The Sturgis Theater Arts Guild of Entertainers (S.T.A.G.E.) is a club that spans between both East and West, and once a year, the two campuses unite for a fall production, either a Shakespeare or a musical. This year, they performed Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night,” with an added 1980s theme.
The show was shown at the Tilden Arts Center at Cape Cod Community College from November 9-11, with four shows showcasing the talents of the theater students from East and West. On November 9, the show was preceded with a performance by the Center Stage Players, a new group formed from people who didn’t make it into “Twelfth Night” but still wanted to be involved. They performed scenes from such plays as “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Macbeth.”
“Twelfth Night” features Viola (Bella Hassler), a young woman separated from her identical twin brother, Sebastian (John Guptill) by a shipwreck. Three months later, the two come into close proximity to each other without actually meeting, which causes confusion for the residents of a fictionalized Illyria. But, of course, it wouldn’t be a Shakespeare comedy with a gaggle of side plots, and “Twelfth Night” is no different; drunkards Sir Toby Belch (Caleb Petty), Fabian (Patrick Morahan) and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Connor McInerney) prey on the stern steward Malvolio (Paige Joy) by tricking him into believing that his ruling lady, Olivia (Caroline Perry) is in love with him. Duke Orsino (Nick Stewart) is in love with Olivia, Antonio (Sita McGuire) is in love with Sebastian, and three police officers (Maximus Papsadore, Jack Forrester, and Rowan Wood) are hunting Antonio for Orsino. And that’s not even mentioning the four-person clown troupe, the exposition-spouting sea captain, and the expressive ensemble. Sound complicated? That’s not even the tip of the iceberg.
The four shows were well-attended, and were deemed a success by both the audience and the East and West theater teachers, Ms. Young and Ms. Botsford.
Despite the greatness achieved together, East and West will split apart to develop their respective one-act plays that will be performed in February, before being presented at the annual METG Festival (where they will compete against other schools, who are also presenting their own one-acts).
While West chose to present Alan Haehnel’s comedy “A Simple Task,” East will be performing a one-act play written by members of the Playmaking club, which first met over the summer to decide the story and characters of the play that will eventually be performed. Auditions for the production were last Wednesday (and callbacks the day after), and the play was cast that weekend.
The play is called “Say Yes,” and revolves around Marty (Noah Whelpley), a pessimistic person...to the point where it has begun to annoy the important people in his life, such as his girlfriend Miriam (Sita McGuire). Marty goes on a road of self-rediscovery, deciding to say only ‘yes’ to any question that’s asked of him for twenty-four hours. As expected, this endeavor goes very, very wrong.
“Say Yes” will be performed the weekend of February 8-10, at Sturgis’ new building, located at 529 Main Street. Many thanks to Ms. Young and Ms. Botsford for their hard work in organizing the “Twelfth Night” production.
Fall Sports Celebrated at Recognition Ceremony
As the fall sports season came to an end, the Fall Sports Recognition Ceremony arrived on November 8, 2018. It was a wonderful event as it brought together a community of sports teams and students to celebrate their success and support each other. This year the banquet was moved to 529 Main Street. The sports that were recognized were Cross Country, Golf, Field Hockey, Soccer, and Volleyball. It was announced that both the Girls soccer and Field Hockey teams were voted the team “Sportsmanship Award” by the Cape and Island League coaches. All of the teams had many great accomplishments this season such as the boys soccer team and golf team who both qualified for state tournaments. A new record was set for Volleyball in school history where they had their best record of 13-3 and were able to advance to quarterfinals. Lastly, the Cross Country team gained many freshman runners, setting a record for the most ever on the Cross Country team. With several PRs and the top runners competing in states, the season was a great success. There were also several individual awards given to athletes such as the MVP, MIP, the Sportsmanship award, Coach’s Awards, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved, Storm Spirit, Storm Smile, and Most Dependable awards. Even though the season came to an end, it brought many friendships and memories that will be remembered for years to come. If there’s one thing that students here at Sturgis East have, it’s school spirit!
