Entertainment – Page 14 – The Transcript

Veg Club brings “Supersize Me” to campus

The Ohio Wesleyan Vegetarian Club screened the documentary Supersize Me Wednesday, Feb. 11 as a way to raise awareness of fast food industry practices.

One of the main goals of the Vegetarian Club is to educate other students about the impact food has on the human body.

Sophomore Becca Manning, president of Vegetarian Club, and her fellow members have considered putting a screening together for a while now. They started doing research on what they wanted to show and it came down to Supersize Me and another documentary titled Food Inc.

“Food Inc. is a bit more educational and it goes into more detail about plant-based diets and diseases that can be prevented through a plant-based diet,” Manning said. “But we decided to go with this documentary because it resonates so well with the college student community.”

The main purpose of this showing was to show students how big of a role food plays in their lives and how foods dictate so many other aspects of health besides just body composition.

The audience reactions were very similar. Many people discussed how disgusting the fast food process is and how terrible the current obesity epidemic is.

“After seeing it for the first time, I have not eaten fast food since,” said freshman Miranda Anthony, public relations advisor for the club.

“I have been a vegetarian my entire life so a lot of this stuff is new to me,” freshman Izzy Taylor said. “My parents would always refuse to get us those fast food toys, because those really work. I think that is the worst part, in a lot of lower income neighborhoods, the safest form of entertainment and play is in those McDonald’s playhouses.”

Vegetarian Club meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Hamilton-Williams Campus Center for dinner.

Bladin’ in the Benes rooms

Students test out their skates. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

On Friday, Feb. 13, the Campus Planning Board (CPB) installed a makeshift roller rink over the entire Benes room floor.

The event lasted from 7-10 p.m. It addition to the rink (supplied by Neon Entertainment), CPB offered alpha art, food and beverages.

The indoor roller rink is one of several events hosted by CPB of late. Other events include movie screenings, the CPB coffee house, and a live show featuring comedy duo Frangela.

“It’s been a lot of work doing all of the events,” said junior Nathan LaFrombois, president-internal for CPB. “We’ve never had this many events in such a short amount of time.”

As students entered the event they were greeted by the sound of music, disco-style lighting and a waiver form that had to be signed before rollerblading was permitted.

Students keep each other from falling. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

“When you walk in, it (the roller rink) kind of looks like Legos,” said sophomore and director of entertainment for CPB, Maddie Oslejsek. “It was easy to set up and will be easy to take down.”

For those in attendance that may not have wanted to rollerblade the entire time, alpha art offered an alternative form of entertainment.

Alpha art gives students the option to spell out their name – or anything they might want to spell – using different colors, shapes, objects and lettering.

“Last time we did the roller rink we had the issue of not enough skates or space for everyone to be active, so we tried to find some small, fun thing for people to do,” LaFrombois said. “We sort of tacked this (alpha art) on as an addition so people could always be entertained.”

Oslejsek furthered that point by suggesting that any alpha-art creations would be a great gift for Valentine’s Day.

Coffee House comes to OWU

Two Worlds. Photo courtesy of developingartist.com.

Caffeinated students bobbed their heads to live music at the latest Campus Programming Board (CPB) event.

On Thursday, Feb. 5 CPB brought two independent vocal groups to the Milligan Hub. Two Worlds and Adelee & Gentry performed throughout the evening while students sampled free hot beverages and pastries.

Two Worlds, made up of 20-year-olds Nick Voelker and Adiel Mitchell, traveled from Colorado to sing. According to the male duo, their music comes from “a background of acoustic R&B with energetic pop.”

The group also incorporates break dancing into their performances and said they have “released many innovative covers and original songs on their YouTube channel.”

The second performance of the night was given by Adelee & Gentry from Dayton, Ohio. The group consists of two sisters, ages 21 and 19. They describe their music as “a polished folk-pop sound that is grounded by a root base.”

Adelee & Gentry. Photo courtesy of adeleeandgentry.com.

There are samples of Adelee & Gentry’s work on YouTube.

CPB is preparing for two other events this semester. Freshman Christiana Migliacci said, “The first is Popcorn and Pix, which is when The Lego Movie will be shown. This is taking place on Feb. 26.”

At Popcorn and Pix, CPB will be announcing the performer for this year’s Bishop Bash.

“The Bishop Bash is an annual event funded by WCSA,” said Migliacci. “This consists of an on-campus concert.”

CPB has a standard scouting process for campus events.

