THE HERALD
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
September 21, 2022
Meredith Theatre Department's Production of Roe
By Cecilia Thompson, Contributing Writer
This fall, Meredith Col
lege’s Department of Theatre in
vites you to see Roe, running Sept.
28 through Oct. l at 7:30 p.m. and
Oct. 1 and 2 at 2:00 p.m. An im
portant reminder of how the fight
for abortion rights began, “Roe
tells the story of how Sarah Wed-
dington came to argue the case [of
Roe V. Wade] at the age of 26, how who were looking for a case to
Norma McCorvey (Roe) became challenge the law.
no support system. She wanted to
terminate the pregnancy, but she
lived in Texas where abortions
were prohibited unless they were
to save the mother’s life. She went
to two unlikely Dallas attorneys,
Linda Coffee and Sarah Wed-
dington, recent graduates of the
University of Texas Law School,
involved and what transpired in
both their lives after the land
mark ruling,” Director Lormarev
Jones explained. “The story is told
from the perspective of these two
women from very different back
grounds whose lives intersect at a
flashpoint moment and then are
forever intertwined.”
McCorvey was twenty-two
years old when she discovered
she was pregnant for a second
time. She was unmarried at the
time v«th no stable income and
Weddington didn’t seem
like the right person to argue this
case. She was the daughter of a
Methodist minister and headed
her highschool chapter of the
Future Homemakers of America.
Despite having had an abortion
herself, she hadn’t planned to join
the movement for abortion rights.
She only began to look into the
Texan law related to it when a few
of her college friends, who would
refer expecting women to doc
tors willing to perform abortions.
asked her if they were considered
accomplices. That question piqued
her interest, and she began look
ing into Texan law regarding abor
tion. Her research led her to Linda
Coffee, and the rest is history.
As of June 2022, the right
to have an abortion in the United
States is no longer guaranteed.
When the Supreme Court over
turned Roe v. Wade, women, men
and those who don’t fit into gender
binaries mourned its loss nation
wide. This monumental decision
serves as an important reminder
of why Roe is important for stu
dents to go see.
Despite the grave historical
context of the play, it offers a safe
place to contemplate the rights
that were established and the
rights that have been lost. Jones
hopes to facilitate more healthy
and civil conversations about it.
“[Roe] will always be relevant to
anyone who has a uterus, regard
less of where they fall on the
issue,” Jones stated. “It is also
relevant to anyone queer, in an
interracial relationship or anyone
who utilizes birth control... The
Dobbs ruling affects so much more
than reproductive health.”
Many of our rights hang
in balance due to the Right of
Privacy Statute. But despite the
feeling of hopelessness many feel
when thinking about the Dobbs
decision, there is still hope. There
is always hope. That’s what Roe
represents.
Best Thrift Stores Near Meredith
By Abigail Ruehle, Contributing Writer
Sustainable and ethical
fashion is growing more and more
important. In my experience, the
best way to boycott the fast fash
ion industry without spending a
fortune on American-made clothes
is to shop secondhand.
#1 Plato's Closet
Number one on the list is
Plato’s Closet, located in the Cross
roads shopping center in Cary. It’s
about 10 minutes away from cam
pus and always has great deals and
quality clothes. Plato’s Closet buys
clothes and jewelry directly from
people in the community, which
could be an easy way to make some
money. They’re open from 10 a.m.
to 8 p.m. Monday through Satur
day and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on
Sundays.
#2 Cause for Paws
Cause for Paws is located on
S. Saunders Street about 10 minutes
away from Meredith. In addition to
affordable clothing and other items,
they also have cats in the store that
you can play with and even adopt!
They’re open Monday through
Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on
Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
and on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5
p.m.
#3 Thrift2Gift
Thrift2Gift is a Christian
thrift store about five minutes away
from Meredith. What makes this
thrift store unique is that they have
prayer cards that you can write a
prayer on, along with free bibles
that are given to eveiy customer.
Thrift2Gift also supports a variety
of charities and ministries in the
community. They’re open from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through
Saturday.
#4 Uptown Cheapskate
Uptown Cheapskate
buys and sells clothes from local
people, so they’re directly putting
money back into the community.
They are located less than five
minutes away. Students without
cars can also use the Wolfline to
check it out. You can also make
some quick money by selling
clothes there, but Uptown Cheap
0 J»>»*
Photo by Kayla Dunn
skate is picky about what they’ll
take.
#5 Guardian Angel Thrift
Guardian Angel Thrift is a
store with great finds, great deals,
a friendly atmosphere and a good
range of sizes for everyone. The
only reason I ranked this store
lower on the list is because the
two locations are over 20 minutes
away from campus. They’re usu
ally open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. I
would recommend checking it out
especially if you can drive or are a
commuter.
Read the full article on our
website.
Meredith Dance Students Work with the American Dance Festival
By Evelyn Summers, Senior Copy Editor
The American Dance Fes
tival (ADF) is an internationally
known program in the Triangle
that seeks to promote modern
dance through educational pro
grams and performances. The
ADF hosts summer dance courses,
including the Summer Dance
Intensive and Dance Professional
Workshops. Two Meredith Dance
students attended the Summer
Dance Intensive in Durham this
year. The Herald spoke to Made-
lyn James, Class of 2023, and An
nabel Ines Lopez, Class of 2022, to
touch on their experiences work
ing with ADF.
James began this sum
mer by working as a Production
Apprentice. Over the two-month
intensive, James explained, “I
was able to advance from an ap
prentice to an intern and work
in Duke University’s theaters.”
James is now working with the
ADF production team on their fall
performances that will be held at
the North Carolina Museum of Art
(NCMA).
When asked about her
experience working with the pro
duction team during the festival,
James replied, “I was a part of the
amazing eleven-person produc
tion crew that was putting togeth
er all of the performance concerts
that the festival students were
seeing and were a part of.” James
also said, “Throughout this sum
mer, I was able to gain knowledge
and have hands-on experiences
that bettered me as a human.
dancer and stage technician.”
James strongly recommends this
program for any Meredith student:
“If you have the opportunity to
ever attend an ADF performance
or their annual summer festival in
tensive, I encourage you to do so.
It is no less than life-changing.”
Lopez was a full-time
student at ADF. “I took technique
classes where we focused on
building a unique jazz ethos and
supporting each artist’s individual
practice,” Lopez explained. “I was
also cast to be in Monique Haley’s
repertory piece, which consisted of
learning choreography and per
forming that piece for the commu
nity.”
For both Lopez and James,
dance is an essential and vulner
able mode of creative expression.
“[Dance] simply makes me feel
good,” James said. “Dance is such
a vulnerable art form, and having
the facilities to create and perform
the movement is a blessing that
I cherish every day.” Lopez said
that dance allows her to “learn
something new about [herself].”
Lopez also wants to find her own
“authentic expressions” through
dance.
Lopez shared that working with
ADF was a fantastic experience
and that she was able to “grow as
an artist and expand [her] connec
tions.” Lopez concluded, “I am so
thankful for being able to experi
ence the American Dance Festival.
It has made me a better dancer
and a better person.”