The T h e s p i a n

Volume XIII Issue 3 The Horace Mann Theatre 's tri-annual publication April 2010 The HMTC Presents...

Photo by Megan Lu Oliver! April 22nd @ 3:30 PM April 23rd and 24th @ 7:30 PM

I n t h i s i s s u e . . .

What the dickens? - Rachel Buissereth gives some background on the celebrated author of the novel WE'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM - Dan Froot talks to director Woody Howard about all things Oliver! if only all the world were this stage! - Suman Gidwani features the mainstage Gross Theater it's back! - After a brief hiatus, a Finn Vigeland-created crossword puzzle graces our back cover once again 2 THE HORACE MANN THEATRE COMPANY THE THESPIAN OFFICERS Editor-in-Chief Junior Editor Presidents Sarah Sanders Maia Salholz-Hillel Zoë Maltby Jessica Chi THEATRE & DANCE FACULTY & STAFF Woody Howard Publicity Student Technical Directors Denise DiRenzo Ethan Levine-Weinberg Nathalie Antoine Alison Kolinski Anna Meredith Caroline Marin Emma Laurence Ken Zhang Jonathan Nye Joel Sherry Lower Division Outreach Joseph Timkó Amelia Ross Officer Goodbyes The HMTC has been so much a part of my life at HM that, two My first experiences with the HMTC took place before I months shy of graduation, I still can’t believe that this time next was 10 years old, when my brother, Adam ’03, was involved. I year I won’t still be messaging the other seniors about cast gifts recall being in awe of the Van Alstyne Theatre, and especially and doing epic shakedowns with the rest of the cast. But all good— of the HMTC itself. The majority of the productions that I saw, make that great—things must come to an end, and it’s finally time however, were staged during the Gross Theater construction for me to graduate and, yes, say goodbye to the HMTC. years. But not sitting in an actual theater didn’t shake my Woody, Emma, Mr. Timkó, Alison, Joel, Jonathan, I have enthusiasm. Believe it or not, being part of the HMTC seemed learned so much from all of you and I honestly can’t thank you like a distant dream then, equivalent in my mind to playing enough for everything you’ve done to make this company as professional baseball (my very first dream). I wished to know supportive and consistently amazing as it is. “the big bald guy with the booming, God-like voice”. And you Jessica, you’ve been absolutely incredible this year, and I know, not much has changed. I am still in awe of the HMTC; know next year is going to be one of the best the HMTC has ever except now I have lived a dream-come-true, and I have been had. You’re one of the most talented people I know and you have very fortunate to have gotten to know that “big bald guy” the sickest kitty cat dance probably ever. You are going to do some (Woody, to clarify) very well over the last four years, as well as seriously amazing things with this company. the rest of the theatre faculty. To the HMTC, past and present: To the casts of Hotel Paradiso, the Dance Concert, King Lear, You all are so very talented, and I love each and every one of Damn Yankees, Double Plays & Triple Plays, 42nd Street, Wealth, you more than you can imagine. Here’s to Oliver! And, finally, Add As Friend, Oliver, and the entire Acting Seminar Class—I to the school, with regard to the HMTC: You have something love you guys more than I can say. Thank you for always making remarkable here, something unique, something truly special. rehearsal the place to be. Celebrate it as much as you can. Everyone: Thanks for the ride! In the last episode of the BBC Office, a character realizes Ethan Levine-Weinberg that “Life isn’t about endings, is it? It’s a series of moments.” My HMTC moment might be going through some changes at the end Trying to imagine my life in the future without the Theatre of this year, but I definitely wouldn’t call it an ending. Company and the spectacular people that make it up is bizarre. Trying to imagine the past three years of my life without the Exit Zoë Maltby Theatre Company is impossible. Between my first experience, as a nervous assistant director for the One-Acts, and what is my last, Theatre at Horace Mann has shaped my for acting as a prepubescent boy—I’ve found a home, and maybe my first as well as my own sense of identity. In the theatre I found strong sense of self. The HMTC is actually the best thing that’s creativity, responsibility, contemplation and friendship, and it ever happened to me. And that could not be more corny, but I like all began when I was encouraged to audition for Fiddler on the corny; and it’s true. Roof in the sixth grade. I was hooked, and each year since then To all the faculty, you are incredible, and the mentors theatre at Horace Mann has given me more friends and taught of a lifetime. Hedgehogs, you are the most supportive and me more about myself than I had ever hoped. I want to stress compassionate people I’ve met. I have made the closest friends the importance of a