Friday, October 28, 2016

The League of Friendship on stage and off

Jen Abele
Staff Writer

 “Always a Bridesmaid” is about four friends making a vow at their senior prom to attend each other’s weddings as bridesmaids. They kept their tight woven promise for over 30 years by being their bridesmaids at all of their weddings. Deedra must figure out what to wear to Monette’s third wedding after being robbed. She must also decide whether she’ll remarry her cheating ex husband or her fiancĂ©. Charlie has to decide whether or not to marry Fletcher the exterminator. Sedalia continues to persuade and fight with the bride to prevent her from becoming a runaway bride.
  Libby Ruth has the typical healthy marriage with a big heart who is played by Anne Chapin, Charlie the environmental rainbow played by Fiona Male, Monette the flashy vivacious spirit played by Marissa Miller, Deedra the stubborn headstrong personality that discovers her husband’s cheating ways played by Shaelyn Parker, Kari the sweet and loving daughter of Libby Ruth played by Flo Minniti, and Sedalia the crazy humorous wedding planner who hasn’t had a single bride leave with cold feet played by Grace Zander.   
 The production of “Always a Bridesmaid” was directed by Katie Yandle,  a senior who has been in five Mask and Zany Productions. Anne Chapin, who  is also senior who has been in five Mask and Zany productions, and continues to shine through her spotlight. Fiona Male is a senior who has had the honor to become president of the Mask and Zany club. Flo Minniti is a senior who has been in seven Mask and Zany productions. Marissa Miller is a senior who has been in six Mask and Zany productions, and dreams of continuing her theater career in the future. Shaelyn Parks is a senior who has had the honor to become the Vice President of Mask and Zany.Grace Zander is a junior who just joined Mask and Zany this year.   
 The stage crew has also brought “Always a Bridesmaid” to life behind the scenes.The lighting design was by Morgan M. Manfredi, technical director was by Ed Young, Light board operator was Michael Howell, volunteer coordinator was Ginny Brennan, Videography was by Mr. and Mrs. Giorgi, Photography was by Amy Parker, Marketing was by Jackie Searle, Video Advertising was by Bernie Del Prado, Snack stand was by Ginny Brennan, and Marquee board was by Katie Yandle. As well as the running crew listed as follows; Sam Renson, Quinn Kirlew, Sophia Borzilleri, Quinn Reinert, Charlotte Bramich, Emily Walton, Christina Hochberger, Will Renson, Justine Schauble, Ben Dupont, and Kaylee Lynch. Katie Yandle and Lola Dardzinski were in charge of costumes, and Katie was also in charge of set design. Carol Yandle, Tali Natan, and Sophia Carroll also created art. The sound board operators were McAfee Madding, Henry Chouteau, and  Russell Mercatanti.
 Mask and Zany welcomes Bernie Del Prado into Mask and Zany. Mask and Zany also recognizes the seniors; Amanda Hipple, Quinn Kirlew, Fiona Male, Anne Chapin, Katie Yandle, Marissa Miller, Flo Minniti, Shaelyn Parker, Tali Natan, and Samantha Renson. Break a leg!  

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Celebrating the 20th Season of South Park

Nathan Newman & Lear Asplundh
Staff Writers

With a new fall season upon us comes yet another new season of South Park. For years, Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been churning out episodes of the comedy. South Park is a satirical comedy that has been commended for its ability to add perspective to the latest current events every week. In this way, the show is extremely unique. The 20th season of the show debuted on Sept. 14, and has covered many controversial topics such as Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem and the 2016 presidential election.
 One reason why Stone and Parker are so successful at creating such contemporary shows is the process by which they make it. Episodes premiere every Wednesday night at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central; however, each show isn’t sent to the network until four hours prior to air. The entire show is written, recorded, and animated in six days. Stone and Parker usually spend about two days writing the show, while the animators begin to create the basic storyboard. Then the voice acting is recorded, and the show comes together as a whole.

 The South Park series was not just a successful television show. The South Park movie was a turning point for their franchise. With over $83 million worldwide box office growth is impressive especially for an animated film. A fun fact of the movie is it has the most cursing for an animated film totaling 399 words. This film was the highest grossing animated film with an R rating until Sausage Party outgrossed it in 2016. The movie was a success receiving a rating of 81% by Rotten Tomatoes. Another fun fact, in the movie, is that it is the first time Kenny is seen without his hood on. South Park also created a videogame called “The Stick Of Truth,” which came out in 2014. It earned a success rating of 10 out of 10 by Steam. The “Stick of Truth” has sold more than 1.6 million copies since 2014.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Kanye finishes set early due to family emergency

Liz Donahue
Staff Writer

The first ever Meadows music festival, created by the founders of the popular festival Governor's Ball, took place on Oct. 1 and 2 at Citifield in Queens, New York. Kanye West, The Weeknd, The 1975, Chance the Rapper, J. Cole, Cage the Elephant and more were all set to perform, however The Weeknd cancelled due to a scheduling conflict and performed on Saturday Night Live on October 1.
 Kanye’s set was scheduled to be the last for the night, creating anticipation for the crowd. People waited in hour-long lines both days of the festival to get his merchandise and waited for multiple hours in the crowd to get a good spot. Sunday night, West was performing when he got news about an emergency involving his wife Kim Kardashian. West was a little less than an hour into his set while performing his song ‘Heartless’ when he stopped and said: “I'm sorry. There's a family emergency. I have to stop the show.”
 Fans and other festival goers were confused, but not long after, the news of Kim Kardashian’s robbery at gunpoint was released to the public.
 The Entertainment stated: "Due to a family emergency, Kanye West was forced to end his performance towards the end of his set. We appreciate the great show he put on for fans to close out the inaugural Meadows Festival. Our thoughts are with West and his family."

 Despite Kanye’s early departure, fans still enjoyed the festival. However, no refunds are being given due to the shortened show. The festival is set to happen for its second year in 2017.