Welcome back to Narnia, y’all!
A Semester of Theatre Ends with a Bang
December 26th, 2011 by Emily Salshutz and Tim CronerThe fall semester is over but, theater-wise, at least, it went out with a bang. The final two installments in the Philaletheis fall line-up premiered earlier this month, impressing audiences with the amount of hard work and talent behind each production.
Loose Knit (December 2-4 in the Mug)
Iris Kohler ‘13’s production of Loose Knit was seen in Matthew’s Mug December 2-4. Theresa Rebeck’s play focuses on a group of five women living in Manhattan, who use their weekly knitting club as an outlet for all of life’s frustrations. Things grow complicated, however, when a mysterious man named Miles enters the mix, taking several of the women out on a series of rather peculiar dates.
Equal parts humorous and provocative, Kohler’s Loose Knit raised some interesting questions about sexual politics and how we navigate all types of relationships. The cast navigated these tricky themes with ease; standouts included Molly Senack ’14 as Gina, the laid-off lawyer in a knitting frenzy, and the production’s two men, Caleb Northrop ’14 as Bob and Alec Seymour ’14 as Miles.
Loose Knit was a refreshing entry in this fall’s theater scene. Directed with great honesty, the play left audiences not only with a realistic look into the lives of New York City friendships, but also with a number of questions to ponder as they walked out of the Mug.
Alice in Wonderland (December 8-10 in the Shiva)
The final show in the Susan Stein Shiva Theatre for the semester was Alice in Wonderland, directed by Julia Anrather ’13. This exciting, experimental take on the classic tale truly transformed the Shiva, inviting audiences to enter the theatre through a tiny door and enjoy the performance while sitting on a variety of blankets, mattresses, stools, chairs, or couches.
Originally developed by the Manhattan Project under the direction of Andre Gregory, this production boasted an ensemble that included Joe Capotorto ’15, Sarah Lazarus ’13, Penny Luksic ’15, Michael Moore ’14, Al-Donn Riddick ‘15, and Jack Smart ’12 performing a number of roles throughout the tale. The talent of these performers was matched every step of the way by the production’s design; one of its most exciting aspects was the live sounds produced throughout the performance.
As the final show for Philaletheis this semester, Alice in Wonderland succeeded on all levels. Not only was the cast clearly enjoying itself throughout the entire performance, but the high levels of collaboration evident in this project made it an entertaining, touching, and rewarding experience for all audience members who took the journey down the rabbit hole (or, rather, into the Shiva) earlier this December.
Video Games, Music, and Nostalgia
December 15th, 2011 by Jillian ScharrAt the last meeting of my Media Studies senior seminar last week, the class talked about songs that evoked a sense of nostalgia. We played the songs on our laptops via YouTube and talked about the memories attached to the music, and as we discussed the links between memory and music, I began to think of video game music.
Follow up from Cornel West conversation
December 6th, 2011 by naomidannIn the wake of the profound words of Dr. Cornel West in the Vassar Chapel last Wednesday, a discussion dinner will be held on the evening of Tuesday, December 6th, at 6:30 in the Faculty Parlor. All are invited to join in a discussion of issues of class privilege, financial transparency, working conditions and work practices here at Vassar. This event is organized by John Joyce of the Vassar Association of Class Activists (VACA) and the person responsible for initiating conversations with Cornel West. This promises to be a poignant follow up to Dr. West’s lecture. The dinner will create a space for students to engage in a discussion of socioeconomic class issues at Vassar. Says student leader John Joyce, “Our hope is that students will be excited and ready to confront some of problems raised, and that we can begin to develop more consistent and steady critiques of Vassar as an institution.” It is the hope of VACA and others that this discussion and those that may follow will lead to productive action and change at Vassar.Discussion Dinner POSTER INFORMATION
***Location has been changed to Faculty Commons!
Holding a Mirror Up to Life—and Death
November 30th, 2011 by Jillian ScharrIn my last post I talked about the discussion that gamers and developers hate the second-most (first-most being the narratoloty vs ludology debate): are games art? This week, I want to move past that question (or rather run past, my arms flung protectively over my head) and dive right into an analysis of the game Shadow of the Colossus (Team Ico, 2005). Caution: spoilers lie beyond this point!
