Author: Bri Kristine Sten

Love and the Northern Lights shine in ‘Almost, Maine’

Seniors Jason Bogdany, left, and Kati Sweigard star in “Almost, Maine the fragmented story of love, loss and bright lights. Photo from Communications
Seniors Jason Bogdany, left, and Kati Sweigard star in “Almost, Maine the fragmented story of love, loss and bright lights.
Photo from Communications

The Department of Theatre and Dance’s production of “Almost, Maine” provides audiences with a glimpse into the heartfelt lives of several members from the fictional  town, “Almost” as they explore realities of love and relationships.

The play, “Almost, Maine”  is written by John Cariani and premiered off-Broadway in 2006. The cast features 20 characters, but originally only had four actors, according to Ed Kahn, the director of the Ohio Wesleyan show.

According to Kahn, the play did not do well during its original run in New York City, but has progressively earned more fame. The show returned to NYC for the first time in early February.

“It’s fun to do this show at OWU at the same time as the New York revival,” said Kahn.

Because OWU’s production features 10 actors and actresses each person has two characters to portray.

Senior Jenea Dominguez plays the roles of Sandrine and Suzette.

“It’s been a fun discovering process,” Dominguez said. “They’re two different women and deserve respect in different ways.”

The play is full of “literal idioms made literal,” said Kahn. The audience will witness broken hearts, people falling in love and “waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

About the Show

The play consists of eight scenes that follow individuals and couples in the town of Almost, Maine as they forge new relationships, confront old lovers and fall out of love, all under the watchful gaze of the Northern Lights.

Kahn said, “[The characters] know what they want, but are human in the way they go about getting it.”

“The play is very witty, clever and truthful,” said junior Kristen Krak, who plays Ginette and Gayle. “It’s heartbreaking and funny and it’s been a lot of fun digging into it.”

Senior Nick Ehlers plays Steve and Man. He said, “It’s an honest look at love; sometimes cute, sometimes messy.”

“Almost, Maine” opened last weekend and will have three more performances this weekend: Feb. 28 and March 1 at 8 p.m. and March 2 at 2 p.m.

OWU senior plans to Teach for America

Senior Samantha Rammaha. Photo by Sarah Thomas
Senior Samantha Rammaha.
Photo by Sarah Thomas

Teach For America, a national organization that accepts all majors, was on campus seeking new teachers to go to low-income communities and bolster education.

According to their mission statement, Teach For America is “growing the movement of leaders who work to ensure that kids growing up in poverty get an excellent education.”

The program is a two-year commitment, in which corps members teach grades pre-K through 12th in 49 urban and rural regions across the country.

Just eight percent of kids growing up in low-income communities graduate from college by age 24, according to research conducted by Postsecondary Education Opportunity.

Detroit, Las Vegas Valley, Memphis, Mississippi and Oklahoma are some of the regions in which the need for teachers is particularly high this year.

Senior Samantha Rammaha, a music and English double major, will be joining the program in Memphis after graduation. Currently, she is assigned to be teaching English as a second language and will receive a full teacher’s salary.

Rammaha said she might stay for a third year, but also wants to do “non-profit work supporting immigrants.”

An applicant must have above a 2.5 GPA and receive a Bachelor’s degree. Members also will have to pass the tests to get certified to teach for 2 years.

Application Process

There are three major parts to applying for the Corps: an online application, phone interview and a day-long final interview. The process lasts about a month and a half. Today (Feb. 20) is the last deadline to apply for the upcoming school year.

Qiana McNary, the manager of recruitment for Teach For America at Ohio Wesleyan, said to spend time on the essays in the online application.

“Think long-term and show them that you are committed to this work,” she said.

Rammaha said she “reached out to an alumna from (her) sorority for any advice about the program and application.”

McNary graduated from OWU in 2007 and taught early childhood in Chicago with the Corps for three years after graduation.

Speaking out and rising up

Sophomore Margot Reed reads at One Billion Rising on February 14. Photo by Spenser Hickey
Sophomore Margot Reed reads at One Billion Rising on February 14.
Photo by Spenser Hickey

The Hamilton-Williams Campus Center was home to another kind of V-Day this February 14.

As part of an international movement, Ohio Wesleyan students joined forces with countless others around the world who are members of One Billion Rising, a campaign of the V-Day movement against sexual and domestic violence against women.

