Mind Over Matt Dives into Brain of Hopeless, Helpless Illustrator

by KAREN STEELE

      The lights were out. The entire auditorium was dark. Slowly, the lights came on... and lead Christopher Moran was asleep in his underwear, as was his nerdy subconscious counterpart, played by Sam Miller. McLoughlin's newest drama play is a hilarious comedy called Mind Over Matt.

     “It's been a really fun adventure, and it's a smaller cast than we've had before,” said Director Melissa Cunnington, comparing this play to ones in the past. “It's a little bit different than what we've done before, so it's exciting that we're attempting something a little bit more challenging for us.” In years past, she has had to work hard to find a play with enough parts so everyone in the drama class who wanted to be in the play could. For this semester's play, she tried something new: choosing a play with a small cast and opening up the opportunity for everyone in the school to audition.

      Despite all of the jokes cracked (along with the Star Trek references out the wazoo), Mind Over Matt offers the opportunity to take a much closer look at why people do the things they do. The different personalities of Matt (played by Moran) are personified by Taylor Johnson, Collin Green, Sam Miller, Marcos Saldaña, and David James, who, respectively represent Matt's responsible, vain, nerdy, curmudgeonly, and misogynistic sides. Together, the five personalities take turns controlling what Matt does and says, bearing similarities to Pixar's Inside Out, but with a very unique feel and atmosphere.

     The actors have put lots of effort into their play, as shown in their near-perfect synchronization when Matt hits his head on the table and all five of his personalities react at the same time. Both Saldaña and Miller put lots of time into developing the voices of their characters; Saldaña with a gravelly tone that sounds like it would hurt his throat and Miller with a constant, nasally whine. Moran did a great job keeping himself occupied while not distracting the audience during the soliloquies of the personalities, and Cynthia Ruiz (playing Rose) bravely had a glass full of water tossed at her.

     Katie Torres (Ms. Killian) dominated the stage with her powerful presence as she stalked back and forth, demanding the audience's attention as she delivers her icy lines. The cast also shares a sense of familiarity, like they all have known each other for Matt's whole life, proven when they march together in a drunken conga line and cracking up while making (terrible) puns. The role of Matt's cranky landlord, Mrs. Snyder (Grace Miller) reaps laughter, as does the friendly banter between the Devil and the Angel (Sandra Pereyda and Ashley Gardner), who take turns making good and bad choices for Matt.

     As always, this Mac-Hi play delivers, providing a chance for students to see their peers in completely different ways (i.e. in their underwear, drinking from sippy cups, wearing each other's underwear, and some butt-slapping). All in all, Mind Over Matt is another great performance by the Pioneers and Mrs. Cunnington, with props to the crew (Mackenzie Norton, Grace Merritt, and Cynthia Lozano) and Todd Cunnington for his continued willingness to help with stage setup.

Samuel Miller, seen tied up. Johnson helped, while James, Green, and Saldana stood by.

Torres places a gentle hand on Moran's shoulder while Saldana enjoys the view, and Miller, James, Green, and Johnson run away in fear.

Pereyda looks at Ruiz and Moran lovingly.

The entire crew: Lozano, Merrit, Ruiz, Torres, James, Samuel Miller, Moran, Johnson, Saldana, Green, Gardner, Grace Miller, and Pereyda. Not pictured: Mackenzie Norton.

Some memorable quotes:

• “Good morning, testosterooomies!” - Rose (Johnson)
• “Ms. Killian? More like Mrs. Kill-Her-Men!” - Dylan (Green)
• “Who do you think is the best [James] Bond?” - Matt, asking Penny (Ruiz), a potential love interest, the most important question
• “Halo everybody!” - Angel (Gardner) to Devil (Pereyda)
• “She wants to have our babies!” - Butch (James)
• “We're sorry... That your stupidity forced us to hurt you!” - Dylan

'Día de los Muertos' Meets Shakespeare

by KAREN STEELE


All of the lights were out in the Powerhouse Theatre in Walla Walla. The faint sounds of scuffling feet could be heard on the stage as the actors got into position. Once the lights turned on, they were frozen in place, their bodies and painted faces telling a story.

The story was told in English first by a member from the Powerhouse crew, and then in Spanish by Sandra Pereyda. It was the story of a king, portrayed by Marcos Saldaña, who ascended to the throne through murdering his brother. Taylor Johnson played the ghost of the prince’s father, the true king of the land. These images of the frozen actors are called tableaus. Some of them were moving slowly. In one scene, the prince stood above his uncle, knife poised, and they slowly shifted to the next scene where the king fell on his side as the prince lowered his weapon. Other props were used during the performance, such as swords during a battle, crowns, goblets, and jester hats to add color and vivacity to the play.

“It was fun and exciting,” said Camille Riley, a Junior. Although she has been involved in community plays in years past, this is her first semester in Drama with Mrs. Cunnington. “I enjoyed performing in a new and somewhat difficult way. While on stage, I got to learn a bit more about the Day of the Dead.” She went on to describe how much fun she had.

Collin Green, who performed the role of the prince, stated that it was “interesting to go at Hamlet from a different perspective.”

Although our Drama Club was only involved for the one night, the theatre was full, the audience was captivated, and the growing thespians will remember this night for years to come.

Thank you to Melissa Cunnington for letting her use her pictures.