The Spectrum Newspaper March 2023

Friday | March 17 | 2023

4th Annual Unified Basketball Game Rallies

Event draws many participants

Jonah Yousha | Contributing Writer

The energy level in the gym was high, and spectators, coaches, and teammates were up smiling and cheering. The annual Special Olympics basketball game, held on Mar. 13, was a huge success. The boys’ basketball team has hosted a game in collaboration with the Unified Schools program and Western Wings for the past few years, but, this year, they decided to open the game up to anyone within the community, including both Middle School and Upper School students. There were a variety of players of all ages who showed up to play in the game. Darian Mehra ‘23,

‘Twelfth Night’ Energizes

Premiere receives standing ovation

Anna Tao | Staff Writer

T he premiere of the “Twelfth Night” musical showing on Friday, Mar. 10 was electric, so much so that the performance garnered a standing ovation from every single audience member. The show was clearly a smashing success, from wildly hilarious lines and delivery, to melancholy and profound tunes about forbidden love, losing family, and

questioning societal gender roles.

The musical is set on a fantastical island named Illyria, in which drama let loose, especially between those courting Olivia, played by Kimora Collins ‘23 . This modern remake included traditional Shakespearean lines of dialogue, while the musical instrumental takes a more modern take, shifting the trajectory of the musical into an even more fun, jazzy showing.

Here are seven thoughts I had while

watching this truly wonderful show.

1. Despite the fact that this is a funeral, those parasols are so colorfully fun, and so is this live jazz instrumental.

2. That costume change from Anika Rodriguez ‘23 was so speedy, how’d she even pull it off?

3. I’m not going to lie, the only thing I can focus on right this second is the heartfelt and seriously relatable reactions of Saléya Scott ‘25 while playing that tambourine.

4. I think every single performer is a siren or something because, to put it simply, vocals!

5. The jazz numbers in this have me resisting the urge to stand up, jump on stage, and frantically dance with the cast members. Seriously. So. Good.

6. Malvolio, played by Alan Hodder ‘25 , has a self-love that I think we all strive to somewhat achieve.

7. From strangers to friends, friends into lovers, and then lovers into…sisters?

For Cynthia Lyman ‘24, lacrosse is a family affair. For Dane Borene ‘24, getting an offer to a D1 school for football is the last thing he expected.

Spring means one thing for upperclassmen: prom season. Online shopping carts are filled, orders are shipped, and dresses sell out rapidly.

Arts and Culture Page: 3

one of the leaders of the Unified Committee, thought that the event went amazing. Mehra, a big contributor to the planning of this basketball game, says that the turnout was great “not only from the basketball team, but also volunteers… we had more volunteers than basketball athletes.”

After the game, varsity boys’ basketball captain Ian Schnabel ‘25 said that, “[He] really enjoyed it, [and] it was a fun environment to be a part of. [It was] something that I started doing as a freshman, and as a leader [of the] basketball program, [it’s] always just a fun thing to do every year.” His teammate, Carson McMichael ‘26, said that “It was very fun… the game was just great energy and great vibes all around.”

Lisa Sackreiter, Director of

Service Learning and Community Engagement, described that “after the game [the players] go down and have some pizza,” a time to socialize and build community with Western Wings players.

Director of Global Programs Dion Crushshon ‘88 and physics teacher Steve Kaback coached the game. Kaback said that “this was an incredible collection of players. I loved the Western Wings players, [and] they came in with a lot of talent, and I thought that the Blake participants did exactly the right thing. They were aggressive, they hustled, and got the ball and got rebounds, so it was really fun.” Kaback also says that he would “be happy to participate in this game again,” and that it was “a great way to bring our two communities together.”

Skaters Showcase Skills

On Mar. 11, the Figure Skating Team held their 4th Annual Exhibition Show. The show opened and closed with group numbers to Dua Lipa’s “Electricity” and “Don’t Start Now” with 17 individual programs in the middle. On the day of the show, the team arrived at 9:00 a.m. to learn the group numbers that were choreographed by coach Kelly Corcoran Smith ‘98 . They worked throughout the day, both on and off ice, to prepare for the 5:00 p.m. show. Right: Sam Tomczik ‘25 shows off a triple flip during his program to “Exogenesis: Symphony, pt. 3” by Muse. During November and December of the winter season, the team meets once a month to practice and take classes as a group. In January, they use this time to film team maneuvers and artistic free skates to send to the U.S. Figure Skating High School Cyber Challenge. To calculate a team score, the challenge adds up points from individual placements in the different categories. Last year, they took third out of 30 teams around the country in the Cyber Challenge. Left:

Not only do swimsuits take up a minimal amount of room in a suitcase, but they are essential for the beach, pool, or hot tub.

Opinions Page: 4

Top: The green team celebrates a basket. Bottom left: Jason Rotenberg ‘24 reaches up to block a shot. Bottom right: Boone Tutterow ‘25 stands with his teammate Andrew. The final score was a tie, 28-28.

Sinclair Christie ‘26 completes a split jump during the group number.

Mackenzie Higgins

Cast members strike a pose after completing the final number on the Sunday Mar. 12 matinee, wrapping up a weekend of performances.

Jonah Yousha

Cleo Kilpatrick

Cleo Kilpatrick

Julia Zhang

Mackenzie Higgins | Co-Editor-in-Chief