This year’s One Billion Rising was a worldwide event where women and men stood up for justice.

Its name comes from V-Day statistics that one in three women will experience violence in their lives, and that there are around three billion women alive today.

The event is connected to “The Vagina Monologues” and “Butterfly Confessions” which will be performed at Ohio Wesleyan University on March 28 and 29.

Juniors Anji Herman (left) and Brianna Robinson hold a sign together. Herman helped plan the event, and Robinson and junior Felicia Rose read “One Billion Rising for Justice” by Eve Ensler.
Juniors Anji Herman (left) and Brianna Robinson hold a sign together. Herman helped plan the event, and Robinson and junior Felicia Rose read “One Billion Rising for Justice” by Eve Ensler.
Photo by Spenser Hickey

 

Eve Ensler, the author of “The Vagina Monologues,” started V-Day in 1998 and One Billion Rising in 2012.

Every year on Valentine’s Day, this event works to end the violence and raise support for local projects and programs that aim to help those abused.

One Billion Rising at Ohio Wesleyan consisted of a description of the core values of V-Day, readings of selected monologues and ones written by students, and the opportunity for students to hold signs explaining why they rose for justice.

Junior Annie Pappenhagen read a monologue based on interviews with Oglala Lakota women from Pine Ridge Reservation.

“I have been interested in indigenous issues since I was 16 and have spent a fair amount of time on Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations (located in South Dakota,)” she said.

“It is important when dealing with women’s issues that we don’t forget about the intersectionality between race and gender.”

Sophomore Margot Reed read a monologue “They beat the boy out of my girl…or they tried,” about transgender issues and violence community members and allies experience.

As an expansion on V-Day, Ohio Wesleyan will perform Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” and Yetta Young’s “Butterfly Confessions” on March 28 and 29.

The performances were advertised by fliers thrown down from the second floor of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center; they also contained statistics on rape.

Sophomore Claudia Bauman, a Women’s House resident, holds her sign up to the camera. Photo by Spenser Hickey
Sophomore Claudia Bauman, a Women’s House resident, holds her sign up to the camera.
Photo by Spenser Hickey

“A lot of people argue that “The Vagina Monologues” and V-Day itself aren’t as inclusive as they could be, and I totally agree with that,” Reed said.

“So I’m happy that the ‘Butterfly Confessions’ are now a part of the show this year at OWU.”

“We now have so many more women involved and it reaches a whole new, bigger audience and it’s just fantastic,” she said.

Love affairs become tangled on stage

 

Ohio Wesleyan’s Opera Workshop navigated the twists and turns of relationships on stage during their rendition of  “A Little Night Music” by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler.

This dramatic and comedic show follows 10 people as they work through marriages, old loves and liaisons to find their happiness. In the end, one marriage is broken, one is rekindled and one is formed.

Junior Ryan Haddad played the role of Madame Armfeldt, the elderly mother of Desiree Armfeldt, played by Meg Linebaugh. He said he auditioned for this role because he loved the part.

While Haddad didn’t think he would get the part, he thought the college setting would be his only chance to perform as Madame Armfeldt, as there are no elderly students auditioning for the role.

“I never thought I would play a woman in the middle of Ohio,” he said on receiving the role. “But I’m honored by this opportunity.”

Junior Annie Fishleigh said Haddad’s character was her favorite part, particularly his wig.

“I felt like he was the comedic relief and kept the show together,” she said. “He helped explain what was going on in the show.”

Freshman Kiersten Payne said, “I really enjoyed the show-it was a lot funnier than I expected.”

In the past, the Opera Workshop has focused on performing various scenes from different shows instead of one whole musical.

Director Tim Veach said this show was different because the singers would have to act and talk besides just singing well.

Maeve Nash, Hannah Simpson, Reggie Hemphill and Haddad are cast members, as well as theater majors.

Veach is a guest director from Columbus Dance Theatre who has worked with the Opera Workshop for about six years. He said this musical is not done all the time because it is a “pretty spicy story.”

It was chosen because the “music is spectacular and appropriate for serious singers,” he said.

Birthright eligibility rises

Senior Zoey Kramer took a selfie with a fuzzy friend on her Birthright trip. Photo courtesy of Zoey Kramer
Senior Zoey Kramer took a selfie with a fuzzy friend on her Birthright trip.
Photo courtesy of Zoey Kramer

The Taglit-Birthright Israel program recently changed its policy so that more Jewish students can be eligible.

