It Was The 14th Grade Players, In The West Hall Blackbox, With "Clue"

     

                                                       

By Dzhuletta Avanesian

The 14^th Grade Players opened their production of “Clue” over the weekend. The show premiered in the West Hall Theatre on the Mount Vernon Campus and ran from Oct. 17-19. The show was directed by Cameron Hopkins and sold out each night.

“The opening night was very exciting, it was great to see what people were laughing at and not, so we would tweak it to make it funnier than it already is,” says Dillon Lewis, who played Colonel Mustard.

In 1986, Jonathan Lynn wrote the comedy-mystery film based off the board game. Each show has the possibility of three separate endings, leaving the audience always on the edge of their seats. The play depicts the era of McCarthyism.

While some members of the cast avoided watching the movie prior to the show, some could not resist. “I really hate watching movies more than once, but Clue I can watch over and over again,” said Hopkins.

“I think that the show captures the sensationalism of the era and American culture. I think its really important and a fun thing to see, especially living here in D.C.,” said Samantha Nesfield, who played Mrs. Peacock.

The board game still entertains many of the actors and crew members of the show.

“Clue is one of my favorite board games. All the time when I was a little kid, I have never won the game. So, I thought that it would be revenge if I got cast and won Clue,” says Maddie Farrington, who played Miss Scarlet.

   

The West Hall Blackbox offers unique opportunities compared to Lisner Downstage, which is the other student theater venue. “It’s substantially different on the production side because you can do so much more with this theatre than the downstage, where you can’t do much with lighting,” says Artistic Director Emily Messing.

The setting of the play is a giant mansion with lots of rooms. “We got it on stage pretty realistically and that makes it really special, fun, and exciting,” says Nick Kelly, who played Mr. Green.

              

The audience laughed every 15 seconds and actors had to handle the situation of keeping in character.

“The hardest thing that we all have to deal with is not laughing at each other. We are constantly biting our tongues or pinching ourselves trying not laugh,” says Farrington.

The play took place during midterms week and colonial weekend. Audiences members could rely on this production for a nice break and a laugh during such a stressful week.

“Everybody needs to laugh. The show is a comedy and it’s a great place to go, relax, and just laugh,” said Lewis.          

   

Upcoming student theater shows include Rent from Oct. 24-26 in the West Hall Theatre, The Diary of Anne Frank from Nov. 8-10 in the West Hall Theatre, The 19th Annual Rocky Horror Picture Show from Nov. 8-10 in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom and True West from Nov. 14-16 in the Lisner Downstage.

Photo Credit: 14th Grade Players 

Westboro Baptist Church Protests on Mount Vernon Campus

By Emily Scott

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested at George Washington University’s Mount Vernon Campus on Friday afternoon. Many GW students also showed up on the Vern to counter-protest.

The WBC, a Kansas church known for its extreme opposition of homosexuality, among other extreme ideologies, announced on its website that it would be visiting GW’s Mount Vernon campus. Just hours after word of the WBC’s plan to protest spread, GW students organized an event on Facebook titled, “MVC Pride Rally and Counter-Protest.”

Undeterred by the rain, GW students gathered at the Mount Vernon quad on Friday afternoon before the protest.

“We want to counter their message of hate with a message of tolerance and positivity,” Caroline Gimello, a GW freshman who played a major role in organizing the Facebook event, said.

Students made posters in the basement of Ames Hall. Meghna Batra, a sophomore at GW, was directing the creation of posters. Batra’s instructions were, “We want to keep positive. No negativity, and no inappropriate words.”

The WBC protestors and the GW counter-protestors stood on opposite sides of the street, waving signs. According to the WBC website, their protest was supposed to last a half hour, but they left after 10 minutes.

Paulette, a WBC member from Kansas, explained what they were trying to accomplish by visiting GW.

“We try to hit as many of the college campuses and high schools as we can because they need preaching to, they’re not getting it in the pulpits, and they’re not learning it from their parents anymore, and the message in Mark and Matthew is to go and preach to every creature,” Paulette said.  

