Belfield Banter, Vol. 8: Holiday 2020

Dec 17th, 2020

Vol. 8

BELFIELD BANTER THE

Th e S t . Anne ’s -B el fi el d S choo l S tud en t New s l etter

In This Issue:

RELIEVING STRESS DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF COLLEGE DECISIONS OPINION: TODAY’S ‘POLITICAL’ ISSUES and CANCEL CULTURE STUDENT POETRY: Untitiled, by SK Silent Symphonies, Qiming Fu THE DISAPPOINTING REALITY OF THE 71st TONY AWARDS “Dear 2020,” by Jack Dozier MEET THE MACBETHS: FOLGER THEATER 2008 REVIEW In Case You Missed It: SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF 2020 OPEN MIC NIGHT

RELIEVING STRESS DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF COLLEGE DECISIONS

by Emily Gohn –

I’ve put together a short list of tips for my fellow seniors who, much like myself, are miserably waiting for colleges to release their decisions. If you shudder whenever you hear the words “mid-December,” here is some free advice!

-------------------------------1. Schedule time away from your phone and computer.

A lot is going on in the world right now, even if you’re not applying to colleges, so everyone needs to take a break from screens. Perhaps try spending some time outside and getting some fresh air! Go on a hike, try a physically-distanced picnic, whatever works for you!

2. Remove college-related things from your room.

Putting away college brochures, pamphlets, pencils, or sweatshirts for the next few months could help ease some of the stress that can come from waiting on a college decision. Consider giving the boatloads of college literature you probably get every day to your parents first so that they can sift through it before you have to read each letter.

3. Don’t have stress competitions with your friends.

If you’re a senior, you don’t need to flex that you only got two hours of sleep because you were writing essays all night. We’re all stressed, and just because someone is getting less sleep or applying to more schools doesn’t mean that your stress isn’t just as valid as theirs. Everyone’s process is different when it comes to college applications!

4. Spend time with your pet.

Regardless of what the decision is, your pet will still be there and still be adorable. Take a walk with your dog, or take a minute to read next to your cat; I guarantee you’ll be less stressed.

OPINION: Many of the Issues Deemed Political Today Shouldn’t Be

by Sasha Rinkevich ***Disclaimer: Opinion articles are submitted by members of the St. Anne’s-Belfield School community. Stated opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Belfield Banter, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, or any individual other than the author.

-- This summer, l, like many others, became involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. I read, listened, and attempted to use my voice to speak out against the abhorrent injustices that Black people face in this country. I watched as people spoke out, as people stayed silent, and as people tried to stay neutral. And one of my biggest takeaways was that many people deem racism a “political” issue. This shouldn’t be the case. In the midst of the BLM posts that crowded my Instagram timeline, I saw the occasional “We can disagree and still be friends!” or “I don’t get into politics!” statement.

So many people consider issues such as LGBTQIA+ rights, women’s rights, and racial justice to be political. And while the unfortunate reality is that they often ride on the ballot, many people have become uncomfortable talking about them in the fear of forcing their opinions on others. They don’t want to make people uneasy. But the beliefs that black people shouldn’t have to live in fear of being murdered for living their lives, or that LGBTQIA+ people shouldn’t be denied basic human rights, aren’t political opinions.

We need to draw a line between that which is political, and that which is not. It is okay to disagree on how government funds should be allocated, or how we should be involved with foreign nations. It’s fine to put up for debate the structure of our economy. Those are political issues.

But to disagree that the officers who killed Breonna Taylor should be brought to justice is unacceptable. I understand why this line is so difficult to draw in the age of the Trump Administration, where the President of the United States refused to condemn white supremacy on national televi-

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-sion. Many of the issues that are right at the center of American politics right now are issues of basic human rights, but we must realize that you can’t disagree that oppression is prevalent in our country, or that we should all be treated equally regardless of race, class, religion, sexuality, or gender.

