10.30.19

October 30, 2019 | 34st.com

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Kim Petras Interview

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A24 at Penn

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EOTW: Laurel Jaffe, Angela Schmitt

Sophie Burkholder, Special Issues Editor Allison Wu, Long–Term Features Editor Ryan McLaughlin, Word on the Street Editor Katie Bontje, Ego Editor Sam Kesler, Music Editor Srinidhi Ramakrishna, Developing Features Editor Bea Forman, Style Editor Shannon Zhang, Film & TV Editor Sophia DuRose, Arts Editor Sophia Dai & Eleanor Shemtov, Photo Editors Tahira Islam & Katie Steele, Copy Editors Kira Horowitz & Sarah Poss: Copy Editors Dean Jones & Jackson Parli, Video Editors Alice Heyeh, Print Director

6 MUSIC

Kim Petras Interview, Anna of the North, King Princess, Kanye

10 STYLE

Psychic Reading, 69th Street, Chestnut Hill Guide

LOL

12 FEATURE

Terror Behind the Walls

LOL 17 FILM & TV

A24 at Penn, Zombieland, Eagles Documentary, Insatiable

22 ARTS

Pop Art, Edible Books Party

LOL 23 OVERHEARDS 2

Ego Beats: Amanpreet Singh, Sonali Deliwala, Katie Farrell, Amy Xiang, Ananya Muthukrishnan, Margaret Dunn, Fernanda Brizuela Music Beats: Mehek Boparai, Melannie Jay, Teresa Xie, Petyon Toups, Julia Davies, Keely Douglas Features Staff: Zoe Young, Hailey Noh, Katrina Janco, Chelsey Zhu, Katie Bontje, Isabella Simonetti, Denali

Sagner, Chris Schiller

Kelly Chen, Eli Cohen

Style Beats: Diya Sethi, Karin Hananel, Sofia Heller, Mark Pino, Hannah Lonser, Hannah Gross

Video Staff: Sam Lee, Megan Kyne, Morgan Jones, Mikayla Golub

Film & TV Beats: Shriya Beesam, Samantha Sanders, Anna Collins, Jonah Charlton, Aashray Khanna, Deren Alanay

Copy Associates: Kate Poole, Serena Miniter, Erin Liebenberg, Lexie Shah, Carmina Hachenburg, Luisa Healey, Agatha Advincula

Arts Beats: Rema Hort, Sarah Yoon, Tsemone Ogbemi

Audience Engagment Associates: McKay Norton, Rachel Markowitz, Kat Ulich, Brittany Levy, Jessica Bachner, Maya Berardi, Stephanie Nam

Design Editors: Gillian Diebold, Lucy Ferry, Jess Tan, Tamsyn Brann Design Associates: Isabel Liang, Ava Cruz, Joy Lee, Sofia Heller, Gebran Abulhai, Sudeep Bhargava, Rhys Floyd, Felicity Yick Staff Writers: Ana Hallman, Arjun Swaminathan, Tara OʼBrien, Hannah Yusuf, Jordan Waschman, Jessica Bao, Quinn Robinson, Layla Murphy, Anya Tullan, Hannah Sanders, Julia Esposito, Avery Johnston, Harshita Gupta Illustrators: Brad Hong, Jake Lem, Christopher Kwok, Diane Lin, Jacqueline Lou, Isabel Liang, Sammie Yoon, Felicity Yick, Brandon Li, Allison Chen, Madonna Nisha Miranda, Cloe Cho, Sriya Choppara Staff Photographers: Hoyt Gong, Sophia Zhu, Diya Sethi, Adiel Izilov, Sally Chen, Mona Lee, Emma Boey, Amanda Shen, Sudeep Bhargava, Adrianna Brusie,

Cover Illustration by Brandon Li "I had a near–death experience at Alcatraz."

Contacting 34th Street Magazine: If you have questions, comments, complaints or letters to the editor, email Annabelle Williams, Editor–in–Chief, at williams@34st.com. You can also call us at (215) 422–4640. www.34st.com ©2019 34th Street Magazine, The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. No part may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express, written consent of the editors (but I bet we will give you the a–okay.) All rights reserved. 34th Street Magazine is published by The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc., 4015 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19104, every Wednesday.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I

just woke up from a nap. Something about the overcast, gray weather and the slog that comes with school and work this time of year just makes me want to curl up in bed and sleep the day away.

When I got up, I realized this is the latest I've ever been to a Street production (it's 5:52). I had the urge to beat myself up and worry about how we'd get it all done. I looked at my phone for the "where are you?" texts. There weren't any; I was still early.

In fact, I'm pretty much always early to everything.

Unless it's in the morning and I've overslept (a semi– common occurrence when you routinely sleep through military–grade alarms), or I'm running from another class, I generally give myself enough time for two laps around the block, or a cup of coffee and some aimless sitting, and then I walk in five minutes late trying to project that I don't have a care in the world.

Even for parties, it's the same thing. I know there's a time on the invite, but unless I'm going with other people who can school me in the ways of the socially well– adjusted, I never know what the "actual" time to show up is. And it makes me so nervous that I find myself killing time by walking up and down the stairs in the apartment building or buying chips and salsa when I know no one really wanted me to bring chips and salsa anyway.

Like much of my life, I guess it's an anxiety thing — I want to have control over when I show up. It seems similar to a thing I say about haircuts, or editing pieces — go

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longer and give yourself the space to cut it down if you need. Showing up early and deciding how to fill the dead time gives me some control. It also means I spend entirely too much time thinking about social dynamics and how to fill dead time.

So lately I've been trying a revolutionary new strategy: attempting to not care as much. I'll still always feel too awkward to be the over–eager neighbor who shows up so early for the housewarming party that the host is still putting makeup on, but there's no reason these things need to stress me out so much.

If there's one thing I've learned from Street, it's that somehow it'll all get done.

Lulu Wang

3 WORD ON THE STREET

How a Curiosity for Weddings Unveiled My Family's Difficult History

Annabelle Williams, Editor–in–Chief Dalton DeStefano, Managing Editor Daniel Bulpitt, Audience Engagement Director Lily Snider, Assignments Editor Ethan Wu, Media Director

WORD ON THE STREET

Felicity Yick | Illustrator

HOW A FASCINATION WITH WEDDINGS REVEALED MY FAMILY'S DIFFICULT HISTORY After years of begging for proof of my parent's wedding, I learned the harsh reality as to why there wasn't any.

Anonymous As the cliche goes, I was a little girl who loved weddings. I dreamed of the poofy cupcake– like dress, the cake, and the flowers, among other things. One thing that continually frustrated me when I was little, though, was the fact that my parents never had any wedding photos.

I would push and push, asking where they were, who took them, why we didn’t have them at our house. All my mom could muster up was, “they’re at my parents house,” or, “next time your aunt comes to visit, she’ll bring them.”

Multiple aunts and uncles visited, and each time I wondered and pressed as to where the photo album was, until my mom snapped and told me not to ask about it. Only several years later would I be told why the photo album didn’t exist.

While for some people it would be as easy as going over to their grandparents’ house and checking for the album, both sets of my grandparents were across an ocean; and for some reason, we never visited. I had gone to my parents’ home country once when I was very young, but only with my father. We hadn’t gone with my mom or my brother.

My parents always chalked it up to the fact that they were saving up, which I accepted and understood.

In 2011, we finally visited.

There was no photo album. No one answered me when I asked where it was, and my grandfa-

ther was so senile that I didn’t expect him to know. After that visit, we kept on going back to the motherland, and the period of time where we never visited faded into oblivion, only coming back when I expressed my sadness over not spending time with family overseas during my childhood.

As I became older and more aware, more things started to not make sense. Why was there not even a marriage certificate?

I kept on pushing my mother to answer, and it became such a sore point that my mother finally snapped and told me to stop asking about it. She was so upset that I stopped. But then it came up in conversation with my dad when I was seventeen.

We were on vacation and wading in the clear blue water when my brother and I started going on about all the dumb things that never made sense to us as a child. I mentioned the wedding, or lack thereof. My dad caved and said, “It’s because we weren’t married for a long time.” It came as a shock, but nothing serious, I laughed and speculated about me and my brother being born ‘bastards.’

My dad went on to say that at the time, he was married to a longtime family friend for most of my childhood, until he and my mother got legally married on a weekday morning at City Hall. Things started to make

sense. The family friend's name was on all of our electrical and water bills.

They could never show me their wedding certificate because for a long time, it didn’t exist, and when it did, it would reveal that my parents weren’t married.

Along with the marriage revelation came a much deeper and more important truth than any dumb album or license: that my dad had to get married for a Green Card, and that my mom lived in the U.S. without documentation for 12 years. To say it came as a shock was an understatement.

At first, I felt guilty. Knowing that my mom had to endure endless questions from her inquisitive and nosy daughter about things that she had to keep quiet about must have been hard. I also realized that over the period of time when she was undocumented, the rest of her undocumented friends gave up and went back to their home country, accepting a ban from entering the U.S. for 10 years that accompanied overstaying their initial visa. One of her siblings and her mother died within those 12 years, and she couldn’t go back unless she wanted to jeopardize everything she and my dad worked for. She was lonely, grieving, becoming accustomed to a new country, all while raising two children and supporting my dad as he built his business.

Then I was resentful. They kept this secret from me for so long, and I was angry that I never got an explanation to all of the questions I had for this exact reason. I thought that maybe if there was some kind of transparency I might have been less confused.

However, it became apparent very quickly that they did this out of love and care. Letting me be a normal American kid, unburdened by the complexities of documentation status and immigration was the best thing they could have done for me. After all, I was an American citizen.

This whole situation just demonstrates how incredibly lucky we all were. Lucky that we all ended up with documentation and were able to stay together, lucky that we didn’t live in the age of President Donald Trump and no–tolerance immigration laws. We were lucky that we didn’t come from a country that would make people suspicious of my parents’ immigration status, lucky that all of these elements came together to put up a ruse and to keep us safe. I was just this clueless American kid, and I’m so glad I was clueless. Not every person has that luxury.