“Basically we draw from what OWU students say they would like to see. A group of CPB members go to a conference called NACA early in the year, and see loads of performers. Then we come back and tell the rest of the CPB what we saw and liked. We then vote. Both performers at the Coffee House event were discovered at NACA,” said sophomore Maddie Oslejsek.

Two Worlds. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

Local politicians work the band

Rock gods and politicians seem worlds apart, but for Delaware County Treasurer Jon Peterson and State Auditor Dave Yost, music permeates all – the two have been in a band together for about 10 years.

They call themselves The Geezers, according to Peterson, who said, “We have an abundance of grey hair and a few years between us.”

The band includes other workers for the state and county, and while Peterson says The Geezers play mostly house shows and backyard barbecues, he and Yost were a part of another group who performed at the state treasurer’s conference.

For the show, they called themselves the T-Notes, a term referencing a government debt security.

Peterson says both groups cover classic rock from the 1960s and 1970s, including songs by the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty. Peterson said his instrument of choice is the guitar, while Yost plays the keyboard and bass guitar.

In addition to playing for his peers, Peterson says Yost uses his music to show who he is as a politician. Their video for “Music to my Ears,” released during Yost’s re-election campaign, features Yost, Peterson and others playing in Yost’s living room.

“[Yost] used his music to convey what he is,” Peterson said, adding, “[Music and politics] are concurrent…even during that time as an officer, that doesn’t disclude the love for music.”

Peterson pointed out connections between other politicians and music, including President George H.W. Bush’s former campaign manager, Lee Atwater, who surprised the public with his skill at the blues.

Yost has played in other bands as well. He played for The Pink Flamingos while he worked as a journalist at the now defunct Citizen-Journal in Columbus.

Ohio Wesleyan journalism instructor TC Brown, who also played with The Pink Flamingos, said the band had quite a following of other political journalists and even played at the governor’s mansion.

Peterson, who worked in the Franklin County administrative offices at the time, agreed, adding he was a part of a fan base that “followed them around.”

Brown says he, Yost and Peterson jammed together once or twice, having fun by playing covers.

According to Peterson, he likes playing guitar for the therapeutic value. Quoting the Rolling Stones, Peterson said, “It’s only rock and roll. But I like it.”

OWU radio returns

OWU radio equipment. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross. — Old OWU radio equipment from Slocum Hall. Photo courtesy of Adelle Brodbeck.

After a nearly two-year hiatus, Ohio Wesleyan online radio makes its return.

There has been no school radio since the spring semester of the 2012-2013 school year. At that time the station was ran from the third floor of Slocum Hall with outdated equipment.

The new station is located on the main floor of Phillips Hall. In a move away from traditional antenna broadcasting, OWU radio streams digitally.

The reemergence of OWU radio can largely be credited to Paul Kostyu, associate professor of journalism, Provost Charles Stinemetz and to The Transcript‘s media adviser Jo Ingles. The station also received financial backing from the office of the dean of academic affairs.

Conor Golden, who serves as the station’s general manager, has been very enthusiastic about getting it up and running. “I have been asking about the radio ever since it was shut down the spring of my freshman year,” Golden said.

A lot of progress has been made since then. An outside contractor was hired to do electrical work, heating and painting. Those updates alone took a few months. Further delays came in the form of computer software and streaming issues.

Professor Kostyu helped by salvaging what equipment he could. That equipment was moved from Slocum to Phillips, and included old, sound-proof insulation that now lines the station walls.

“We want to make sure it is professional and fun,” Golden explained. “There will be a lot more of a variety in regards to shows.”

Junior Conor Golden explains how the radio equipment works.

While most shows will be music oriented at first, the goal is to add public affairs reporting in the coming semester.

Golden even hinted at a show possibly being hosted by Public Safety officer Jay McCann. Until then, music ranging from hip-hop to classical to hipster rock can be heard on OWU radio. And anyone can DJ.

“Anybody on campus can have a show on this station…and that’s a new thing,” Kostyu said.

“We’re really excited about the fact that students are excited and are joining in. It’s kind of a different feel than what it was my freshman year,” said junior Billy George, who like Golden was a former DJ for the station. George will be working as the station’s program director. Students will be able to listen to OWU radio at radio.owu.edu.

Movie series begins with “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Movie poster for "Guardians of the Galaxy." — Movie poster for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Photo courtesy of schmoesknow.com

Chris Pratt battled to save the human race alongside Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, a sarcastic raccoon and a slightly anthropomorphic tree on Thursday, Jan. 29 in the Milligan Hub.

