Pippin paves “Extraordinary” Launch of Inauguration Week

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The spring musical “Pippin” was presented by the Muskingum University Communication, Media, & Theatre and Music Departments March 30 – April 2.

The musical, performed in the Sandra Wolfe Thompson Theatre in Philip and Betsey Caldwell Hall, was the final theatre performance for the school year.

“It has been a major commitment from vocalists, accompanists, and a massive collaboration from all departments,” said Professor of Theatre Diane Rao.

Elijah Branham, as the lead Pippin, sings “Corner of the Sky” in the first act.

Muskingum University sophomore Eli Branham played Pippin during the four-day production. The musical focused on the journey of the title character as he attempted to find his pace in life.

“This is a lot of hard work but it does pay off, we all have dedicated a lot of time and this has been a very satisfying experience,” said Branham.

“Pippin” was the final production for Technical Director and Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre Ron Lauck, who will retire after a 31-year career at Muskingum.

“Since this is Ron Lauck’s last show here at the university, we really want to send him off with a bang,” said Rao.

Mallory Fischer, the Leading Player, guides Pippin on his journey to a fulfilling life. Photo: Marty Kurtz

The Tony Award-winning “Pippin” made its Broadway debut in 1972. The playwright was Roger O. Hirson and music was composed by Steven Schwartz, who is known for his work with “Wicked.” This was the first time “Pippin” was performed at Muskingum.

The “Pippin” cast included Branham with Mallory Fischer as the Leading Player, Johanna Whetstone as Fastrada, Nicholas McInturff as Charles, Lane Hunt as Lewis, Kaylee Piatt as Catherine, Zackary Devoll as Theo, and Caroline Heading as Berthe. The Band of Players included Kenzie Back, Ryan Burkhart, Sarah Crawford, Brian Lewis, Elyse Meyers, and Donald Purkey.

The cast of “Pippin” finish their rendition of “Magic to Do.”  Photo: Marty Kurtz

The musical was under the direction team of Rao, Assistant Professor of Music Emily Oehrtman, Associate Professor of Communication Gene Alesandrini, and Stage Manager Tricia LePage with Assistant Professor of Music David Turrill as conductor for the live 12-member orchestra.

The Sunday finale performance of the show kicked off Inauguration Week, celebrating Muskingum’s 21st President Dr. Susan S. Hasseler.

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Students Produce 1-Minute Reviews

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Two Muskingum University students produce YouTube content based on popular pop culture movies and movie trailers called 1-Minute Review. They have produced a total of 84 videos.

Muskingum senior Aaron Eno and junior Matt Triola began their movie reviewing experience January 2016, though the first one was uploaded to YouTube April 1, 2016.

“Every semester we do it differently, we refine it and fine tune it,” said Triola.

The show’s content is a result of the affection both Eno and Triola have for movies. They both liked the idea of movie reviews and they realized they wanted to keep them relatively short. They average length of their videos is 1:10 seconds.

“The [Muskie Daily] show needed more specialty content to begin with so we wanted to do something different than [what] everyone else was doing at the time,” said Eno.

Eno said “movies are tricky” because they both have to find the time to see the movie in movie theatres when they are released, which monetarily can add up to be expensive in the long run, because of this, Eno said straight movie reviews are “rare” for them to do.

Their most common content on 1-Minute Reviews are movie trailers. Their top viewed 1-Minute Review was the X-Men Apocalypse Trailer.

According to Triola, in order to pick which movie trailer they review it relies on “timeliness and what we both want to do.”  Both Eno and Triola admitted there are times where agreements have not been made, but they end up compromising on one topic they both enjoy.

“We wait for something to happen and then usually ten things happen and then we decide which ones we are going to do,” said Eno.

Their process includes writing their thoughts and the direction of the program before they get in front of the camera and then Triola step the next step is to “just let the camera roll.”

When they first started making 1-Minute Reviews filming took an hour to complete one episode, but now the filming step of the process is reduced to ten minutes.

“Sometimes we do get bogged down with like six to do at once,” said Triola.

Their first video was less than perfect according to Triola who remembers elements such as their body language during the video, the lack of an edited background, and their use of a whiteboard to illustrate their points.

“We’ve come a long way since then,” said Eno.

The creators of 1-Minute Review believe their videos offer a starting point for viewers to begin talking with others about the trailers and movies they review.

“We will talk about the trailers,” said Triola. “We don’t really talk about the videos as much because it instigates conversation…about the movie.”

Despite the duo’s enjoyment of their project, the 1-Minute Reviews could end after this semester due to Eno’s upcoming graduation in May and Triola’s 2017-2018 senior year.

All 1-Minute Reviews can be found on their YouTube channel Ace and Tree. They are also on Twitter at Ace_and_Tree. The total watch time for all of their videos is 1,282 minutes.

The most recent video posted by the pair is a review of the second Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailer.

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