Nicholas Bullock (Jedidiah Schultz and Roland Stacey)
Q: Have you been involved in previous theater performances?
A: “No, this is my first performance.”

How do you choose the acts?
We choose the people by talent, level of entertainment, and how much time they take. We try to give everyone a chance.

What do you look for in auditions?
We look at how entertaining they are and see if they feel confident. If they are not ready, we give them pointers and advice for what they can do better next year.

What was your favorite audition?
I have no earthly idea.

What do you look forward to the most?
I always look forward to seeing the students come out of their shell. The most memorable student was Himal Sherchan, who was very shy, but soon came out of his shell and became very involved with Showtime and other spotlight activites.

What is the weirdest act you’ve ever seen?
We had a student who was able to crush aluminum cans with his shoulder blades. His name was William Pendleton.

Story

Azer – When it comes to the story of “Gears of War 3” you have to be honest, there isn’t much to go on. The campaign tries to deliver a story in which humanity is desperately trying to survive a war of attrition against not only the remnants of the Locust horde, but also the new threat of the Lambent. Despite these factors you don’t really feel as though humanity is fighting a desperate struggle as the game is muddled in military bravado. However “Gears of War 3” also puts an emphasis on themes such as fellowship and sacrifice, and it does it well. The characters go through some harrowing situations and really makes the player feel for the characters. If you are someone who looks for a narrative you can get lost in, don’t expect to find one in “Gears of War 3.”

Joe – To truly care about a story you first need to believe to some extent that the story is based in reality, but what you get in “Gears of War 3” is an alien planet with humans and mole people both being chased from their planet by another alien life form that somehow spreads from the center of the planet. Where did it come from? Why was only one man told about it before the mole people committed genocide? All legitimate questions that are entirely ignored by the story of “Gears of War 3.” Plot holes aside, what is presented in the story is mainly focused on the emotional toll the war has had on the heroes of Gears and humanity which in itself is not bad but is done with the writing skill of a fifth grader.

Gameplay

Azer – Those who have played previous “Gears of War” games will find that the basic controls of the series are still intact. To the uninitiated, “Gears of War” is a third-person shooter in which combat is usually fought from cover to cover with some charging and rolling in between. Overall, the combat is solid, but one gripe is the weighty feel. The game could definitely benefit from an increase in turning speed and a better strafe movement seen in other shooters like “Uncharted.” The addition of new weapons is a welcome sight, although the double barrel shotgun could benefit from being weakened. The Lambent faction also adds in an interesting dynamic to the game as they will mutate and explode upon death.
“Gears of War 3” is host to a plethora of game modes. The campaign mode comes in the natural story version and an arcade mode where enemy kills garner points, both of which include a cooperative mode for up to four players. The arcade mode is particularly fun to compete with friends in. The industry-altering Horde mode that started in “Gears of War 2” returns again. This time, Horde mode includes an extra layer of strategy through environmental defenses, weapons and respawns purchasable through earning points. The formula is changed even more with a boss wave every 10 waves. The versus mode is back with its stellar, although largely unchanged, online mode and a local version with bots.

Joe – “Gears of War 3” sticks to the primary game philosophy of chest high wall to chest high wall combat, with thankfully fewer on rails sections than its predecessor and the complete omission of its driving sections. Though on rails are far less common sections still present are outstanding examples in why they should have been cut from the game completely being extremely disorientating and generic. The shooting is as responsive as ever and movement has the same weight it’s always had, while melee gains the addition of weapon specific execution which prove to be the most satisfying additions to the classic “Gears of War” gameplay with the retro lancers charge being the stand out.

Another addition is Beast Mode which allows the player and up to four other people to take control of the Locust and attack a human encampment. The mode works on a currency system based on both human kills as well as destroying defensive structures such as barricades and turrets. The more money and points you gain the more powerful the Locust you take control of with the player eventually taking control of some of the most powerful enemies in the game. The mode is only enjoyable when playing online due to constant failure while playing locally.

Presentation

Azer – Although “Gears of War 3” is running on the aging “Unreal Engine 3,” it is a beautiful game. The lighting effects, such as bloom and god’s rays, are used to superb effect. The player feels as though they are in the action with the dynamic camera that rocks when the character is hit or in the vicinity of a large explosion. The designers of “Gears of War 3” were smart to create a variety of locations for the player to explore from cities sunken to the depths of the ocean to a city with civilians burned into ash statues. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn’t hold up to the industry standards. Expect to hear some bad dialogue and average voice acting. There are also some technical issues in the form of slow loading textures, buggy cover and long loading times for multi-player games. I had to wait five minutes just to find a Horde match.

Joe – The quality and detail of the production remains at the same level of previous entries in the series with improvements were focused on lighting and sound improvements to the game. Sun rays have a much more realistic feel an brightness to them and lower level lighting also seems more realistic than previous entries in the series. The quality of the sound design has also seen an overhaul adding much better sense of direction to the sound. Increases in level of detail in environments are minimal compared to “Gears of War 2” with several instances of extremely low detail textures used to represent parts of fairly near buildings such as the tower near the end of the game. These instances are only noticeable because the quality of the environments in general is very well done and produces stark contrast to theses instances. The voice acting has also seen little improvement over the previous entry with the same lack of believable emotion and several ridiculous performances for Cole Train and Griffin though this is partly due to the writing.