creative, intellectual group process like that of my life here, and I’ve enjoyed feeling a part of something even of putting on a show in a very young person’s life: I would have with those I don’t know well. Thank you all. been quite lost without theatre in middle school, and even before I’ve worked harder, loved harder, and laughed harder than I I came to Horace Mann, participating in plays empowered me knew I could here; and also I’ve lip-synched Portuguese into a for the better. The community that we’ve created is special in cucumber. While I really want to say, “Please, sir, I want some its warm and ambitious nature, but we must make it very clear- more,” I’m going to try and have a bit of grace and say instead— especially to the very young- that we are open to all. Amelia Ross it’s been grand, grand, GRAND. All my love. Sarah Sanders 3 Oliver! CAST CREW Old Sally...... Ambika Acharya Stage Manager...... Sam Zuckerman Charlotte...... Nicole Albstein Deck Manager...... Helen Feldman Noah Claypoole...... Asher Baumrin Assistant Stage Manager...... Ken Zhang Milkmaid...... Katie Birenboim Light Board Operator...... Sam Torres Londoner...... Aly Blue Sound Board Operators...... Sara Nishimura, Mr. Brownlow...... Tucker Caploe Rebecca Segall, Pak Shen Mrs. Bedwin...... Jessica Chi Rigging...... Hannah Mark Charlie Bates...... Dan Froot Follow Spot Operators...... Johnny Robertson, The Artful Dodger...... Eliza Harkins Josh Kwak Bill Sykes...... Antonio Irizarry Props Master...... Jean Mariano Knife Grinder...... Ethan Karetsky Running Crew...... Andrew Sklar, Mr. Bumble, the Beadle...... Mark Levine-Weinberg Brandon Sosa-Lederhouse, Tiffany Wang, ...... Ethan Levine-Weinberg Winta Zaid Mrs. Sowerberry...... Zoë Maltby After School Crew Greg Miller Mr. Sowerberry...... Noah Margulis Nathalie Antoine Sara Nishimura Old Lady...... Anna Meredith Jessica Azerad Aramael Pena-Alcatara Rose Seller...... Maddie Penn Katie Bartel Gabrielle Rivkin Widow Corney...... Amelia Ross Zach Bretton-Granatoor Johnny Robertson Nancy...... Gabby Rubin Asher Baumrin Rebecca Segall Oliver Twist...... Sarah Sanders Cindy Chen Andrew Sklar Bet...... Sofi Selig Lee Ehudin Brandon Sosa- Londoner...... Will Shore Greg Fabry Lederhouse Dr. Grimwig...... Willie Stern Miles Frankel Natasha Stolovitzky- Wilfredo Gomez Brunner Orphans, Pick-Pockets, Londoners...... Helen Feldman Sam Torres Samantha Albstein, Carolyn Applebaum, Maddie Josh Kwak Tiffany Wang Bender, Daniel Brereton, Elliot Bromberg, Jaylah Liana Mack Spencer Whitehead Degout, Philip Deutsch, Alexis Freed, Maxwell Kagan, Jasmine Mariano Ryan Yeh Mahika Kapoor, Caroline Kuritzkes, Andrew Levin, Jean Mariano Winta Zaid Emma Maltby, Izzie Rivera, Dorothy Ruan, James Caroline Marin Kenneth Zhang Savodelli, Marit Shuman Will Marro Sixing Zhao Hannah Mark Sam Zuckerman THE 2010-2011 SEASON Annual Alumni Show: Proof! The Fantasticks October 21-23 June 4-6 In the fourth annual alumni show, former Breaking the Code HMTC members will return to the Black November 11-13 Box to present David Auburn's Proof. When The Grapes of Wrath Catherine's mathematical-genius father passes February 10-12 on, his ex-graduate student Hal comes across Middle Division Play (TBD) a breakthrough proof about prime numbers in March 10-12 his office. Catherine must struggle to prove the Dance Concert proof's authorship while finding herself in a April 28-30 relationship with the younger Hal. Will she find Fifth Annual Alumni Show (TBD) the proof? Join us on June 4, 5 or 6 to find out! June 3-5 4 "Oliver!" Musical Background Ambika Acharya on the background of the novel Oliver Twist and its development In 1838, published his second novel, Oliver Twist, not knowing it would succeed as both a piece of literature and later as a staged drama and musical. His book is about a young orphan named Oliver Twist who originally has a job at a workhouse, but then finds himself amongst a group of pickpockets in the streets of . The novel looks at the lives of pickpockets, using symbolism to portray good and evil throughout the story. Along the way, Oliver meets many different characters of all social classes and personalities, who not only em- body complex and interesting characters, but also help to depict the hardships of society that class discrimination creates. The contrast between Oliver's poverty and the wealth of the wealthy in the novel has to be portrayed through costume, setting and characterization in the drama and musical. Oliver!, the musical based on the novel, was the first of Dickens' stage shows to become a box office hit, hav- ing its maiden showing at the West End theater in London in 1960. This was followed by many more productions including a long run on Broadway starting in 1963, and revivals at the West End in both 1994 and 2009. The musical naturally was transformed in many ways from the original novel, the tone of which was harsh and cynical. The villain