Middle school debaters saw success in tournaments held in late October and mid-November. At the University of the Pacific tournament, held in Stockton , Calif., over the weekend of Oct. 29, Lisa Liu, grade 8, competed at the varsity level in the Impromptu category, in which students choose a topic and are given two minutes to prepare a speech, which they then spend five minutes presenting. Competing against high school students, Liu reached the semifinals and was later named one of the tournament’s top 20 speakers.
In her first tournament, Divya Rajasekharan, grade 7, made the final round of Novice Humorous Interpretation, an event that requires students to memorize a published work and then reinterpret it in an entertaining and comedic manner. Rajasekharan’s piece, “Beauty is a Beast,” relayed the tale of a conceited princess who learns that kindness is more important than beauty.
Two weeks later, at the Damien Debates at Damien High School in La Verne, Calif., students Panny Shan and Steven Cao, both grade 8, competed against high school students, winning four of five rounds in the preliminaries. They wound up losing a very close contest in the quarterfinals against Diamond Ranch High School’s top team. In the varsity division, Lisa Liu and Sophia Luo, grade 8, won against two teams from Polytechnic High School and Liu again received accolades for her speaking ability, selected as the ninth best speaker out of 40 students in her division.
Every year, Camp BizSmart, a camp that teaches entrepreneurial skills and attitude to students aged 11-15, holds a business plan competition for teams interested in featuring their own innovative product ideas. The winners of the 2011 contest were NeuroSky 5, six students who created a line of highly sophisticated sports gear called NeuroSport. Five of those students go to The Harker School, including team leader and CEO of NeuroSky Shannon Hong, grade 8. Annie Zhou, grade 8, Karen Tu, grade 8, Quentin Delepine, grade 7, and Joseph Krackeler, grade 7, rounded out the Harker students on the team.
As a result of their win, NeuroSky 5 was invited to present their winning solution atKeiretsu Forum’s sixth annual Angel Capital Expo in mid-November, where they had a chance to hear about up and coming ideas in various industries and visit with attendees. Randy Williams, the founder and CEO of Keiretsu Forum, and Sonja Markova, the managing director at Keiretsu Forum, introduced the Camp BizSmart group as the winning team, and presented them with their first place award. Following the presentation, the students were invited to lunch, and given a chance to share their idea with guests.
“The event went off beautifully and we were very proud of the Camp BizSmart grand finale team of students, many who are Harker students,” said Peggy Gibbs. “The students were recognized on stage by Williams and Markova for being named as the 1st place winner over 19 teams of students at our 3 locations.”
Once again, a Harker student is a Rhodes Scholar finalist. Tanya Schmidt ’08 was named a regional finalist this year, and this past weekend went through the final interview process, but was not selected as a Rhodes Scholar. Schmidt, a student at Santa Clara University (SCU), first applied for the scholarship in October. In a Q&A session with SCU, she said, “I submitted my application in early October. It requires a personal statement and a résumé, as well as up to eight recommendation letters. About a month later, I received an email saying I was a finalist.” She and 14 other finalists went up to San Francisco on Nov. 19 for an all-day interview to compete for two spots.
In 2010, Varun Sivaram ’07 was named a Rhodes Scholar and faculty and staff at Harker were pleased to hear Schmidt’s personal and academic accomplishments were receiving recognition. She has been described as “very special,” the kind of student who goes out of her way to say hello to you. SCU has similar praise for her, saying, “To say Schmidt is special is an understatement.”
The Rhodes Scholarship provides full financial support for 32 students across the United States to earn a degree at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. According to the Rhodes Trust, Rhodes Scholars are chosen “not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.”
