Mystery Dinner

12 entertainment

Panther Prowler • March 1, 2019 Disney princesses attend a high school reunion

Gianna Spiro Ad Manager

High school reunions are scary enough, but when someone is murdered, everyone fears for their lives. Th e NPHS theatre department hosts a Mystery Dinner as an annual fundraiser and show. On Feb. 8 and 9 at 6 p.m., the cafeteria fi lled with guests and the aroma of catered Italian food; then Disney princesses walked in.

Cinderella greeted the audience members to the tenth reunion of Grimm High School, a school for fairytale characters. Very quickly, the audience and the three main princess, Ella (Cinderella), Rory (Aurora), and Snow (Snow White) discover they were all in a relationship with Prince Wilhelm, who is then almost immediately found to be murdered. Th e characters then attempt to uncover who is responsible for the murder, with the help of a detective and the high school home economics teacher (Ms. Heckson).

Craig Hastings, senior, directed and organized everything backstage for the show. “Th is is my fi rst full length show that I’ve directed, I directed a student one act my sophomore year, but that’s it. Mystery Dinner went pretty well, it was very nerve racking to watch the production because I was scared something was gonna go wrong but it didn’t so I’m very happy about that,” Hastings said.

Celina Kott, senior, was quite chipper when playing the role of Snow White. “It’s really interesting to work in a dinner-theatre setting, where the stage is essentially all about the audience. You got to be aware of where you are, and who you can and can’t see,” Kott said

Ready… Action-eady… Action- Gus Gress, sophomore, Haley Ligsay, senior, Celina Kott, senior, and Justin Mcalister, sophomore, all stand side by side in the theatre’s annual production of Mystery Dinner. Directed by Craig hastings, the production went well, and everyone had fun performing. “It went great, I had a ton of fun doing it and I think the audience really enjoyed it as well. With it being very interactive we ended up having lot of participation and laughs throughout the show,” Thomas Kitchell, senior, said. Sarah Bean/With Permission

Months in the making, this production took a lot of preparation. “Th ere’s a lot of stuff that needs to happen backstage to even make the show possible and the typical audience doesn’t even know about any of it. As a director I had to plan out each scene and where to place the actors which kept changing of course. I also had to communicate with tech for sound cues, props, then costume inspiration and collaboration,” Hastings said.

Th omas Kitchell, senior, enjoyed the preparation experience, especially as playing Jack. “Craig was an amazing director, a lot of rehearsals consisted of improv games at his house because the whole interrogation scene is improv. It was super fun playing the detective because I got to lead the interrogation, and I was able to answer all of the audiences questions not matter how ridiculous they were,” Kitchell said.

Many of the actors also had fun with the interrogation scene. Catie Parker, senior, enjoyed the crazy questions.“Th e best part of rehearsals was when we did mock questionings to try to ask each other the most absurd questions possible as a way to practice for anything the audience might give us. It was truly an honor to practice with such talented people, it gave me the ability to improve my own skills,” Parker said

Overall Mystery Dinner was a success with everyone enjoying the show. “If I were to describe my mystery dinner theatre experience in four words it would be “constantly holding in laughter,” Kott said. Like many of the other actors, Parker liked performing above everything else. “Th e show went extremely well, we had a full house both nights and lots of audience interaction, which made the show more interesting for both the actors and the audience. Practicing for the show was a lot of fun, but nothing can top the feeling of performing for an audience. I love getting to show what we have worked for and embrace the character I am portraying” Parker said.

Aditya Vunnum Sports Editor

Abra cadabra! ‘Oohs’ and ‘ahhhs’ scatter the audience as cards fl utter across the stage and bunnies and bowling balls appear out of thin air as three magicians from the Magic Castle entertained students and family in the PAC.

Newbury Park’s band program held the magic show on Feb. 23, inviting families and friends for a night of surprise. Band got half of the profi t from the show; the cost was $10 at the door for performances from three diff erent talented magicians from the Magic Castle of Los Angeles.

Th e magicians entertained the audience with jokes and frequently called up volunteers, including Dennis Crystal, band director, to take part in their performance.

“Th e need to raise money for the arts programs and the band programs is constant. So, we need -- as students, as band parents, as teachers that run the band program here -- to work together to fund our programs largely on our own,” Crystal said. “We do get money from the school and the school district and that’s very helpful, it’s just not enough to fund all the things that we do.”

As a result of minimal funding, the band program is constantly searching for new ways to support themselves: “We’re always looking for things to do to raise money for the band

program, but also add value to the community. Putting on a magic show is something that almost anybody would want to go to. It was a lot of fun, the magic was pretty fantastic and it seemed that would be a better option than trying to sell candy bars or some of the other typical stuff ,” Crystal said.

In past years, the band has had fundraisers ranging from golf tournaments to mattress sales, and they decided to take on a diff erent approach in the hopes to attract more people. Each band member had to sell fi ve tickets over the course of three weeks so that they could get the word out.

Dasha Manzhos, senior, felt that although the turnout was decent, other past fundraisers worked better. “I don’t think this fundraiser worked better than previous years, so I don’t think we’re going to do it again. It was about 160 people or so. We could’ve done better but it wasn’t a tragic fail,” Manzhos said.

Grace Renouf-Bilanski, junior and three year band member, enjoyed the performance and thought it was an excellent fi rst magic show fundraiser.

“I thought the performance went great,” Renouf-Bilanski said. “It was really funny and I loved how the band director Mr. Crystal participated.”