Birthright is an international program that sponsors free 10-day trips to Israel for Jewish students between the ages of 18 and 26.

The old policy of the organization stated that men and women who had visited Israel previously with a peer or educational group were not eligible for the trip.

With the changes that are being made, now these people are now eligible for the free trip.

According to the program’s website, since its creation in 1999, Birthright has sent over 350,000 Jewish young adults to Israel.

The site also states the participants come from 64 countries, all 50  U.S. states and Canadian provinces and from nearly 1,000 North American colleges and universities.

Senior Ben Witkoff (left) and his younger brother David went on their Birthright trip to Israel together. Photo courtesy of Ben Witkoff
Senior Ben Witkoff (left) and his younger brother David went on their Birthright trip to Israel together.
Photo courtesy of Ben Witkoff

Senior Ben Witkoff traveled on a Birthright trip this past winter break and approves of the changes made to the program.

“Before they were 18, it’s possible that some of the info was withheld because of their age but now that they are adults, the things they can see and hear give the experience a more realistic value,” he said.

This is exciting news for sophomore Emma Drongowski who is now eligible for the Birthright trip. She is the current president of Hillel, the Jewish student organization on campus.

According to the Hillel website, Hillel is the largest Jewish student organization in the world. It is located in 550 colleges and universities.

Drongowski plans to apply for the trip in December.

Drongowski said a lot of  Jewish students visit Israel during summer camps when they are younger, and also with high school groups.

Senior Zoey Kramer went on a Birthright trip last December and encourages more to apply.

“This trip was nice because I was surrounded by other students my age who understand the Jewish tradition, unlike at school,” she said.

Jewish life on campus

According to Jessica Shimberg, the advisor for Hillel and part-time staff in the Chaplain’s office, there are only 47 students who self-identify as Jewish on campus.

Shimberg hopes to work with the Office of Admissions to boost Jewish recruitment to the university.

“There are a lot of things that OWU does that are important aspects in the Jewish communities such as travel-learning, social justice and service learning,” she said.

Drongowski said not very many Jewish students participate in Hillel on campus.

“It’s the students that are involved with Hillel that will want to go on a Birthright trip,” she said.

Fresh music, fresh voices

Owtsiders, Ohio Wesleyan University’s only co-ed a Cappella group, has six new voices.

Sophomore Camille Mullins-Lemieux, Owtsiders co-director, said the auditions went well but she hoped that more people would have come.

Sophomore president Julia Stone said she agreed with Mullins-Lemieux.

“I think the cold weather deterred some people from coming out,” Stone said.

“We were able to find all the singing parts that we need though, and I’m happy with the talent we found.”

The audition process consisted of three parts: a prepared song, a blending exercise and a test of one’s range.

Junior Katie Butt said she messed up the words to her Rihanna mash up of “Disturbia” and “The Monster.”

“But no one noticed,” she added.

The groups’ new members range in grade level, with three freshmen, one junior and two seniors. Mullins-Lemieux said she is excited about the full sound and fresh energy that these members will bring to the group.

Freshman Curtice Taylor, who is also involved in the Choral Arts Society, said he is looking forward to singing a cappella, as well as being a part of the Owtsiders’ community specifically.

Butt was previously a member of the Owtsiders, and the female a cappella group Pitch Black, but had to leave both due to the intense time commitment.

She said she was excited to learn that the Owtsiders were having auditions again.

“I missed that environment – just hanging out with people and creating beautiful music together,” Butt said. “It’s laid-back and a lot of fun,” she said.

Freshman Megan Marren wanted to audition in order to be more involved on campus.

“It wasn’t a hard audition, but it was nerve wracking sitting around and waiting until my turn came up,” Marren said.

In the past, the Owtsiders have performed at Ollie’s Fine Ice Cream, a local ice cream parlor.

They also sang on stage at “A Cappellooza!” an event sponsored by Campus Programming Board that featured a cappella groups from OWU and surrounding schools.

Stone said that the group has plans to sing at J. Gumbo’s, a local restaurant, on Mardi Gras and to have more sporadic performances in the atrium of Hamilton-Williams.

“I’m hoping that we are able to have a great semester full of new music and more performances,” Stone said. “We’re going to start the semester by working on Counting Stars by One Republic and Royals by Lorde.”