Grade 8 students went on their annual trip to Washington, D.C., in late October for an exciting and enlightening journey through the nation’s capital. The students were accompanied on the trip by Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs; Vandana Kadam (math); Chrissy Chang and Deb Shaw (P.E.); Andrea Millius, Jonathan Brusco, Tobias Wade and Cyrus Merrill (history); Kristen Morgensen and Brennan Brockbank (biology); Rebecca Williams and Kate Murphy (English); Bernie Morrissey (librarian); Susan Moling (Spanish); Raji Swaminathan (science); and Elizabeth Saltos (art).
After arriving late due to a delayed flight, the students and chaperones started their trip in earnest the next day with visits to Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. “Specialized guides showed us what it was like to live in Jamestown in the early 1600s,” wrote Gargano in one of several emails to parents during the trip. Students saw how the first English settlers prepared food, made clothes and lived day to day.
At Colonial Williamsburg, a preservation of colonial America, the students toured several of its most famous buildings, including the Capitol, a recreation of America’s first capitol building, and the Governor’s Palace.
The next day started with a visit to Pamplin Park to learn about the lives of soldiers in the Civil War. Students also got a firsthand look into the lives of soldiers of the era by taking part in military drills and seeing a recreation of a military encampment. During the drills, students Hunter Riedel, Surya Solanki, Arjun Narayan, Cordelia Larsen and teachers Kadam and Brockbank acted as generals for the rest of the group.
During the road trips, groups of students gave presentations on the places they had seen or were about to see. Selin Ozcelik, Zarek Drozda and Sahan Narayan offered a retrospective on Jamestown; Kirsten Talbot, Anika Mohindra and Jasmine Liu talked about Colonial Williamsburg; and Shivali Minocha, Nick LaBruna, Natalie Simonian, Abhinav Ketineni and Antonia Salisbury discussed Pamplin Park.
That evening, the students were visited at dinner time by Amira Valliani ’06, who interned at the White House and currently works in office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She told the students about her job and about the function of the state department. “The students found it intriguing that Amira helps write speeches for Hillary Clinton, has top secret SCI clearance, and has met President Obama,” Gargano wrote.
Following dinner, the students visited several memorials, including the World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials. “Prior to each visit, students on each bus educated us about the memorials we were about to see,” wrote Gargano. Research on the FDR memorial was presented by Anthony Luo, Calvin Kocienda and Anish Velagapudi; and Helena Dworak, Kevin Wang, Karen Tu and Elina Sendonaris spoke about the World War II memorial. The Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial was reported on by Selin Ozcelik and Nikita Ramoji.
Day four of the trip began with visits to the Iwo Jima U.S. Marine Corps memorial and to Arlington National Cemetery. They also saw the eternal flame at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy and memorial of the “Challenger” space shuttle. “The highlight, of course, was watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by the laying of the wreath ceremony,” wrote Gargano. “We are extremely proud of Darius Yohannan, Ashi Gautam, Panny Shan and Natasha Santhana, for representing Harker and laying the wreath with an inscribed ribbon saying ‘The Harker School’ at the tomb during this ceremony.”
During a bus ride to the group’s next destination, Adeli Li, Kristen Park, Jessica Liou and Maya Jeyendren presented information they had researched about the wreath ceremony and other memorials located at Arlington.
Later, the group went to Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., famous as the site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Following a presentation on the events of the day Lincoln was shot, the group went across the street to the Peterson House, where Lincoln died the next day.
At the National Museum of American History, students had the chance to stand at a presidential podium and deliver an inauguration speech, which appeared on a teleprompter. Helena Dworak, Naomi Molin, Kevin Wang and Kaushik Sankar all gave their own versions of inauguration speeches by Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The day concluded with the students attending a performance of the musical political satire “Capitol Steps,” which the students appeared to enjoy, as Gargano noticed their frequent laughter.
