News and Opinions from the Students of Berkshire School
Horror Story
November 16, 2014
By Jack Harrison
On a dark gloomy night in October, 4 young lads from Berkshire School thought it was wise to stay the night on the mountain, despite having heard the rumours. They were intrigued to see if they were real or not; either way, they were in for trick or treat. They stood at the start of the daunting path and looked up to the sky, noticing the full moon with a thin glazed cloud covering it. Jimmy, the eldest one in the group, said “Oh look boys, it’s a full moon! We’re in for a treat tonight!” sniggering with a smirk on his face. Little did he know, there were many tricks that lurked around in the midst of the woods at night. They started their hike up through the mysterious dark path with wretched branches that looped over the top, leaving no room for light. As they swayed eloquently in the wind, the branches seemed to be reaching out to touch the children with their
pointy fingers of venom. After a short hike the boys stopped at an empty site, engulfed by tall trees looming down on them. They spent an hour setting up their tents and compiling wood in the middle for their fire. By this time, it had almost struck twelve. The boys gathered around the spitting fire and began to tell stories. Jimmy began with his story: “Long long time ago, on the campus of Berkshire School, there were three little faculty children that lived there. They grew up together as naughty as can be, playing everyday and causing mischief within the school. Every teacher hated these 3 little children apart from their parents, who thought they were angels that had fallen from heaven. So it may seem being at home, however once they were out of the house, the tricks they created were full of menace and pure evil. One particular trick they used involved old
Mr. Anselmi being attacked by a possesed baby at the Halloween dance. Photo by Simran Chatani.
rusty nails. They used to screw these poisoning nails through the clothes of teachers very delicately so they wouldn’t notice, and nail them to their chairs. There were rumours that they used some sort of wizardry to complete these nasty tricks; however, it was forever unknown. One day these three little boys went for a hike at the end of October and never returned. A search party was sent out to find them on the mountain, however they were nowhere to be found. Rumour has it that they remain on this very mountain and haunt everyone who spends the night here.” Just as he said those last few words, a gust of wind came and blew out the fire. Complete darkness. The boys looked around to find each other, but they could see nothing. A loud scream suddenly came from the Jimmy’s left, another instantly from his right. Complete silence. Just as Jimmy was about to say something, another ear-piercing scream came ahead of him. Jimmy scrambled over the burnt ash and crawled into his tent and zipped the zipper shut as fast as he could. His hands were shaking out of control from nerves. He lay in his sleeping bag, in a fetal position quivering wildly. He closed his eyes and thought of all the happy times that he and his friends had together, which calmed him down. He roughed up the courage and stepped out of his tent cautiously. He shouted their names, but there was no answer; however there was a creepy whispering noise that came between the tall looming trees that repeated “Follow us Jimmy; if you want your precious little friends follow.” Jimmy’s emotions were flying around in the air: his nerves, anxiety, fear and hope. He decided to follow the chilled whisper into the woods; he had nothing else to lose. When he passed the final tree, he saw three large crosses with the moonlight behind. He could not see because of the glare, but as he raised
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THE GREEN AND GRAY
November 16, 2014
Scrutiny
By Jesse Howard, Director For the second year in a row, I am happy to announce that the Berkshire School Theater Department’s fall play is an original work. This year’s play is called Scrutiny and is loosely based on a play I developed with my theater students at a previous school 10 years ago. Berkshire’s theater students have taken a script of that play and broken it out for a full-scale reworking process. They have been rewriting and restructuring the play because while it was very successful as it was, the play lacked structure and needed more fleshing out. So we have completely taken it apart... and are now near the finish line in our quest to put it back together anew. To my delight and surprise, we have pretty much rewritten the entire play. The action of Scrutiny takes place entirely
on the set of a game show. Contestants enter the show as children, but must relinquish treasured childhood possessions (and, it would seem, childhood itself) to be accepted on the show. Now teenagers, the contestants square off against one another on a show whose rules change at the whims of the judges, whose score is kept secret, and whose hosts seem super happy... but are not very friendly. Throughout the course of the night, the unwitting contestants develop loyalties, animosities, point fingers, start rumors, follow fads, and predict each other’s futures. But the burning question remains... how do you win Scrutiny? A unique and thoughtprovoking play, Scrutiny is a humorous and disturbingly accurate look at modern social behavior, told artfully by the foremost ex-
Pictures of the cast during the production of Scrutiny!