Electrifying-lectrifying- Three magicians from the Magic Castle in Los Angeles came to the PAC to throw a fundraiser for the band program. The program has tried several different methods to raise fundraisers over the past few years and decided to go a different route this year. It was a lot of fun, the magic was pretty fantastic and it seemed that would be a better option than trying to sell candy bars or some of the other typical stuff,” Crystal said. The show resulted in a turnout of 160 people by the end of the night. Aditya Vunnum/Prowler

Brian Fang Staff Writer

Before seeing the second lego movie, I thought I was in for some typical children’s entertainment. I thought it would be just another hero arc, where my main man Emmet would be back at it again overcoming whatever obstacle he faced. Whoopty doo, yet another happy ever aft er aft er conquering another falsely constructed challenge. Of course that’s just what I thought I’d see, and I’m not saying that there really is anything wrong with movies like that. It’s just, what I didn’t expect to see were some deeply interwoven moral themes and pop culture references that make the “Lego Movie 2: Th e Second Part” just that much more worth seeing.

Anyone can really ramble on about the plot elements of the movie and how they were funny considering the parallels to real life and growing up with siblings. How the adventures of all the legos were just the imaginative world of a kid, and how the doomsday for the legos was “Armomagedin,” or “Our momma get in,” where the legos would be sent off to storage. On some level these elements do make it a good fi lm. But I’d rather focus on the small details and references that make this movie experience great.

Take for example, the scene with lego Bruce Willis. When he was introduced in the movie, he was inside of an air vent, a reference to the “Die Hard” movie series. Another example would be Rex Dangervest, a reference to other movie franchises that Chris Pratt (voice actor for Emmet), played in. It’s no coincidence that Rex is a “galaxy defending” (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), “archeologist” (Pratt rumored to play Indiana Jones), “cowboy” (“Th e Magnifi cent Seven”), “raptor trainer” (“Jurassic World”), and has “chiseled features previously hidden under baby fat” (“Parks and Rec” to movie star). As a fi lm riddled with pop culture references that only older audience members will catch onto, it’s esoteric to watch.

Th e fi lm further tackles themes of depression and self-worth -- a message that anyone can take home. With the song “Everything

is Not Awesome,” the fi lm points out how there’s no use in not working towards something ideal, even when things don’t shape up the way you want. And this message was portrayed in a surprisingly striking way. It was interesting to see how the fi lm’s message wasn’t insensitive, and was presented in a manner that could open audiences up.

Aft er seeing the movie, I can say that it isn’t just for kids. It’s for parents too. Heck, it’s for anyone who wants to see it. To me, the movie was really about all the moral themes and small references that are scattered throughout the fi lm, that make you smile whenever you can catch it.

Kavita Rai Features Editor

Sunshine-unshine- Stopping at Pt. Mugu just off the the Pacifi c Coast Highway, Catie Parker, senior, poses with her team. From left to right, seniors Jaycen Sussman, Parker, Thomas Kitchell and Zack Goad capture a beautiful moment with the gleaming Pacifi c Ocean. ”What added to the overall excitement of the competition was how we were able to see our competition and still spend time with them too,” Parker said. Halfway done with the scavenger hunt, the team swiftly got back on track to keep their lead in points. Jaycen Sussman/Prowler

Several senior classes go on picnics, other classes go to Six Flags. Several senior classes go on picnics, other classes go to six fl ags and some even have class scavenger hunts. Luckily, the Class of 2019 has all three this year. On Feb. 9, many senior students partook in a fun, tiring day around Ventura and Malibu County.

Brian Fang, senior, organized the hunt for his fellow peers. Each member logged onto a website created by Joseph Sullivan, senior, who helped Fang create an effi cient way to receive hints and track other players’ progress. Th e website provided hints to the next location once team players inputted the clue they found from the prior location. Clues were hidden at each location on a pink sticky note, and the goal was to be the fi rst to each clue.

Planning since mid-December, Fang was strategic when picking destinations and always kept in mind what would be the most fun for the teams. Whether it was climbing up a hill on the side of the Decker Canyon freeway for bonus points or completing challenges like “chubby bunny,” Brian ensured each player was always kept busy.

Zain Kazi, senior, loved the hectic, competitive energy while completing each clue. “It was really fun to see everyone so committed to the scavenger hunt, and I really enjoyed watching all my friends and peers get so competitive with it.”

Kazi’s favorite part of the scavenger hunt was the karaoke challenge. “I’ve always been a fan of singing even though I’m not the best, but this challenge really let me express my vocal talents,” he said.

Catie Parker, senior, heard stories about how fun the scavenger hunt was last year, and wanted to participate this year. “I thought it would be a good way to spend a day with friends. It seemed interesting because I have always been a big fan of amazing race, and this seemed to be a smaller version of that,” she said.

Kazi also believes the scavenger hunt was a great addition to senior year festivities. “Brian Fang did an exceptional job putting the whole hunt together. Th e amount of eff ort and time he put into this activity is extremely impressive. I couldn’t thank him enough.”

Th e scavenger hunt gave many seniors great memories to remember their last few months here at NPHS. “It was defi nitely a memorable experience fi lled with cool adventures and lots of funny photos,” Kazi said.

5th Stop-th Stop- From left to right, junior Aditya Vunuum and seniors Zain Kazi, Tommy Joseph, and Varun Patro make a stop at Neptune’s Net, one of the many checkpoints along the scavenger hunt. The team made the stop after fi guring out the clue regarding popular Beach Boys song “Surfi n’ USA,” which directed the group to the Ventura County Line. “The scavenger hunt was honestly a perfect addition to the senior year festivities and was something I’ll always look back on my high school days about,” Kazi said. Although the team was towards the end of the pack, they still had fun fi nishing up the race. Zain Kazi/With Permission