The students’ visit to the White House the next day was the most anticipated portion of the trip. Prior to their visit, however, the students spent some time visiting some of the memorials they had not yet seen, including the Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial (where the students created a rubbing of a name of a lost soldier), Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. Students had much to say about each memorial. Stephanie Huang, Luke Wu and Aparna Yellapragada shared a presentation on the Korean War Memorial; Kevin Wang, Helena Dworak, Kaitlyn Gee, Karen Tu and Eilina Sendonaris presented on the Vietnam Memorial; a presentation by Kaitlyn Gee, Shivali Minocha, Stephanie Huang and Aparna Yellapragada contained info about the Lincoln Memorial; and Anthony Luo, Calvin Kocienda and Anish Velagapudi reported on the Jefferson Memorial.
As one of the only tour groups at the White House, the students had the chance to take their time during the tour and examine the many rooms on the first floor. “The students were disappointed they did not catch a glimpse of President Obama but they seemed to appreciate the opportunity to see this important historical building,” Gargano wrote. The students received a primer on what to see in the White House in a pre-visit presentation by students Chandler Nelson, Eliot Gruzman and Shannon Hong.
Later that day, students visited the Holocaust Museum, the Newseum and the Air and Space Museum. “The FBI exhibit and the 9/11 video were the highlights of the Newseum visit,” Gargano said. A presentation on the American History Museum was given by Samali Sahoo, Jonathan Ta and Jonathan Dai; Shannon O’Shea, Jonathan Ta and Neel Jain gave a report on the Air and Space Museum; Kaushik Sankar and Kevin Hu presented on the Newseum; and Kristen Ko, Alexandra Dellar, Layla Walker and Wishu Murani gave a presentation on the Holocaust Museum.
That evening, the students attended a special presentation by Dr. Robert Stack, program manager at the department of energy. “He explained how he funds university grants and in doing so, he invests in research that he hopes will result in new technologies,” said Gargano.
The group made sure to pack a lot of activity into the second to last day of the trip. They first received a guided tour of the capitol building, and got to see a debate and a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. From there, they went to the committee room of the Office of Homeland Security, where they briefly met with Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana’s second district. Richmond unfortunately had to leave early for another engagement, but the group’s guide brought in Congressman John Lewis of Georgia’s fifth congressional district to speak with the students. “He told the students about his times as one of the 13 original freedom riders and the difficulties he endured when he led a march of 600 people in Selma in 1965,” Gargano wrote. Lewis is also the only living speaker from the 1963 march on Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famed “I Have a Dream Speech.” The students also learned that Lewis earlier this year received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Congressman Richmond then returned to give a presentation on how he became a congressman after doing public service in his local community. “He urged our students to believe that anything is possible,” Gargano wrote. “He spoke to us about the joys and frustrations of being a congressman and was also happy to share that he was the MVP during a recent congressional baseball game.”
That evening at dinner, the students enjoyed dancing and celebrated that week’s birthdays by singing “Happy Birthday” to students Vineet Kosaraju, Sahana Narayanan, Chloe van den Dries and Anish Velagapudi.
On the final day of the trip, the group headed to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington, where they had quite a view. The students, Gargano wrote, “loved the view from his porch.” Afterward, they had lunch at Old Town Alexandria, Va. With some time left before their flight back home, the students visited the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. The students arrived home safely on Oct. 28 after a fun and richly educational week.
Harker varsity quarterback Spenser Quash, grade 11, led the football team to their first conference win of the season over the Cupertino Pioneers at Homecoming, earning the High School Player of the Week award from the San Francisco 49ers. In the 35-28 victory, Quash completed 12 of 15 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for three more touchdowns to account for all 35 of the Eagle’s points in the game.
“Spenser Quash is a ball player, plus he has a heart of gold,” said Harker head coach Karriem Stinson. “He can read defenses better than anybody I have ever coached.”
Ron Forbes, Harker’s strength and conditioning coordinator, who worked with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, started working with Quash on his foot work, arm strength and decision-making after his sophomore season.
As with every win, the team effort was key. Linemen David Fang, Jason Kuan and Saagar Sarin, all grade 12, opened the holes for junior Ryan Mui’s 115-yard run, and allowed time for Quash to throw both touchdown passes to wide receiver Robert Deng, grade 11.
