Author: Ivy Miller

Winter Workship

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By Jacqui Meuser ’16

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This year’s first (and probably last) tangible sign that winter does still exist—a two-hour delay—appropriately commenced the first night of the Winter Workshop.

Beginning at 7pm on Wednesday, February 10, and ending on Sunday, February 14, the 13th Annual Winter Acting Workshop held approximately eight sketches per night, with a whopping 44 student actors and actresses in total. Held in the Buckingham Performing Arts Center, the Workshop attracted participation from students who range from the leading actress in a major school play to the jock who never in his life imagined himself reciting a script in front of a live audience. Whether a skit was a reenactment of a classic Saturday Night Live sketch or an original sketch composed by a creative and courageous student, each sketch accomplished something interesting and unique, while never failing to keep the spectators on the edge of their seats.

 

Jason Sherry ‘91, the director, has worked every year of the Workshop’s thirteen years. Over the years, this staple of Sem’s Performing Arts program has taken place in the fall, the winter, and the spring. Whatever the season, Mr. Sherry has diligently worked to place each actor in the role that suits him best, honed each actor’s ability to alter his persona, and encouraged and drilled each actor until he feels comfortable enough to perform in front of a crowd.

 

When the idea of a “Fall Acting Workshop” came into fruition in 2002, it was intended to occur every two years. But, Mr. Sherry explained, after the first one was such a success, it became clear that it was a great way for students to expand their horizons and get involved in drama.

 

According to Alex Grosek ‘16, an actor in the Workshop for the past three years, the Workshops would have a hard time succeeding if not for Mr. Sherry. “Mr. Sherry puts an incredible amount of time and effort into directing his shows,” Grosek said. “He’s able to take in people from all skill levels and turn them into real actors in a surprisingly short amount of time. The whole process is really fun, and although it’s serious, it never seems like real work for anyone involved in the show.”  

 

This year’s Workshop consisted of many great acts from all sides of the genre spectrum. Whether a sketch was intended to be funny or serious, it was up to the actors to make it as great as possible, and many of the actors accomplished just that with effortless poise.

 

In one scene, Erica Fletcher ‘17 and Derek Jolley ‘17 played an ex-couple having a conversation in a baby’s room. The scene was an extremely serious one, but they still managed to make it an incredible performance. “There was a good amount of humor and entertainment value, but I really enjoyed both actors’ performances,” Scott Green said. “They were able to portray the depth of both characters accurately in such a small amount of time on stage.”

 

On the other hand, there were also many hilarious sketches that were the topic of conversation for a few days following. One sketch, in particular, stuck in the minds of everyone who watched. Max Liebetrau ‘18, Jorge Carrion ‘16, and others resurrected and absolutely mastered the classic Saturday Night Live “More Cowbell” sketch. Although only about half of the audience recognized the sketch from SNL, the viewers who were watching it as new enjoyed it just the same. According to Gabby Grossman ‘16, an actress in this year’s Winter Workshop, “Max was absolutely hysterical. It was like watching a young Will Ferrell on SNL. ‘More Cowbell’ was definitely one of my favorites.”

 

In short, whether you’re a fan of the funny or the serious, this year’s Winter Workshop aimed to please, and it certainly succeeded!

Sem Weighs in on the 2016 Election

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Marshall Bursis ’16

What began as a boring primary cycle dominated by two dynastic front-runners has quickly become one of the most exciting and unpredictable races in recent history.

Last June Jeb Bush, former Republican Governor of Florida, and Hillary Clinton—the former Democratic First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State—looked poised to be their party’s respective nominees. And when a real-estate-mogul-slash-reality-TV-personality in Donald J. Drumpf and a self-described Democratic Socialist in Bernie Sanders entered the race, no one thought much would change.

But, soon after his announcement, Mr. Drumpf rose in national poll after poll, following a stretch of inflammatory comments that seemed only to raise his support. He quickly became the frontrunner, leading national polls for months and winning the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries by a margin of 20 and 10 points, respectively.

The rise of Mr. Sanders, the senior Senator from Vermont, was much more gradual. Nonetheless, his campaign has removed the air of inevitability surrounding Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy. Although she is still the frontrunner and likely the eventual nominee, Mr. Sanders has proven himself a formidable opponent, virtually tying Clinton in Iowa and winning New Hampshire by a record 22 points.

As the race currently stands, Drumpf leads the Republican field nationally by about 14 points, according to an aggregate of the five most recent polls collected by Real Clear Politics. Mr. Sanders is still behind, trailing Clinton by about 6 points using the same metric. What makes his rise so impressive is that he trailed Clinton by an average of 25 points last summer.

What has become an exciting election has drawn newcomers into the political process. For many Wyoming Seminary students, this election cycle is the first that they have followed. In a poll of the Sem community conducted by The Opinator, 190 students and 39 faculty members—comprising 62 independents, 75 Republicans, and 92 Democrats—voiced their opinions on the 2016 campaign.

Among self-identified Democrats, Mr. Sanders won 41 percent of the vote, compared to Mrs. Clinton’s 34 percent. 25 percent remains undecided.