in the story, the creepy leader of the pickpocket boys, Fagin, was made into a more comi- cal character to fit the upbeat tone of the musical scene. Many other plot changes were made so that the show could focus more on song and humor than on poverty and rude interactions. This included the obvious addition of 15 original songs by Lionel Bart, such as "Consider Yourself" and "Oom-Pah-Pah." Throughout the years, Oliver Twist has transformed from novel to drama to film to musical and to yet an- other film based on the musical. The plot has changed in many ways and the story has taken many different tones. Nonetheless, the story of a little orphan boy who learns about the poverty and hardships of the world through experiencing it all, still rings true with a wide audience. Background on Lionel Bart by Megan Lu This year’s UD mainstage production, Oliver!, is a stage adaptation of the Dickens novel Oliver Twist. Charles Dickens is a household name hailed around the world for his masterpiece, but Lionel Bart, the British composer who wrote the musical, receives much less mainstream recognition for his creativity. Lionel Bart was born Lionel Begleiter in London’s East End. His family had escaped to London from pogroms in what was then the Austrian Empire. As he grew up, he explored many different callings, only one of which was musical composi- tion. At the age of six, an instructor told his family that he had a natural gift for music, but he chose to apply himself to painting instead. He enrolled in an art school on scholarship and was later expelled for instigating mischief. After his expulsion, he gave up on painting and served in the Royal Air Force. Bart never learned to write or read musical notation, but his pop songwriting gained recognition nevertheless. His tunes became hits for various male pop artists of the 1950s and 1960s, and he was thus introduced into the music scene. He wrote two musicals in the late 1950s before striking it big with Oliver!. Popular from the start, Oliver! marked the peak years of Bart’s career success. It ran for more than 2,600 performances on London’s West End and became the first British musical to successfully transfer over to Broadway, where it ran for almost 800 performances. Eight years later, Oliver! was also released as a movie that won six Oscars. In Bart’s heydey, Oliver! earned Bart 60 pounds a minute. He led a star-studded and fast-paced lifestyle, holding marathon parties and rubbing shoulders with the likes of , the Beatles, and Princess Margaret. He even briefly managed the Rolling Stones. However, two of his later 1960s musicals flopped, and he sold the rights to his work, includingOliver! , in a rash attempt to compensate for the losses. During this period, he used drugs and drank heavily. Later, he estimated that the rash sale probably costed him more than one million pounds. By the early 1970s, Bart’s debt was deep, and he fell into a pattern of substance abuse and depression that spanned two decades. Although he eventually overcame his alcoholism, his health was irreparably damaged. He continued to compose songs, but his last real hit was a 1989 jingle for the bank Abbey International, which featured his singing and piano playing. Simply nothing could match the glory that was—and still is—Oliver! Bart died of cancer in 1999. 5 Spotlight: Gross Theater Suman Gidwani explores the mainstage space. The construction of Gross Theater was a long process, which was completed just over six years ago. Gross Theater has equipment and a size equivalent to that of a professional theater. It has a full rigging system and amazing sound and lighting systems. The theater also has an orchestra pit which can go up and down, providing an apron for the stage. Because it was built with an eye to the future, it should stay current with technology for at least 25 years. The lighting system is a “dimmer per circuit” system, which means that each circuit has its own dimmer. This allows the lighting designers to have a lot of control over the lights and it is much easier for students to learn and use. The big Photo by Megan Lu differences from the old theater are the orchestra pit, the sound system, and the rigging. The old sound system was built by students in 1979 and was falling apart. They could barely hide parts of the set with the old rigging system, but now the theater has a full fly system. The rigging system is a counterweight system, which is used in many Broadway theater houses. Other benefits came with the construction of Gross Theater. Building the new theater provided space for the dance studio, the shop, and the Black Box Theater. The architectural firm presented the faculty with a layout of the downstairs spaces which had large faculty offices. However, Technical Director Joel Sherry designed a layout to make the offices smaller and maximize studio/classroom space to provide larger areas for students to learn.

