#i'm just saying that cody is trying to impress ricky a lot and he's looking over to see what he thinks all the time

[thevalleyisjolly]

But what if Cody has a crush on Ricky.

#i'm just saying that cody is trying to impress ricky a lot and he's looking over to see what he thinks all the time #and he brings up in conversation a lot the parallels and connections between them #don't even get me started on the whole 'we're like naruto and sasuke' thing #i just think that maybe cody has a little bit of a crush on a ricky but because he is a good guy and he knows that ricky is dating esther #he doesn't make a move #but he's still maybe crushing hard #it's definitely not mutual but that's where the angst comes in #because even though ricky doesn't like him he's also one of the few people on the dream team to spend time with cody #other than pete (and pete/cody is EXCELLENT); no one else has really spent time actually with cody #and before the whole questing blade thing; ricky spent a week just going around with cody and helping him do paladin stuff #and it's like jj was talking about this past episode - it's easy to be lonely in the big city when you don't have family or friends near #and cody doesn't seem to be close with his family and until recently he's been in a rough patch with his roommates #so imagine being cody walsh - alone in the city and the mall (the only place that really feels like home) is gone #no one believes you about gladiator or is willing to fight with you #you're so desperate for help that you're willing to sign your soul away to the first demon you come across #and then ricky matsui; this warm and comforting person; starts helping you figure out your new powers #and maybe you start to feel not so scared and alone anymore #(and maybe you have the slightest crush. but. it's not gonna happen so why bring it up?)

[rndyounghowze]

Pirate Theatre is Makin' It This Weekend

By Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

Cedar Creek High School

Egg Harbor City

The students greatly surpassed my expectations at Cedar Creek High School's production of Makin' It. This play by Cynthia Mercati was directed by John T. Stephan and brought a host of veteran and green actors together to do this show.

There is more than meets the eye in any high school hallway. This play shows that in any clique, any student, any teacher, there something beneath the surface desperately trying to get out.

Direction by John T Stephan was strong last night. You could tell he really wanted a show that gave a lot of new performers a chance to shine while being supported by a core group of his stage veterans. What I always love about Stephan is that he seeks to build young artists up and develop their talent and not just to put on a great show to sell tickets.

But I did feel that even his fledgling actors were stronger than the script he was working with. There were several parts of the script that I saw him valiantly try to create workarounds for.

For example: the script stops all dramatic action to make actors walk downstage and then bare their souls under blue light in monologue. I feel it’s a problem that only exists in the show because the script says it must happen. In fact this got so formulaic that Dana and I could guess to within a second when another monologue was coming. We would have loved it much better if there were no monologues and the story could keep moving forward.

But here was my ultimate problem with them: the monologues where where I saw Stephan shine! This is a man whose directing style I know the most and these intimate moments were where I could see him dive into character work and coax some solid performances out of his actors. There are even some small one on one scenes between characters where I saw him try to create a real character driven scene despite the source material and because they were doing their best I began to really feel something. I just really hope in the future that the script chosen is as strong as this cast.

Dana and I saw a bunch of kids who are nothing like these characters who are looking for some nuggets of truth to latch onto. "But Ricky," you say "isn't acting all about portraying a character that's nothing like you?" Obviously yes but I felt some of these actors had characters so unreal and unauthentic they went beyond that and were able to tap into something deeper than anything could have realized. So let's talk about who really made us feel something.

Buzzard Fishbeck (played by Jonathan Nass) gave Dana this feeling of “why bother, if everyone thinks I’m this way why am I going to change?" She was really impressed by how sincere was even though he was our comic relief. Great job!

There really is something wonderful about Monica (played by Elisa Zapata) and I noticed it immediately. I'm coining a phrase today by saying her best acting was "behind her eyes". She found a way to make me see the wheels turning in the character's head. A great performance!

Kudos to Karl Swanson (played by Jacob Thompson) for stepping into the role only two weeks ago and giving us a strong first impression. He was just the prop master then so you could call this a huge promotion! I really hope to see him onstage again.

Travis (played by Kyle Heck) won me over with his last stand against Hunter. He finally seemed to calm down and give me chills with his honest delivery of his lines.

Hunter Dunbar (played by Cody Tittermary) did such a really good job being a scumbag that Dana didn't like him. But I know him and this is completely different from who he is. He did win her over with the honest delivery of his monologue. It was her favorite.

Brooke Benedict (played by Rebekah Allebach) made me not hate this play. Her monologue was full of feeling and passion and she poured it out generously so that we all could share. That’s the kind of acting we need all over the South Jersey High School Stage. Feel something and take us on the journey with you!

I've had the privilege of seeing Howie (played by Evan Theoharis) perform at GTMS before and I'm so happy to see him not only staying true to form but even getting better in his craft. If he digs into his characters a bit more his natural stage presence will take him the rest of the way.

We could tell that Mrs. Cozlowe (played by Violet Vogel) was trying to channel every terrible teacher she'd ever had to deliver a truly authentic performance. It's very hard to take on the role of one of the authority figures in your life and not make it look cookie cutter. She really did not disappoint.

With Vince Carnelli (Played by Nathan Carnelli) he seems like he was really trying to latch onto a similar authority figure in his own life. Either way he did it he made Dana empathize with him.

Kudos to Max Stubbe in the background creating a character that I definitely wanted to know more about. Everytime they were onstage I really hoped that their monologue would start but it never did. Thanks for making me smile!

We want to reiterate that we saw kids do an amazing job trying to relate to characters that they've never seen before. This is not to say there aren't similar kids in high school or America however those kids are three dimensional and to ask them to become one dimensional on a stage is hard. They have to bring way more into the story than the writer did. And that's what we want to celebrate right now. We're very proud of all these kids.

Costumes by Cynthia Kahn actually did make my life. Having lived through this decade as a kid I may or may not have worn these clothes once (I also may or may not have been a Howie). Thanks for taking me on a trip in the Way Back machine.

Kudos to set design by John T. Stephan and Jen Tracy who was also Head Scenic Artist. The minimal set design really served the production well while still being very visually interesting.

You really should see this show. It is a great example of good young performers delivering solid textbook performances through the support of an artistic staff that only wants to see them shine! Please come out and cheer them on!