“The purpose of playing… is, to hold as ’twere the mirror up to nature,” said William Shakespeare in Hamlet Act 3 Sc. 2, and though he was talking about theater, the quote holds for video games as well. The great thing about both mirrors and video games is that when they’re not being used, they’re useless. Their existence depends on something to reflect, to play, to game. They both leave gaps for others to fill. Because, really, if we wanted to see a static image, we’d look at a painting, not a mirror, and if we wanted to experience a static narrative, we’d watch a movie, not play a video game. The beauty of interactive media like mirrors and games is in their blank spaces.
Shadow of the Colossus is a game that excels at leaving blank spaces. Certainly, it provides a framework: the introduction is of a young man with a large bundle clutched in his hands, riding a horse through precarious, rocky terrain.
Only after we have traveled with him through lonely wilderness for several moments does the intrigue actually begin: the young man, aptly named Wander, has arrived at a desolate valley, wherein, in an ancient castle, lives a powerful being named Dormin. Wander reveals the contents of his bundle to Dormin: the dead body of a pale young woman. Her name is Mono, and Wander wants to know how to bring her back to life. Dormin offers you a deal: if you defeat the sixteen ‘colossi’ that live in the valley, Dormin will save her. “But the price you pay may be heavy indeed,” Dormin warns. “It doesn’t matter,” responds Wander.
With that, the cutscening ends and the gameplay begins: go kill the colossi. Sounds simple. But then you find the first one, and when I saw that its fist was bigger than Wander’s whole body, I was more than a little freaked out.
This is the game’s first gap. You, the player, have to weigh your options. First, the story of a fierce young man traveling far into the wilderness to save his love is a pretty compelling trope. But let’s be real–we’re playing a video game! After that first thrill of fear at the colossus’s Wander-sized fists, we want to know if we can really kill it. Let’s try! So you run up to the giant, you leap onto its ankle, and you start to climb.
The game offers little commentary as you proceed to face and defeat the other fifteen colossi. It allows you to react to its emotional cues: Mono’s body lying quietly in the deserted castle, the sparse loneliness of the wide grey valley you travel, the colossi’s shuffling attempts to escape your pricking sword, the mournful music that plays when they finally fall, and most jarring of all, the toll your battles take on Wander’s body. The game doesn’t tell you what to make of this. Instead, in these spaces, you start to question Wander’s actions as the protagonist and your own actions as the player. For me, the game is about death. Will you kill to save another? How far will you go, and how much will you sacrifice? What value do you place on your own life, on your lover’s, on your faithful horse’s, on the colossi you kill, on the priests who are racing to stop you?
To understand Shadow of the Colossus‘s attitude toward survival and killing, I turn to the game’s predecessor and ‘spiritual sequel,’ Ico (Team Ico, 2001). In this game, you play a little boy left to die in a (possibly familiar-looking) deserted castle. Together he and a strange, mute girl must escape the castle. Again, the game’s narrative revolves around an opening cutscene that frames the action, and then gives control entirely over to the player. This game, too, is about the will to survive: you have no other objective than to get the little boy on the screen safely out of the castle. But the terms of survival couldn’t be more different. In Shadow of the Colossus, you are on the offense, and the game asks you how far you are willing to press your attack. In Ico, you are on the defense, but the game asks you if you are willing to put yourself in danger for others, too.
To illustrate this, let me describe what was, for me, the most poignant part of Ico. You, as the little boy, have finally succeeded at opening the castle gate by which you can escape over the bridge, with the help of a mysterious, mute girl. After triggering that last switch, as the gate rumbles open, you grab her hand and the two of you run through the gate to the bridge. But, halfway across–well, actually, here’s the video. Skip to about halfway through to see the moment I’m talking about:
A gamer would recognize the moment that the black frame disappears from the top and bottom of the screen as the moment when the player is back in control. And, like the player who made this video, as soon as the cutscene ended without thinking I leaped back for the girl. Then, watching my little boy dangling over the chasm like that, I was shocked at what I had so instinctively done. Freedom was there! The outside world lay beyond! And yet I leaped for her. The game in which I was so invested had left a gap for me to fill, and I poured myself seamlessly into it.
