Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]The lights dim in the theater, the curtains open, and audience members’ gazes turn to the actress standing on the stage. For Meghan O’Shaughnessy, a 16-year-old junior at Orange, this is her dream. The rush she gets from performing live in front of an audience first attracted her when she was a child, and she still enjoys it today.
O’Shaughnessy has been involved in theatre since she was eight or nine years old. She acted in elementary school plays at Pathways, playing Wendy in Peter Pan at one point. She continued participating in theatre at C.W. Stanford Middle School, where she acted in every play the school put on, from La Belle et la Bête to Watch Your Back for Stingy Jack! At OHS, she’s in Theatre Proficient, the equivalent of Theatre III and IV. She has been in OHS plays like Hairapy Sessions and The Taming of the Shrew, and plans to audition for future plays if she has time.
Broadway musicals are one of O’Shaughnessy’s obsessions. She would “love to be on Broadway,” but she “can’t sing or dance,” she said. As ambitious as her plans are, she knows that it is difficult to make it as an actor, so she plans to double major in theatre and business. She expects to go to UNC-Chapel Hill, although she dreams of going to Ithaca College in New York. O’Shaughnessy works at the Maple View Country Store, so she has been hard-pressed to find time to act in school plays this year.
As an actress, O’Shaughnessy has many other actresses whom she admires. When asked to name one, she couldn’t help but name two--Samantha Barks and Sutton Foster. She had no trouble thinking of her favorite Broadway show---Newsies, which recently closed.
O’Shaughnessy loves theatre for more than just the rush. She also loves the theatre community at OHS. Plus, it’s “nice to not be you” for a while, O’Shaughnessy added.
Photo Credit: Sean MacEntee. Photo License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. No changes made.[/caption]Son of God made its grand debut on February 28, selling 500,000 tickets before it even hit the big screens. It was a major success and many theaters were rented out for youth groups, churches, and civilians. The portrayal of the life of Jesus Christ was powerful as it engrossed the journey and crucifixion of the living Christ. It obtained an emotional response from many of its viewers and received much praise.
The film is full of action and drama as the character of Jesus ventures throughout the era of Roman rule and Jewish leadership. The motion picture shows an accurate depiction of the time periods and locations. Jesus and his 12 disciples move throughout the Middle East, detailing the landscape and culture of that time period. Although some parts of the movie are not fully accurate, much of it is biblical and is full of historical facts. For example, the footage alludes to the Last Supper as the special effects slowly dissipate the image of Jesus and his disciples into the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci discussed in Luke 13:21.
This movie was directed by Christopher Spencer, a renowned director who has won numerous awards for his documentaries on the human body. Son of God spurred from The Bible, a famous TV series on the History Channel that was co-produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. This series told the story of the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In fact, some of the footage from the series that was not aired was used in this movie. Although the movie stemmed from a renowned series, it has its own original qualities that fully immerse the famous story known as the Gospel.
The character of Jesus was played by Diogo Morgado, a budding young actor famous for his role of Jesus in The Bible. There is much controversy over the depiction of Jesus. His image follows the stereotype that society places on him, but many say that the physical appearance of Jesus is indeed quite different than what we expect. For this particular movie, critics have labeled Jesus’ hair as inaccurate and misleading. Although many believe this is false, Morgado filled the role of Jesus in his expressive and passionate style. The movie was abounding with biblical characters that helped to narrate the story, such as the 12 disciples, Mary Magdalene, and a myriad of others.
The heart-wrenching journey was intense and dark at times, especially with the portrayal of the crucifixion. Although this scene is integral to the story, it is not appropriate for children. Son of God is appropriate for mature audiences only due to the vivid detail and violence. This particular scene was one of the most stirring moments of the movie and will leave you on the edge of your seat in suspense and anticipation.
This beautiful story of Jesus Christ is one of the very few that is biblically accurate and embraces the true setting of the Bible. There is much controversy over whether this movie is comparable to the Passion of the Christ. Son of God is a great alternative to Passion of the Christ that encompasses more of the journey and less of the violent sufferings. Although it is still not befitting for children, it is a much calmer version of the previous depiction.
It has ranked No. 2 in new releases and has earned $26.5 million in sales. These estimates come only two weeks after its release, so keep your eyes out for more praise for Son of God. This movie is worthy of these accolades and many, many more.
