Dinner Theatre - Aster Cao
Dinner Theatre is a perfect way to spend the evening, with a mix of entertainment and food. This year’s Dinner Theatre was The Very Unmerry Adventures of Robin Hood, a comical show about Sherwood Forest’s possible destruction and Robin Hood and his merry men’s amusing journey to save it. The show happened because of the hard work The Chamber Choir has put in and Mr. Clark’s guidance. I was lucky to interview Mr. Clark, NHS’s choir teacher; and Steward Nunez, an actor and singer in the show.
Mr. Clark runs Dinner Theatre, and he is the glue that holds everything together to present you with a fabulous performance every fall. He has been doing Dinner Theatre at NHS for around 6 years and was very happy to be interviewed. Here’s what Mr. Clark said:
Q: What made you decide on The Very Unmerry Adventures of Robinhood?
A: I read several plays over the summer, probably close to 25, and this was the one I knew fit our kids. It was funny, entertaining; it fit the bill.
Q: What is your favorite part and/or song and why?
A: I love that it is a takeoff on Robinhood. It’s comical. I love that William Shakespeare makes a guest appearance. And in regards to favorite song, since the first half of the evening is cabaret acts, there’s 18 songs sung by the Chamber Choir. I don’t think I have a favorite because they come from all different musicals.
Q: What is your favorite part of working with the Chamber Choir to make this show happen?
A: I love that we’re getting them to use all types of talents. I love that they’re doing this to raise money for our field trip that we take in December to New York City. They’re raising money with their art, whether it's acting or singing, and they’re doing something for the community.
Q: Any final thoughts or messages you’d like to share?
A: I love working with the Stage Crew. I love working with the ceramic classes that did the centerpieces. I love working with the custodians and the secretaries. It’s all hands on deck to make this happen.
Now onto Steward, a senior at NHS and The Very Unmerry Adventures of Robin Hood’s Friar Tuck, who’s also doing a cabaret act. Here’s what Steward had to say:
Q: What is your favorite part of The Very Unmerry Adventures of Robin Hood?
A: I’d have to say the vogue scene where two members of the cast are in dresses, and they compete to see who can work the runway better.
Q: What is your favorite part of doing Dinner Theatre?
A: It’s definitely the community and the acts themselves because this year there are so many good acts, and they all come together amazingly, and everyone’s so positive. It’s just a really wonderful place to be and be creative. Everyone’s hyped me up about my song. They’re so excited to hear it; I love that and I love the play.
Q: Why did you decide to do Dinner Theatre?
A: It’s senior year so this is my last chance to get in, see what I can do, and have a little fun. I just really wanted to be a part of it because last year when I went, everyone looked so amazing. And I’m hoping that some people in the audience watching decide “maybe I can do that next year, maybe I can be a part of it.”
There’s a wonderful process that happens behind the scenes to bring you this year’s Dinner Theatre, and everyone involved has worked very hard to make this show what it has become. The cast is so excited to be performing The Very Unmerry Adventures of Robin Hood and give a show well worth watching. If you paid the $15 fee to see Dinner Theatre, know that your money is contributing to a trip for the many hard-working and talented people in the Chamber Choir. If you didn’t attend this year, don’t miss your opportunity to go to next year’s Dinner Theatre!
Fall Sports Overview - Paige Mimnaugh
Most of the Fall Season Sports have started to wrap up as of recently. Cross Country had their states meet on Saturday, October 27. Volleyball is starting next week, girls swimming and field hockey are both wrapping up as well. Overall, Newington has had a really good sports season, and we are looking forward to the winter season.
Our fall season included the following sports:
Boys Golf
Boys Soccer
Cheerleading
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Football
Girls Soccer
Girls Swimming
Girls Volleyball
Our upcoming winter sports include:
Boys Basketball
Boys Swimming
Girls Basketball Girls Ice Hockey
Ice Hockey
Indoor Track
Wrestling
We look forward to seeing our upcoming athletes, and congratulations on a great season!
Shakespeare in Love - Hebah Habib
“But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” (Romeo and Juliet, 2.2.2-3).
Shakespeare in love follows the journey of young Will Shakespeare, suffering from a bout of writer’s block. The deadline to finish his play is fast approaching and he’s nowhere near ready. He presses on, uninspired and desperate till he meets the bright and beautiful Viola, his muse. Viola is passionate, Will’s greatest admirer, and is determined to appear in his next play. Rife with schemes, mistaken identities, and backstage theatrics, Shakespeare's love for Viola blooms alongside his inspiration for one of the greatest romance plays of all time.
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With our own productions opening night for the play in only a few short weeks, rehearsals are well underway. I decided to ask a few cast and crew members about their own journeys to the stage and how they felt about the play. Here’s the inside scoop:
Interviewees: Steward Nunez - Cast, Kyra Goss - Stage crew, Gabby Duran - Cast
Q: What made you want to do theater?
A: “This is kind of embarrassing but I watched a lot of Disney channel growing up as a kid, and I’m like woah! These are actors! I wanna act and be cool like the kids on Disney channel.”
A: “I was told to do it by one of my friends.”
A: “I just think that there’s a great community there, everyone really supports each other, and everyone’s really nice.”
Q: Describe the play in three words.
A: “Poetic, messy, violent.”
A: “This is for the school newspaper?” (laughter)
A: “Time-consuming, interesting, and rewarding.”
Q: Who is your favorite character?
A: “I'd have to say Will Shakespeare because he has such a wide variety of things he has to do in the play, one of them being dressing like a woman which I’m very excited for that to be on stage.”
A: “William Shakespeare because he’s funny and I love Logan.”
A: “Webster because he’s so sassy and he’s funny.”
Q: Is there anything you want the audience to know or pay attention to onstage?
A: “You know, we just put a lot of work into the show itself so there's small things that like if you’re not paying attention to, you won’t notice. But I really think that it's important that you just look at how the dynamic of the characters are and how they interact because it's a really fun show.”
A: “It’ll come together just give it a minute.”
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Thank you to all our interviewees for their insight! I have even more questions now than when I began! I hope you all are just as interested and excited as I am to see the production. Purchase tickets and come see Shakespeare in Love November 16th through 18th!