Grace Weng

NEWS 2/14/12 6:00pm

Monologues unify all women

By Grace Weng

Twenty actresses strut onto the Sid Richardson College basement stage dressed in fierce, classy outfits of red and black. Rice University's 2012 production of The Vagina Monologues, directed by Hanszen College seniors Annie Blay and Kate Snyder, is far from being one of those hackneyed efforts to remind women of how strong, beautiful and superior to men they are. Instead, the play aims to place at the forefront a community that unifies a diverse set of women - old, young, rich, poor, heterosexual, homosexual, transgendered, cloistered, liberal, victimized, enabled – to confront violence toward women. Each of the poignant monologues in its own way reinforces the message of learning to accept and love not only vaginas, but also women as a whole.

NEWS 11/9/11 6:00pm

An American in Paris celebrates its 60th anniversary of success

By Grace Weng

Sixty years ago, before High School Musical, Moulin Rouge and West Side Story, Vincente Minnelli released his classic masterpiece, An American in Paris. The film is the ultimate culmination fo the arts on screen and won six well-deserved Academy awards. It remains just as much of a delight for the eyes, ears and soul now as it was then.

NEWS 11/9/11 6:00pm

Chatroom draws you in

By Grace Weng

Wiess Tabletop Theater's Fall production, "Chatroom," wastes no energy or time in its performance of Enda Walsh's heavy but fast-paced play. Producers Liz Castillo, a Wiess College senior, and Ian Kretz, a Wiess sophomore, along with director Ian Bott, a Wiess junior, have formed a production true to the vivid and sometimes even grotesque quality of Walsh's work. Though the one-act play is short, running about one hour, Tabletop's "Chatroom" is engagingly concentrated. The simple premise of six high school students communicating through chat rooms becomes a palette to tackle complex topics like manipulation and suicide. Despite such grave subject matter, the play finds unconventional ways to be funny, resulting in a poignant and entertaining play.