Even though I understand my general luck in this situation, it doesn’t change how it’s affected how I look at my life today and my childhood. Now it makes sense why my parents slowly lost all of our family friends, why

everyone moved back, and why we were left as just the four of us.

Even though my parents have made some friends, found their passions, and moved on from the difficult times of our past, the moments of isolation we all felt follow us to this day. Even if we’ve moved on, I still get such sharp pangs of sadness sometimes when I think about everything my parents had to endure on their own. Death, financial hardship, raising two children, working their asses off to make sure we had the best life possible.

Coming to terms with my family’s immigration story was difficult and for a bit of time, all–consuming. It was a big piece of information to be trusted with and digest. It made me rethink my identity as a daughter of immigrants, and brought me closer to my parents, whose sacrifices meant that I got to grow up in the United States and get a way better education than I would have in their home country.

However, the one thing that doesn’t change is the fact that we can’t talk about it to anyone. It’s not something we’re allowed to share or identify ourselves with.

The isolation in that sense still remains. You would never look at a photo of our family or come to our home and realize the realities of what our lives used to look like. We weren’t always this safe, stable, or lucky. You just didn’t know, and you still don’t.

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EGO

Ego of the Week: Laurel Jaffe Meet the senior who is producer and project director at NEXO Productions Amanpreet Singh Street: Why did you decide to become a cinema and media studies major?

Laurel Jaffe: FilmAid was one of the biggest parts of my Penn experience. It completely changed my future trajectory. It was a group of us that founded it together that went on the trip with Peter Decherney. I came to Penn with no major decided, I was really just excited to be here.

My freshman year I took classes in all different fields—psychology, intro to acting, anthropology—really all over. I just wanted to explore, meet different professors, and just learn different things. My freshman spring I took a virtual reality class with Peter Decherney, the head of the Cinema and Media Department.

He is an incredible professor. And it was through that class that we went to the Tribeca Film Festival.

There were just so many doors opened from that one experience.

It was in that class that he mentioned to us that he had gotten a grant through the school to work with FilmAid International and United Nations to create short video projects about this new refugee camp called Kalobeyei in Kenya. This refugee camp is a new style and structure than any of the ones in the past and in Africa, especially in Kenya. There's a movie theater, and there are sports teams. We would go out and have this interview with one person, like the Commissioner of firewood for that location, but then we ended up stumbling upon a soccer field at all these students who had formed their own soccer league within the refugee camp and had this whole big soccer competition. More times than not in the news, there can be such a dark and violent portrayal 4

Hometown: New Canaan, Conn.

Studying: Cinema and media studies Activities: PennQuest pre–orientation program leader, producer and Project Director at NEXO Productions, Kinoki Senior Society, Delta Delta Delta, Co–Vice President of Penn FilmAid

of everything that's going on, and this was an incredible project that let us talk to people human–to–human. It's crazy that one random class that I signed up for ended up being this experience that I would then take to become my passion.

Street: In what ways has this experience continued to shape your life?

LJ: On the last day there was a group of Penn students, our professor, the FilmAid students, and the rest of the FilmAid organization. They had this projector where we showed all of our videos, and after we had dinner and this closing ceremony to show everyone our final products, we had just this amazing dance party literally in the middle of Kalobeyei, in the middle of this United Nations compound. They were just blasting music, and we had a dance–off with the other students and it was so much fun. And I am such an awkward dancer, but I love dancing and it was just a blast. I still remember that to this day. I had no idea we would become so close to the FilmAid students. When we came back to Penn, we had a reception at Perry World house where we were able to show the film. We got not only a great response from the Penn community, but also the greater Philadelphia community.

Street: What was your experience like studying abroad?

LJ: I was honestly very surprised at how difficult it was to study abroad at the program I wanted to pursue, but that's another example of how I'm so grateful to my cinema professors, especially professor Decherney. I really wanted to go to a film production–focused school for more hands–on experience. I'm also

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a big scuba diver. So with him I was able to find this art school called the Hellenic International Studies in the Arts, based on the island of Paros in Greece. The first time I petitioned Penn about it was my sophomore spring, and I had spent months researching it, went in to the abroad office, and was like 'I am dying to go to the school, it has the film program that I really would love to study.

It has amazing equipment and the teachers. And I can scuba dive every day. It sounds perfect.' But they just wanted to make sure that the study abroad program that you are doing is worthwhile, so they said no. And I was crushed.

So I spent the summer thinking about it, I was going to apply to different programs, but at the end of the day I'm not just going abroad to travel. I wanted to go abroad to go to this program.

So, round two: I went back into the office. I had a PowerPoint, I had research from past students at the school, and past projects and what they had gone on to do. It took months of meeting with different professors, the College office, and everything, but I finally convinced them a week before the deadline. It was so cool to be so immersed and to not know anyone and just spend six months writing my screenplay, which is what I went there to write, and that's what led to my thesis.

Street: What is your thesis project? How are you taking that beyond Penn?

LJ: Penn has been super transformative and eye–opening for me, but I feel like there is a lot of really scary, difficult things that go on. I wouldn't say it's about Penn per se but I would say it's about what it's like to go to an elite university, a place where it's

very much work–hard play– hard, where everyone is so so smart and we all just make such dumb decisions sometimes.

I was able to write a script for that show, and I'm just spending my thesis throughout the whole year really fine–tuning my pitch packet and bible.

Then I'm going to go out to Los Angeles and pitch for it post–college. Sophomore summer I interned at NBC Universal, and scripted television for casting. Then I did talent and casting for Walt Disney television this summer, and I was always really interested in casting just because I think I'm very aware of the diversity, or lack thereof, in many shows and streaming plat-

Sally Chen | Photographer

forms, so I wanted to learn more about the process and I wanted to work with people who are the ones making these decisions.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

LIGHTNING ROUND What is your favorite film?

I have to say it really depends on my mood. I definitely have a solid top eight, but I would say right now I love 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.'

If you were a building on Penn's campus which one would you be and why?

I would be Moelis. I love studying there.

What is your Halloween costume going to be?

My housemates and I always do a house costume and we're dressing up as the green toy soldiers from 'Toy Story.' Green face paint, morph–suit—yeah, it'll be intense.

Song on repeat right now?

This is definitely so sappy but "Graduation" by Benny Blanco and Juice WRLD. Where is the coolest place you’ve traveled?

Definitely Antarctica just because it was such an incredible opportunity.

There two types of people at Penn…

Those who walk the Locust Bridge or people who go a block out of the way to avoid it.

And which one are you?

Oh, I definitely take it. And all of my friends are people who avoid it so it's a huge contention.

EGO

Meet Angela Schmitt: Penn's Crepe–Loving Entrepreneur

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The junior tells us about her love of crepes and global backpacking adventures Amy Xiang In the vast world of desserts, what makes crepes stand out? For Angela Schmitt (C, W ’21), the answer is obvious: “They're delicious. Who doesn't like them? Chocolate, fruit, marshmallow, lemon curd, and as much homemade whipped cream as you could possibly eat. I love dessert and I love coffee, and I wanted to make a food I loved.”

And so she did.

Crepe Diem, based in the small town of Sheboygan, Wisc., is a local favorite, serving coffee and crepes at various events.

“I bought the truck three years ago, and it was originally a utility truck that we converted into a food truck.

Now we travel around to different arts festivals, fairs, farmers markets, and concerts during the summer,” Angela says. “That’s another reason I chose crepes: it’s more of a niche thing. My town isn’t big enough to

have a creperie. But when people are at events, they still want to get something that they wouldn't just get at home or any old restaurant.”

These are not just your everyday crepes. When asked about the menu, Angela had her answers ready.

Most popular? Nutella and strawberry.

Riskiest? “Kitchen sink ... basically everything that we have dumped into one huge three pound crepe,” Angela says.

And her personal favorite?

Lemon curd with strawberry.

She compares her experience of owning a small business with the corporate business settings that her peers at Penn may be more familiar with.

“I actually make all the crepes myself. We’re open about six days a week, and we’re pretty much all booked up for the summer,” Angela says. “That’s what I think is most unique about my food truck experience: it's really an individual one. If I don’t get up in the morning, do all the

prep, drive the actual truck, and show up on time, we're not getting to the event.”

Angela says that it’s the “hands-on day-to-day grit” that motivates her to keep going.

“I know that if I make a really killer special this week, it's going to sell amazingly and my customers will be happy, and I’ll be able to see all of that. I think it's the most authentic form of feedback,” she says. “There's such a direct correlation between effort-in and reward—not only monetary but also the success aspect—that I personally find super motivating. It’s a lot of responsibility. And it's something that I took on at an earlier age than a lot of people have.”

Here at Penn, Angela has an extensive list of commitments that keep her busy during the school year as well. On top of her dual degree of statistics in Wharton and math in the College and two research position jobs, she is both a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and a Joseph Wharton Scholar. Aside from cooking, one of her biggest

hobbies is traveling, and this is reflected in the leadership positions she holds in Penn International Impact Consulting and Wharton Leadership Ventures. With PIIC, she has led international trips to places such as Cape Town, South Africa, where she worked on prenatal HIV reduction, as well as Peru, where she led projects related to education and community empowerment.

WLV, on the other hand, has both an international and a local focus, with the purpose of the club being to “get kids out of the Penn bubble and to challenge them in unique team settings to help them grow as individuals, leaders and as a team.”

This often involves sailing or backpacking trips nearby, which is something that Angela says has helped stay connected to the things she did back home and keep in touch with the “outdoorsy, adventure seeker” aspects of her personality.

But she says it is still Crepe

Diem that has taught her the most about business in the real world and has helped her decide which direction to go towards with her professional career.