This is why I would argue that Shadow of the Colossus and Ico both ask their players what they would do in the face of death, both their own and their friends’. The games’ narratives influence our decisions (seeing Wander’s ‘I-will-kill-you-or-die-trying’ face, for example, always inspired me to keep getting up every time a mountain-sized monster knocked me down), but in the end, we must deal with not only the in-game consequences of our choices, but the real-world feelings and reactions that come of them. If art, then, is that which “holds a mirror up to nature,” then Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are art.
The Call of Duty series, now, is another matter entirely…
FWA Presents: She Loves Me, Directed by Amy Corenswet ’13
November 25th, 2011 by Emily Salshutz and Tim Croner
Sam Ballard ’13 and Rachel Zweig ’14 in "She Loves Me"
The Shiva Theater was transformed into a European perfumery this past weekend for FWA’s first musical of the semester, She Loves Me directed by Amy Corenswet ’13. With an energetic ensemble, lead by Sam Ballard ’13 and Rachel Zweig ’14, She Loves Me tells the feel good tale of two clerks whom have fallen in love with their anonymous pen pals. Through a series of hilarious insights they soon find out that they are actually each other’s “Dear Friends”. In a world obsessed with dating and matchmaking culture, She Loves Me is almost a precursor.
Corenswet, who has experience in many different aspects of theater production, chose this show for a variety of reasons, “I picked She Loves Me because it has a wonderful combination of strong plot and great music. It’s also a classic show (it opened on Broadway in 1963) which is my preference for musicals but something that FWA and Vassar rarely tackles. I think it’s important to have a balance of shows that tackle difficult issues and shows like She Loves Me that are about celebrating love and humor”.
The show appeals to the classic theater lover but presents characters with a slight edge as well: The boss is not as tough as he appears, Amalia stands up for what she wants, and Georg is truly a hopeless romantic despite his calm and collected air. The musical is supported through its sharp wit and clever remarks, including the amusing performances of Jordan Miller ’13 and Liz McLean ’13 who showed both vocal strength and comedic timing. The show thrived from the energy that the entire ensemble, dressed brightly and in spirit of the time period, put into their performances.
She Loves Me is a large production that illuminates the power of collaboration, “Get involved in any little place you can, whether it’s managing props or doing run crew or assistant tech designing, “ says Corenswet, “Every little bit counts, and a lot of tech position can be great learning opportunities with little to no experience required. I had a great production team made up of very knowledgeable people and the support of an amazing stage manager Sarah Backal-Balik, assistant stage manager, Dylan Bolduc, musical director, Reeve Johnson, and accompanist David Piwarski who were with me every step of the way”.
With numerous productions produced by students each semester, She Loves Me is one of many that shows the talent and creativity of Vassar students. Check out the pictures below from the production for more coverage.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.A Dramatic and Emotional Turn: Phil Presents “Yellow Ribbon Oaks”
November 25th, 2011 by Emily Salshutz and Tim Croner
Derek Butterton ’15 and Ethan Slater ’14 in Yellow Ribbon Oaks
Students who found themselves in the Kenyon Club Room this past weekend were witness to the world premiere of Yellow Ribbon Oaks, a new one-act written by Andrew Massey ’12.
The play, presented by the Philaletheis Society, tells the story of Molly and Thomas, a young married couple, and how they must cope with some difficult situations while Thomas is away at war. Olivia McGiff ’14 and Ethan Slater ’14 starred as the young couple, with Derek Butterton ’15 and Isabel Madley ’13 rounding out the four-person cast.
Though it only runs 45 minutes, Yellow Ribbon Oaks is thrilling: a strikingly raw look at the effects of war and the power of human emotion. The entire ensemble threw themselves into their roles without abandon—especially McGiff, who’s Molly was equal parts captivating and devastating, and Butterton, who beautifully performed both of his (rather divergent) roles.
Director Elana Fruchtman ’14 has crafted a solid production, especially when it comes to the show’s chilling conclusion. Additionally, playwright Massey’s smart lighting design heavily contributed to the mood of the performance.
Contrasting from last week’s performance of Barefoot in the Park, Yellow Ribbon Oaks was a smart follow up, as it served as a reminder of the diversity of theatre available on this campus.
Check out some pictures from the show below!
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