OUTER SPACE, OLYMPICS, AND APOCALYPSE

Queen’s Players is open for new talent

Suzy Leinster Assistant Arts Editor

The summer shred is heating up as Queen’s Players launched us into the meteor-world of the summer Olympics.

The show runs a new cast every semester, and they never miss a summer season. This time, audiences got a glimpse into “A Space Olympocalypse,” a “See You Next Tuesday” cabaret focusing on the Olympics with a mix of apocalypse. The sold-out event ran from July 19 to 22 at The Mansion.

“One of the traditions of the summer show is that it’s really chaotic, so I wanted to throw in the apocalyptic curveball, and it turned out to be really fun,” Director Olivia Orsi, ArtSci ’23, said in an interview with The Journal.

Running for over 100 years, all the shows’ proceeds are donated to charitable organizations in Kingston and Canada.

Full of racy jokes and laughter, Orsi said Players is a great club for people who express themselves and find community through theatre.

alongside the police or campus security to handle situations involving individuals who are under mental duress and approaching them in a noncombative, non-threatening manner can help de-escale a tense situation. Krishnamutri said these de-escalation approaches can be learned by all members of the Queen’s community.

According to her, campus security was unable to have conversations about de-escalation and the University has not offered any de-escalation training to faculty or staff.

Formed in November 2022, the Hate Crime Steering Committee was tasked with addressing the rising number of hate crimes occurring on Queen’s campus. The committee hasn’t had any further conversations since releasing a statement in May, explained Krishnamutri.

The Steering Committee is

JDUC blueprints unaccounted for

expected to formally begin its work in the fall, said Kim Murphy, executive director (risk and safety services), in a statement to The Journal

Students in the gender studies department speculated hate-motivated stabbings at the University of Waterloo spurred the e-mail at Queen’s.

“I’m not shocked […] this individual took the time to do this when [hate-motivated violence] was already a focus in the media,” said Melanie Murdock, a PhD student in the gender studies department, in an interview with The Journal

In the wake of the incident, Queen’s University published a statement condemning gender-based violence on June 29.

“I wasn’t aware of this statement. A statement is only meaningful as long as people hear about it,” Murdock said.

Murdock voiced concerns the University’s approach to hatebased assaults is reactive rather than proactive.

“The University should be talking with the queer community, radicalized folk, and students and faculty at Queen’s to determine what security and safety looks like for equity-deserving groups,”

“I realized a lot about myself and was able to come out of my shell a bit more. I joined in fourth year, and it’s never too late to get started.”

Her role as a director dealt with administrative work such as scheduling vocal and choreography rehearsals, writing the script, and choosing the production’s songs.

Players is an extensive team with various moving parts, according to Orsi. This allowed for a diverse range of people to join the team. Stage lovers and script writers alike can join Players so long as they nail their audition.

Vocal directors help members learn their harmonies, choreography directors create dances, and the production team makes promotional content for social media. First time cast members have the opportunity to advance into leadership positions after the initial show.

The team reserves spots for new members to join the club, but Orsi said every director must be a Player’s alumnus as it allows them to teach rookies how to perform. See Players on page 9