Wednesday, November 12, 2014 * page 14
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First-year acting majors debut first show
Diana Stancy
Senior Reporter
Elon University’s first-year acting ma
jors will perform in a special showcase at 2
and 4 p.m. Nov. 16 to highlight their talent
in various pieces. The performance will be
held in Yeager Recital Hall in the Center
for the Arts.
Each student will perform in a short,
two-person scene from shows like Almost
Maine and Appearances. The performances
are student-directed by upperclassmen, who
selected scenes to perform. Every scene was
assigned a student director.
One of the benefits of this showcase is
it allows first-year students an opportuni
ty to perform during their first semester of
college. Casting for full productions is com
petitive.
“It’s more difficult to be cast in the full
productions, so the showcase gives us a
chance to be in a performance setting,” said
George Whitaker, a first-year acting stu
dent who will be performing a scene from
Almost Maine with classmate, first-year
Christine Lane.
In their first semester, the students are
aware of the improvements in their acting.
Being in a professional environment where
they are challenged as artists has given them
confidence as actors.
“Being surrounded and supported by all
of your incredibly talented peers and learn
ing from masters has been incredible,” Lane
said. “But personally. I’ve come to accept
that the work I do will never be perfect. I’ve
become much more knowledgeable about
what we do, and more fearless.”
The semester has been a learning process
for the students. They have grown as actors,
artists and individuals. The students meet
several times a week to rehearse outside of
class, and a unique bond has formed among
the members.
First-year acting major Emily CoUins
remarked that the relationships she has de
veloped have contributed to her growth as
an actor.
“I have grown a lot as an artist and as
a member of an ensemble. I see myself as
one part of a 12-piece puzzle that is con
tinuously growing as a whole,” Collins said.
“We work together, we support each other
and we inspire each other.”
The students are especially excited to
share their work over the semester with the
audience because, for most, this is their first
performance at Elon. They said their dedi
cation is visible in the show.
“From this performance, I hope the au
dience sees the passion that we all share for
First-year acting students take on their debut roles in an acting showcase Nov. 16.
JANE SEIDEL I PHOTO EDITOR
our craft,” said Lane. “I hope they see how
much we love what we’re lucky enough to
be studying at Elon.”
By challenging themselves with their
first showcase, the group has been able to
enjoy their accomplishments
“The work we do is never a finished
product — you’re constantly growing and
learning,” Lane said. “Taking what we do
each day in class and bringing it back to the
scenes has been difficult, but we’ve learned
so much.”
Fall TV: What’s canceled and what’s not
Casey Brown
Senior Reporter
Fall is a hectic time for television.
New shows are premiering daily
and fighting for a spot and fan base
among well-adjusted series. Some
succeed and become runaway hits.
Some break under the weight of high
expectations. Here is how the new .
shows of 2014 are faring:
Gotham
Status: Full season order
fox’s Batman prequel about James Gor
don’s start as a Gotham detective is one
of the network’s highest-rated shows this
fall. This past week, it had 6.63 million live
and same-day views, almost two million
more than “Sleepy Hollow,” the more es
tablished series in the following time slot.
Its steady ratings of more than 6 million
viewers makes “Gotham” a strong con
tender for success. (Monday 8 p.m., FOX)
Scorpion
Status: Full season order
This Monday night drama focuses on ge
nius Walter O’Brien, whose team of highly
intelligent associates works for Homeland
Securin' as the last line of defense for com
plicated global problems. “Scorpion” de
buted with a strong 13.8 million views, now
settling for more than 10 million a week.
With a full season order already, “Scorpi
on” seems like a score for CBS. (Monday 9
p.m., CBS)
Black-ish
Status: Full season order
Tile Anthony Anderson series about an
upper-middle class black family remains
one of the highest rated freshman com
edies of this fall. Tlie show premiered at
11 million views, and although this has
since fallen, its ratings remain in the high
7 millions. It is the highest-rated show in
the post-“Modern Family” slot, so the full
season order seems to be in good confi
dence. (Wednesday 9:30 p.m., ABC)
How to Get Away with Murder
Status: Full season order
Shonda Rhimes has the magic touch. Her
newest series under the ShondaLand banner
focuses on defense lawyer Annalise Keating
and her five wide-eyed interns. The show has
remained steady in its ratings. It collected
about 9.2 million views this past Thursday
(between live and same-day views), which
is up from last week. Between that ratings
strength and a full season order, “How to
Get Away with Murder” is looking strong.
