Cedars, January 2019

January 2019 17 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Jeremy Smith Jeremy Smith has always wanted to do a complete Shakespeare show during his time at Cedarville. His senior theatre project was the perfect opportunity to accomplish that dream. He will be presenting Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a show that he chose to challenge himself. He loves Shakespeare’s use of articulate and poetic language to express the characters fully. Quips like “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, for I am sick when I do look on thee,” are what make Shakespeare’s works so memorable for Smith. Smith has loved the rush of acting on stage for as long as he can remember, and he has been performing in at least one show every year since middle school. He describes the art of acting as both exhausting and exhilarating as he uses all his focus and energy to portray someone else. He says that acting on stage is what makes him feel most alive. Smith is passionate about theater and plans to pursue acting as a career to gain experience before furthering his education. He plans to eventually pursue an MFA in acting where he can expand his knowledge of an expansive field and advance his professional career. Ranae Haskins Ranae Haskins is acting, designing and co-directing “K2,” a one-act show based on the true story of two best friends who set out to climb the second highest mountain in the world and end up in a life-or-death struggle. Haskins chose this piece as a tribute to her family’s legacy of athleticism and love of all things outdoors. She has spent some time at Cedarville’s rock climbing wall for some character study, and she may have immersed herself too deeply into the charac- ter experience. She is now wearing a boot after suffering a double sprain and a chipped bone while participating in a bouldering competition. Haskins originally visited Cedarville expecting to pursue a degree in business management. By lunchtime during her visit, she had already changed her major to reflect her true passion and skill set: theatre. Since her time in the program, she has enjoyed being challenged and sharpened in her comedy and design skills. After graduation, Haskins plans to pursue opportunities through some auditions she has lined up, as well as possibly applying for the Disney internship program. Raven Simmons Raven Simmons chose “Loving” as the piece for her senior theater project because it explores her passion for racial diversity. The show was based on an Oscar-nominated film about the court case Loving v. Virginia that made interracial marriage legal. In her time at Cedarville, Simmons had been looking for ways to find her voice on the topic of racial issues, because she noticed that it was not a prevalent conversation on campus. So, when her adviser suggested that she tackle “Loving” for her final selection, she accepted the challenge after her first read through. Simmons’ dream to become a lawyer started in kindergarten but ended when she fell in love with the theatre community at Cedarville. She went into her freshman year as a double major in theatre and pre-law. Her plan was to combine her childhood aspirations for a law career and her love for acting that she discovered through being cast in her church’s plays. During her first semester at Cedarville in fall 2013, she joined the crew for the school’s production of “Taming of the Shrew.” Through this, she met a group of people pas- sionate about theater who she said understood her in a way that no one else ever had. Not only did they understand her, but Simmons said that they also helped her understand herself. After that semester, she dropped her pre-law major and wholeheartedly pursued theatre. Simmons loves “telling real stories about real people” through acting. She believes that theater is a unique way to embrace empathy by stepping into the lives and experi- ences of other people and expressing humanity from a variety of perspectives. Shelby McGuire is a sophomore journalism major and Campus News Co-editor for Cedars. She enjoys working out as well as feeding her caffeine addiction pretending that she has her life together. Photo by Aimee Auclair Hill Photo by Aimee Auclair Hill