“I definitely had an interest in business before I had the truck, but I think that running it has helped me define what specific kind of business I'm passionate about. It’s also taught me a lot about entrepreneurship and building my own ventures,” Angela says.

“Without having done the food truck, I don’t know if I would necessarily have the confidence to go out and start my own company somewhere down the line.”

So, what’s next for Angela?

“I'm actually taking a gap semester. I’m pursuing a dual degree, but I have enough credits so that I can graduate on time even if I take a semester off, so why not take the semester off? I'm going to travel and then hopefully work on some of my own long–term projects.

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5

MUSIC

Kim Petras Is Building a World of Her Own An interview with the up–and–coming pop icon about the music industry, her Halloween album, and the pursuit of perfection.

Annabelle Williams Photo credit: Clare Gillen & Alexandre Moors When pop princess Kim Petras first broke out with songs like “I Don’t Want It At All,” a glitzy ode to capitalist excess hooked around the line “close your eyes and swipe it," life and lyrics didn’t exactly line up.

For Petras, these songs were aspirational, about how she wished her life would be. It wasn't all labels and luxury. “I was writing songs about all these designer clothes and getting whatever I want when I was living on a futon in an apartment with four other roommates,” she says. For a pop star with an image predicated on glamor, it's a decidedly unglamorous admission.

Now, after the release of two volumes of Halloween projects, a deluge of singles released weekly, and her first full–length project Clarity, Petras just started The Clarity Tour, which will bring her to The Fillmore Philadelphia on Nov. 19.

Petras’ pop is synthed out euphoria—undiluted, unabashedly produced bubblegum. Listen for too long and you might find it cloying, but the right dose is a pure dopamine hit. Petras comes off as a pop purist. Where other acts experiment with hip–hop stylings, her style feels like a series of updated '80s pop bangers.

But that signature production of Petras’ work has also caused significant controversy. When asked about her long–standing collaboration with Dr. Luke, the producer whom Kesha has accused of sexual assault and other abuse, Petras said, "you can go 6

online and find out what I have to say about it."

In June of 2018, Petras cited her “positive” experience with the producer, but said that it doesn’t negate the experiences others have had—a take that caused significant controversy, as she continued to work with him (he produced Clarity). “I don’t want to involve myself in that anymore,” Petras says.

While her primary musical inspirations may skew more MTV than MTV.com, Petras' brand is uniquely online and carefully curated. A neon silhouette of Petras with her signature bun denotes “Era 1”; “Era 2” centers around Clarity. The sonic differences are there, but the idea of “eras” is really a feat of branding. Instead of releasing a few singles as a promo for an album, Petras took a different tack—dropping singles every week. “I’ve just been really building my fanbase by releasing music constantly,” Petras said.

The “eras” give a sense of proleptic iconography; she's claiming the status as an icon a few decades earlier than usual. The continuous release strategy of Era 1 belies a careful curation of image. Petras is someone who’s extremely internet–savvy, thinking about where she fits in the pop canon even before she fully finds her place there.

Petras is reluctant to call Clarity an album, even though it’s her first full–length project, telling Billboard that the songs needed to come out, but that “this is still [her] building phase.” She

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echoed the sentiment in this interview when talking about her future goals, saying, “I don’t feel like I’ve written the best songs I can write."

The music industry, despite her success—singles charting on Billboard and Spotify and fans who often cry when they meet her—hasn’t lined up exactly with what Petras expected.

“When I was a kid, I thought it would all be really glamorous and really amazing. I thought songs were done in one take," she says. "I was very naive to how it is."

“I feel like, by choice, life isn’t very glamorous,” she said. Life looks more like studio, writing, tour, repeat, and less like the unattainable glamour in sparkling music videos with high–fashion costumes and Paris Hilton cameos.

One aspect of Petras’ brand that’s both darkly glamorous and appropriately seasonal is her Halloween album. "Turn Off the Light Vol. 1" was released in 2018, and on Oct. 1 of this year, Petras completed the project with new songs for a full 17–track "Turn Off the Light" release.

It’s club music that curls around itself and curdles into something dark and unsettling, but it’s also a subversion of a music industry mainstay—the Christmas album.

“It just simply came out of a conversation that we had in the studio: Why are there no Halloween albums and so many Christmas albums?” Petras explains. After writing and recording the dark

love song “Close Your Eyes,” they had a jumping–off point.

It seems like a natural progression—"Close Your Eyes" takes tropes of love songs to a narrative extreme, with lyrics like “when it’s after dark/I’m gonna eat your heart.” It synths up the dark underbelly of romantic obsession until it hardens into a club banger.

And then they got Elvira. Petras’ excitement crackles when talking about her “literal icon”— at one point enunciating “AM– A–ZING” so that you could almost see it spelled out in front of you with exclamation points breaking up the syllables. They wanted Elvira for a verse on the title track, for which she’s credited as “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.”

Though Petras was on tour during Elvira’s sessions, the two did get to meet for an interview for PAPER. "Turn Off the Light" also features a song called "TRANSylvania," a few breathy moans and signature “Woo–Ah’s” stretched out instrumentals for nearly three minutes. It’s a song perhaps best suited for a Halloween–themed rave, but its title does speak to an important part of Petras’ identity.

Petras is one of the most visible trans artists working today; she transitioned at 16 and initially either faced animosity from labels for being trans or a hyper–fascination on that facet of her identity. “It was a little tough at the beginning because it overshadowed everything I was doing and it was everything anybody wanted

to talk about, but now I feel like my music speaks for itself,” she explains.

But Petras stresses that she’s honored that her trans fans— any of her fans—see her as an icon, saying "I feel honored that anybody would look up to me."

Later in the interview, Petras notes that one of her goals as she moves up in the industry is to use her platform to help trans people, particularly trans women, who she notes, face a disproportionately high murder rate.

In the coming months, Petras will be on tour, meeting crying fans who say they can’t believe she’s real, travelling around the U.S. and Europe. And despite the grueling schedule and the need for vocal rest ("I'm really talkative!"), she seems to be looking forward to performing, saying, “When I’m onstage, I don’t feel like it’s my job."

If the first tour stops are any inclination, she'll parade across stages in sparkling knee–high boots and bodysuits that look like space–age couture. She'll leave with offerings: concertgoers in Seattle carved pumpkins with her face on them and tossed them up on stage. Fans will cry after meeting her and tell her that they feel seen. And she’s just getting started.

Looking forward, she wants more. “I feel like the artists that I really admire, and what I admire about them is that they have a world of their own," she says. And Petras is working on building that for herself.

MUSIC

Anna of the North Exudes Self–Love On Her Latest Album, 'Dream Girl' The standout collaborator finds her own voice on her sophomore solo effort.

By Julia Davies There’s a sense of mystery to Anna of the North. In 2014, she released her debut single “Sway” which became an internet sensation and was quickly remixed by the popular duo The Chainsmokers. In 2017, while working on her own debut album, she was featured on Tyler the Creator’s critically acclaimed album Flower Boy on the singles “Boredom” with Rex Orange County and “911 / Mr. Lonely” with Frank Ocean and Steve Lacy. Alongside some of the biggest names in R&B, Anna of the North offered her distinct soft and soulful vocals.

She’s the type of singer whose vocals have a way of harmonizing and enhancing music across genres. Her soft, dreamy vocals and her success as a featured vocalist give her an unreal quality. With the release of her latest album, Dream Girl, you can’t help but wonder who Anna of the North is all on her own.

Appearing in the cover art of the album wearing angel wings, Anna of the North is aware of her ethereal persona. In the music video for her title track, “Dream Girl,” Anna walks around a castle–like mansion donned in florals, lace, and ball gowns. Looking closely, you can see she’s wearing prosthetic ears that give her an elfish look. As she sings the lines, “In my dream world, I’m still your dream girl” it’s clear that the artist is enjoying building an image that escapes reality.

The mythical Anna reappears with angel wings in her video for “Leaning on Myself.” Singing lines about loneliness and self–reliance, she floats and gracefully dances through each scene, from taxi to motel room. The artist is able to face isolation and pain with self– empowerment. The visuals and the song are beautiful and enigmatic, complementing her profound lyricism and pristine vocals.

Following with the theme of

independence is the perfectly balanced break–up song, “Time to Get Over It.” Contemplating feelings of frustration and nostalgia, Anna of the North finds the confidence to move on from a love gone bad. The opening lines, “It only feels like yesterday when you blew my mind away/People, while they’re passing by, see them look at us smile” stands in stark contrast to the feisty lines of the chorus "Try to get my shit together, you just pull it apart/Try to be the bigger person, boy, you fucked up my heart.” It’s a song that’s equal parts sweet and slow, and upbeat and angsty.

Another stand–out on the album is the single “Playing Games.”

Mixing upbeat, electronic dance beats with heartfelt, soulful vocals, Anna of the North brings a depth that’s atypical for the genre. Reminiscent of the album Lovers, Anna of the North is able to create delicate and emotional music that you can still dance to. Although not entirely inventive for the artist, it shows that Anna of the North has found her distinct dream–pop sound.

Nestled in the middle of the album is, "Lonely Life," one of the strongest tracks on the album. With an infectious beat, Anna of the North sings happily about the joys of being alone and owning your own life. She delivers the lyrics “It’s a lonely life, it’s your only life, live it” with such an assertiveness the listener can’t help but listen and soak up her feelings of self–assurance.

Dream Girl demonstrates unrestrained confidence and independence. Anna of the North clearly knows who she is. She’s the champion of self–love, and she's mastered her distinct sound of feathery vocals and synth–y pop beats.

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MUSIC

'Cheap Queen' Is the Perfect Soundtrack For a

King Princess' Quarter–Life Crisis

The 20–year–old's debut album was made for those of us leaving our teenage years behind.

By Keely Douglas While Billie Eilish may belong to teenage girls, King Princess belongs to those who are leaving those years behind.

Mikaela Straus, professionally known as King Princess, is a 20–year–old NYC–based artist who captures the essence of the liminal space between teenhood and adulthood.