Mr. Drumpf holds an impressive lead over self-identified Republicans, with an astounding 49 percent of the vote. The next closest are Senator Marco Rubio at 16 percent and Senator Ted Cruz at 9.3 percent.

 

Mr. Bush dropped out of the race after a disappointing 4th place finish in South Carolina. His poll numbers were not much better at Sem. He stood in last place of the Republican field at 1 percent and received just 1 vote out of all the self-identified Republican and Independent voters.

Among Independents, Mr. Sanders leads all candidates from the Democratic and Republican field, with 36 percent of the vote. Undecided voters make up a substantial minority at 27 percent, and Mr. Drumpf sits in third with 15 percent.

Students have voiced their opinions publicly too. Tyler Maddock ’18 said that he supports Mr. Rubio because he is “the most qualified candidate in the Republican field and has the ability to stand up to Hillary and defeat her in a general election.” Ryan Guers ’16 supports Mr. Drumpf because he “is discussing the issues that many conservatives care about and does not worry about the fallout surrounding his controversial viewpoints. He isn’t controlled by any super PAC or special interest group, so you know his views are entirely his own.”

Sara Edgar ’16 believes Mrs. Clinton is the best choice because she “is the only candidate that will secure, ensure, and ameliorate my rights as a woman. Unlike Drumpf, she has tangible solutions to the problems we face moving forward.”

 

As the races on both sides continue and more states vote, the picture for 2016 will become increasingly clear. For now, though, the picture is clear at Sem: Mr. Drumpf and Mr. Sanders reign.  

Hiliary Clinton: The Woman for Democrats, The Woman for America

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By Richard Hughes ’16

With an incredibly fragmented Republican field, Democrats now have an opportunity to prove themselves as the party ready to move onto the general election and ready to serve the country, united. Even with two candidates still in the race, the discourse on the Democratic side has been dramatically tamer, likely caused by a much smaller and more ideologically similar pool of candidates. Even so, to truly capitalize on this opportunity, Democrats must stand behind a candidate soon, so that the nominee can begin crafting a general election message. Therefore, we turn to our two choices: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Bernie Sanders. His thick Brooklyn accent perfectly compliments what feels like one of the most truly honest and principled messages in today’s political world. Bernie Sanders is for Campaign Finance reform and so he refuses to accept Super PAC money. He is against entering wars without exit strategies and so he voted against the war in Iraq. He is, like many liberal democrats, for Socialist ideals, and so he breaks political convention by calling himself a “Democratic Socialist”. He is consistent and seemingly incorruptible, no matter what political realities face him. What draws us into Bernie Sanders, however, is also what would make him a unsuccessful President. The liberties granted to a Senator, namely that of idealism, are not granted to a President. A Democratic President, especially one facing a Republican majority, could not force through a single-payer health care system. They could not force through free public college education. And they could not promote a Socialist agenda for more than four very unproductive years. A president has to compromise and make significant ideological sacrifices, a task that Bernie Sanders seems unable or, more likely, unwilling to do. It is one thing to be brave and fight for one’s political ideals, but in the end, this fighting must be done subtly, slowly, and with bipartisan action. Unless Bernie Sanders can turn his “political revolution” into an military revolution, then his ideas just won’t pass.

After looking at the passionate Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton starts to seem like an unexciting choice to settle on. She seems flip-floppy and desperate to please the focus groups, no matter where this takes her views. Hillary Clinton has seemed to be, however, unfairly branded. She has committed a crime which has only become a crime in recent years: being a politician. She tweaks her views to make herself seem more attractive, but has never abandoned a generally liberal message. And these tweaks are just proof that Secretary Clinton is a woman ready for the dirty job of President.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was born in Chicago into a fairly conservative household. After graduating from Wellesley College (where she was originally the President of the Young Republicans Club before having a liberal awakening) and Yale Law School, Clinton served as a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund, fighting for the rights of children and calling for new laws giving them a more gradual process into adulthood. Afterwards, she served as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff, advising the House Judiciary during the Watergate Scandal. In Law School, Hillary met a charming young beau named Bill and after denying his first few proposals (not being sure if she wanted to settle down) finally said yes and the two were married in 1975. Hillary Clinton continued to fight for child rights and became the first female partner of the Rose Law Firm, while helping her husband climb the political ladder. As First Lady, Miss Clinton fought for substantive health care reform and weathered her husband’s sexual scandal with Monica Lewinsky with grace. After leaving the White House, Miss Clinton became a Senator of New York in 2000 and served until 2008, when she made her first Presidential bid. After losing in a famously close primary to President Obama, Miss Clinton was eventually named Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, Clinton showed diplomatic mastery by helping to ease tension with Russia, navigate a series of messy Egyptian protests, and impose sanctions and isolation to Iran, paving way for the current Nuclear Deal.

Hillary Clinton will not bring forward a political revolution. She will not attack or drastically alter the status quo. What she will is provide a steady, experienced hand to the helm of the American ship, which in these turbulent times is exactly what we need in a President.