“Even when we were losing, we kept preparing to win and kept giving our best efforts. We were still having fun, but ending with a win sure felt good,” said Quash. “It was a win that most of us will never forget.”
The honors accompanying the award include a $500 grant to Harker for the football program. Quash will receive a 49ers hat and T-shirt, two tickets to a 49ers home game and recognition on 49ers.com. At the end of the season, Quash will be invited to the 49ers training facility in Santa Clara to accept a certificate recognizing his achievements, signed by 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Heartiest congratulations to Quash and to all the Eagles for a great game!
Harker’s Cum Laude Society continued to host engaging talks for its Cum Laude Lecture Series in late October and early November. On Oct. 26, Buddhist abbot Jian-Hu Shi of the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale once again visited Nichols Hall auditorium to give attendees a primer on the key tenets of Buddhism and how they related to the lives of Harker students. This marks his final appearance at Harker for some time, as he plans to embark on a retreat to Taiwan for a number of years.
A week later, on Nov. 2, Chris Nikoloff, head of school, delivered the second of his lectures inspired by Alan Watts’ “The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.” In this lecture, Nikoloff touched on how opposites depend on one another, and how easy it is to take this co-dependency for granted. For instance, when listening to a piece of music, it is common to let the space between notes (sometimes represented as silence) go unnoticed even though they are essential to the piece itself.
In early November, Cyrus Merrill, a middle school history and social sciences teacher at The Harker School, gave his grade 8 history students the chance to speak with the special assistant to the nation’s deputy chief of staff/director of policy planning.
Amira Valliani ’06, said her job entails supporting Jake Sullivan (the deputy chief of staff and director of policy planning) in anything he needs, from putting together his briefing book to helping figure out his office’s strategies. “If you’ve ever watched ‘The West Wing,’ you’ve seen the people who walk into meetings and pass the characters notes saying that the President wants to talk to them,” says Valliani. “I’m the person walking into the room with the note, except instead of the President wanting to speak to my boss, it’s usually Hillary Clinton.”
Valliani started as a National Economic Council intern at the White House, and has written speeches for Hillary Clinton. Merrill says she spoke to the group while the grade 8 class was in Washington, D.C., and now the students have had the chance to interview her about the state department and how it functions.
Merrill says the call lined up with the students reading about the founding of the department under Washington. They had studied “the isolationist positions of Washington and the embargo of trade with all the world under Jefferson. The students asked [Valliani] about whether there are any isolationist state department staff, and she not surprisingly said, ‘not at all today.’” Additionally, Merrill says, “She pointed out that while there are no ‘embargoes’ in the language of the state department today (similar to what we had read about with Jefferson cutting off trade with all of the world to avoid war with Britain in 1807), the state department has been actively working on the similar idea of sanctions, especially with Syria at the moment.”
The day before the call, students brainstormed questions they wanted to ask Valliani. In addition to learning about isolationists and embargoes, students got some basic information on what her day-to-day looks like, including a picture of an atypical day, like the one Valliani talked to them on. When one student asked what she was doing that day, Valliani said, “Not much, because my boss is in Hawaii. But that’s why I have time to talk to you!”
Merrill elaborated on that, explaining that Clinton had just left for an Asian-Pacific conference in Hawaii.
In her more typical day of work, students learned that she has to access information constantly on vastly different topics. “In one day,” says Merrill, “she had to become well-versed in river environmental safety (for overseas efforts by the U.S. to encourage other nations to reduce pollution and runoff, etc.), as well as nuclear security issues. To do so, she relies on those in the state department who are experts in each of these fields.”
She also explained that she is a political appointee, meaning she will lose her job if Obama loses the election.
Valliani then talked to the students about treaties. They do not do many, as Merrill described. “It’s mostly ongoing negotiations, and contacts with different contacts in similar foreign agencies around the globe responding to crises,” he said.