In 2018, King Princess released her breakout song, "1950" at the age of 19. The single is an ode to queer love and the LGBT community, and it forced Straus, who identifies as genderqueer and lesbian, into the spotlight.

After releasing a handful of singles and two EPs, Straus announced the release of Cheap

Queen, a meticulously produced album given that Straus is the daughter of recording engineer Oliver H. Straus Jr. She spent most of her childhood in his Mission Sound studio, and over the years she learned a variety of instruments as well as music production techniques.

This expertise is clear throughout the thirteen songs in Cheap Queen—there is not a single beat out of place.

The album as a whole tells a coherent story through its variety. In contrast to her previous EPs, Cheap Queen’s extended track list allows Straus to explore different styles and variations of her intrinsically sad ballads. In contrast to the

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distorted piano lullabies of “Isabel’s Memory” that underlie the lyrics, “hope is a thing you find when you’re sober,” the music– box–like melodies of “Watching My Phone” and head–bobbing drum beat of the album's title track capture the listener’s attention and build momentum to the climax. “Prophet” plays as if it has three unique movements—the second of which becomes ethereal and choral in contrast to the other two’s electric guitar line and bell–like synths.

In “Trust Nobody,” every note of each instrument is perfectly clear, and the experimental distortions and synth lines are all made with identifiable

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purpose and restraint. In “You Destroyed My Heart,” the cacophony of synth lines and instruments are indistinguishable from one another. They all blend together in the most satisfying way until all you can hear is the music. Combined with Straus’ clear and consistent vocals, the mix allows listeners to indulge in a trance–like state so peaceful that it's almost jarring when the song ends. In fact, a couple of the transitions between the songs are a bit sudden, halt the flow of the album, and force you to think about the creative process behind it.

In “Homegirl,” she sings on top of lilting guitar strums that are almost reminiscent of country music, but as Straus sings about a woman and how she “feels so safe in [her] arms,” there is a sense of reclamation in her words. With the characteristic frankness of a someone straddling the generational gap between Millennials and Gen– Z, Straus takes the genre and makes it her own for a new generation.

With the claim of “I can make grown men cry,” on title

track “Cheap Queen”, Straus exudes the cockiness of an early twenty–something who feels like she has the world in her hands. However, with, “she said meet me at the party, but I don’t know nobody,” (“Trust Nobody”), she also portrays the fragility of that confidence— a fragility with which anyone that age is familiar. In the final track, “If You Think It's Love,” Straus even includes the jaded devastation of someone realizing that “if this is love, I want my money back.”

Anyone standing in the dust that remains of their teenage years as they try to figure out what’s coming next should be no stranger to the mess of emotions in this album.

They’re raw yet nostalgic.

They’re vulnerable yet mature, in a way that almost makes you want to cry for a reason you don't understand. And the willingness to indulge in this strange mature uncertainty proves that King Princess is prepared to bare her soul and let that art evolve alongside her through a long and successful career.

MUSIC

Kanye West Heads In A Religious Direction with 'Jesus Is King,' But Fails to Deliver The rapper's ninth studio album feels empty and underwhelming.

Teresa Xie Saranya Sampath | Illustrator After teasing the release of Yandhi more than a year ago, dragging it out for months, abandoning it, then ignoring the promised release of his new album on Sept. 27, Kanye finally released his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King, on Friday at noon.

The album is 27 minutes long and features 11 songs, none of which have explicit lyrics.

Jesus Is King is largely Kanye’s gospel–rap tribute to God, birthed from his “Sunday Services." As of January 2019, Kanye has been performing to a very select group of family, friends, and fans on Sundays. At these performances, Kanye sings gospel versions of his popular songs with a choir to back him up. At first, these performances were held on Kanye’s properties in Calabasas, Burbank, and Los Angeles; however, recent gatherings have expanded to Illinois, Wyoming, and Ohio.

Although Kanye has alluded to religious salvation before, his pastor, Adam Tyson, told the Pure Flix podcast that Kanye believed he was “radically saved.”

Following this realization, Tyson worked with Kanye every Tuesday night to do a bible study and Q&A. Soon thereafter, Kanye started his Jesus is King project in Cody, Wyoming.

In listening to Jesus is King, it’s abundantly clear that Kanye’s religious experiences in the past year have changed his creative and musical direction. However, despite the fact that Jesus is King is definitely a religious album, it fails to properly deliver on this promise with its lack of real lyrical and musical substance.

Kanye’s first lines on the album appear in his second song, “Selah,” in which he raps, “God is king, we’re just soldiers.” From the start, there is already an ironic

contrast to Kanye’s Yeezus album, where he continuously raps “I am a God,” on a track of the same name.

Jesus is King has a less blatant characterization of his ego, along with a cheerfulness and optimism that his previous albums don’t. In “Saleh,” there’s no doubt that faith plays an important role in Kanye’s life, with lyrics such as “When I get to heaven’s gates / I ain’t gotta peak over.” Interspersed between these lyrics are verses from the Bible that Kanye just throws in.

Although Kanye samples components from gospel music, the real focus is on choral arrangements and hints of organs. Musically, “Use This Gospel” has the most evidence of Kanye's old style, with a steady piano pulse that recalls his song “Runaway” on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

However, unlike “Runaway,” “Use This Gospel” does not

include any curse words, as part of Kanye’s effort to make his music more clean and pure. On “Use This Gospel,” Kanye also teams up with contemporary jazz artist Kenny G on a saxophone solo.

Meanwhile, the lyrics of songs like “On God” deviate from the theme of religion.

After each line, Kanye repetitively, and almost lazily, says “On God." In the lyrics, he justifies how expensive his concerts are: “That's why I charge the prices that I charge/ I can't be out here dancin' with the stars/ No, I cannot let my family starve, I go hard, that's on God." Here, Kanye’s focus is less on his religion and more on his professional career.

Last year, Kanye stirred up controversy when he claimed that slavery was a choice, and made comments about the efficacy of the 13th Amendment. In both the tracks “On God” and

“Hands On,” Kanye references the 13th Amendment as well. In “Hands On,” he says, “Wonder if they’re gonna read your rights / 13th Amendment, three strikes / Made a left when I should’ve made a right.” These lines on the album seem out of place, and stand as an effort that Kanye makes to clarify his controversial statements through his music.

Jesus is King disappoints as a musical piece of work, and especially as Kanye’s creation.

The overarching religious theme is clear through the album name, gospel choruses, and lyrics. However, many of the lyrics referencing religious devotion aren’t particularly deep, and often his gospel choruses seem carelessly thrown around. After generating a slew of political controversies over the past two years on sensitive topics, Kanye fails to execute Jesus is King in a way that is insightful, creative, or meaningful.

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My First Visit to a Psychic

Interest in psychic readings is at an all–time high, but do they live up to the hype?

Hannah Lonser see my life through another’s eyes proved more helpful than I could have anticipated. “[My clients] end up having a little bit more clarity as to where they are and what they should be focusing more on,” Christine said.

“I am able to point out where the problems are and say, 'you should be putting your energy in this direction instead of that direction.'”

The reading ended with Christine’s predictions for my future. Her projections ranged from general, like how the next two years are my time to start making real progress towards achieving my aspirations, and then became more specific. Allegedly, an ex–lover will try to come back into my life before the year ends, and I will meet my soulmate unexpectedly next winter.

This glimpse into what the future holds, Christine notes, is especially helpful for clients that come in looking for “any advice or guidance, or if they’re just having problems in their life on any possible front like work, career, or money and they want to know if anything is going to change or if there’s something that they can do to help make it better.”

As Christine let go of my hands and my first psychic reading came to an end, I was floored by the magic of the experience. But this reaction is not unusual amongst her clients.

“They’re usually saying, ‘wow, o by

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2.0

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many of my defining characteristics. She described how certain aspects of my personality influenced my interaction with the world around me. For example, she alleged that my nurturing spirit—a result of my Virgo Sun sign and old soul—makes me a valuable support system for my friends and family, and a North Star of sorts for people in search of direction.

CC B Y NC - SA

approximately two years into the future.”

I was ushered over to a small table draped in a red tablecloth.

A crystal ball and a stack of tarot cards were arranged neatly on its surface. Christine took her seat across from me and started to wave a piece of burning sage through the space between us.

“This is just to clear the air,” she tells me before setting it down.

She advised me to hold off on asking any specific questions.

“I always suggest that I should start and they should save their questions for the end of the reading,” Christine said, “and usually after the reading not very many have a whole lot of questions.

They usually find that their questions were answered.”

“Is it alright if I tell you anything I see, good or bad?” she asks me. After a moment of hesitation, I gave her the okay, deciding to fully embrace the reading. She took both of my hands in hers, opened my palms, and began the reading.

Studying my palms under the lamplight, she started with an assessment of my character.

“I think that one of the biggest things I can do is help a person to understand how they’re being seen by another person,” Christine states.

I was shocked by the accuracy of her analysis. From my unwavering honesty to my deep–seated ambition (as it turns out, I was a leader in a past life), Christine managed to nail

ot Ph

I walked into my appointment with Christine Wallace a skeptic.

The logical part of me has always been wary of psychics and the magical abilities they claimed to possess. For a long time, the furthest I ventured into the world of the paranormal was reading up on my astrology chart in the Co–Star app.

But there was always a part of me curious about the merits of psychic readings. Though I kept it to myself, I often wondered if truth did actually lurk behind their insights and predictions.

And with a growing number of people turning to psychics for guidance and wellness coaching, I finally decided to give the experience a try.

After conducting some research on the psychics operating out of Philadelphia (there are a lot more than you would think), I stumbled upon Christine Wallace, a psychic who has dominated the business for over 30 years.

Even before she took her services public, Christine was no stranger to psychic readings. “I kind of grew up in it because my grandmother used to do this as well,” she said. And while working as a psychic wasn’t always one of Christine’s aspirations, the universe had other ideas.