Bears Cruise Through First Round
By Peter Dunn Three of Berkshire’s fall sports continued their stellar play on Wednesday, treating fans to wins across the board. Varsity Field Hockey extended their season, dispatching Williston 2-0 behind goals from Kenzie Lancaster ‘15 and Maddie Beitler ‘17, along with strong play from the rest of the girls. At home, Boy’s Varsity Soccer routed Choate 5-0 in front of the packed bleachers. Senior Captains Justin Donawa and Jack Harrison led the charge, each providing 2 goals; including a blast from Donawa well outside the box. Mutaya Mwape ’16 added another goal for good measure, and Jimmy Coyle contributed another clean sheet, 14 on the season! After the game, the crowd followed the Berkshire flags to cheer on Varsity Volleyball in their match against a strong Newton Country Day. Stout front line defending, combined with a killer attack paved the way to a 3-1 victory for the Bears. Each of these teams seek to put on repeat performances on Saturday as Field Hockey and Volleyball both play Governor’s Academy, while soccer looks to continue its’ campaign against Milton Academy.
perts on the subjects: teenagers. Perhaps the most unique thing about Scrutiny is how it has been developed. Instead of sitting and writing the script, all of the material has been generated through structured improvisation. With a firm idea of characters, motivations, and the direction of a given scene, the actors are then asked to improvise that scene multiple times through which moments of truth, great lines, and interesting staging ideas are observed and notated. Through this iterative process, each scene was honed into a polished “script” that is fully honed, but never completely written down. By the time the play opens, the actors will know the material even better than if they’d had started with a script because they created all of it themselves. It is a process I have used to create many original plays with teenagers and I believe it brings out their honest observations about life and their most natural performances. With a fantastic set put together by Berkshire’s technical director, Dominic Sayler, this play has it all!
THE GREEN AND GRAY
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November 16, 2014
Bears Football By Connor Waldron
The Bears Varsity football team had a successful season ending with a record of 5-3. The first game of the season against Tabor marked Coach Quinn’s first win as a Head Coach in a 14-13 OT win for the Bears. PG Quarterback Scott “QB1” Lloyd scored a touchdown on the ground in OT, as well as converting a two-point conversion pass to Brendan “Pain Train” Moloy to seal the victory for the Bears. On September 27th the Bears lost on the road to Wilbraham and Monson. However, Andre “The Giant” Bogdanovics, Peter “Blue Steel” Sweeney, and Charlie “Chainsaw” Erdmann all put forth outstanding effort in defeat. The Bears improved their record to 2-1, after a solid 34-0 win, at Canterbury on October 4th due in large part to controlling the line of scrimmage. The defensive line of Kevin “Extra Reps” Crabtree, Brandon “Don’t Sweat My Swag” Malarney, Grayson “Filet Mignon” Keith, and Moloy lived in the Saints’ backfield all game long. The Bears offensive line of Brendan “Coremeyer” Courn-
oyer, Jake “Senior Leader” Kaminetsky, Crabtree, Keith, and Jay “Judge” Allen were a force. PG Running Back DeAndre “Bandana” Jones, Drew “D$” Pitcher, and Lloyd accounted for the Bears five touchdowns. Under the lights and in front of a great crowd on Schappert Field, the Bears took down the Griffins of Pomfret 12-0. Big plays were made all night by the Berkshire defense as they pitched a shutout for the second week in a row. Cornerbacks Peter “Pistol” Dunn and Terryl “Bars” Wilson stopped the passing attack while Jayln “Honey Badger” Gause, Lewis “Golden Toe” Grassie, and Jay “Contain” Bolton stifled the Griffins run game all night. The Special Teams play of Dillon “I Have Long Hair” Cunningham, TJ “Ochocinco” Stewart, Ian “Mr. Punctuality” Bell, Djetry “The Jet” Joseph, and Joel “Bring The” Mayo was a crucial factor in the win as well. Cheshire Academy and Williston Northampton both beat the Bears following the Pomfret win. However, on November 1st the Bears came out on top at Gunnery
27-14. The Bears were paced by Lloyd and Jones who accounted for the Bears four touchdowns. This past Saturday night the Bears ended on a high note beating St. Thomas More 42-14. Saving their best for last Peter “Blue Steel” Sweeney had his first pick 6 and Brendan “Pain Train” Moloy registered his first touchdown in a Berkshire football uniform. Sidelined with an injury Charlie “Chainsaw” Erdmann was seen all night giving moral support. Overall the Bears football program is headed in the right direction and looks to take Class B by storm in 2015. Special thanks to the Scout team of Matt “The Real MVP” Heim, Jack “Physical Specimen” Martin, Kyle “KY” Bason, Nick “High Energy” Beaver, Alonde “QB3” Legrand, Oliver “Bauer” Libaek, Jay “Nice Hands” Spoehel, Tristan “Trenches” Gaynor, Jay “Shoes” Ma. . Lastly the managers led by Jesse “Red Lightning” Lee, Sawnie “Football” McGee, and Ben “Bellas” Dixon.