Not that the human race was particularly at risk, but the 30-some students who attended the Campus Programming Board’s screening of The Guardians of the Galaxy felt the excitement as it played out. Students snacked on popcorn and soda while the movie was projected on a screen onstage and the classic song “Hooked on a Feeling” looped in the minutes leading up to the showing.

Guardians of the Galaxy was the first of three movies to be screened for the CPB’s Popcorn and Pix series. Maleficent and The Lego Movie will follow, on the 13th and 17th of Feb. respectively.

The event's audience shortly before the move began. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross. — The event’s audience before the move began. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

Levi Harrel, co-advisor to the CPB, said the movies were chosen by a CPB internal vote, and the goal was to pick movies that are “current and fun.”

“This is a unique event at OWU because every time a movie shows on campus, it’s related to a class or a cause,” Harrel said. “This is just fun.”

Sophomore Maddie Oslejsek, the director of entertainment for CPB, said the idea of Popcorn and Pix was to create a night everyone could enjoy.

“We’re running around 24/7 (at OWU), so it’s nice to have a night to relax,” Oslejsek said.

While Harrel said he hoped more students would have turned up for the first movie, he said he thinks the series will pick up speed as more students hear about the event.

In addition to giving students free access to some of last year’s hits, CPB will be handing out two tickets to Bishop Bash, a concert to be held March 28. The first tickets were awarded after the Guardians of the Galaxy showing, during which students were encouraged to tweet space puns.

Harrel said this would be the first concert at OWU since 2011.

The next CPB event will be held Thursday, Feb.5, in Milligan Hub. Students will be able to enjoy coffee, tea and pastries while watching performances by musical duos Adelee, Gentry and Two Worlds.

Pitch Black finishes fourth in ICCA quarterfinal

BOWLING GREEN — Though they didn’t make the ICCA quarterfinal top three this year, OWU’s all-female a cappella group Pitch Black came very close on Jan. 31.

They finished fourth, behind Bowling Green’s Ten40, Michigan State’s State of Fifths and Kent State’s the Kent Clarks. In total, 10 groups competed; Pitch Black was the only all-female group.

Bowling Green's 10-40 performs an original group song after they win. — Bowling Green’s Ten40 performs an original group song after they win.

Despite not placing in the top three, Pitch Black leaders were in high spirits. Had they placed in first or second, they would have had to compete during OWU’s spring break. Several of their members are on mission trip teams and would be unable to participate.

“It doesn’t feel lower, not in terms of the numbers,” said president Grace Thompson, a senior. “…We keep getting better every year, just like we thought we would.”

For new Pitch Black member Emily Phillips, a sophomore who watched last year’s ICCA from the audience, participating in ICCA this year showed her how much work goes into a performance.

“I feel so incredibly blessed for this opportunity, and to have the opportunity to meet new people, and see what they’re about, and this talent that I’m developing, it’s amazing,” she said.

“We worked really hard on all of this…places don’t really matter,” added music director Brianna Robinson, a senior.

“The group that won, Ten40, was incredible.”

Junior Emma Sparks moves to the center to start “Diamond Chandelier.”

Juniors Emma Sparks (left) and Emily Slee lead the vocals on “Diamond Chandelier.”

Junior Emily Slee solos during “Diamond Chandelier.”

Pitch Black performs “Run To You” as one harmonious group.

Pitch Black shifts into the opening motions of their “Boy Band Mashup.”

Junior Alanna Spalsbury solos during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Senior Audrey Bell solos during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Pitch Black’s left column grooves to “Boy Band Mashup.”

Senior Brianna Robinson solos during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Senior Audrey Bell (left) and junior Alanna Spalsbury (right) lead the vocals during “Boy Band Mashup.”

Pitch Black waves goodbye at the end of “Boy Band Mashup.”

One of Ten40’s leaders, Will Baughman, praised Pitch Black for its performance this year and at last year’s ICCA, where they placed third.

“Their second song (Run To You), best singing of the night – hands down,” Baughman said.

“I couldn’t find one person who disagrees with that…I was convinced that they won at that point.”

Former Ten40 member and current Delaware resident Clay Thomson also praised Pitch Black’s cover of “Run To You.”

“The vocals, especially, I thought were very strong,” he said. “The middle number, the ballad, was very moving. Very good balance, great blend, very well done.”

Following the competition, the a cappella groups and their fans mingled together in the lobby. A large number of OWU students were in attendance, many of them wearing Pitch Black’s “I heart PB” t-shirts.

Sophomore Reggie Hemphill and junior Hannah Simpson.

Pitch Black members and fans Anna Jones, Jackie Amanna, Emma Sparks and Emma Nuiry.