Furthermore, cancel culture has certainly made it difficult to draw the line between someone holding an opinion and a case of intolerance. Essentially, “cancel culture” is the pattern of shaming and outcasting people (often on social media) for things that they have said or done, and it has had significant impact on the way our culture can voice opinions.

Recently, JK Rowling, the author of the ​Harry Potter​ series, was among the signatories of an open letter denouncing cancel culture for its restriction of discourse and intolerance of disagreement. And while the sensitivity to differing opinions is certainly a problem, it is also important that we don’t tolerate people being hateful towards others under the guise of it being an opinion.

What likely prompted JK Rowling to sign this letter was the recent backlash she faced for making repeated transphobic comments on Twitter. If JK Rowling had made a transphobic remark in the past and then apologized and learned, or if she had expressed an opinion on when it’s best to teach children to read, that would be one thing. However, she has repeatedly invalidated the identities of trans people without expressing any willingness to educate herself. Many trans people have voiced their frustration with her statements, and she hasn’t listened, so people have stopped engaging with her content and tolerating her bigotry. Although it isn’t her place to decide what is or isn’t transphobic (as she, herself is not a transgender person), she has continued to express frustration that people are no longer attempting to discuss the issue with her. This isn’t an example of cancel culture, this is an example of people realizing that her seeing their point of view is a lost cause.

Cancel culture has absolutely made it more difficult to have a genuine conversation about differences of opinion. It is integral that we allow each other to learn from and apologize for past mistakes. We must normalize changing opinions. Respectful disagreement is valuable. But if someone loses their platform for being hateful repeatedly and without remorse, I don’t see that to be a function of cancel culture. Issues of human rights aren’t up for debate and people s​ hould receive backlash for their intolerance. [cont p3]

Right now, the line between opinion and intolerance is difficult to draw, and this is something that I regularly think about. In general, I believe that it is okay to disagree on the method of addressing an issue, but not the existence of it or the fact that something needs to be done about it.

It will be interesting to see how the upcoming changes to the executive branch will affect how our country talks about politics. I hope that bigotry won’t have a role in our government and our society, but we have a long way to go before we achieve that. I believe that the best thing we can do is continue to hold each other accountable for what we say and do our best to educate ourselves.

STUDENT POETRY: Untitled

by SK

– I don’t know how and I don’t know when But somewhere along the way I lost my heart in pieces To places I had to leave but wished I could stay My livelihood stuck in NYC My hope still sits in France I felt almost at home in Spain England put me in a trance All the pieces of me scattered All across the world In nations divided by so many things But uniting one little girl

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THE DISAPPOINTING REALITY OF THE 71ST TONY AWARDS

by Ellie Powell – In the spirit of winter, this past week, I decided to listen to my favorite album of 2016: the original Off-Broadway cast recording of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Indeed, despite my evident lack of talent, I was a huge musical theatre geek in middle school. For those unaware, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 is an adaptation of seventy pages of War and Peace written as an electropop opera by Dave Malloy, the most innovative composer of the twenty-first century.

After a long run Off-Broadway featuring Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo, Great Comet was transferred to Broadway in 2017 with much of the original cast in tow.

The show was fantastic; with on-stage audience seating, free pierogies with certain tickets, and dazzling chandeliers across the ceilings, its ingenuity was unmatched. Moreover, Malloy uses rich instrumentation and quotations from Leo Tolstoy’s text to capture the contrast between Pierre Bezukhov’s melancholy and Natasha Rostova’s naïvité, two characteristics that lend radiant humanity to War and Peace. At the end of the Broadway season, Great Comet was awarded twelve Tony Award nominations, the most of any show that year. Unfortunately, the show would only win two of their twelve possible Tony Awards, and closed mere months after this disappointing performance.