Winning Victorian Londonby Rachel Buissereth Oliver! is based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, whose novels have become great classics today. He was born in 1812, and spent a lot of his life experiencing the disappointing truths of London life, writing about them, and publishing them in his books such as Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. During his life Dickens also did quite a bit of philanthropy, which included the creation of the Rehabilitation Center for Prostitutes. It can be assumed that he did this to improve the conditions that he grew up in, and make London a better place in the future. The novel Oliver Twist is about a poor young man, Oliver, who escapes from a child labor facility where he is fed very little. After asking for more food Oliver is treated quite badly. He then escapes from his terrible situation and meets a group of pickpocket children, at which point his adventures continue. He encounters greedy men, murderers, and once in a while, a nice person who is willing to help him through his hard times. At the end of the novel Oliver Twist meets a happy fate with a nice man who takes care of him and adopts him. The novel is placed in Victorian London, in a time where child labor, prostitution, and poverty are common sights. In the nineteenth century, children sometimes had to work as chimney sweeps or in coal mines. At the age of 12, Charles Dickens was employed at a blacking factory because his parents were in prison for exceeding amounts of debt. “The great social evil” of prostitution, as it was called then, was beginning to rise. The theme of prostitution began to rise in literature during the late nineteenth century, and it is clearly shown in Charles Dickens' novels. But why would Dickens choose to write about such grim topics? He wrote to reflect the poor lives of young chil- dren (as he once was) in the nineteenth century. Dickens wanted to reveal the dismal forbidding truth of the lives of people in London. For a young boy like Oliver in Victorian London, the only choices he had were to be in a workhouse, a prison, or a premature grave. Using his past and the events of the period for inspiration coupled with a love for writ- ing, Dickens created fifteen fantastic books that we still read and love today. 6 Reviewing the Situation: Cast Accounts Upper Division chance at a life she could never have. It is a magnificent sacrifice and it sends another powerful message about love to the audience. The more I thought about Nancy, Gabby Rubin (12) on the fine, fine life of being Nancy... the more I was captivated by what could be done with I remember staring at Woody Howard’s Godspell the role. Interestingly, a lot of the audition homework cast list in my freshman year and thinking I was I had done for my Dodger audition could be applied to hallucinating: Peggy - GABBY RUBIN. A main role in Nancy. After all, both were taught and influenced by a Horace Mann high school musical. WOW. It was to be the same Mr. Fagin. Needless to say, the day that I an unforgettable journey. The small team of actors that discovered the role was mine was one of the happiest worked on that show became close and remain loyal days of my senior year. to each other to this day. I looked up to many of the When I think back to Peggy in Godspell in my older actors in Godspell because I was a freshman— freshman year and now Nancy in Oliver in my senior nervous, awkward and definitely inexperienced. The year, the two contrasting roles just seem perfect to my older actors were as much my teachers as Woody was. own personal development as a person and as an actor Four years later (after taking a break from musicals in the Horace Mann Theater company. Peggy was a due to personal health and scheduling complications) free spirit who sees only the beauty and innocence in I found out that Oliver! had been selected for 2010. her surroundings. She is nurtured and protected by her Lionel Bart’s unforgettable lyrics raced round and older and wiser Godspell family. In the 9th grade I round my head culminating in a cheeky wink at myself could play that role. Nancy cares about Fagin's boys in the bathroom mirror and the conclusion - ‘I’d do and especially Oliver in a very maternal way. She is anything’ for the part of the Artful Dodger. Dodger strong and street savvy. She puts herself out there and meant everything to me. I ‘considered myself at home’ she is able to make tough choices when she has to. I while working on a book project in London during the like to think that I am ready to play Nancy. 2009 summer break where I met with a family friend named Richie Jones, a London resident. Good old Middle Division Rich taught me all the dodgy tricks of the East London trade: the twitchy confident gait, the tip of the ‘at (hat), Alexis Freed (6) joins the Upper Division for Oliver! the attitude, the rhyming slang. On my return from England I ‘considered myself part of the family.’ Rehearsals in Oliver! have been a blast! The I was Dodger. rehearsals are fun, the people are very friendly, After the first round of auditions (for Oliver and everybody is really warm, and I love it. I wouldn’t Dodger) happened and that cast list went up— I was trade any of it even if I had to. The faculty members not. After scraping myself off the bottom of Fagin’s like Mr. Howard are just great and Mr. Lewis is a greasy frying pan and ‘reviewing the situation’ it really funny guy. Even though the set is 12 feet in seemed like my senior year was a non-starter. the air and I am slightly afraid of heights, it’s just A week or so later Nancy’s song “It’s a Fine Life” wonderful and great. caught my eye in an audition packet. I asked myself questions like “Is she completely senseless?” Nancy is a victim of tragic circumstances. Beneath the tough exterior of this unforgettable survivor is the fragile heart of a young woman who yearns to be loved and who Please bake some glorious food for has a tremendous capacity to give love. “As Long As our bakesales! He Needs Me” expresses this need in such a powerful Bring whatever you bake to way. As long as Nancy can fantasize that Sykes needs Olshan Lobby before the Friday her she will continue to take his abuse. She’s a fool, and Saturday night shows. but we can understand her need. The goodness and We appreciate everything! the innocence in Oliver touches Nancy’s heart to the point that she sacrifices her own life to give Oliver the 7 Designing a Dickensian Universe