Also on the topic of crises, Valliani told the students that, “they have CNN on all the time, because sometimes the news is faster than even contacts of their own with foreign issues that arise.”
In turn, Valliani asked the students questions. “What is the worst thing that happens if foreign negotiations collapse?” she asked. The students correctly answered, “War.” Merrill says she went on to describe how this is always a pressure to make negotiations work.
Merrill says he hopes the event made students realize “that these real world issues really do have an impact, and that there are a number of interesting careers involved in politics and foreign affairs.”
He will continue to keep history relevant through these interviews with people who work in fields in the present that have direct connections to what they have studied from the past.
This year alone, the students will speak with an Obama speechwriter right after the State of the Union address, a Federal Trade commission attorney about the government’s effort to deal with monopolies (in connection with the industrial revolution), a Latin-American journalist about perceptions of the U.S. in Latin America today (in connection with Teddy Roosevelt’s policies started 100 years ago) and civil rights activists. They’ll also speak with one modern artist and, “Hopefully,” says Merrill, “a rap musician about anger and urban tensions when we get to modern America.”
Merrill is always looking for interesting people. He is currently looking for people with connections to any government agency – especially the SEC, FDIC or a fashion or music historian.
Despite intermittent rain, the atmosphere at Harker’s Homecoming football game remained jubilant on Nov. 11, as both the junior varsity and varsity Eagles met Cupertino High School at Davis Field. Both contests were thrillers, each decided by a single-score deficit, with junior varsity losing 18-15 and varsity winning 35-28.
Aside from the games, the many attendees had plenty to keep them occupied. Prior to the varsity game, the Harker Jazz Band warmed up the crowd from the stands and the lower school’s junior cheer squad performed to the delight of the audience. The Eaglets’ fly-by, a Harker Homecoming tradition, saw lower school students donning their trademark eagle costumes to perform a spirited and well-received dance routine. In a continuation of the spirit rally earlier in the day, students in grades 9 and 10 met to compete for third place in the tug-of-war contest, with the sophomores declared the winner.
Another special pre-game event was the singing of The Harker School song and “The Star-Spangled Banner” by students representing vocal groups from all three Harker campuses, directed by upper school music teacher Catherine Snider.
The upper school parking lot was active for the duration of the event, with student organizations setting up tables to sell food and souvenirs. John and Christine Davis, parents of Cole Davis ’11, brought their RV to the special alumni section, which was busy with alumni and parents chatting and enjoying the many food options available. The Eagle Buddies also had their own section, where students in that program, as well as their parents, met and socialized.
Following an exciting first half which left the varsity teams of Harker and Cupertino tied at 14 points, the crowd was treated to performances by the upper school cheerleaders and varsity dancers and also watched the tug-of-war contest between grades 11 and 12, who vied for first place. The seniors won the contest, continuing grade 12’s dominance in tug of war.
Capping off the halftime festivities was the appearance of the homecoming court, each couple riding golf carts driven by their class advisors. Chris Nikoloff, head of school, thanked the crowd for the great attendance and enthusiasm, before bestowing the title of Homecoming queen on Michelle Lo, grade 12, and naming Revanth Kosaraju, grade 12, this year’s Homecoming king.
The Eagles football players, thoroughly pumped to play two more quarters, burst through a large paper sign to signify the start of the second half. For the rest of the evening, onlookers watched as the Eagles soared to a hard-fought and well-deserved win.
On the following Monday Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs, extended his thanks to all who helped make Homecoming “a rousing success. From the teams on the field, to the performers, to those working in the background on logistics; from food service, to the advancement staff, to the amazing facilities team; from the adults who volunteered or were assigned to work, to the athletic department and finally, to those who simply attended and contributed to the wonderful spirit that could not be dampened by the rain – you have my thanks and appreciation for your contributions.”