“I realized that I had the gift at around 12 or 13, so it wasn’t really my plan to do what I’m doing,” she told me, “but it’s a gift and you should be using it to help people.”

I scheduled a palm reading in the hopes of getting the true psychic reading experience to uncover deep truths about myself and leave me with a set of predictions for the future. As Christine puts it, “the palms are just a general overview of what’s going on in a person’s life and

The insight that Christine provided into my past and present ultimately convinced me of her otherworldly abilities.

Christine pinpointed hardships and triumphs I have encountered over the years, explaining the mark each left on my life.

She described areas in which I have made meaningful progress while highlighting areas where there is room to grow. I have never felt more vulnerable. I remember thinking, "she knows everything about me."

The experience left me with a newfound sense of understanding. The opportunity to

this is so fantastic!’” Christine remarks. “People are happy, and I’m happy to see them happy.

It’s a big deal to get that positive feedback that I do.”

After experiencing the power of a psychic reading, clients are often left wanting more. “They have the tendency of coming back,” Christine observes. “They come back and tell me that some of the things I predicted happened and then usually at that point they’re coming back to have a deeper reading because now they’ve really seen the validity of the readings.”

The psychic services offered

by Christine and other members of her field span beyond palm readings. Many clients will opt for a full life reading that combines a traditional psychic reading with a tarot card reading, often optimal for those searching for detailed answers to specific questions about the future. Christine also offers tea leaf readings which she claims are “the most specific and the most in–depth.”

As for which one a client should choose, Christine suggests that they select a reading that aligns with their goals for the session. “They’re all accurate, they just escalate in information,” she says, “it really just depends on how much information they want to have.”

I ended up taking away a lot more from my appointment than a good story and a couple of predictions for my future. I gained a greater understanding of myself and of the avenues that I can take to improve my life. My first psychic reading changed the way I think about my relationship with the world around me.

I walked into my appointment with Christine Wallace a skeptic, but I left a believer.

ST YLE

69th Street: Actually, You Do Have Time for a Relationship Why is a busy schedule such a common excuse for ending relationships?

Sophie Burkholder “I have so much going on right now that honestly, I don’t really have time for a relationship.”

These were the exact words I said to a guy last year that I actually wanted to date seriously. But his beautiful mess of commitment issues and inability to fit me into his schedule left me so insecure that I wondered if I was the one with the problem for wanting a relationship to be as much a part of my life as my job, schoolwork, and other responsibilities.

I became addicted to a sense of busyness, to push out the negative emotions gnawing at my brain—you know, the ones that told me this “cool” guy was not the one for me. My schedule overflowed with so many commitments that when this guy finally ended our arrangement by throwing my own words back at me—“You said yourself you don’t have time for a relationship”—I came crashing down hard.

I took comfort in that old saying that love should be easy. But what if it had been easy? Would I still have considered myself too busy for a relationship?

This concern is by no means isolated to Penn, but our extreme focus on doing everything we can to get our dream jobs probably makes it a little more prevalent.

While love tends to be easy when it’s right, relationships are always hard work. There’s an emotional commitment that comes with a relationship that takes up time.

I dated someone for a long time in high school, and, for better or for worse, that relationship made me have faith that others were possible. But you have to embrace the scary vulnerability that intimacy requires. I put myself out there freshman year, in terms of the dating and hookup scene at Penn, and I got hurt. A lot. When I took a break from casual hookups for a while my sophomore year, other aspects

of my life started to improve.

I got better grades, I formed deeper friendships, and I started to write again. I often correlated the two trends, figuring that the time I used to spend navigating the complexities of my freshman year sex life was now time I used to work on myself and my friendships.

Even though I refer to those days as my “dry year” to friends, I went on several dates, making time for a few guys who also wanted to make time for me.

None of them were perfect, and no one really swept me off me feet or anything, but I felt so respected—and it made me want to respect them back.

At the bottom line of all of this is a piece of advice that I often remind myself to follow, especially when I get so wrapped up in romanticism that I start ignoring all of the red flags: if someone is into you, they’ll make time for you.

This is a two–way street. If a date starts to feel like another appointment instead of a break, that’s usually an indicator that something’s a bit off. I knew all along when I told that one guy last year I didn’t have time for a relationship that I didn’t really mean it. I knew that if he wanted to make some last–minute plans to hang out, I would’ve done my best to finish all of my work beforehand.

But that was the difference between us. We all have time for relationships when we want them.

The hard part isn’t about trying to find room in your schedule for another person, but about finding the vulnerability within yourself that relationships require.

Relationships are risky investments—that’ll never change— but like everything, they get easier with practice. You can’t fall in love if you don’t open your heart to it, and the only way to do that is to find a little time.

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The Making of Terror Behind the Walls DUBBED THE COUNTRY'S SCARIEST HAUNTED HOUSE, THIS PHILADELPHIA FRIGHTENING BEHIND THE SCENES. Bea Forman

II

pulled my sweater tight around my body, shaking from a breeze equal parts cold and invigorating.

Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” blasted through the speakers as clusters of middle school boys laughed with measured amounts of glee, daring each other to walk through the hallowed halls of Philadelphia’s most famous prison without so much as a gasp.

For a famously terrifying haunted house, local institution Terror Behind the Walls is anything but scary — behind the scenes, it's imbued with camaraderie and passion.

Set in the Eastern State Penitentiary, a 200–year–old prison with a history steeped in malpractice, Terror Behind the Walls uses this atmosphere to craft a narrative filled with gore, fantasy, and a heavy dose of zombies.

The haunted house doesn’t “address Eastern State’s history at all,” and hasn’t for nearly a decade, swapping prison scenes for a plot reminiscent of World War Z. In the 2019 iteration, the storyline has changed.

“We wanted to start the story sooner,” says Peter Corbett, the theatrical manager at Terror Behind the Walls.

“So what we focused on with our dialogue, our characters, and our scripting was, ‘Where are we? How did this all start?’”

Visitors walk through six attractions, battling against an infection that has decimated society and turning neighbors and lovers into flesh–hungry victims rife with boils, pus, and oozing organs. Positioning the prison as a safe haven for treatment that’s gone haywire, Terror Behind Walls transforms the hour–long haunted house into an interactive struggle for escape, offering customers the ability to “opt in” and mingle with the actors.

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Ilustrations by Isabel Liang Photos by Morgan Jones

playing an Infirmary Nurse with a penchant for stealing something tells me my newfound confidence had less to teeth, and what I found surprised me. Beneath the hor- do with the outfit and more to do with the scene unfoldror at Terror Behind the Walls is an ecosystem pulsating ing around me. with passion, efficiency and—dare I say it—love.

Morgan herself doesn't seem designed for horror. Her lips are a bright red and she speaks with the fervor of a high school theater kid, all bright eyes and enthusiastic The first thing I learned is that 300 actors participate hand gestures. A legal administrative assistant during in the show every night, supported by a hair and make– the off–season, Morgan uses Terror Behind the Walls up team that have turned the art of horror into a science. to nurture her creative spirit in a world typically filled Planning begins in March, when higher–ups determine with suits and office desks. She’s like a spark plug, and the design for the year, adding actors and attractions as one of the first staffers that actors encounter each day, while paring down fluff. Morgan McCoy, the costume her bright energy powers the show. and props manager at Terror Behind the Walls, settles “I feel like I need to create to be my best self,” she on the costumes sometime in late spring, and then it’s a says as she swaps my belt for a tighter one, fidgeting mad dash to hire actors that fit the vision. Here, the plot with my waist like a seamstress. “When I’m here I feel steers the ship, placing every actor into a specific role. good about myself, and I feel proud of everything I see While Terror Behind the Walls makes its money off my actors doing because I honestly care about every acpackaged chaos, the internal structure looks more bu- tor here.” reaucratic. Each team—makeup, costuming and props, That camaraderie coats every inch of Terror Behind the and acting—has a manager, and underneath them lives Walls. Actors exchange smiles behind painted, gnarled a dizzying array of attraction supervisors and assistant smirks, grooving to a playlist that oscillates between insupervisors and substitutes and Titans, or actors outfit- die rock and disco hits between shows. Everyone says ted with the Herculean ability to “swing any role in the “Hi” and “Good job!” to each other. It’s moments like show.” these—the ones lurking beneath the scares—that make In comparison, I felt like a glitch in the simulation, Terror Behind the Walls special. ruining their well–timed rhythm with my clumsy feet and anything–but–scary demeanor. But when Morgan handed me an antiquated nurse’s costume splattered "They call me the Mother of Monsters," says Direcwith blood and a utility belt filled with vials of mysteri- tor of Costumes and Special Effects Lauren Palmer. “I ous brown liquid, something changed. pretty much make all the monsters that you see.”

I felt confident and assured, like my life’s purpose was Neat, uniform rows of special effects makeup line the to scare until I couldn’t anymore. Maybe it was the old mirror in front of us. There’s a gradient of dark reds for adage, “clothes make the man,” working its power, but blood, a smattering of grays and browns for scars, and

a collection of adhesives. As she lays the first piece of latex on my right cheek—the base for a collection of ghastly boils set above my lip—I slip into a second skin.

Over the next half hour, I unlearn how to be pretty, setting my face in unsettling smiles and calculated smirks, mesmerized by how I look. The whole process is liberating, and for the first time my shoulders relax into a slouch.

Lauren has worked on the haunted house for 13 seasons. “When I started, we were doing makeup in the cell blocks with very little light and only a couple of premium products,” she says, setting my edges with rubbing alcohol. Now, the backstage area looks like a movie set, full of director’s chairs and wide mirrors. A mural bearing the haunted house’s name lines the back wall. I realize that Terror Behind the Walls is more than an attraction for middle schoolers and couples trying to spice up date night. It’s the pride of the city, a vestige of brotherly love.