Noah Margulis explains the design and thinking behind alumna Lara Fabian's set design Despite the exclamation point in its title, Oliver! is a rather dark piece of musical theatre, and set designer, Lara Fabian ‘02 definitely wanted to convey this. After graduating from Horace Mann, Fabian attended the North Carolina School of the Arts for Set Design. Since then she has been working as a freelance designer in New York. For the Oliver! set, Fabian wanted to both create intimate and encompassing space as well as a space that would reflect the time period of the play. In anything Dickensian, the scenery plays a big role to really convey the time period, the mid-19th century, and the place, usually England. To prepare for the job, Fabian read the script and did a lot of period research. She then discussed with director Woody Howard, choreographer Alison Kolinski, and technical director Joel Sherry what they wanted for the set and what the school’s stage crew was capable of build- ing. She sketched and created a white model, (shown on the cover of this Thespian) which the cast and crew have referred to often while rehearsing the show. The set is basically a series of stairs and platforms that work in a U-shape. One of the most interesting and chal- lenging pieces of the design is a ramp that goes out over the audience, and past the orchestra pit. It wraps around the whole stage and makes the orchestra pit more like a hole in a giant stage. The ramp acts as a path for Oliver to travel from place to place throughout the show. It also acts as a place beyond the stage for intimate scenes to play out. The stairs and platforms vary in size and shape but they all terminate at a 12-foot high bridge center stage. The set overall is very skeletal and open, with corners and crevices to reflect the dark and dingy world of London and the surprises, thievery, and captures in Oliver! Also reflecting this are the colors and materials used for the set namely metal, wood, grays, browns, and blacks. Other additions to the set such as coffins, a brick wall, and a spar- kling white wall help to create the contrasts of world’s in Oliver’s life as well as to illustrate the different settings. Crew Account: Sam Torres Every Tuesday and Thursday, a group of mysterious individuals makes the long journey into a vast room below Gross Theater, the Scene Shop. In the Shop, they engage in one of the best curricular activities at our school: creat- ing set pieces for the Theatre Department’s various productions throughout the year. The spring musical this year, Oliver!, has a truly fantastic and truly huge set. Recently, crew assembled many small staircases and platforms, handrails, and landings for the set. As it was being assembled, it was as if everyone on crew was working on a huge puzzle and it was our job to put all the pieces together exactly as they belong. It was very exciting. You will be challenged if you join stage crew. Common challenges you could encounter are how to return a broom to its home on the wall if you can’t reach it, or how to get a fourteen foot-long piece of lumber from the loading dock to the shop, since it won’t fit in the elevator. It is through challenges like these you will increase your physical strength, teamwork skills, and creative thinking. Returning the broom allows you to work on your confidence when speaking to others by requiring you to ask someone taller than you to return the broom. As for moving lumber to the shop, you’ll have to join crew if you want to find out (it involves being a teleporting ninja, a skill which you will also learn on crew). Another great reason to join stage crew is getting a show job. Having a show job means you work and help run the actual performance. Operating the light or sound boards, being on the running crew, rigging, and stage manag- ing are just a few examples of show jobs. Lightboard and soundboard operators run the lights and sound during the show. The running crew is responsible for moving set pieces on and off the stage during the show, and the rigging team is responsible for flying things, such as curtains or other things brought down from above the stage, into the scenery on the stage. The stage manager is the most important person during the show; he or she not only tells the production crew (anyone with a show job) when to make a change, the stage manager also tells the actors when to get ready. Being involved in the actual performance of a show is one of the most exciting aspects of crew. Hav- ing a show job means you need to be alert and ready to move when you are told, but it’s also great fun and a very memorable experience. 8 Interview with Woody Dan Froot (10) talks to Oliver! director Woody Howard

Dan Froot: How did you decide to put on Oliver? play the next year, and at some juncture we tried to do Woody Howard: We were looking for a large cast, non- a musical and a straight play every year for the Middle dance musical because we just did 42nd Street, which Division as well as for the Upper School. Unfortunately, was an enormous dance musical, and we were also we haven’t had great numbers of kids in recent years, thinking it might be time to do a collaboration between the last three or four years, try out for Middle Division Middle School students and Upper School students, and shows—so out of a pool of 450 kids you might get 30 so we went with this show because it involved the largest kids who try out, and sometimes it has been very hard number of kids we could think of. We also thought of for us to cast a show. So, this year we’d already done The Music Man, and The King and I and a few others, a straight play, the Grimm Brothers’ Spectaculathon, and this seemed to be the most practical one. It is also and that was fine, and we thought thatOliver! might be a very popular musical that we had never done here, so an extra draw for the kids because they knew that they that was basically it. would be on the main stage with the Upper School kids and that that would be exciting for them. Indeed it was; DF: How did you decide to cast certain female actresses we had a nice turnout; we didn’t take every kid who as principle male roles in this production of Oliver? auditioned, but at least most of them. And it turns out WH: Most of the time I don’t feel comfortable, espe- that they all