Instead, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s Dear Evan Hansen had a brilliant showing at the 71st Tony Awards, winning six of its nine nominations including Best Musical. I contest neither that Dear Evan Hansen is a good musical, nor that Ben Platt sings beautifully in it, but the fact that it won awards such as Best Orchestrations and Best Score of a Musical over Malloy’s Great Comet astounds me. I recognize that some might find it more difficult to understand a musical adaptation of War and Peace than one about a friendless high school student, but should we not reward exceptional, challenging art? Perhaps the most infuriating loss of the night was Best Book of a Musical. Many of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812’s lyrics are taken directly from the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation of War and [cont p4]

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Peace itself. To be frank, no matter how high the quality of Dear Evan Hansen, I cannot imagine its book is as good as Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

In its second volume, for example, Tolstoy writes, “Moonlight, as if it had been watching at the window a long time waiting for that, burst into the room” (421). This serves as Andrey Bolkonsky’s introduction to Natasha Rostova, but Malloy recycles this quote for Natasha’s Act I ballad, “No One Else,” where she laments Andrey’s leaving to fight against the French. Malloy’s placement of this line feels completely fresh despite its beautiful resonance with the original text.

Another facet of the two musicals that must be considered is the diversity of each cast. The original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen had a single actor of color in a non-ensemble role, whereas fifteen of thirty-five actors in Great Comet were non-white, including Denée Benton in the leading role of Natasha Rostova. Adapting War and Peace with actresses and actors of color is a revolutionary choice that not only promotes inclusion across Broadway, but also helps make Great Comet more relevant to all audiences. The idea that Hamilton’s sweep at the Tony Awards would be followed by a play with one character of color winning Best Musical seems a comical reminder that the white Broadway establishment has hardly been disrupted. Dear Evan Hansen’s success marks a return to the blandness that permeates American musical theatre.

Its score, orchestrations, and book all represent the classic, tired style of primarily white musicals such as Anything Goes. Conversely, successfully adapting a slice of War and Peace as an electropop opera with a diverse cast and a wholly new staging technique was a groundbreaking process that went unrewarded.

Luckily, this has not kept the creative team behind Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 from achieving massive success since.

Amber Gray, the biracial actress who made history playing Hélène Kuragina, recently starred in Hadestown, even garnering a Tony nomination for her performance as Persephone. Denée Benton took on the role of Eliza in Hamilton in 2018, and Malloy himself has since adapted Moby Dick as a musical starring Manik Choksi, Great Comet’s Dolokhov. Though the group behind Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 may have been uniquely talented, the legacy of this show lives on in The Band’s Visit, Hadestown, and more.

Nevertheless, I hope that Leo Tolstoy will one day win the Tony he so profoundly deserves.

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A Letter by Jack Dozier:

Dear 2020,

You have not been my favorite year. Before you showed up, I had never worn a mask outside of Halloween. Screen time was for gaming, not learning and seeing my friends. I thought of my grandparents as the toughest people I know, not people I had to worry about. My family members who work in medicine didn’t have to shed their scrubs in the backyard. I read books about social justice and thought racial equity was within our grasp. Malala, Greta, the Parkland Students and Zyahna were pointing the way and I was ready for action.

But, then 2020, you exploded all that.You sped things up while slowing everything down. You made me hold in my head big frightening ideas, like my relatives in New York City getting sick, at the same time that I worried about small things, like the terrible internet service in my rural area. Having to wash clementines was funny at first, but then it wasn’t. The novelty of taking classes from my bedroom gave way to sadness about not seeing my friends. Before the pandemic, my friends and I spent a lot of time complaining about how busy we were. But, suddenly, we had nothing but time.

Time, it turns out, was your gift to me 2020, all wrapped up in Lysol wipes. With nowhere to go, I read more books. I did exercise voluntarily for the first time in my life. I watched hours and hours of TV, mostly Twin Peaks and Lost, but also the news.

What I saw in the news made me mad. COVID-19 deaths, police brutality, racial injustice, wildfires, and so many lies from our leaders. Normally, this would have felt overwhelming and not something I could address as only a high schooler. But, now, I had my secret weapon of time. I listened to Dr. Facui. I phone-banked for politicians who had a plan for a better future. I helped my family be as low waste as possible. Most of all, I thought about what I could do so that when time speeds up, we don’t fall back into this time of darkness.

