The Observer, November 17, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 11
Cedar Residential College encourages artistic growth
Last weekend at Carlton Commons, the Cedar Players presented Is There a Comic in the House? by Billy St. John. The Cedar Players is a group formed within Cedar Residential College, the Residential Arts Community for First Year Students at Case; Is There a Comic in the House? is the third production by this theater troupe.
St. John's comedy centers around a group of out-of-work stand-up comedians, all of whom live together in New York City. While these funny men and women exchange one-liners, a debutante is kidnapped from a red carpet event and held for ransom. During the escape of the befuddled kidnappers, their escape car is crashed outside of the comics' house.
This show was a light-hearted farce, with witty dialogue and some good performances from the cast. Also, unique to the Cedar Player's show was a student written, directed, and acted pre-show. The pre-show included a dummy, a ventriloquist, and a stripper who enticed several audience members to join her on stage so that she could teach them her "skills."
With a cast and crew of 43 students, the show was a great collaboration between many minds. The Players are comprised of mostly first-year students in Cedar, about 65 percent of whom had prior experience in the area they performed. Helping the first-year students were several second-year students who had been with the group last year.
According to the Cedar First Year Coordinator (FYC), Ryan Keytack, in regards to the goals of the show and the residential college, "Cedar [residential college] is to foster growth through the arts." In terms of this goal, the Cedar Players' production was a huge success.
Many participants in the show found the overall experience to be very rewarding. One of the students who acted in the production, Emily Mikhail, found that "being involved in the show helped [me] manage my time, because you need to schedule your homework time around rehearsals."
Along with learning life skills, the Cedar Players also were able to meet more students than they normally would have. Many members were introduced to more people than they would have been without the show. In fact, Keytack has had numerous instances in which students have expressed thanks for the Cedar Players creating an environment in which they can feel at home here at Case.
RAC also has several other events planned to involve Cedar members with the arts as a tool to help them meet others and grow as a community. Some future events for the RAC include another play in the spring semester, a mural, and a trip for spring break, as well as several workshops for students to have fun and help relieve stress, so stay tuned for more productions from this burgeoning artistic community.