stuck. The sixteen that we cast said “Yes, cially in musicals, crossing over the sexes. In musicals I’ll take whatever part you have given me, even though you have to have baritones, basses, tenors, altos and it’s essentially chorus,” and they’ve been great. They sopranos, but in a show where you have children, you have shown a lot of discipline, they are off-book, they either have treble voices, which are children’s voices that work as a unit, they’ve been pretty well behaved, and haven’t changed or, conceivably, you could use a female I’m very happy with this collaboration. It’s been much voice, a soprano, or even a mezzo-soprano voice, in the more successful than I feared; I feared that we’d have a same way that it’s written in the music for a little kid. lot of disciplinary problems and just sort of noise, and You can’t have a bass or a baritone singing that part, but general lack of concentration, and they are really most it’s basically the same range in a woman that it would be of the time as focused, or better focused, than the Upper in a child. So we had hoped that we would have chil- Division. dren playing Oliver and the Artful Dodger. They would emerge from the middle school auditions and be cast, but DF: Much preparation and many rehearsals go into put- it didn’t turn out that way. At the time of the auditions, ting on a musical, and of the three trimesters in which we let it be known to the high school kids, “If you think shows are performed, the third trimester allows the least you want to audition for one of those parts, then show amount of time in order to prepare the musical. How up for the middle school auditions, and we’ll get that do you, as a director, prepare a musical in such a short settled.” And so the women who ended up playing the amount of time? Artful Dodger and Oliver did come to the auditions, and WH: Well, you are dependent on your collaborators. they just won the parts because the little guys are good, Having Alison Kolinski there at most of the rehears- and they’re really a wonderful part of our cast—they’re als helping me when I try something and it works, and very together—but there was no solo vocal quality that she says, “It looks good, but we need to fiddle with this really could have carried it. It seems to be working out part”—that is a terrific help, or if she says, “Ooh, ooh alright. I don’t think that’s going to work.”And she has a bet- ter idea that is happening right there in the moment, so DF: How did you decide to include the Middle Division having her involved is immensely helpful. Having Darin in an Upper Division show and how is it working out? Lewis being so on top of the music and being so confi- WH: Well, we’ve been trying various experiments with dent about being able to pull the orchestra together in a the Middle School, as to what sort of a performance or few rehearsals at the end, that’s helpful. theatre program to provide for them. For a long time we had a tradition of doing a musical one year and a straight Continued on page 11 9 Who Will Buy This Wonderful Rehearsal? by Jessica Chi (11)

3:05 – The Middle Division cast members promptly and silently arrive in Gross Theater for rehearsal. 3:15 – Rehearsal officially begins. The entire Upper Division cast is officially late. 3:30 – The Upper Division cast members slowly start to trickle into Gross. They obnoxiously scream, com- plain about tests, and do impressions of Miranda Sings as they arrive. 3:40 – Time for UD/MD introductions! Most of the high schoolers have trouble remembering the middle schoolers’ names; however, everyone knows who Emma Maltby is. She’s famous around here. 3:41 – Caroline Kuritzkes’ and Carolyn Appelbaum’s first names prove to be the most mixed up by the whole UD cast. 3:42 – Remember, “Marit” rhymes with “carrot”! 3:43 – Jaylah DeGout wins the company award for having the coolest last name ever. 3:45 – Now we’re onto throwing a basketball back and forth to each other to make sure we each have re- membered absolutely everyone else’s name. For some weird, unknown reason, the entire UD cast seems to remember only the names of Andrew Levin, Elliot Bromberg, and Philip Deutsch from the Middle Division. 3:50 – Alison Kolinski starts teaching the choreography for today’s musical number. 3:52 – All of the choreography in this entire act of the show has been taught. 4:00 – Mark Levine-Weinberg and Amelia Ross grab Sarah Sanders by her ears. 4:03 – Aly Blue utilizes her stage managerial yelling skillz to tell all the people waiting in the house to stop talking. 4:05 – Tucker Caploe and Jessica Chi are obsessed with Danny Brereton. They stalk him. 4:10 – Nicole Albstein and Asher Baumrin? WHAAAAAAATTTT?!?!?! 4:15 – Noah Margulis critiques every cast member’s outfit. He does NOT like sequins or Birkenstocks and will call you out for wearing them. 4:20 – Sarah jumps on top of and starts punching Asher. Gabby Rubin cheers and looks genuinely delighted. 4:25 – Samantha Albstein, Madeline Bender, Elizabeth Rivera, and Elliot Bromberg run around picking people’s pockets. We’re all about a safe and secure environment. 4:30 – Ethan Karetsky becomes Tina-Tina Chaneuse. “Hiiiiiiiii-lo!” 4:35 – Eliza Harkins tries to give the entire cast a lesson about British accents. “The reason I have to do this,” she reassures the cast, “is that, frankly, your accents are BAD.” 4:40 – SBP-elect Willie Stern violently commands everyone to shut up, then proceeds to talk about March Madness with Maddie Penn and Sofi Selig. 4:45 – Zoe stuffs Sarah into a coffin. 4:50 – Awww, Anna Meredith and Maxwell Kagan are dancing together! HOW CUTE!!! 4:55 – Dorothy Ruan is really adorable. 4:57 – Ethan Levine-Weinberg’s beard is beginning to rival Gandalf’s. Does he store things in there? 5:05 – Will Shore and Danny shove Sarah onto the ground. 5:10 – Waiting quietly in the wings, Ambika Acharya solidifies her place as the most mature and best-be- haved cast member as Dan Froot suddenly breaks into a completely unprovoked fit of hysterical laughter. 5:15 – James Savoldelli is the man. 5:20 – Zoe Maltby plays a prostitute. She tries to seduce Sarah. This does not work. 5:30 – Antonio Irizarry takes his clothes off. (We have yet to get to his entrance. Ever.) 5:35 – Katie Birenboim has trouble comprehending the meaning of her lyrics in “Who Will Buy” – “Milk? Huuuuhhhhh?!” 5:43 – Antonio strangles Gabby. 5:45 – Rehearsal is over.