This probably speaks to my naivete, or my personal bias as someone who loves reading and data, but information, it seems to me, is how we avoid another 2020. What if everyone read a newspaper and looked for objective news sources? What if the whole world considered the same scientific data when it comes to health and the environment? To get to reading the news, it’s critical that people start reading early and often. It is going to take huge investments of time and money to fix what is wrong in education and to level playing fields. I am confident this will happen, because we have too much to lose if the American education system doesn’t get the support it needs. But, in the meantime, what if we just got books to everyone who [cont p5]

needs them, had readers available to read to kids whose adults don’t have time or resources, and made reading something that is part of being American, like voting and laughing when the 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree looks like a Charlie Brown tree? Books won’t fix everything, but they are a free or inexpensive source of escapism, seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, experiencing a different environment, culture or life experience. A recent study by the Reading & Literacy Discovery Center of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital showed neurobiological evidence via MRI’s of children’s brains for how reading helps strengthen the brain’s ability to organize and process information. Knowing that reading is basically a work-out for kids’ brains, on top of building listening and analytical skills that will help kids achieve in school and careers, should make reading just as much a part of kids’ lives as brushing our teeth.

So, my to do list for 2021 so far includes the following: get vaccinated, make the most of my time, work hard to get books to people who need them and to create a national culture of reading.

Should be easy after this year, right?

MEET THE MACBETHS: THE TOXIC COUPLE YOU’LL SWEAR YOU KNOW A theater review by Emma Finley-Gillis – One might wonder why, exactly, they should bother to spend time interacting (in any way) with Shakespeare’s plays... 400 years after they were written.

How exactly could a meticulously metered 2-hour long poem like ​Macbeth​or A ​ Midsummer Night’s Dream​hold any relevance to life in 2020? Well, I’ll give you A ​ Midsummer Night’s Dream​– the Bard totally lost me there (ask me to tell you the plot, let alone the significance of a man turning into a donkey while fairies flit about, I swear to you I will not be able), but I think that M ​ acbeth​still holds a level of insight into modern life– especially with ones like the 2008 Folger Theater Production.

From an entertainment perspective, the lighting and audio direction was on point from the first instance, as the three witches emerge with dramatic lighting and fabulous volume shifts. Accompanied by mystic chimes, they chant out the mantra of the play, “fair is foul and foul is fair,” over a mildly overzealous battle scene between Macbeth (Ian Peakes) and his enemies. The overt chaos of the Weïrd Sisters saves this mildly unnecessary stage fighting, making the fever-dream esque scene all seem intentional. Clearly, directors Teller and PosDec 17th, 2020

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ner see the Sisters as powerful actors in the play. Likewise, the choice to have all three Sisters played by men (Hissom, House, and Zox) reveals the level of careful interpretation and close adherence to the text which sashays this production around the cliché “witch” trope and brings a sense of novelty to its stage.

The center of this performance, though, is the intense relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Unfortunately (for all of us), this erratic, toxic relationship seems to be the most pertinent parallel between Shakespeare’s time and ours. As you watch Lady Macbeth (Kate Norris) flirt with the idea of being queen, you see the very unsettling tones of her character spread out before you, and then coil back in to hide behind her gaudy makeup, crisp speech, and very, very pink dress, once Macbeth enters: the puppeteering begins. It becomes clear, from the pair’s excellent portrayal, that Macbeth begins this whole spree because he’s damn near powerlessly in love with his wife– all it takes to convince him to commit murder (of someone who he clearly is incredibly loyal to) is the slightest instance of physical touch, administered, reluctantly and manipulatively by Lady Macbeth. The abusive cycle is shocking– my notes feature some less than publishable remarks about the extent of it– and seems to result in the couple loving each other less than before, but need each other more than ever.

Honestly, the drama of their relationship could easily exist in any current sitcom or reality show, and not feel even slightly out of place, but the evolution is still artful. After the first murder and the Macbeths’ first pull-it-all-together post-breakdown powwow, dramatic drums sound as a change occurs within Macbeth; Peakes appears more reserved and grave, and even as he issues orders to kill his closest friend, Banquo, he wavers only when he extends the order to Fleance, Banquo’s son.