And yet, existing in this world creates a give–and– take, especially for the make–up department. Lauren works 12 to 18 hour shifts as soon as the season changes, coordinating everything from scheduling to clean up. She puts approximately 200 actors in makeup over a span of three hours each night, but her day begins long before that.

Each morning, she molds every prosthetic used in the show—from the boils on my face to the detached arm weaponized by Surgeon Zero. The goal isn’t to achieve perfection, but rather to elicit a feeling, a fleeting moment of heightened adrenaline.

“It’s a haunted house, so we ride with the flaws and we problem–solve through them,” Lauren says. At this

point, my eyes are pink–eye red, coated in no less than three shades of thick eye shadow. I shudder. “But even then, I embrace all the challenges as problem–solving and not so much challenges. I am constantly learning from the person next to me, and everyone always has something new to bring.”

“Designing for the show is so amazing, but it’s also time–consuming. From August to October, I’m kind of absent in my personal life for two months, completely immersed here,” Lauren admits as she tints my lips maroon.

Despite the weight of that statement, her face still lights up. “But the camaraderie here—it’s something you can’t find in other jobs. Everyone comes to this job with a passion, just wanting to be here, and I don’t think you find that in a lot of other places.”

"My favorite thing is when people scream because they're scared and then they laugh because they've realized how much fun it is to be that scared."

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Maybe the key to immersing yourself in terror is finding people who make you not want to leave.

“It all starts with your character. You need to come up with the embodiment of what you want to convey,” says Peter. We’re tucked down in an alley, lit only by moonlight, with characters perfecting their roles squeezing past us.

Peter has taken on the persona of a modern–day Doctor Frankenstein, punctuating each line in his scare lesson with a demonic laugh and a wave to all the monsters he manages. I just nod and try to keep up.

Frightening people, contrary to popular belief, involves more than just a well–timed jump scare. It’s a three–step process, beginning with a mentality adjustment.

“It’s all about the way you hold your body. You need a powerful stance that will make it known that you’re built to terrorize.

You gotta convey that this is my play [people] are coming into,” Peter says, adopting a creep that’s slow and deliberate. Despite my best efforts, I can’t move like that without laughing, and end up doing some weird reaching with my hands. Peter nods with encouragement. Scaring takes mental fortitude and focus. I'm not sure if I'm cut out for it.

The second step takes eye contact. Scaring can be slow, punctuated with intense glares.

It adds to the world–building, I’m told, and while I want to chuckle at the absurdity of piercing through strangers’ souls, it makes sense. The most unsettling moments in life are the ones that cause discomfort.

“You need to have a backstory and a reason for doing what you’re doing and you convey all of that when you come up with it through your eyes,” Peter says, without breaking eye–contact.

Then comes the scare. The goal, Peter emphasizes, is the “scare and reset.” He struts down the alley with shocking silence, only to lunge out with a scream that, while

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most certainly rehearsed, has the spontaneity of fireworks. “You gotta hit them with something powerful and then back off because you want them to feel like everything is fine. But it’s not fine, and it’s just not going to be.”

Now it’s my turn. I channel every horror movie I’ve internalized, mimicking the intense realism of The Strangers and the fanciful torture of the first two Saw movies.

After a slow eight seconds, I scare and reset with militant precision and Peter beams.

Pride bubbles within me and I fidget on the balls of feet. I’ve spent most of my life

"But the camaraderie here -it's something you can't find in other jobs. Everyone comes to this job with a passion, just wanting to be here, and I don't think you find that in a lot of other places." trying to be the least intimidating or scary, canceling out every instance of RBF with a megawatt smile. For the first time, I could lean into the parts of my personality that are primal and powerful, and it was addictive.

Still, what gets Peter to set every morning isn’t subversive power dynamics. It’s the ability to create a spectrum of emotions.

“My favorite thing is when people scream because they’re scared and then they laugh because they’ve realized how much fun it is to be that scared,” he says as we walk down hidden paths to get to the infirmary, anticipation building with each breeze. “I want that to be the thing that sticks—the good memories and the good screams that made them chuckle and fall to the floor.”

This is the last thing I remember before

I’m plunged into the show, starting in the middle.

I'm standing next to an ancient dentist's chair, eyes darting back and forth between the nurse I’m working with and the steady line of patrons oscillating between fear and big–bellied laughter. It’s hard to keep track of who to target—do I aim for the 6’4” man in the sweater vest, unfazed as he clutches his wife’s hand, or the teenage girl, screaming at the mere sight of me?

Easy screams are the most fun, but the harder ones are more gratifying, and the choice between them paralyzes me. I mostly stand there, ad–libbing some creepy dialogue about pulling teeth while my colleague makes the hard decisions.

Still, the moments when I get it right— when I scare and reset in quickening intervals and the scream descends into giggles— invigorate me, and I can suddenly see why everyone returns year after year. It’s fun playing someone’s nightmare, especially once they realize it’s nothing to be afraid of.

Once I find my rhythm, positioning myself near the turn of a corner for an unexpected, if easy, scream, slipping into character feels like second nature. Soon it becomes routine and I relax, switching up my technique.

Sometimes, it’s a quick jump scare. Other times, it’s a slow smile, revealing my teeth, dyed red to mimic bleeding gums.

Ultimately, Terror Behind the Walls is a haunted house. But it’s also much more than that—it's a community for creative souls, the lifeblood of its prison host, someone’s 9–to–5, and the product of intricate planning.

What we, the passersby, see reflects little of the ecosystem that exists behind the scenes. Beneath every zombie is a production manager and a make–up artist and a clean–up crew, working to deliver you a moment of terrifying spontaneity. Nothing is unrehearsed—and that's what keeps people coming back.

ST YLE

Philly Neighborhood Guide: Chestnut Hill Out of the bustle, tucked away into the city, Chestnut Hill is the perfect staycation retreat.

Karin Hananel Chestnut Hill is a quiet and quaint neighborhood on the outskirts of Philadelphia that is loved by locals and out–of– towners for its beyond–beautiful aesthetics, vibrant small business scene, and rich history. With restaurants and activities galore, Chestnut Hill is a great and accessible in–city escape if you’re looking to explore another part of Philadelphia and get away from the hustle and bustle of University City.

Getting from University City to Chestnut Hill is relatively easy. Make your way over to 30th Street Station and take the Chestnut Hill West line to the Chestnut Hill West station, which will put you right on Germantown Avenue, the heart of Chestnut Hill.

11 a.m.: Brunch at Cake is a must when you’re coming to Chestnut Hill. Whatever the weather or the mood, dining in a converted greenhouse surrounded by plants and light is a beautiful way to start the day—and that's before tasting their scrumptious baked goods and brunch plate selection.

While the brunch menu varies between Saturday and Sunday (Sunday has a larger selection), it is reasonably priced and of good quality, with all of their plates staying under $15. They have classic brunch options like french toast and waffles, but also some unconventional plates like crab cakes with eggs or smoked salmon over a potato latke.

1 p.m.: Germantown Avenue is lined with beautiful

Victorian buildings housing everything from hotels to specialty shops to retail.

There’s the Market at the Fareway, previously known as Chestnut Hill Farmer’s Market, which sets up on Germantown Avenue from Thursdays to Saturdays.

Vendors sell everything from meat, poultry, and produce to more niche items like wood–fired pizza, cinnamon buns, and Korean–style tacos. Other interesting shops on Germantown Avenue include Bredenbeck’s Bakery if you’re in the mood for scrumptious desserts, Ten Thousand Villages or El Quetzal if you’re looking for ethical home goods or gifts, and Greene Street Consignment if you’re looking for trendy thrifted pieces, among many, many others.

If you’re not in the mood to shop, just take stroll down Germantown Avenue and peruse the windows.

3 p.m.: If you’re looking to escape even more and be surrounded by lush foliage and greenery, look no further than Morris Arboretum.

From Germantown Avenue, it’s a quick, six–minute car ride or 15–minute bus ride.

With beautiful sculptures and architecture to compliment the plant species that populate the arboretum, going here isn’t just a fun and calming activity—it’s also free for all Penn students with a PennCard. With free buses leaving from the Penn Bookstore on 36th and Walnut streets to the arboretum every Saturday morning in the spring, it’s your choice whether or not you want to

go earlier or later in the day, but either option is cost–effective and worth the trip.

6 p.m.: For reasonably priced and tasty dinner fare on and around Germantown Avenue, look no further than El Poquito. They’re known for fresh and homey Mexican food with beloved

classics like fresh guacamole, ceviche, and salads. Done side–by–side with the staples are their innovative street tacos inspired by international cuisines with flavors such as bánh mì, curry cauliflower, and Korean barbecue. If you’re not in the mood for Mexican, Earth Bread + Brewery is nearby and has

great flatbreads and beers.

8 p.m.: To cap off the night and satisfy your sweet tooth, right off of Germantown Avenue is Chill on the Hill Frozen Yogurt, which serves different flavors of frozen yogurt with tons of topping in a sleek, clean, and colorful space.

THE INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND ECONOMICS together with

THE LEO MODEL FOUNDATION GOVERNMENT SERVICE & PUBLIC AFFAIRS INITIATIVE present

Why Regulation is Good for Business Monday, November 4

4:30 p.m. | Faculty Lounge | Penn Law A reception will follow in the Great Hall

Richard Cordray

Former Director Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

This program has been approved for 1.0 substantive law credit hour for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credits may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit should bring separate payment in the amount of $40.00 ($20.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys) cash or check made payable to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.

The Institute for Law and Economics is a joint research center of the Law School, the Wharton School, and the Department of Economics in the School of Arts and Sciences.

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FILM & TV

A24 at Penn: A Film Initiative for Students Why this movie studio is so beloved, and what it's doing here at Penn.

Shannon Zhang I’ve seen Midsommar four times since its release this July. Three times in theaters and once on Amazon Prime.