Consider Yourself Invited to Oliver! April 22nd, 23rd, and 24th 10 Dance Workshop Review Relax Those Dancing Feet... by Yasmin Rawlins Jordan Kolinski and Yasmin Rawlins, Dance Film Club Presidents, recommend their favorite On March 16, Alee Jackimowicz, who graduated last spring, dance-related films: came back to her alma mater to teach a modern/lyrical dance workshop. Dance workshops, which are typically offered multiple 10) —Worth watching just for times during a trimester, provide dance students with a chance the opening number- ONE! to fulfill their class requirement; additionally, they provide any 9) Strictly Ballroom— It's really funny and has student with the opportunity to experience a variety of dance styles some great ballroom dancing scenes!! completely free of charge. As dancer Carla Thé explains, “I don’t 8) Step Up— A recent movie that beautifully normally go to any modern classes, so it was definitely a breath of combines a love story and some really great fresh air.” Jackimowicz’s hour and forty-five minute class consisted dancing- both hip-hop and ballet!! of a modern warm-up and then contact improv exercises, done to 7) The Red Shoes— Features some beatutiful music by such artists as Norah Jones and Michael Jackson. Lastly, dancing and a complex plot, and is referenced the class learned parts of a dance choreographed by Jackimowicz in a lot of other famous dance movies!! herself without music. The class only contained four students, an 6) Save the Last Dance— Again, two atypically small number for such dance workshops, but there were drastically different styles from two drastically many advantages to the small class size. As Thé described, it was different people- and we love it!! “intimate, more personalized. Each of our techniques could be 5) Dirty Dancing—One of those classic must- improved personally and exercises went by more quickly so we see dance movies and the first film we showed could do more of them.” Thé said it was “great to be taught by in Dance Film Club!! someone who has experience,” such as Jackimowicz who currently 4) Center Stage—A wonderful look at the lives attends the California Institute of the Arts and has a background of dancers beyond the stage!! in such styles as Irish Step Dancing and Ballet. Having graduated 3) West Side Story—An absolute treat, with only last year, Thé had known Jackimowicz as a student at Horace amazing dancing, singing, romance, and Mann and not only danced with her at school, but also talked with conflict, definitely a favorite!! her about their dance experiences. In speaking of being taught 2) The Nutcraker— A ballet enjoyable for by someone so close to her age, Thé also mentioned how it was people of all ages!! beneficial to be taught by someone whom she had known. It was 1) Top Hat— I think this is the movie that first “really cool,” and all-in-all, Jackimowicz’s class was a “very officially sparked my love for dance movies in interesting” experience, she said. Dance History Class during our Fred Astaire/ Ginger Rodgers unit. Thanks Mr. Timkó!!

HMTC Officer Trivia- the sequel 1. Maia Salholz-Hillel was born in Paris and speaks fluent French. 2. Anna Meredith will be going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival (Utah Shakes!) this summer. Zoe could not be prouder. 3. Sarah Sanders has been playing the violin since she was six. 4. Ethan Levine-Weinberg (ELW) knows everything about the Yankees. 5. Amelia Ross has a perfume named after her. 6. J-Chi has a thing for "Phantom of the Opera" actor Howard McGillen. 11 Summertime, When the Living is Intense: II

Antonio Irizarry gives a sneak peek at what to expect from the second annual theatre intensive. After all classes come to an end, just days after final exams, Gross Theater will keep its lights on for a two-week Summer Theater Intensive aimed to sharpen the acting skills of Horace Mann students. The demanding theatre sessions are offered at the school July 14 – 25 and employ a faculty of experienced teachers of theater, playwrighting, voice, and more. The typical day in the acting intensive is comprised of a physical and vocal warm up which is followed by work- shops. The first, lasting an hour and thirty minutes, the second, three hours, with a one-hour time slot in between for lunch. The workshops are comprised of a variety of acting exercises and group work. Although a somewhat rigorous program, the workshops are offered to students of any skill level. “I walked into the theater each day, apprehensive and yet excited to see what would ensue, and there was not one day that ceased to surprise and enthrall me,” said Tucker Caploe, who attended the Intensive last summer. “For ten days, I recognized a new dimension in my performance capacity that came right out of the HM Theatre Intensive.” The program is led by Susan Ryan from New York University’s Playwrights Horizon Theatre School and shares the teaching with her colleagues from the Atlantic Theater Company, Francine Zerfas and Aole Miller. Together this team of actors facilitates serious instruction for students serious about expanding their acting abilities. The program requires a strong physical and emotional commitment. The time and effort, however, does not seem to be in vain. Caploe also cites the intensive for “more freedom in my performance.” This summer’s course begins two weeks after the end of school and will hopefully leave the same impression on this year’s students as it did last year’s. For more information about the Summer Theatre Intensive, please contact Jonathan Nye at jonathan_nye@horace- mann.org.