Photo Credit: Dustin Gaffke. No edits made. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/[/caption]Figure skaters did not have a smooth day at Sochi on Thursday, February 13. The men performed the short skate and it was not short in drama. Two big names, Evgeni Plushenko of Russia and Jeremy Abbott of the United States, both had less than a stellar day. For the first hour of skating no one even had a completely clean skate.
After a dreary first round of skaters it was time for Plushenko and Abbott to skate, both who were expected to do very well. Plushenko, Russia’s only male skater and four-time Olympic medalist, hurt his back while practicing and was forced to withdraw. NBC announcers stated that his back had started hurting him the day before. The crowd was devastated by his withdraw. In the team skate he had performed exceptionally well earning a 91.39 in the short skate and 168.2 in the free skate helping Russia earn the gold in the team figure skating event.
Abbott was skating within the same group as Plushenko and he is one of America’s favorites. As soon as he went for his first quad toe loop he faced a devastating fall and laid on the ground barely moving for a few seconds. He miraculously got up to skate a fantastic free skate. The fall, however, crushed his score which he received a 72.58 and ended up 15th.
Both Plushenko, 31, and Abbott, 28, are planning to retire after these Olympics. "I think it's God saying, 'Evgeni, enough, enough with skating.’ Age, it's OK. But I have 12 surgeries. I'd like to be healthy,” he said to an AP reporter after withdrawing.
Jason Brown, 19, won a surprise spot to the Olympics after an exhilarating performance during the United States Figure Skating Championships. He was the first to skate a truly clean program during the short skate. He scored 86 points without even doing a quad jump which put him in fifth place and medal contention. His performances are known for their personality and flair.
The two male figure skaters that skated flawlessly were Patrick Chan of Canada and Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Hanyu is in first earning 101.45 points which is a world record for the highest score ever recorded in a short skate. Chan is in second with 97.52 points.
The men’s free skate will be on tomorrow which will also be a medal event.
This musical features the talents of the Madrigal class. Cast listing is as follows: Grace Huskins as Tracy Turnblad, Nicky Vassello as Edna Turnblad, Andrew Williamson as Wilbur Turnblad, Travis Holt as Link Larkin, Mackenzie Turner as Amber Von Tussle, Mikala Powell as Velma Von Tussle, Sarah Tatum as Penny Pingleton, Khadijah Jones as Motormouth Maybelle, Terrance Morrow as Seaweed J. Stubbs, and Caleb Tolin as Corny Collins.
The class decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first graduating class of OHS by choosing Hairspray. Lead Grace Huskins, playing Tracy Turnblad, says, “It [the musical] is exciting because it is like a class project for us and the choral department has never done something like this before.”
Nicky Vassello, playing Edna Turnblad, says, “I think the musical will go pretty well. We’re preparing for the show by having rehearsals any chance we can get.”
Hairspray celebrates the life of a young Tracy Turnblad as she tries to fulfill her dancing dreams by getting on the Corny Collins Show with all the other dancers. However, that upsets some of the other dancers who think she is trying to take their spotlight. It is a drama-filled romantic comedy in the form of a swinging musical.
This Fall, the drama group, led by Jared Taylor, is putting on a play called Bang, Bang, You're Dead. "It's a very strong piece," Mr. Taylor says about the play, which is set to premiere October 25th in the school's auditorium. The show will also be performed on October 26th and October 27th at 7 pm. The play is free to the public.The play is about a young man named Josh, portrayed by freshman Rob Piscitelli. The plot takes place in Josh's jail cell, where he is haunted by the five students he shot and killed during a school shooting. The ghosts from his past demand an answer as to why they were killed, and as it turns out bullying plays a major role in why Josh did what he did.
Mr. Taylor is excited to work with this play. He explained that he chose this play because it's a powerful piece about a subject that we see a lot in today's society, like the school shooting at Columbine, and the more recent Colorado shooting. The play has a good anti-violence message and focuses on anti-bullying.
Thirty people showed up to audition for a part in the upcoming play. The students auditioning had to memorize a two minute long monologue they later had to perform in front of the rest of the group. This resulted in a rough draft of the casting list. Some of the people had to come back later for callbacks and the final cast list was posted the next day. Mr. Taylor thinks this is a great play for the actors and actresses to be in because it fits them well and is challenging. It is completely free to come and see the play and it was also free to produce and set up.