Category: Arts & Entertainment

Dance Company Gifts Nutcracker to Sem

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by Francesca Ramos ’23

Cast of the Nutcracker (Photo Courtesy of Wyoming Seminary Communications Department)

A vital part of Wyoming Seminary’s community lies in its Dance Company. Giving students opportunities to learn various dance styles and the community a wonderful sense of enjoyment, there has not been one person who isn’t impacted by the dance in some way. On Wednesday, December 15, Wyoming Seminary Dance Company and their dancers prepared and performed “Nutcracker Sweets” at 7:00 p.m. in the Kirby Center for Creative Arts (KCCA). Highlights from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker included Clara’s dance with the Nutcracker, the snow scene, and many other well-known dances from Act II. Seating was open to all who wished to attend with masking and COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines in mind. Presenting an outstanding performance, Wyoming Seminary is walking forward together, and Wyoming Seminary Dance Company gave the community a beautiful holiday gift through their hard work and dedication for their craft to this holiday tradition.

“With all we have been through these past months, performing the Nutcracker in December was a great experience for our Company.  It was wonderful to dance on the KCCA stage again with an audience there to share and enjoy our work.”  -Bernardine Vojtko, Artistic Director of Wyoming Seminary Dance Company

Drama! Drama!

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by Erica Zhu ’23

The Footloosians of Sem kicked off their Sunday shoes mid-February to give us a wonderful performance. Between the angelic voices and energetic dancing, Willard and his crew’s Mama Says – played by our one and only Gram Dogherty ’22, Ari Froehlich ’24, Benecio Carpenter ’24, and Michael Vodzak ’24 seemed to steal the show.

Even backstage, it’s hard to stand still without singing along or gaining some extra pep in your step. Everyone played their part in contributing to the magical love story between Ren and Ariel (Kieran Sherry ’22 and Ainsley Edam ’23). From problem solving with costumes and the set to bringing out energy when they danced and sung. Chuck Cranston played by Liam Philips-Magraw ’23 had us raising our fists. We also had sympathized with Julia Poole ’22 and Jake Ruderman ’22 who played concerned parents Vi and Shaw Moore. As one of our longest running shows after a period of being unable to runt at all, Footloose proved to be successful from it’s most intimate moments to to the classic comedy we know and love.

Being out on stage means we always need a crew. Footloose needed about three: one for costumes, one for the book , and of course, one backstage. Footloose had an impressive number of quick changes for its last scene, the prom. During this scene, most actors traded their leather or jean jackets for suits, pretty dresses and even different wigs! The booth was also given a run for its money, being both the command center and the place where all cues were put into action. Thanks to their management, the show went on without a hitch. Last but not least, we had a backstage crew that set the scenes and moved all the heavy machinery they could while staying virtually invisible to the audience. Both managers stage right and left were able to keep the show going seamlessly regardless of a set malfunction or traffic jam backstage.

Cast of Footloose (Photo Courtesy of Ben Zhao ’22)

Wyoming Seminary’s Spring Play

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Wyoming Seminary’s Spring Play

by Ziming Liu ’18

The Department of Performing Arts at Sem presents three major events every year. After Urinetown the Musical during the fall term and Winter Workshops during the winter, Sem players performed the annual spring play on the last weekend of April. This year’s play included two evening shows on Friday (4/27) and Saturday (4/28) with a matinee on Sunday (4/29). The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, directed by Mrs. Ellen O’Brien Sherry, was selected to be put on the stage of Buckingham Performing Arts Center. The stage play first opened in London’s West End in 1952 and is currently still running, which makes it the longest continuously running play in the world. So far, the play has been performed for more than 27,000 times.

The newlyweds Giles (Portrayed by Levi Sunday-Lefkowitz ‘18)  and Mollie Ralston (Portrayed by Ellie Rosentel ‘18) open their guesthouse (Monkswell Manor) up for business for the first day while a disastrous snow storm hits on the English countryside on which they are located. They find themselves trapped with six distinctive guests, and one of them is a murderer. The classic murder mystery and comedy was brought alive by the cast of 8 Sem students.

Mrs. Sherry, in the process of deciding what this year’s play was going to be, said that, “At some point, every actor will try his or her hand at an Agatha Christie character. As director of this year’s spring show, I thought why not start them young and stage one of her murder mysteries?” She also gave the audience the first clue before the opening night, “Suspect everyone!”