Interview with Woody Continued from page 8

Having Karl [Mansfield], who is our accompanist, being there, to telling that story. So that’s really it, it’s just trying able to be there and just pick up on a moment’s notice, and as hard as you can to get everybody to invest himself or repeat and find things, and coach singers a little bit helps a herself in the show to the extent that my collaborators and I lot. So it’s all that collaborative stuff, having people who are invested. are helping me. From my own point of view, a lot of it has to do with having done a lot of musicals. I try to not repeat DF: Isaac Brooks, a Middle Division teacher of History myself constantly with the same kind of blocking or musi- and English, is involved in this performance. How would cal staging for every number, in every show that I do every you describe his role? year, but I have to admit that there are certain musical WH: It is a very interesting experiment for us. He of- theatre conventions that probably do show up in my direct- fered his services, and he, of course, is the father of Phoebe ing repeatedly. I don’t think it’s obvious to the audience all Brooks who graduated last year and was the president of the time. I know I have a style, and I’m comfortable with the Theatre Company and who is going on in theatre. He it, and it tends to be a style that works very quickly. For and his wife see more theatre than anybody I know; they example you can’t do that with a heavy-duty dance musi- just are in the theatre practically every night of the week it cal; they have to have months of rehearsal. With a musical seems,—it’s wonderful. So he’s very savvy about theatre. like this that doesn’t have a lot of dancing, if the kids can He’s also very interested in history and cultural history. So learn the music and they can learn their lines, then what he offered his services as a support for the students of the I’m giving them is basically somewhat elaborate blocking, Middle Division, but also of the production. Basically it and some "bits," as it were. If they can learn that, and if is the first time we have had somebody who is what they they’ll do it with discipline, then we can do it quickly. You call a dramaturge. There is a common function of the just have to sort of trust me, that it will sell, and the audi- dramaturge in a lot of European theatre, and it has become ence will like it, and they’ll be interested in the story. It’s increasingly popular in the United States in the last 25 just trying to convince the cast to tell the story as vividly years, which is to give you all of the contextual informa- as possible, and then I’m trying to give them aids to get tion around a production. 12 The Hmtc proudly presents... The crossword!

Puzzle by Finn Vigeland Down Across 1 Sofi Selig’s character 1 Tucker Caploe’s character 2 Famous song from 10-Down 3 BROOKS 4 Ethan Levine-Weinberg’s character 8 Space for an actor to put on their costume 5 Current Broadway show with Alice Ripley 11 Show with the character Finn Hudson 6 Presentation of an artform 13 Paragraph in a Playbill… or a course at HM 7 —— Bart, creator of 10-Down 14 This year's alumni show 9 There is one in Gross Theater and another in the Recital Hall 15 Author of the source for 10-Down 10 The HMTC’s spring musical, opening April 22! 17 Number of 16-Down 12 “Love, ——, and What I Wore” (Nora Ephron play) 18 A-listers 13 Beasts that occupied the couch in the Student Publications room 20 Eliza Harkins’ character until December 21 10-Down wants some —— 15 … just cats 24 Old film studio 16 People on a jury, in a March HMTC staged reading 26 Part of 10-Down’s iconic request 18 The Horace Mann Theatre —— 29 Section in The Record that is also edited by the senior 19 Article in French editor of the Thespian 22 With “The,” HMTC’s fall show next year 31 The —— Show (annual HMTC offering in June) 23 A popular crustacean from 24-Down 32 —— trimester (now) 24 Woody’s home state 34 Last name of Noah Margulis’s and Zoe Maltby’s 25 “As Long as He Needs ——” characters 27 —— Sanders, who plays 10-Down and has edited this publication 35 Amelia Ross’ character for two years! 36 The art of being in the theater industry 28 Bill ——, SNL veteran and Zoë Maltby’s future husband 37 Mark Levine-Weinberg’s character 30 Gabby Rubin’s character 38 —— Salholz-Hillel, junior editor of this publication 33 Destination of the HMTC spring break trip in 2011 34 Antonio Irizarry’s character