The Lion King was even more magical and fun on the big screen. It was so tempting to sing along with the songs and quote my favorite characters.

The film is still the original Lion King, but it seems to come more to life in theaters. The surround sound, the audience and the big screen made it a fun movie experience. I personally greatly enjoyed this film.

The 3D was not as great as I had hoped though. There were scenes where the 3D effects were definitely noticeable. The “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” scene has some impressive 3D effects.

But in general, the 3D did not have much of an impact on the movie.

Despite the lack of 3D effects, this movie can be enjoyed by all age groups. Especially our generation, which grew up with the Lion King but never got to experience it in the theater.

I would recommend this movie for a family night, a night out with friends, or for younger kids. Especially if they have never seen the Lion King.

Even though the 3D effects were not too great, the experience of this movie is definitely worth the money. Lion King in 3D leaves theaters Sept. 30. Do not miss this amazing experience.

By MacKenzie Breithaupt

“Get set!” band director Mike Jones shouts to the marching band.

Many students at LHS don’t know exactly what our marching band members do or how hard they work. Sure, they play instruments and march on our football field to catchy tunes, but many students don’t realize the time and effort band members contribute.

As someone who has never been a part of band, I went through an adventure. On Aug. 30, band held its regular 6:30 p.m. Tuesday practice on the LHS football field, and I was there to march.

Walking through the gate, I received strange stares and awkward smirks. Fellow flute player junior Lily Abromeit placed me in a line of flutes diagonal from where she was standing. Before I began marching, one of the two objectives Abromeit instructed was to “follow me.”

Easy enough – until she added to never “get directly behind” her.

I nodded, sure of my knowledge of what to do. But as soon as I heard the words “Get set” from Jones, everything Abromeit just plastered in my brain shattered. Thereafter, I was smack dab behind my partner in crime.

Not 10 minutes into practice, I was sweating. Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, I couldn’t imagine memorizing and marching these steps in the LHS band uniform — unless the temperature outside was negative five.

As I began marching, it was strangely difficult to keep up with everyone around me. Not only was it difficult to remain in the correct position with the other flutes, but I had absolutely no idea where they were going or what I was supposed to be doing. With a less-than-three second lesson with Abromeit about how many steps to take left, backward and then right, I ultimately absorbed nothing but which way my feet were instructed to face.

Even Jones noticed me sticking out.

“Everybody knows where to go and you had no idea,” Jones said later, “and when you don’t have any idea, you stick out. You were in such a place where you were getting in people’s way because you were so close.”

I pity flute player and sophomore Elsa Regan for any confusion I caused while marching. It seemed as though every step I took was in the wrong direction and in place of another band member.

Thankfully Jones sympathized with me.

“We’re going from the normal person who doesn’t know how to march to someone we ask to memorize about eight minutes worth of music and memorize probably about 60 formations in between those,” Jones said.

Being previously involved with dance, I imagine marching band is similar to a dance routine — only double time. The students must learn and memorize the music along with all of the formations. Band members spend about five and half hours practicing every week. I give props to them for all the effort they put toward musically supporting LHS.

“What kind of day is it?” It’s a great day to be a lion.

“The very first time I picked up my first camera it felt good,” Wolman said. It was in April of 1967 in San Francisco, California that Wolman got involved with Rolling Stone. During his time with the magazine Wolman photographed the musical legends of that era, such as Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, and many more.

Before the panel discussion began, the students had the opportunity to view the gallery at the Arts Center where some of the very best of Wolman’s photographs are on display until October 1. The students recognized many of the photos because Wolman’s images have become so legendary. The panelists discussed how different the field of photojournalism is today as opposed to how it was in the past. Someone could see a photo on a news website and then check back later in the day to discover that it has already been replaced with new images. “If a photo is worth ten minutes, what is it to the photographers? We make our images for a lifetime,” Wolman said.
Getting to see Wolman in person and listen to him talk was an unique experience for the students. Junior Sarah Sutterfield greatly enjoyed the opportunity. She had been planning on going to visit the exhibit on her own, but “to see him personally was kind of like experiencing history,” Sutterfield said. She noted how down to earth and open Wolman was during the presentation. Perkins felt the field trip was very beneficial to her students. “Nothing replaces meeting the artist,” Perkins said.

Instead of just memorizing musical pieces by what measure they are, the drumline, and even the whole band, coins little nicknames for each section.

To outsiders, t-sub (turkey sub), paradiddlediddles and ‘Dorothy on crack’ have nothing to do with band, but to the LHS drumline they go together perfectly.

“Whenever we would do a new drill someone would usually make a joke and it would stick,” senior Rachel Kelly said. “Even now, when (drumline instructor Patrick) McCarty tells us to do a particular drill I still remember the night that it got its name.”

On top of the summer band practices and 6th hour rehearsals, drumline members spend most of their Wednesday nights in sectionals and full ensemble practice preparing for those Friday night performances and competitions.

“Performing is like an out-of-body experience,” senior Meredith Burke said. “You’re not thinking about anything else until you walk off, leaving everything on the field.”

With spending so much time outside of school together, the battery portion of drumline has become a family of sorts. From going to Jefferson’s Wednesday nights after practice and learning each other’s instruments, the camaraderie grows closer.

“We always have a good time together,” Burke said. “It’s always been like that.”

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