This Weekend, Students Direct One-Acts
The student one-act plays are a much-anticipated performing arts event and are a venue for student directors and actors to showcase their talents in a broad array of plays and topics. This year there are three one-acts, completely directed, acted and tech-supported by students.
This is the second year that Henry Claudy (I) has directed a one act. This year he chose the play “Face Divided” by Edward Allan Baker. The drama takes place in a Providence emergency room, where a mother brings her injured young daughter, but questions arise about the injury when the father arrives. Henry says most of his Milton theater experiences focused on comedy, so he wanted to try something different.
3Peat Improvisers Bring the Laughs
Beginning with a single suggested word from the audience, “ravioli,”, the 3Peat improv troupe rolled out a series of hilarious scenes for students at King Theatre. Five members of 3Peat, an acclaimed part of Chicago’s vibrant improv comedy scene, came to Milton as a Melissa Gold Visiting Artist. They performed for students, held a master class in the basics of improv, and visited several classes, including improvisation and public speaking. Students had several opportunities to perform with the professionals.
“The students were way ahead of what I was expecting,” 3Peat member Torian Miller said. “They didn’t hesitate to get up and participate. As a group, we don’t judge one another. It’s a space where you can feel safe to be silly and just have fun.”
Grace Connor ’17 Has the Scoop on Building a Business
After trekking through a snowstorm to deliver her first pints of Little G Ice Cream to a specialty grocer in Boston, Grace Connor (I) had a flash of doubt. “I was putting it into the freezer and thinking, ‘What did I put all my time and money into?’” she remembers. “After a week, they called and told me that all my ice cream sold out, and they wanted to order more.”
This was in January 2016, six months after Grace landed a spot in the start-up food production space CommonWealth Kitchen at the age of 16.
Sports Talk With Journalist Bob Ryan
Well-known sports journalist Bob Ryan made the case that sports play an important role in people’s lives whether they are athletes or fans. Along with other “leisure pursuits” such as books, movies and the arts, Mr. Ryan said sports “fill a gap.” He spoke to students this morning at the Athletic Assembly.
“Some people say sports are just entertainment,” said Mr. Ryan. “But sports are unscripted, which is what makes them different from just entertainment. When you go to a concert, you don’t want to be surprised; you want to hear the music you expect. With sports, there is a good chance for surprises.”
Actions Can Keep the Legacy of Dr. King Alive
“We can’t wait for the change so many of us want to see in this world,” Annie Jean-Baptiste ’06 told students last Thursday, sharing her beliefs about diversity and six actions people can take to be more inclusive and follow the life and lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Annie, the diversity programs manager for Google’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Team, works toward diversifying the next generation of technology professionals and to promote inclusion programs among the tech giant’s 60,000 employees. She said she is inspired by work Google is doing to build products that are accessible to everyone. She returned to Milton as this year’s MLK Jr. Day speaker, asking students to honor other people’s perspectives.
The Robotics Team Rolls On to Advanced Competition
The Robotics Team’s robot, named “Tokyo Lift,” won the robot skills competition, the excellence award and the championship at the VEX Robotics Qualifier Tourney in Hopkinton in December. Milton had two robots entered in the competition and the winning robot moves on to the state competition in March.
Truman Marshall (II) and Tommy Elliott (II) were the leads on Tokyo Lift. Truman said, “we knew we had a good design” but “were pleasantly surprised” by their success. The “Starstruck” competition is played on a 12’x12’ square field, where the robot picks up and moves “stars” and “cubes” into particular zones. After playing qualifying skills matches, teams from different schools form alliances. Then, the object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance. Truman’s and Tommy’s alliance won the whole competition.
Work Toward Justice in Every Field, Young Alumni Urge Students
You can find humanity and make social progress along any career or academic path, Milton alumna Jovonna Jones ’11 told students. “If justice and equity aren’t part of your life, you should examine that. That’s a problem.”
Jovonna is a doctoral student in African and African American studies at Harvard, where she researches critical race theory, American art history, performance studies and cultural practice. She joined fellow alumni Osaremen Okolo ’13 and Kevin Collins ’10 in a discussion about race and service sponsored by Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships and the student club Onyx.
“One Drop of Love”: A Search for Identity
“Are you going to join the Black Student Union?” a fellow University of Michigan student asked Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni in her first semester of college. Ms. Cox DiGiovanni hesitated: Her heritage couldn’t be summed up in one word. She’s Jamaican, Cherokee, Blackfoot Indian and Danish, she explained to her classmate.
“You don’t get to decide what race you are,” the other student told her. “They’ve already decided for you.”
Performing her one-woman multimedia show “One Drop of Love,” Ms. Cox DiGiovanni periodically scanned the faces of students in the Fitzgibbons Convocation Center as if she were collecting United States census data, using methods from the 1700s up to the present day.
Choreographer Danielle Flora Is This Fall’s Melissa Gold Visiting Artist
Knowing who will help you along your life path is impossible, so it’s best to show kindness to everyone, television and film choreographer Danielle Flora told students on Monday.
Ms. Flora, who has choreographed sketches, monologues and performances for “Saturday Night Live” for 17 years, said that connections she made throughout her career as dancer and choreographer opened doors to incredible opportunities. “Be nice to everyone, from the person who gets your coffee to the director. Being respectful really makes a difference,” Ms. Flora told students. Leaving a good impression matters in the entertainment industry, where word about personalities and work ethic travels quickly.
Milton Faces Off Against Premier Prep Teams
Every holiday season, the best teams in prep school hockey descend upon the rinks of Milton and Nobles for a chance to claim the coveted championship titles of the Flood-Marr Tournament and the Harrington Invitational Tournament. The tournaments run from Friday, December 16, through Sunday, December 18.
view Flood-Marr Tournament schedule and results
view Harrington Invitational schedule and results