The 2018-19 Cheerleading Season Begins
1.) How long have you been involved in cheerleading?
This will be my 4th year coaching. Prior I had been involved with cheerleading for 15 years.
2.) What are you excited for this season?
I am excited that we have a brand new practice space, we have 4 great captains ready to lead the team and that the program keeps increasing with more students involved each year!
3.) How many cheerleaders do you have this year?
Right now we anticipate between 15-25 cheerleaders.
4.) Why do you enjoy coaching?
Cheerleading has always been a passion of mine, it is a sport that is frequently overlooked when discussing contact sports and involves a lot more than what people tend to think. I love seeing the cheerleaders bond together over the season and see the friendships that build as well. It is also a great way to see students make new friends and branch out of their comfort zone. Its amazing seeing the girls become so inspired and have them see and experience first hand that hard work and fun can go hand-in-hand.
5.) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Cheerleading is a great way to get involved with sports, school spirit and make life lasting memories and relationships.
Here’s to a wonderful cheer season from the Sturgis StormWatch!
New Challenges Await Sturgis East Mathletes
1) Have you been the leader of a math team before?
Yes, I coached a math team at South High School in Worcester. I also coached the Western Massachusetts All Stars, the top scorers for Worcester county math competitions. The team made it to ARML Super Bowl of math competitions at Penn State.
2) What inspired you to start a math team at Sturgis?
It’s fun; once you go to one competition you get hooked.
3) What happens if the team wins? Do you compete at a state or national level competition?
There are some national competitions we can partake in. Local competitions are in person, and national competitions can be in different forms online. The Southeastern Massachusetts Math League has playoffs and finals and ranks individual players on their performance. The ARML (American Regions Mathematics League) is a competition for the top mathletes in the world.
4) Does the math team offer scholarships?
There are scholarships available for mathlete students. Even Microsoft and other businesses recruit math team seniors for internships.
Competing on a math team allows kids to collaborate and learn more together.
The StormWatch would like to wish Mr. Nystrom and the Sturgis East mathletes the best of luck as they begin their first year!
Turkey Basket Program Helps Local Families
It’s that time of year! The coming of fall, Thanksgiving, and the holiday season means that the turkey basket fundraiser has rolled around to our school once again. It was a tremendous success. Recently, I interviewed the head of the program, Dr. Albis, to learn more about it.
The “Thanksgiving Turkey Basket Program” is a mission to help less fortunate families celebrate Thanksgiving. The program, run by the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod, encourages people from across Cape Cod to help out. At Sturgis, each advisory is tasked with bringing in a certain canned good for donation baskets. Dr. Albis shared that Sturgis has been participating in this program for nine years. The program is a great way to encourage students to be generous and to look out for everyone in their community.
Thanks to everyone from the Sturgis community who helped the Turkey Basket program succeed! We look forward to taking part in the event again next year.
Plenty to Be Thankful for this Holiday Season
Kylie Decas, Senior Class Reporter:
This time of year always makes me reflect on what I am most thankful for. I am so thankful for my family and my friends in school and out of school. I’m so grateful to be able to receive a higher education and have the opportunity to apply to colleges. I’m thankful for Steelers football especially! My bulldog and my wonderful teachers deserve a shout out as well. Most of all, I’m thankful to have been accepted to Sturgis 4 years ago, because my life has changed so much since then. Happy holidays everyone!
Sophie Eldredge, Senior Class Reporter:
I am thankful for many things in life, including my wonderful family and amazing friends. I am also grateful that I am healthy, have access to clean water and food, have a home, and am able to receive a high school education while pursuing my aspirations in life. I am most thankful that I can continue to grow every day in the Sturgis community.
Rowan Wood, Sophomore Class Reporter:
I’m thankful for the fact that I am able to share my stories with people who will listen and appreciate my work. There’s nothing more rewarding to me than sharing my own ideas with others. Lately I’ve been able to do that more than I could ever have hoped for. It has made my world ten (hundred!) times better.