the
SPECTRUM
“Your Voice in Print”
blakespectrum.org
Friday | December 2 | 2022
Issue IV
The Blake School
Clue Play Exceeds Expectations, Overcomes Hurdles The production achieved great success with a huge turnout Anna Tao | Contributing Writer
T
he play attracted a mass of people, bringing one of the first full houses from the past two years on opening night, Friday, Nov. 19. Blake’s production “Clue” exceeded any high standards set by the movie and game’s popularity by providing a fast-paced, witty storyline with excellent acting and unique set designs. Consisting of a small ensemble cast of seven main characYoni Zacks ters, each was able to bring The Clue cast ran through their performance days prior to the official performance dates. In this scene Truman Morseman ‘23, playing Mr. a distinct, bright personality Boddy, and Clara Alexander ‘24, playing a cook, fall victim to the mystery murderer as they act dead by laying motionless on the floor. The rest of the characters are left figuring out who among them is guilty for all the murders which leads to high tension and suspicion. into their performance. That didn’t stop any shocked the plot. sets you back to square The audience was a l l brought on a wild advenThe play ran very one,” which was incredibly of the cast or crew from ture through a classic smoothly, despite issues inconvenient because the the excitement of the final “This is the show “whodunit” mystery. that arose before the per- changes were made “about performances. O’Connell exFrom the initial murformance. There were major three weeks, three or four plains that “this is the show that I’ve been der of the wealthy, script changes because the weeks before we were set that I’ve been most excited most excited for for since my freshman year manipulative Mr. wrong set of sound cues to perform.” since my freshman There were even more musical” because it has “a Boddy, to an inwere sent to the production, nocent singing telewhich didn’t align with the difficulties, Truman Mors- bit of name recognition, year musical” gram girl, six murscripts that were initially man’ 23, actor of Mr. Bod- where you hear it and you Declan O’Connell ders occurred, given to the cast and crew. dy, says, “a lot more peo- don’t immediately think, ‘23 ending Declan O’Connell ‘23, ple [were] sick. [The week what the actual hell is that?” auHe also explains his i n a who played Colonel Mus- before the performance] of dience passion for playing his charthe seven main characters, mind-bogtard, mentions how the members acter, “I haven’t played a gling reveal that who weren’t familiar with script changes “basically two…were sick.”
character this stupid before. I have to think less on stage quite honestly. It’s a break!” Most actors took the opportunity to use the Clue movie as a large reference point for their characters. Anika Rodriguez ‘23, who played the major role of Wadsworth, expresses how watching the movie, “really helped me get a sense of these characters because they’re really iconic to people who have seen the movie.” Each actor truly brought their best to each character. The set itself consisted of four moving doors surrounding one huge main door in the center, and a kitchen door located on the far right of the set. The four moving doors were spun around when characters moved from room to room. Frank Nutsford ‘24, lead manager of the set design, also stated that the set was designed to have “a board game look,” which paid further homage to the original board game aesthetic. This fall’s production of Clue was reminiscent of pre-COVID-19 theatrics, which have now allowed an increase in spirit towards upcoming plays, musicals and productions from the whole community.
Senior Speech Censorship Sparks Student Frustration Topics concerning mental health often cut short by administration Mackenzie Higgins | Food Editor
“W
ord for word, there was nothing from my first draft that made it into my final speech,” says, Julia Enebo ‘23. Enebo is not alone, but rather many seniors this year would agree that they’ve experienced some sort of censorship when creating their speech. Abby Ziehl ‘23 explains, “They told me that if I did give my [original] speech, I wouldn’t be able to graduate.”
The “they,” as Ziehl says, that hands out the censorship, is a vague entity of the administration. Lily Erlandson ‘23 explains, “I don’t know who it was. [Sandy] Berkowitz just said ‘the school’ so it was unclear who was in charge of that.” Enebo agrees, adding, “Specifically, Sandy Berkowitz was the one who censored me, but I get the vibe that it was more her job to be the one who said I couldn’t. I don’t think it was her fault ... I got the impression that [the censorship] was coming from higher ups, people higher up than Joe [Ruggiero] and Sandy [Berkowitz].” Director of the Upper School, Joe Ruggiero, clar-
ifies that Berkowitz, who leads the Senior Speech Program, consults with Associate Director Sarah Warren, the counselors, or the grade deans when she comes across “concerning topics that could impact the audience in some detrimental way.” The general consensus from seniors is that these “detrimental topics” that were reviewed and removed from speeches by administrators were mostly specific and explicit details about mental health struggles. Ruggiero explains that the administration welcomes and encourages discussions on mental health topics, however, he explains that “the issue is when people get up there and talk about
events that could be triggering for people in the audience.” He elaborates, “People talk about censorship, but the issue is that students are captive in [the auditorium]. When you watch a TV show, go to a movie, or attend a speech, that’s voluntary ... But we require students to be in [assembly]. You have to attend, so it’s not fair to have a captive audience and say things that could be triggering or detrimental to several people in the audience.” Berkowitz echoes this saying, “I try to work very hard with the students so that they can give the speech that they want to give while at the same time being mindful of the
Cleo Kilpatrick Remy Abraham ‘23 gave her speech on how students ought to take adavantage of the opportunity to give a senior speech in front the entire school and to speak about something you’re passionate about. Some students argue that they are being stripped of that very opportunity due to censorship from the school administration.
needs of the audience and the needs of the school. I recognize that there are some people who feel like they’re being censored. I try
newsfromdapimpz’s Instagram incentivises students to attend more of their classmates’ sporting events to be in the account’s videos or pictures.
Check out the vision behind “The Play Place” Bennett Gallery art exhibit.
Christian Hovard ‘25 picked up cooking over COVID-19 and even crafted dishes for a bridal party.
Student Life: Page 3
Arts & Culture: Page 4
Food: Page 5
to make it so that they can still give the speech that they want to give within the parameters.” (Continued on Page 2)