Senior T.J. Clark waves as his sister Alyssa exits the group area backstage.

Pitch Black singers Audrey Bell, Anna Jones and Brooke Waite with their sisters in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Sophomore Emma Nuiry (right) surprises junior Pitch Black singer Emma Sparks with flowers.

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More photos from the performance can be viewed here.

Senior’s recital brings crowd to tears

Tears and a standing ovation from a crowd of 60 people marked the end of Brianna Robinson’s senior recital on Jan. 20 in Jemison Auditorium.

Robinson, a soprano, performed works from Bach, Mozart and Britten, to name a few. She sang in English, French, Italian, German and Latin.

Much of the music was chosen by Robinson, but it “doesn’t usually happen that way,” she said.

“When I learn music I do a lot of listening, so it’s very important to me to have role models—female singers whose voices sound like mine or who I love to listen to,” Robinson said.

Her favorite female vocalist is Anna Netrebko, a Russian opera singer. Robinson said she also likes Jessye Norman and Cecilia Bartoli.

She said she memorized her music by spending time over winter break “just walking around the house spouting them.”

One of the biggest challenges she faced in her singing career occurred during her sophomore year of college and had nothing to do with memorization.

“I found out that I had blisters on my [vocal] cords that caused a lot of air in my sound,” Robinson said.

She remembers auditioning for a few different parts, not getting them, and finding out afterward it was because her voice had a breathiness that was not liked.

“The blisters are not all the way gone,” Robinson said. “I have to understand and work on how to actually close my cords. It’s still a struggle.”

Robinson said being able to share her music is what keeps her singing.

“I’ve always felt more like myself when I’m on a stage,” Robinson said. “Not because I’m in the spotlight because I don’t necessarily think that’s what it is. I think it’s being able to share my voice because I’ve put so much hard work into it.”

Sophomore Teona Council said she attended the event to support Robinson.

“She has a really beautiful voice, and she’s a senior so I wanted to hear her before she leaves,” Council said.

“Impressive” was how freshman Patrick Puracchio described Robinson’s ability to hit certain high notes.

Robinson plans to graduate this May with a bachelor of music in performance degree and is thinking about attending Northwestern University to pursue music.

Pitch Black nears fourth consecutive ICCA

Pitch Black members sell tickets, shirts and stickers Jan. 27. Front row: Abi Horvat, Hannah Simpson and Alanna Spalsbury. In back: Abby Hanson, Alyssa Clark, Audrey Bell and Brianna Robinson. — Pitch Black members sell tickets, shirts and stickers Jan. 27. Front row: Abi Horvat, Hannah Simpson and Alanna Spalsbury. Photo courtesy of Spenser Hickey.

With three rehearsals to go, group leader Brianna Robinson reminded the women of Pitch Black what they represent and what’s at stakes.

“We’re damn good and we all know that,” she said. “… It’s our responsibility to hold the name.”

When she spoke, she had the gravity of a football coach at the goal line, and like a coach she demands 110 percent. Everyone listened.

“I feel like the campus knows who we are,” she explained afterward. “… They know that we go to ICCA every year and I think there is a responsibility in that.”

Pitch Black is entering the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) for the fourth consecutive year, but over half their members are newcomers. Their intensity isn’t driven by arrogance, Robinson made a point of saying, but by a love of singing.

Even on non-rehearsal days, Robinson tells the singers they need to practice. The competition is days away, and everyone can feel it.

“I’m so excited,” Audrey Bell told the group.

“Who, in their life, gets to do this, right here? Not many.”

Bell is a new member, but also a senior, so her first ICCA will be her last, she added sadly.

Last year, Pitch Black placed third in the quarterfinal, their best finish so far, and this has inspired them to aim even higher.

Because of this, junior Emma Sparks said, “we can continue to (perform)…and continue placing, or not, and that’s fine, we still have a great time.”

They’ll be debuting three entirely new songs: “Diamond Chandelier,” led by Sparks and junior Emily Slee; “Run to You,” led by the entire group; and a mashup of boy band songs led by Robinson, Bell and junior Alanna Spalsbury.

This year’s competition is in Bowling Green, and that brings family connections: freshman Zoe Sares has an uncle who owns a restaurant there, and Abi Horvat’s sister will be in attendance.

She’s only 10, Horvat said, but she already plans to go to OWU and wants to join Pitch Black.

“If you don’t mind, I might introduce her,” Horvat said; everyone was enthusiastic.

While the women of Pitch Black take their work seriously, it’s humorous moments like these that keep them close. When it’s time to sing, they sing, but when there are breaks anything goes.