(Thursday 10 p.m., ABC)
Tlie Flash
Status: Full season order
The latest superhero drama from The CW
looks like it’s here to save another day.
Premiering with the highest ratings ever
for the network at 4.83 million, the show
has continued to bring high viewership
for The CW standards. It pulled 3.53 mil
lion views in its latest episode. (Tuesday 8
p.m.. The CW)
Forever
Status; Full season order
This procedural drama about an immortal
medical examiner may have a full season
order, but the ratings could affect the fu
ture of the series. Though it premiered at
a respectable 8.2 million, its latest episode
pulled a meager 4.95 million viewers. “For
ever” may be safe for now, but that could
change in May. (Tuesday 10 p.m., ABC)
Stalker
Status: Full season order
CBS’s procedural drama about detectives in
the Los Angeles Police Department’s Threat
Assessment Unit has had steady ratings
throughout its first couple episodes. It pre
miered at 9 million viewers, and, while it has
dropped a bit, it remains consistent at the
7 million range. Tiese ratings and the full
season order show the network’s confidence
in the series. (Wednesday 10 p.m., CBS)
Mysteries of Laura
Status: Full season order
This Debra Messing-led comedy-drama
about a homicide detective balancing work
and home life is another show that has
leveled off in the 7 millions. The show has
steadily dropped in ratings since its debut at
10.1 million, but the full season order im
plies NBC’s faith in the future of the series.
(Wednesday 8 p.m., NBC)
Marry Me
Status: An additional 5 episodes ordered
This romantic comedy, created by “Happy
Endings’” David Caspe, is in the middle of
the television road. Premiering to 7.5 mil
lion views, “Marry Me” has dropped to 4.5
million views in its most recent episode.
NBC has optimistically ordered five addi
tional episodes, bumping up the season to
18 episodes. It seems only time will tell the
fate of “Marry Me.”
(Tuesday 9 p.m., NBC)
Red Band Society I
I Status: Four more scripts ordered j
I This ensemble comedy-drama about a j
group of teenagers in a pediatric ward is in
television limbo. As of now, the series isn’t I
I performing well in the ratings, fluctuating I
between the high 2 millions and low 3 mil-
I lions. Although new scripts were ordered,
there is no guarantee that more episodes will
air. (Wednesday 9 p.m., FOX)
Mulaney
Status: Canceled
This comedy from and about a fictional
ized life of former Saturday Night Live
writer John Mulaney was one of the ear
liest to die this TV season. “Mulaney”
premiered to a weak 2.3 million viewers,
and the number has only decreased since
then. The 16-episode order was shortened
to 13 before FOX announced they would
not be ordering any more episodes. (Sun
day 9:30 p.m., FOX)
BadJudge
Status: Canceled
The freshman comedy about a tough Los
Angeles judge with a wild personal life
lives in purgatory. It is canceled in the
sense that no more episodes were ordered
beyond the original 13. But if the ratings
can improve from its current 3 million av
erage, there may be hope for the cancel-
llation to be rescinded. (Thursday 9 p.m.,
NBC)
Manhattan Love Story
Status: Canceled
ABC’s romantic he-said she-said com
edy, in the slot following recently can
celed “Selfie,” was the first show of the
season to be canceled. Its last episode av
eraged 2.6 million viewers, only pulling
0.7 million among adults aged 18 to 49.
The network pulled the series without
running out its additional episodes.
A to Z
Status: Canceled
Uie romantic comedy “A to Z” is in a spot
similar to Bad Judge.” Its ratings are poor —
pulling 2.74 million on its latest episode —
and NBC decided not to order additional ep
isodes. However, since the show is technically
in production, there is a chance to come back.
One of the show’s creators, Rashida Jones of
“Parks & Recreation," has launched a Twit
ter campaign to save the freshman comedy.
Whether that will work remains to be seen.
(Tliursday 9:30 p.m., NBC)
Selfie
Status: Canceled
The ABC comedy based on the classic
play “Pygmalion” is the latest show on
the chopping block. The network chose
not to order any additional episodes of
the freshman comedy, which averaged 3.5
million in ratings each week. The remain
der of the episodes will play at its regular
time. (Tuesday 8 p.m., ABC)