Much like the original Alice in Wonderland, Alice falls down the rabbit hole and finds herself in a room with a key as well as a drink that can make her smaller and a cake that can make her bigger. After retrieving the key and shirking down to the right size Alice unlocks the door and is in Wonderland.

     Although Alice is years older, some parts of the movie do not defer from the original. Alice still finds the Drink Me potion, attends the Mad Hatters tea party, and confronts the Red Queen. Though the premise of the movie is the same Alice in Wonderland is still a movie worth the effort to go see. Director Tim Burton has added his own original take on Alice’s dream world, while still keeping the qualities that truly make it Alice in Wonderland, making it a whole other movie on its own.

     With the success of 3D movies like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland we can expect more and more movies to be filmed in 3D or changed to 3D in post production, like in the case of Alice in Wonderland. But does 3D really enhance the audiences viewing experience? Everyone has their own opinions. Some feel that Alice in Wonderland did not need to be converted while others feel that the 3D effects fit this type of movie perfectly.

The night began with the group of poets, all dressed in black and purple, taking turns reading a poem that was collaboratively written. “The Rock of Creativity” was the theme, allowing the poets to virtually write about anything. Seniors were privileged in reading three poems each. Juniors were allowed two, while underclassmen were allowed to read one poem each. All of the readers seemed very excited and certainly expressed themselves well.

Still, the poets were a little nervous before the big event.

“I’m definitely excited, [but] nervous I might forget one of my lines,” said senior Mike Stankiewicz. In any case, Stankiewicz’s performance of his three poems Destitute, All Saints’ Eve, and Deadweight was well spoken. All nervousness was shaken off and a great performance took place.

As a matter of fact, nearly every seat in the library was filled. According to Anne Whitehead, a senior who took part in the poetry reading, the night was very successful “There was a major turn out; Mr. Baim was there, and there were a lot of readers,” says Whitehead.

Also, the number of people who went to the reading was expected to be significantly lower. When asked if she expected so many viewers, Jamie Ehrenfeld said, “Not really.  We had to add more chairs!”

Last year, I was given the opportunity to be a part of the poetry reading, and the turnout wasn’t nearly as good. Listening to the audience this year, I could even hear the occasional gasp of excitement, or an inspired person whispering a “wow” into the air as if they were really connecting to the readers. Perhaps what grabbed the audience’s attention was the fact that every reader had their own style of connecting to the audience. Each poet was different, and the variety was truly impressive.

Undoubtedly, receiving a reaction like that can be extremely hard. A poet needs inspiration to write about, and the poets who took part in the poetry reading definitely had some interesting muses. Austin West, a senior in the reading, says that the “natural environment” inspires him. Upon listening to his poem On M.C. Escher’s “Rippled Surface,” one can distinctively hear the many descriptive passages about the environment. Dylan Arcelli, a senior at Rockville, says “music and honesty” inspire him. Apart from many of the poets, Arcelli took a lyrical style in his performance. His poem Bright Lights and Gunshots was read in the form of rap and showed his interest in rhythm and rhyme.

Additionally, even people can cause for some good inspiration. When asked what influences his style of writing, Patrick Crane stated, “What I see in the world around me as well as the people I love, hate, and live with.”

In all, the poetry reading was a successful event. Joe Philbrick, a member of the audience, said, “I thought it was a complete success. It was entertaining and inspiring.”

Although Harvey is not as well known as some other Broadway plays, the play provides something that the others can not, a small cast with large roles. Plus the fact that Harvey is a comedy is just another factor that finalized the decision to choose Harvey over the other possible options.

“It’s a comedy,  and an audience would rather watch that,” says Drama Club Advisor, and director, Ms. Amy Matyseck.

The cast did a great job of making an invisible six foot tall rabbit come to life on stage through their acting. Patrick Connoly, Elwood, really made it seem like Harvey was truly alive on stage. The way he would straighten out its ears and link their arms together really made Elwood seem real. All who attended could tell that the actors were fully committed to the production.

“They did an excellent job. I am proud of every one of them,” says Amy Matyseck.

Though the production seemed flawless and perfect, it did not simply come together over night. Casting took place at the end of September and rehearsals were held 2-3 days a week after school. And once down to the final week before the show, the cast was after school everyday up until the show. Memorizing lines was one of the harder challenges that the cast faced during rehearsals. Considering the amount of dialogue the play had and how large each person’s part was it is understandable that they would have a little trouble memorizing lines. But they overcame that challenge and did a fantastic job.

If you were not able to make it to the play this time around be sure to support the drama club in their next production. They will be putting on a musical, The Wedding Singer. So stay tuned and come out next time. I’m sure our drama club will not disappoint.