And, to top it all off, as the two both accept that

they are locked into this worst-case scenario, they kiss (god knows why), sitting on the stolen throne, as Banquo (Paul Morella) writhes and dies behind them.

So, whether you’re a fan of well-placed dramatic drumming, would like to see Lady Macbeth don a blood-red gown and accessorize in an armor-like fashion, or would like to laugh, a little, at how even Shakespeare’s audiences were transfixed on the same toxic aspects of life and love that we are today, it’s definitely worth watching this production of Macbeth.

The performance is available to watch for free on Youtube

A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE ADORNED IN TWINKLED LIGHTS: A SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF OPEN MIC NIGHT

by Izzy Sanok – Friday the eleventh was the first live Open Mic Night here at STAB since last December. Comedy, music, and pure entertainment permeated the brisk, chilling night at the soccer field on the Upper School campus. With a Winter Wonderland theme, Mr. Mangiano, Mr. Nichols and a team of astute senior leaders embellished the upper field with bright holiday lights, hay bails, and a welcoming spirit. A few days prior to this Open Mic was the anniversary of a beloved alumna’s passing. Tess Majors was not only a brilliant student, but an astounding songwriter, bassist, and vocalist. She brought nothing but joy to the STAB community in her time here. This Open Mic was a tribute to not only Tess, but her musical legacy and ongoing spirit.

The first act of the night was a group of comedians, who’s dry humor started the show off with a chuckle. Then, once the sun set, the ambiance of the scenery complimented all of many talented acts and groups of singers. Vocalists stole the stage with both covers and original pieces, duets and solos, and an enthusiastically supportive audience to experience some of the first live music to occur in months due to the Pandemic.

There were many memorable acts: Sonia Kamath (24’) exquisitely performed a classic showtune, She Used To Be Mine by Sara Bareilles; Caroline Williams (21’) and Caroline Gunn (21’) executed a delightful arrangement of My Future by a recent alternative-pop star Billie Eilish. But the night’s

standout was its final act, consisting of Caroline Gunn (21’),Zach Ashby (21’), Cooper Lowell (21’) and Conner Green (22’). This band performed originals in addition to The Killers’ Mr. Brightside, which had the whole audience standing in ovation.

The acts spanning over the entire night celebrated not only music and care, but also helped fill a void which many in our community have felt. Large events in the arts, such as plays, concerts, performances, and recitals, have become increasingly rare. This night helped reawaken and strengthen that sense of community many artists in the Upper School have craved through these past nine months. If you were unable to attend this Open Mic, the seniors and their teachers are hoping to create another next spring!

STUDENT POETRYSilent Symphonies

by Qiming Fu – Life is too loud, I desire a peace epitomized by silent symphonies.

The trees are quiet Their arboreal whisperings carry the melodies of the wind Tinseling like sleigh bells in nature’s windchime Consoling the subtle sanctions outside glass panes.

The fireplace is quiet Its gentle cackling like fragile crackers Popping benevolent ideas into my conscious Delivering warmth altruistically within maroon-baked tiles.

The cardigan is quiet Its soft fibers brushing solace in times needed of consolation Breathing valium into my clouded pores Buttoning despondency back within the ribs of its crossed flannel.

The champagne is quiet Its ever-changing colors reflect upon insecurities like a mirrorball Drowning dysthymia of my obsidian somber Bottling inefficiencies inside its transparent vessels.

The snow is quiet Its forgiving closures purged like angel showers Cleansing impurities out from washed reminiscences Burying warped stems of detrimental networks with a cathartic blanket.

I hear them without the ears deafened by those with existence but harnessed with the senses in a sentimental heart.

Hitherto perpetrated by the distressing sounds of life

Ha pp y Hol i d a ys from the B a n ter, Ha v e a s a fe a n d res tful brea k!

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