap itself consists of many
smaller sub-genres. These
include, but are not limited
to: good rap and Eminem. If
your roommate finds a rap
subgenre that they truly enjoy,
then congratulations! You
have completed your mission.
Unfortunately, rap is not for
everyone. If weeks and weeks
of peer pressure and passive
aggressiveness produce no
results, you probably want
to invest in a good pair of
headphones and never speak to
your roommate again. -Charlie
To submit a question to Ask
Charlie, look out for the
submission form for the next
issue on the NCSSM Classes
of 2016 and 2017 page.