Boo-Shire
By Maggie Zhu The fall of New England is the most beautiful time of the year. Late October, the leaves on the trees flamed gold and orange and red, fell like dancers in the warm rays of the sun. Jack O’Lanterns lit up meandering pathways, leading up to houses radiating cozy lights and the pleasant smell of sweets. October’s festivity tinted the cool air with fresh apple cider and gestures of scarecrows. I, in a Berkshire student’s perspective, had a Halloween filled with colors, thrills, wonders, and sweetness. Waking up to Halloween on a Friday morning, frost had covered the grass in a mildly translucent white. Busy footsteps and anxious conversations slowly awoke the girl’s dorm in an excitement of dressing up for the holiday. Animal accessories and onesies seemed like popular themes, as well as characters from various TV shows and movies. Breakfast in the dining hall was a blast of sleepy-eyed wonderment, breaking out of the usual coat-and-tie and preppy attires. From all your friends, all the faces you know, and all the faces you don’t know, bright colors and wacky costumes caught
Kevin Crabtree, number 55, has reason to jump for joy this season.
the sight of ones enjoying the spirit. “I think Mr. Anselmi is Waldo.” Gracie Kraft ’17 sitting across the dining hall table from me whispered in a low voice. “What exactly is a Waldo?” I asked (the author is not from the U.S.) “Check your email. It’s like a character in this children’s book that you have to find.” Then she pulled out her phone and was emailing her answer in. Truly, Mr. Donald Anselmi had sent an email to all students in the school informing a contest of finding the “real Waldo.” “I think Mr. Anselmi would make sense.” I said to Gracie
half-heartedly while staring at Mr. Anselmi’s stripy hat. Greeted by Gru from Despicable Me walking to an early morning chemistry class, it was a little hard to take the science department faculty seriously when they were all dressed up as Minions. To add some more educational value, the math teachers dressed as “pro-bowlers” for “parabolas.” Moreover, It was not until later in the day that I realized almost half of the faculty dressed up like Waldo in one way or another: some with a scarf, some with a shirt, and some with a
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THE GREEN AND GRAY
November 16, 2014
Horror Story
continued from page 1
his arm to see what they were, he saw the most horrific scene he could possibly imagine. The three, ten foot crosses were holding Jimmy’s three friends on them. Old rusty nails punctured their clothes and held them to the wooden crosses. They were squirming, trying to break free but they had been cursed. They were shouting as loud as they could, but the curse kept them silent and moved around in slow motion. Their hair was floating, as though it was underwater. Their chests burst outwards, every so often, through the curse within them. It was impossible to return his friends, they had been captured by the curse and so they would stay on the mountain for the rest of their lives. He turned his head to the right in horror and
Scary Story Contest Winner
noticed an empty cross that said “JIMMY” with dark, black blood dripping from his name. Suddenly, the three ghostly looking figures turned to Jimmy. A loud whisper closed in Brought to you by The Writing Center on him “You’re next little one!!!” Jimmy instantly turned to escape from this 1st place: Jack Harrison, “Horror Story” madness that he once thought was a rumour. He tripped over a stick behind him, but he hastily jumped to his feet and sprinted down the mountain. The 3 little children were chasing after him. He could hear the sinister noises coming from the ghosts as he sprinted down. The opening light was in sight, and he had to make it out of this dark haunted tunnel; yet he could feel their cold breath breathing down his spine.
Boo-Shire continued from page 2 hat. “Oh, I think I see a Waldo.” I looked out the window of third-floor math and science and saw something stripy moving in Buck Valley. “Maggie, they’re all somewhat like Waldo, you need to find the real one.” Kenny Sperl ’17 interrupted my moment of excitement as we walked to the next class. “I think Ms. Mueller is the real Waldo.” “That would probably make sense,” I said, second time of the day. Candy, the eternal theme of Halloween, arrived for the sweet hour in the evening. Big kids and little kids enhanced the ultimate version of their costumes, and went around the Berkshire’s campus for trick-or-treating. The weather was cold and some dark pathways leading up to houses were decorated scary; it was even more so when you are with a group of friends determined to scare you to death. All the families lit up delicately carved Jack O’Lanterns, and gave out handfuls of sweets, and the small children were especially generous. The night of Halloween also featured the second show of Berkshire theater 2014 fall production, an original play “Scrunity.” The show was developed mainly by improvisation, “a game show where failure is always an option.” It is funny, raw, deep, touching, and metaphorical to the real world. There was no better way to conclude Halloween with such an amazing production, with all the talented hard workers that made it possible. The wind of October blew past, as branches grew bald for the winter. Berkshire waits another year for a fantastic Halloween Photos from the Halloween dancce taken by Simran Chatani. under the mountain.