The Harker School’s annual Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) Week, put on by the GEO Club, ended in late October. Thanks to candygram, wrist bands and sports bags sales, as well as pledges taken for vows of silence, the club will be donating just under $6,000 to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI). GAVI distributes vaccines to impoverished nations, helping to save the lives of children and break the poverty cycle.
GEO had so many candygram orders that “we had to make almost 200 more, I think,” said Cherry Xie, grade 12, the club’s public relations officer.
Xie also says a great number of people participated in the vow of silence, which was her personal favorite part of the week. “People got very competitive about the amount of money they could raise and it basically turned into a huge competition between me and two other people to see who could raise the most.” Pledges were given to those participating in the 24-hour vow of silence, and the three competitive students, “each ended up getting pledges from 60 or more people,” said Xie.
But the vows of silence didn’t stop with the students. Teachers also took the pledge challenge, including Bradley Stoll, a mathematics teacher on the upper school campus who teaches Xie’s calculus class.
Xie called thought it was “very bold” of him to do. “I really admire how he was willing to root for the cause even though it made teaching for him very difficult,” she says.
To illustrate just how quickly disease spreads, the club also put on a game where they had to “infect” each other with stickers, and see how many people had become “infected” by the end of the day.
The end of the event provided a natural time for reflection, as well as a time to consider what other ways there are to help. “I hope everyone realizes that there are many ways to help people in Third World countries, and that many aspects of their lives they don’t usually take time to appreciate are in fact life-or-death matters for others, specifically vaccinations and immunizations,” said Xie. “I also hope that people who did take the vow of silence reflect on how much of a difference they made by themselves, just by giving up something as simple as speech for a while, and that if we all support each other in fighting for a cause, we can achieve a lot.”
In late October, the Harker Conservatory’s fall play, “You Can’t Take it With You,” showcased from a Thursday to a Saturday in the Blackford Theater, attracting full-house seating and generating lots of laughs.
“You Can’t Take it With You,” by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, was originally performed in 1936, and centers around the eccentric Sycamore family – all of whom have hobbies they love (though are often terrible at), and who live by the philosophy, “Don’t do anything you aren’t going to enjoy doing.” In the play, Alice Sycamore (Cecilia Lang-Ree, grade 11), the most “normal” member of the family, gets engaged to the equally normal Tony Kirby (Kovid Puria, grade 12), vice-president of Kirby and Co. When Tony’s parents come over to meet the family, chaos and hilarity ensue.
The process of getting the show from page to stage started when director Jeff Draper chose the famous piece. “I take many things into account when selecting a play,” Draper said. “I need a show that has many roles for the large number of students we serve with the Harker Conservatory. I also need challenges for the actors, and especially for the female students. Most plays are written by men, for male directors, and for a largely male cast. I like plays that tell stories about women and girls, or at least stories that appeal to them. And I look for a genre or style that will complement those done by the student directors and Laura Lang-Ree’s musical each spring. Because many students perform in all three productions, I like to provide new styles to learn about.”
Once Draper had decided on “You Can’t Take it With You,” it came time to cast. When Tina Crnko, grade 12, auditioned, Draper made the call to change the central character of Grandpa to Grandma. According to Draper, “Tina showed up and proved that she was the one who had the gravitas to convey the important themes of the play. She effortlessly created a grounded, wise and well-constructed character capable of owning the important role. And the story seemed more ‘balanced’ for a contemporary re-telling of the play because of the switch.”
What followed casting was six weeks of rehearsals, during which time sets were built and costumes made or ordered. Paul Vallerga, technical director at the middle school, created the set design of the Sycamore’s living room, including stairs that convincingly disappeared to the unseen upper floor of the house and doors to the kitchen and basement (the latter of which had to convincingly light up for several fireworks scenes). Natti Pierce-Thomson designed the lights, and as Draper says, “they add so much believability and beauty to the show.” Caela Fujii designed the costumes and provided the props. “Those she couldn’t find,” Draper says, “she bought or built herself. She is a miracle worker and I love working with her!”