I love the movie—it’s bright, violent, and exhilarating in ways that horror rarely is. I’d even call it my favorite movie of this year. Midsommar is distributed by A24, an entertainment company that’s become well known this decade for its wild, stylish lineup of distributed independent films and devoted fans who’ll pay for a movie ticket (or three) without even watching a trailer, just because of their faith in the studio’s quality.

Devotion to a movie studio is rare. Entertainment companies usually rely more on fans' support for specific actors or directors tied to the movies they're marketing rather than the company's own name.

From this, we get distributors like 20th Century Fox, which distributes movies based on factors outside of tonal cohesivity—in less than six months, the company distributed both a family–friendly, animated Bigfoot fantasy and a politically charged Dick Cheney biopic. A24 is different—fans attribute the A24 logo with something new, something bold, and something that’s just a little bit weird. Maybe it’s due to their daring guerrilla advertising strategies, their quirky movie merch, or even their consistency in identifying and supporting stories that histori-

cally haven’t been granted a voice, but there's no denying that A24 has personality and flair.

Now, A24 is coming to Penn, in the form of free screenings, giveaways, and “maybe even bringing in cool people to campus, if that presents itself as an opportunity,” says Jessica Li (C ’20), Penn’s A24 campus ambassador. The “A24 at…” initiative began last year as a partnership with a handful of schools to raise awareness of the studio with college students, and is expanding across the nation this year.

“What I think is really special about A24 is they’re really trying to tap into underserved voices,” Jessica says. “Movies that you normally wouldn’t see on the big screen—like they’re trying to really tell stories that matter to people.”

Some of A24’s most well– known productions include Moonlight, the 2016 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Euphoria, the drama starring Zendaya that shook social media this summer. It’s also attached to The Farewell and Mid90s— movies that bring into the public eye people of widely ranging ages, races, and sexualities, in stories that hit close to home for communities that don’t usually get represented on the big screen.

Lulu Wang, director of The Farewell, turned down an offer from a major streaming

company in “faith that a theatrical release with Photo courtesy of Jessica Li A24 would be a more ern social media, and the film meaningful way to introduce was released in theaters across this film to audiences.” The America. Beyond resonating Farewell was shot mostly in with Chinese–American comChangchun, China, its script munities across the nation, is written almost entirely in The Farewell’s widespread reMandarin, and its cast is fully lease put it in the spotlight for Asian—yet it is unmistakably countless other people to also a Chinese–American film. experience the highly personA24 showed it substantial al, culturally driven story. marketing attention on West-

And that’s what both A24 and A24 at UPenn are all about. Embracing stories with quiet, strange voices, and giving them platforms to reach anybody and everybody who’s willing to listen—even Penn students. Come out to a screening—you just might find your new favorite movie.

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FILM & TV

'Zombieland: Double Tap' Brings Bloody but Predictable Fun The long–awaited sequel makes the zombie apocalypse look fun, but loses the surprise of the original.

Jessica Bao

When the first Zombieland came out ten years ago, it featured a pre–fame Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg, alongside Woody Harrelson and a young Abigail Breslin. The film was a critical and commercial hit, full of dark, irreverent humor and a cast with unexpected chemistry. The backdrop of a gory zombie apocalypse, of course, just added to the entertainment.

On Oct. 18, the original cast returns—now all Academy Award nominees or winners—in the horror– comedy sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap. The chemistry is still there, and the gore is turned up to 11, but though the cast (now with a few new additions) still brings a lot of fun, they have very little to work with.

The film opens strong, as Eisenberg’s Columbus— still the awkward, neurotic narrator from before— catches us up on what has happened since the first movie. There are now different types of zombies, described in a fun line–up reminiscent of the famous rules for survival from the first film. In a grisly scene set to Metallica that is both

giddy and badass—much like what made the first film tick—the gang clears through zombies toward a dilapidated White House.

From that point on, Double Tap quickly depicts the gang’s domestic life in Zombieland. There’s the hilariously dysfunctional dynamic between the tough old cowboy Tallahassee (Harrelson) and surrogate daughter Little Rock (Breslin), who’s growing into a rebellious teen. There’s also the off– kilter but cute relationship between Columbus and Wichita (Stone), a hardened cool girl and Little Rock’s older sister. And while these sound like tropes, the commitment and heart from each actor—and how effortlessly they play off of each other—is what makes it so fun, but surprisingly moving, too.

Here, Double Tap had an interesting opportunity: to delve into these new group dynamics and explore how they might grow and change. Yet, the film opts to follow exactly in the footsteps of the original. After Columbus gets too close to Wichita, and Tallahassee bonds with Little Rock, the

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sisters take off—promising to care for no one but each other, and leaving the disgruntled men behind just like they did in the first movie.

Of course, there’s the twist that Little Rock then ditches Wichita, forcing her to come back and team up with the boys in order to track down her sister.

Later on, after some road trip hijinks (just like in the first movie), the film ends with a flashy, bloody finale full of over–the–top zombie killings, heroes rolling in to save the day, and an almost–sacrifice by Tallahassee (just like in the first movie). Only this time, the kills are less original, even if more gory—there was almost no tension, as every twist felt stale. And the ending is—for a horror–comedy—much too sappy.

When the first Zombieland premiered, it was fresh and fun. It didn’t shy away from the horror, and created some actual tense moments amid all the meta– humor. It also brought out the priceless buddy relationship between Columbus and Tallahassee, and mixed them perfectly with

Anne Marie Grudem || Illustrator

the sisters. When the gang drove away together at the end of Zombieland, there was uncertainty about the danger they faced. This— combined with how these unlikely people found each other—grounded an extremely irreverent film with actual emotional weight.

In Double Tap, the fans of the original expected to see these memorable characters grown up and dealing with different issues. Instead, Double Tap gave them more of the same. At the end of the film, the group drives off into the sunset—only now with Tallahassee’s newfound girlfriend Nevada (Rosario Dawson). Columbus once again declares that he has found his home, which is with the people that he loves. As much fun as this group is, how many times can they learn this same lesson?

Granted, there are still highlights throughout Double Tap. Even with less–than–original material, the cast brings fun, campy performances. Harrelson is gleefully unhinged with his violent–on–the–outside– soft–on–the–inside shtick, and Zoey Deutch gives it

her all as a ditzy blonde, Madison. With great comedic timing, Deutch turns a stereotype into an endearing character who’s fun to watch. The rest of the supporting cast—Rosario Dawson, Avan Jogia, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch—are given one– note characters, but none of them phone it in.

The first Zombieland worked so well because it was a horror–comedy. It found hilarity in the most gory, disgusting circumstances, and depicted some funny and sincere group dynamics. Double Tap, by leaning too much into the ridiculousness, forgets the darker edge that made the humor work. It also rehashes the same old dynamics instead of trying something new, like its predecessor did. In many ways, Zombieland: Double Tap is much more of a Hollywood blockbuster. It’s got more star power, a more explosive finale, and makes the zombie apocalypse look more fun. But though the film is much gorier than the original, Zombieland: Double Tap still feels sanitized and predictable.

FILM & TV

Producer Jenifer Westphal on Eagles Documentary 'Maybe Next Year' The newest film from Wavelength Productions—a production company founded by Westphal—will be shown at the 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival.

Avery Johnston Philadelphia Eagles fans are definitely known for being passionate. The new film Maybe Next Year—released by Wavelength Productions at the 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival—is about these fans, and it paints a more nuanced picture of these Philadelphians. According to Jenifer Westphal, founder and executive producer at Wavelength, the film is an exploration of what “makes [Eagles fans] tick” during football season— specifically that of the 2018 Super Bowl win. Westphal, an Eagles supporter herself, acknowledges the terrible characterization of the fans—and yet she is staunchly opposed to the image. “Everybody in Philly, you know, bleeds green.”

Character exploration isn’t exclusive to Maybe Next Year—it's the common denominator in all of Wavelength’s films. Prior to founding the company, Westphal worked as the “executive producer of her children’s lives,” which she contends fostered many of the skills necessary for her current position. She wants to ensure that creatives are given the chance to unwaveringly tell the stories that they hold close.

It is this kind of down–to– earth charm that makes Westphal—and Wavelength—stand apart. Westphal attests that they are dedicated to supporting films that show audiences something unique. Their filming process is organic, and they let stories unfold naturally rather than orchestrating scenarios.

Over the last four years, Wavelength has been involved in over 50 projects, including the sweet Won’t You Be My Neigh-

bor, the resolute Knock Down the House, and the upcoming Unschooled, a feature about the North Philly public school system. Wavelength’s employment choices stand out as well—currently, their staff consists of 90% women, a decision which Westphal says was partially due to happenstance, and partially her conscious intention.

She says that she was mainly connected with women in the homeschooling communities she was a part of while raising her children. It was natural that she hire the women around her to start her company. "The first couple hires really were just [women because] they were the best qualified candidates for the job,” she says. As Wavelength has grown, they have made it a point to seek out women, especially women of color.

In addition, Wavelength gives a $5000 grant called “Women on the Very Edge” to a “a first– time woman–of–color filmmaker.”

Westphal, as she approaches 60, hopes to challenge the ideas that people hold about breaking into the film industry—if she can do it, why can’t any other woman or aspiring creative?

“I think that I’m enjoying a wave ... that is really important for women today. So I feel really proud of the fact that we are sort of on that leading edge of what, women especially, at retirement age, can [accomplish].”

Wavelength strives to be a hub for people looking to take their projects further, creators yearning to become part of the industry, and women like Westphal looking to support filmmaking.

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FILM & TV

Is Netflix's 'Insatiable' Really That Bad? Is season two of the controversial, Debby Ryan–starring series as bad as people say?

Samantha Sanders

There were petitions calling for the cancellation of Netflix’s Insatiable before the show was even released. After watching the trailer for the first season back in 2018, a number of outraged viewers felt Insatiable was unbelievably problematic. Having attracted criticism for homophobia, fatphobia, and racism, it seemed unlikely that Insatiable would ever survive its initial release. Now, over a year later, the show’s second season made it Netflix’s most binge–watched program on the internet.

