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Extra! Extra! Wellesley Middle School performing Newsies Jr.
“All the worlds a stage.” – William Shakespeare.
Theater is an immersive experience enjoyed by all audiences. Newsies Jr. is being performed by the talented students of Wellesley Middle School on March 21, 22, and 23-. The Play, Newsies, is about a charismatic newsboy and his friends who lead an uprising against their newspaper company.
The casting process for Newies Jr. was long and tedious, although it amounted to a wonderful production. The auditions are run by Wellesley Middle School’s well-loved drama teacher Leah Fine, who is the director for Newsies Jr.
“We have three days of auditions, and the first two days we have the students come, they have to sing by themselves, do a short monologue by themselves, and dance a small short dance that they are taught by the choreographer.” Said Fine. “That takes a full four hours to see just half of the kids that audition, and we do that on the second day as well.”
After the auditions, there are callbacks. During callbacks, the directors have some of the kids come back and read from the script, dance, and sing The goal of callbacks is for the directors to know more about the potential cast members. Even for the leads, auditions and callbacks can be a fun, yet still stressful process.
Eva Bernhardt ’30 plays Katherine, who is one of the protagonists in the story. She is the love interest who is also the antagonist’s daughter. Katherine later has a change of heart and decides to use her writing skills to help the newsboys.
“I’d say the callback dancing was hard,” said Bernhardt. “You had to do tap-dancing, which is not what I’m best at.”
Katherine is Pulizter’s, the antagonists’, daughter. Pulitzteris the reason the newsboys are on strike and is responsible for raising the price of the newspapers. Pulitzer is played by Sawyer Gordon ’28.
Inspirations can influence how an actor will perform. Sawyer’s inspiration for acting comes from the original performance of Newsies.
“My inspiration for acting is the original actor who played Joseph Pulitzer,” Gordon said. “He was really strong and I really admire how he [the actor] played him.”
Newsies was an immersive experience, and a hit with the audience. People of all ages loved this moving performance.
Theater is an important part of many students’ lives and is loved in many places around the world.
“We do on-stage things that are supposed to happen off. Which is a kind of integrity, if you look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.” – Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern Are Dead
Sports
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The student managers behind the success of their teams
Did you know that around eighty percent of students play on at least one sports team here at the high school, that is over twenty different sports teams compete against nearby schools over the course of the academic year, and that several of the school’s teams have won their division’s state title in recent years?
When a team ends its season with a title or even with a good record, most people recognize its athletes and coaches as the ones who have made them so successful, oftentimes leaving the student managers forgotten. In some instances, people are not even aware that the team has managers. However, it is the behind-the-scenes work that they put in that makes the difference for both the athletes and coaches.
Clearly, sports play a major role in the lives of many at the high school. What isn’t clear, however, is the amount of time and energy that managers of these teams put in to make these programs as successful as they are. Being a manager for a sports team at the high school is not a job fit for everyone. In addition to devoting time to demanding game schedules, it requires knowledge of the game and a love for the sport.
“I became a manager for this team because I’ve played basketball in the past and really loved it. The environment is great and it’s just a really fun sport to be involved with in general,” said Lily Martin ’25, one of the girl’s varsity basketball managers.
Across all sports, student managers have numerous jobs that they have to take care of during games that are crucial for a successful outcome. For sports, such as basketball and hockey, they track the number of shots, where opposing shots are taken from, and the players that score. The students who manage the winter ice hockey teams have an added layer of work, given that away games tend to require long bus rides, and home games are also off campus, about a ten-minute drive away from the school.
Although being a manager for one of the high school’s winter teams requires a level of commitment, it’s clear by the number of students who volunteer that there is a clear love for the sports here.
“During practices, I meticulously time drills, provide support in executing training exercises, and curate an ambiance conducive to motivation through carefully selected music,” said Andre Ainge ’24, one of the managers for the boys’ varsity basketball team. Andre’s grandfather played for the Celtics in the Larry Bird era and spent many years as the team’s general manager.
Managing a team at the high school does not only have a positive impact on the team but also allows the managers to grow as individuals and learn more about themselves as people.
“Being a manager has taught me that positivity is extremely important and that being a friend and showing enthusiasm goes a long way,” said Nora Mahban ’25, one of the girls’ varsity basketball managers.
This year’s managers for the winter season have assisted the teams in a way that led them to be more successful, and the impact they made did not go unnoticed by coaches…
“Our girl’s ice hockey managers were integral to the success of our season. They took important data during games that informed the coaching staff’s in-game feedback to the players. We would adjust our game plan in between periods based on the data,” said Jessica Forshner, one of the assistant coaches for the girls’ varsity ice hockey team.
Their hard work was not only felt by the coaches but also by the athletes themselves.
“The managers for the girl’s track team are extremely dedicated to the program and their hard work has helped us be as successful as we’ve been over the years. One of the main things they do is record times and load them onto athletic.net, which is a very important task as it keeps track of runners’ personal bests. Without their help the program would definitely not be able to run as smoothly,” said Gaia Jacobs ’24, one of the girl’s varsity track captains.
Like Jacobs, other winter athletes believe that the managers become a central part of the program, and many feel that by the end of the season the managers, like the athletes, are members of the team.
Paige Burke ’24, one of the girl’s varsity ice hockey managers, would agree. “My favorite part of being a manager is still being able to feel a part of the team without the full-time commitment to the sport.”