Tristan Killeen, grade 12, who played Mr. De Pinna, an ice man who stopped by the Sycamore home eight years ago and never left, said one rehearsal stands out more to him than any other. “One rehearsal, we talked as a cast about the message of the play, and almost everyone in the cast seemed to have a profound moment of introspection in which they learned something about how this play related to their own lives and the lives of those around them,” Killeen says.
“I looked forward to every rehearsal for this play, as they were really what brought the cast together to share the message that this play had to offer,” said Puria, the “normal” fiancé. “In every rehearsal, I learned something new about Tony Kirby, and I am grateful that I had the chance to play the role. It is the creation of the character that makes theater fascinating, and every rehearsal added a new dynamic to the role. I loved every moment in the process of this production.”
Draper worked hard to keep rehearsals interesting. “To keep the comedy fun and see it grow, we played games with the show in rehearsal. One game is called ‘Funny, Smelly, Popular,’ and each actor picks a character they will find hilarious, another that is endowed with extreme body odor, and a third that is very cute, beautiful, etc. They act the show as usual, but with this additional layer adding humor and fun to the blocking, line readings, entrances and actions. We also played tag one time, and it really kept the stage movements very interesting,” he says.
Then it was show time.
The cast hit the stage on opening night with tons of energy. Between Mr. Sycamore (Govi Dasu, grade 12) and Mr. Di Pinna blowing up fireworks in the basement, Alice’s sister Essie (Lydia Werthen, grade 11), dancing across the room, Grandma collected and grounded in the center of the room, and the entire family’s predictable clash with the Kirbys, there was never a dull, stale or boring moment. The cast balanced the play’s laugh-out-loud humor with the underlying message to hold onto the things that truly matter to produce a lively performance with a resonating message.
One of the funniest moments in the play comes when Penny Sycamore – mother of Alice and Essie, and played by Namrata Vakkalagadda, grade 10 – suggests the Sycamores and the Kirbys play a game where she says one word, and everyone must write down the first word that comes to mind. She reads the Kirby’s answers out loud at the game’s end, and discovers that Mrs. Kirby’s responses are quite telling about her relationship with her husband.
Crnko says this was actually her favorite moment in the play, calling it a cast victory. “Mr. Draper challenged us to get a 30-second laugh from the Friday night audience on the moment. We successfully reached 23 seconds on Thursday night, 31 seconds on Friday night, and 35 seconds on Saturday night. We were all over the moon,” says Crnko.
The play’s message of letting go of the things you can’t take with you resonated with audience and cast alike.
“Do what you love to do,” Puria says of the play’s overall message. “The argument between Grandma and Mr. Kirby (Alex Najibi, grade 12) at the end of the play really conveys this message to the audience. Mr. Kirby works long hours and makes loads of money, but he is not truly happy with himself (or his indigestion). The play says, through the character of Mr. Kirby, that finding one’s passion should be the goal of life.”
“A great joy of mine in the past few days is hearing from those who came to the show about how it not only had them laughing and lifted their spirits, but also caused them to reflect in the same way that the cast did,” says Killeen.
Crnko believes that, “In an age when we’re each wrapped up in our own ambitions, overrun by all that needs to be accomplished, and blinded by successes and failures, this show reveals what still remains deeply human about each of us: the need to feel connected.” She goes on to say that, “Grandma Vanderhof, the character I was lucky enough to play, understands what many of us often forget. Grandma knows that the true purpose of life is to be happy, and that monetary success or nominal importance are only superficial means by which many attempt to reach happiness. Mrs. Vanderhof sees that family and connection to those you love makes life worth living.”
She quoted a line from the play – “It’s only a handful of the lucky ones who can look back [at life] and say they even came close [to happiness]” – that perhaps best implies the resonating message at the heart of this comedy: be one of the lucky ones.