Nothing about Insatiable is that great, but is it really that bad?

The show itself follows Patty Bledell (Debby Ryan), struggling to find happiness amid constantly getting bullied for her weight.

The first episode features a downtrodden Debby Ryan gallivanting around in a fat suit, a plot point which was (understandably) not well–received. After an incident that leads to accidental weight loss, Patty—often called “Fatty Patty” by her peers in her small southern town—is transformed from a sad outcast to a vengeful beauty queen. On the face of it, the plot is tired, trope– y, and uninspired. But Insatiable takes several drastic turns and, by the end of the pilot, is already in an unexpected place.

The first season of the show primarily focuses on the relationship between Patty and her pageant coach, Bob Armstrong. Bob is an effete, well–to–do family man who’s fallen on hard times.

But Bob thinks Patty could change all that. The two team up almost immediately, fueled

Allison Chen || Illustrator by the belief that they saved each other from other much more tragic fates. It’s as sweet as it is bizarre how the two lean on each other. Beauty pageants serve, really, as an externalization of Bob and Patty’s inner struggles.

From the show’s earliest moments, Patty bemoans that inner emptiness. She watches Drew Barrymore movies and eats cool whip by the tub, snarling in a raspy voice, “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been hungry. Insatiable, really.” And by the end of the first episode, Bob’s convinced her that pageants are the antidote to that hunger. But, obviously, they’re not. Within the show, pageants are basically an exercise in superficiality and southern sanctimony with campy names like “Miss Magic Jesus.” There’s

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no salvation there—that’s kind of the point. These two emotionally desolate characters will do anything to win in an attempt to satiate themselves. And that’s what Insatiable is about—the misdeeds and semi–felonious acts Patty and Bob are willing to commit in order to secure the crown, to dispel just a little of their internal dissatisfaction.

The show doesn’t deal with things delicately. The jokes are slapstick, the fatphobia is blatant, and the casual homophobia towards some characters is rampant. But Insatiable doesn’t punch down—the butt of their jokes are always the fatphobes and the homophobes. It’s an active criticism of bigotry. There are, of course, times when the jokes don't land quite right, or

intentions are unclear. Those moments don’t seem ill–intentioned though. They seem like the show is still struggling to find its comedic footing, to figure out the point it's even trying to make.

Insatiable was panned by critics and loved by audiences. That discrepancy makes sense. Getting lost in the fluster of the show’s overwhelming plot, audiences didn’t ask the question the critics did: where is this going? And with the release of Insatiable’s second season, we’ve finally got some answers.

The second season of the show is undoubtedly better than the first. It’s sharper, the character arcs are clearer, and, by the end of the season, the show’s direction becomes clear. This season works

pretty hard to clear up some of the first season’s confusions and insensitive jokes. It’s not heavy– handed, though, and some of the season’s best comedic beats are the result of the way these corrections play out.

This season packs a much harder punch than the last. Focusing in on Patty’s problems with food and Bob’s strained relationship with his father, we finally get concrete character arcs and clear motivations. By the end of this season, Patty Bledell finally makes sense. Even better (or worse, depending on how you look at it), you kind of want to root for her.

Superficially, the problems some initially had still remain— Patty is still a fat girl who became skinny, and a couple stereotypical characters come out as gay. But within the context of the show, those aspects bolster the characters, making their stories more interesting. And even if you disagree with that reading, Insatiable’s messaging is pretty positive in spite of those surface issues. The satirical slant of the show refuses to let anyone off the hook—Patty is selfish, Bob is neurotic, the fatphobes are childish, and the homophobes are bigoted.

There’s a lot to hate about Insatiable, but there’s a lot to like, too.

This weird, campy, bizarre romp into the bible belt has heart. And at the end of the day, the show tries, and often succeeds, in saying the right thing. So, it’s not really that bad. At least, not anymore.

ARTS

What Pop Art Can Say about Penn's Campus Rema Hort

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Penn students are all too familiar with this cliche image: the line of visitors and prospective students all taking photos of themselves with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE statue. They associate Penn with the literal message of LOVE, and it’s hard not to when the statue exists so centrally.

Just like Claus Oldenburg’s The Broken Button, LOVE is a work of Pop Art, a movement once known for being radical.

Pop Art challenged the traditions of fine art and its contemporary, Abstract Expressionism, by recontextualizing everyday objects.

Think Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans or Lichtenstein’s Whaam!, both of which appropriated imagery in mass media into the framework of fine art. For that reason, Pop Art is revolutionary, forever changing the visual language of all art.

Critics at the time labeled Pop Art as a plague to “real art,” because of its gimmicky nature. But the gimmick doesn’t end with the intentionality of the artist or the piece itself. Rather, the gimmick is how Indiana’s LOVE sculpture is being used at Penn. The gimmick is in how we use the flashy nature of Pop Art to as a nice backdrop for an Instagram post rather than reckoning with its revolutionary ideology.

It is this disconnect between the accessible visual nature of Pop Art (the simple compositions and recognizable elements) and the more complicated concepts it contains that has made it sym-

bolic of superficiality.

People take smiling photos of themselves with LOVE because, to them, this four letter word in the middle of campus is representative of Penn. The photo is not only proof that they were here on this campus, but that they love Penn based upon what they think it is from their brief encounter here. But Penn isn't just the happy place that LOVE presents it as.

Every day, students here are reckoning with what it means to be an adult, figuring out what they want to do with their lives, and how they can best make an impact on this world. It is not always easy, rewarding, or even “LOVE”.

It is the parallel between their incomplete understanding of what it’s like to be at Penn and the debate on the superficial nature of Pop Art that is so ironic.

They see the beautiful buildings and happy students that they will write about in their “Why Penn?” essays, not how demanding the academics can be. They see the sculpture, not its history.

Pop Art began, in the time of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, with the honorable notions of elevating the ordinary. It brought an important debate into the art world on authenticity and authorship.

Today, however, there is no debate. No one questions if this sculpture makes sense today, on Penn’s campus, as gatekeeper for the outside world’s interactions with the university. But they should.

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ARTS

The Sweet History of the Kelly Writers House Edible Books Party Tsemone Ogbemi I arrived at the Kelly Writers House for the Edible Books Party just before judges announced the prizewinners. Cakes, pies, breads, and other culinary creations were laid on tables around the arts café, half–eaten, with printed book covers placed in front of each one.

Many of the covers were altered to reflect puns. For example, a tall stack of golden cinnamon buns stood behind a cover that read "The Bun Also Rises," a play on the title of Hemingway’s second novel.

I learned from Jessica Lowenthal, director of the Kelly Writers House, that, though edible books parties did not originate at Penn, The Kelly Writers House's iteration quickly took on its own quirks. “With many edible books parties, people ice beautiful cakes and make book covers that look like stunning replications of actual books, but ours quickly tipped more pun–centric.”

Another contributor, using the pun "Gentlemen Prefer Blondies," had iced an impressive copy of the cover of Anita Loos’ book onto a tray of baked goods.

A second quirk of the Kelly Writers House Edible Books Party is the unconventional prizes awarded for creative categories such as "most literal," and "best use of a single ingredient." “There have always been prizes,” Jessica told me. “This year, the prizes were a little tame.

Sometimes, they’re just really ridiculous, like special, funny food tools.”

One of this year’s prizes was a giant container of plastic cookie cutters. Jamie–Lee

Josselyn, Associate Director of Recruitment at the Writers House, said, “I believe there’s always been multiple categories, so that way we

from very silly to extremely complex culinary endeavors.

So the Blaziest award can really be any of those things.”

This year, the Blaziest award

the history of the Kelly Writers House Edible Books Party. “It’s like the Writers House never existed before it,” she tells me. “It’s such

Karen Wong | Photographer

can recognize different approaches to edible books.”

A prize called "the Blaziest," is given in honor of Blaze Bernstein, a Penn student who died in a homi-

went to "the Divine Crème Brûlée," a play on The Divine Comedy by Dante. Jamie–Lee says that it was chosen for the prize “in part because Blaze loved a complicated kitchen

a major event of ours every year, and people talk about it all year long, and people are coming up with ideas, and alumni come back so they can make things and par-

cide in 2018, and was one of Jamie–Lee’s advisees. “He was the master of this event.

He would always have multiple entries, and they ranged

project,” but also because of its use of “a high–level, subversive pun, a Blaze–y pun, if you will.”

I spoke to Jamie–Lee about

ticipate.” The judges change every year, according to Jamie–Lee—they are usually Kelly Writers House staff, but occasionally students

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and people from the wider Philadelphia community are chosen.

I also spoke to the winners of the "Least Architecturally Sound" prize, one that was invented especially for this year’s party. Chelsey Zhu (C ‘22), Ryan Lam (E ‘22), and Erinda Sheno (C ‘22) brought a pumpkin chocolate chip cake.

“We thought that a pumpkin would be awesome ... so we kind of looked for a book that would fit that, and we found… ‘Waiting for the Great Pumpkin,’ which is based off of a Charlie Brown TV show,” Chelsey told me. I asked if they were experienced in the kitchen.

Chelsey said, “We’ve baked before, but I would describe this as a disaster ... a delicious disaster.” The bakers explained that their cake collapsed when they were frosting it because it was too hot. “It looked like it had fallen on the floor, and we’d just put it back on the plate, but people still ate it,” Erinda said proudly, “We were also runners up for 'People’s Choice,'” which is the prize awarded to the crowd favorite. “And then we got three Kelly Writers House T– shirts and cookie cutters,” Ryan says. Although they had attended the Edible Books Party in the past, this was their first time baking something for it.

The Kelly Writers House's annual Edible Books Party is a warm, festive event that has become one of the best that Penn has to offer by way of tradition. It’s a time where types of creativity, wit, cooking, and design are celebrated through writing.

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