“We’re preaching ‘Repent or Perish.’ That’s the ultimate message. Repent from your evil ways or you will perish… in the lake of eternal fire.”

Before coming to the Vern, the WBC protested in front of the Supreme Court earlier on Friday. They also protested on Foggy Bottom in 2010. 

Eckles Library Celebrates its 25th Birthday

by Chris Evans

The melodies of happy birthday will be filling GW's typically quiet Eckles Library tomorrow, as the Mount Vernon hot spot celebrates its 25th anniversary since opening in 1987.

Eckles has planned quite the celebration for tomorrow and is inviting all GW students to swing by. According to John Danneker, Director of Eckles Library, "Throughout the day students can meet library staff, learn more about resources and services offered, and enjoy treats and surprises."

Students are also encouraged to break the usual library hymn of silence to meet and socialize with others in attendance, commemorating the opening of GW's second largest campus library.

Tomorrow's official celebration kicks off at 2 PM, where there will be birthday cupcakes, images of  Eckles throughout the years, and fun surprises. For students who can't make the official celebration, the library is offering free coffee, cappuccinos, and hot chocolate throughout the entire day, perfect for students who just have a minute to join the party.

Foggy Bottom residents are being especially encouraged to take the quick ride to the Mt. Vernon campus to use the celebration as an opportunity to familiarize themselves with Eckles' great wealth or resources.

Eckles Library opened in 1987 with a specific focus on the research and study needs of freshman and sophomore students. To date, it holds a print collection of over 60,000 volumes, which continues to grow each month.

Re-Introducing Ames Hall

Bright smiles and proud faces filled the newly renovated Ames Hall on Friday as the University officially re-opened the building in a ceremony held with administrators, members of the Board of Trustees, alumni and students at Ames' first floor sky box. The celebration for the completion of the $19 million renovation project on the Mount Vernon campus featured several speeches, tours of the building and a reception with samples of food from the building's new cafe.

The renovation of Ames Hall from a dining facility to an academic building began in November 2010 after the completion of the renovations to West Hall, which resulted in the campus dining hall located in Ames to be moved to West. The renovation process took just over a year and has resulted in a facility that is aiming to be a certified LEED-gold building. The construction included a new roof for the building and water fountains placed throughout the building designed specifically for filling water bottles.

Besides sustainability, the building boasts five floors filled with state-of-the-art class rooms, faculty offices for the University Writing program, six glassed study rooms which can be used by students on a first-come, first-served basis, and a cafe located inside the first floor entrance called Zebi's. The Mount Vernon division of the University Police Department is located on the bottom floor and there is a sky box on every level overlooking the softball field allowing for students to watch games from a great vantage point.

The University intends Zebi's Cafe to be a place where students can grab a quick bite to eat on their way on and off the Vern Express or in-between classes. The cafe serves breakfast sandwiches from 8 - 11 AM and then switches to a lunch menu that includes sandwiches, soups and salads. Coffee and pastries are available all day.

The addition of Zebi's means Pelham Commons Dinning Hall will no longer serve breakfast. Nancy Haaga, the Managing Director of Campus Support Services, says the reasoning is based on the numbers, since on average only five to seven students were buying from Pelham between 8-11 in the morning.

"Pelham was not convenient [for breakfast] or not what students were looking for," Haaga added, "Students were voting with their feet."

The University expects that the addition of another academic building and the additional presence of the full University Writing Program as well as the Honors Program will enhance the Vern.

"This [the addition of Ames] has shifted the center of gravity back onto the quad," Shelly Heller, Associate Provost for Mount Vernon, said.

Now, with Ames Hall open, Provost Steven Lerman said that "there is more than adequate classroom space on Mount Vernon."

As a result, the University has to decide what to do with some of the new empty space in Post Hall, the Vern's other academic building. Some options include adding more studio space for the interior design program or moving offices into the building that service students.

More is on the way for the Mount Vernon Campus academically. University administrators said today that they are set to launch a faculty fellows program next fall where professors who are on sabbatical will have the opportunity to spend their sabbatical on the Vern teaching an Honors class and working on their research.