During an interview with the group, for instance, jokes, snapping, unexpected singing and even horseplay were frequent; at one point Sares hit fellow freshman Dagny Tracy with a wristband.

When ICCA’s aren’t looming overhead, it’s common for them to spontaneously start singing, sophomore Emily Phillips said. Sometimes, like before the interview, they’ll sing a rhythm while only saying “meow.”

“Brianna and Grace (Thompson) do a great job of keeping us on task, because that’s not always easy,” Phillips said.

One of the reasons Robinson is so insistent that they focus is because Pitch Black is all women; she says this requires a higher bar than their all-male counterparts.

All-male groups tend to have lower expectations than women’s groups; she’s seen videos where male groups get higher ratings for a goofy performance than all-women groups that did the same thing.

“I really wanted to do the boy band mashup because we’re just having fun the whole time,” Robinson said. “We’re doing boy band motions, we’re bringing back old songs that people are going to know and I think that gives us power and makes us feel we can do whatever we want to, just like anybody else can.”

“There’s no reason that we should be lower on a judge’s scale just because we’re women and we’re doing these ‘silly moves’ and whatever like that…we always try and have music that makes us feel strong and empowered.”

Coming with that identity of empowerment, Spalsbury and Sparks said they take after women such as Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, lawyer Michelle Obama and pop singer Whitney Houston.

Many of the newer members, though, find their a cappella inspiration in Pitch Black’s veterans, including Spalsbury and Sparks.

Left to right: Freshman Zoe Sares, senior Grace Thompson, junior Emily Slee and sophomore Abi Horvat clap during "Boy Band Mashup." — Left to right: Freshman Zoe Sares, senior Grace Thompson, junior Emily Slee and sophomore Abi Horvat clap during “Boy Band Mashup.” Photo courtesy of Spenser Hickey.

Phillips decided to join because Spalsbury was trying to recruit a beatboxer; now Phillips, a percussion major, will be anchoring the beat at ICCA.

She’ll have some big shoes to fill. Last year, junior Maeve Nash won Best Vocal Percussionist at the ICCA quarterfinal but she’s studying in Ireland this semester.

For Sares, interest in Pitch Black was one of the primary things that led her from sunny Colorado to not-so-sunny Delaware.

“(At a college fair) that lady that was there, all she could talk about was (OWU’s) a cappella groups, especially the all-women’s a cappella group, so I was like, ‘sign me up!’” Sares said.

“Zoe, you were one of the most excited people to come up to the table (at club fair), like low-key excited,” Spalsbury told her in response.

Like Sares, junior Hannah Simpson came to college wanting to join a cappella, along with leading tours, and as the rest of the group quickly pointed out, she mentioned this while wearing an official OWU Tour Guide shirt.

For her, both goals have been accomplished.

Whether Pitch Black will accomplish their ICCA goals will be decided Jan. 31st, on the stage of Bowling Green High School.

Comedy duo draws laughs from OWU students

Frangela 2 — There were more than 70 people in attendance. Photo courtesy of Caleb Dorfman.

The stand-up comedy duo Frangela had many Ohio Wesleyan University students cheering and laughing at their Jan. 21 performance.

Levi Harrel, co-adviser for the Campus Planning Board (CPB), said there were more than 70 students in attendance.

“Student feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive,” Harrel said.

Some students, like senior Ibrahim Urooj-Santana, said they were nervous that Frangela would fail to draw laughs from the crowd, recalling the reception of the last comedian to perform on campus in 2012.

“I was worried this wasn’t going to be good at all, but it was actually really funny,” Urooj-Santana said.

Harrel said that he saw the duo perform at the National Association of Campus Activities Mid-America conference in November.

“We saw them perform, and we just knew we wanted them to perform at OWU,” Harrel said.

According to Frangela’s website, “Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton are real life best friends who talk to each other all day long. This used to be more convenient when Angela lived upstairs from Frances in Chicago when they met at the world famous Second City Theatre, where they polished their talents as writers and comedy satirists.”

Callier and Shelton have appeared on various television and radio shows together and as separate acts. Such shows include NBC’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Twentieth Century Fox’s Wedlock or Deadlock and VH1’s Best Week Ever. They’ve also appeared as “Pop Cultural Pundits” on NBC’s The Today Show and Dateline, Fox’s Mike and Juliet Show, CNN’s Showbiz Tonight and Headline News.

Nathan LaFrombois, co-president internal of CPB, said the board’s next event will be a Guardians of the Galaxy screening on Jan. 29.