Issue 1, 2014-2015
The Colt’s Tale
Cumberland Regional High School
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The Man Who Came to Dinner: Interview with Ryan Crabtree
By: Jordan Chester
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
The Man Who Came To
Dinner
1-4
Book Reviews
5-6
Harvest Festival
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Have you heard? The Fall Play was a great success! This year, the CRHS Drama Guild
performed The Man Who Came to Dinner, the classic comedy from 1939. If you saw the
show, you might want to get to know the star of the show, Ryan Crabtree, a little better.
(The interview took place before the play was presented in late November.)
Q: What is your character in “The Man Who Came to Dinner”?
Colts Giving Back: Blood
Drive/Food Drive
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Tell Colt’s Tale How YOU
Feel: Unit Lunch
1011
Spirit Week
1216
Ryan: I play Sheridan Whiteside, a Falstaffian radio orator and lecturer who becomes
trapped in a small town in Ohio after injuring his hip.
Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, how intimidated or nervous are you about how many lines you
have to memorize?
Ryan: 5. It would be a 4, but I can feel the deadline for memorization creeping closer.
Happy Holidays to ALL!
Q: If you could not be Whiteside in this show, what character would you want to be?
(Interview continues on p. 2)
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Colt’s Tale Staff
Staff Members:
Kevin Austin
Jordan Chester
Lexi Christian
Ryan Crabtree
Morgan Davidson
David Dutkiewicz
Nicole Green
Zaire Loatman
Karie Miner
Casey Phillips
Deanna Richie
Noah Rieco
Lucas Wallace
Advisor: Mrs. Wilson
The opinions expressed
in The Colt’s Tale articles and editorials are not
necessarily those of the
entire Colt’s Tale staff,
faculty, administration,
or Board of Education at
CRHS.
Ryan: I love my character, and
wouldn't dare trade, but for the
sake of your question I would elect
to be either Mr. Stanley or Banjo if
not Whiteside.
Q: How many shows have you been
in? Were any of them outside of
school?
Ryan: I have been in six shows
total, all of which having been produced by the Cumberland Regional Drama Guild. I look forward to
working with other community
theatre companies, like OBSP,
Cumberland Players, and
Oakwood Summer Theater, now
that I can drive and am not hindered by my parents' working
schedules.
Q: Of those six shows, what was the
first?
Ryan: Almost, Maine in 2012. That
still remains one of my favorites,
holding such milestones as my first
show and effecting my first kiss.
Q: Out of all the characters you have
ever played, which one was your
favorite?
Ryan: My favorite would have to
be a tie between Danforth from the
Crucible and Whiteside. Danforth
was an easier character, requiring
me only to bedamn everyone, but I
like the central position that
Whiteside has in this show.
Q: Do you plan on studying theatre
after you graduate?
Ryan: I plan to all my life be doing theatre, but I have no intention of formally studying it in college because it is too impractical
to try to become a successful professional actor because of the superflux of talent on the market. I
instead plan to study to become a
teacher of Latin.
Q: What words of advice would you
give to someone who is auditioning
for a show for the first time?
Ryan: Don't worry about it. Just
try not to think of all the pressure
and stress. That's how people
choke: thinking. Don't do that.
Also, if you aren't cast, or don't
get the role you want, it's okay.
Try again in a few months with
the next audition. As an actor especially, one cannot let rejection
be crushing; just because you
were rejected doesn't mean that
you don't have something special
to contribute elsewhere.
Q: Finally, the most important question of all... If you could turn into an
animal, what animal would you be?
Ryan: A human.
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Photos by Noah Rieco and Morgan Davidson
Colt’s Tale asked students
about The Man Who Came to
Dinner:
“Did you see the play? What did
you think?”
It was funny! The actors were
enthusiastic –Matt Scull
I thought it was hilarious. There were a lot
of outgoing jokes. –Kim Sanderlin
I was in AV and made it snow, and I thought
the play was really funny. –Jessica Fackler
Noah [Athey] ran off in terror and it was
pretty funny. –Casey Klein
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The Man Who Came to Dinner
Photos by Noah Rieco and Morgan Davidson
Colt’s Tale asked students
about The Man Who Came to
Dinner:
“Did you see the play? What did
you think?”
I really liked it, it was really funny.
Carly [Jorgenson] cracked me up at the
end, when she decided to quit her job. –
Ashley Fackler
It was really good, they did a good job.
Lewie Holman really puts himself into
the character. –Layne Donelson
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Book Review: House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Jordan Chester
*THIS REVIEW HAS A LOT OF SPOILERS IN IT! ONLY READ ON IF YOU HAVE ALREADY READ
BLOOD OF OLYMPUS (OR DON’T CARE ABOUT BEING SPOILED). IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ANY
HEROES OF OLYMPUS BOOKS, THIS ENTIRE THING WILL MAKE NO SENSE. YOU HAVE BEEN
WARNED.*
Blood of Olympus was written by Rick Riordan, so that makes it awesome by default.
However, there were some points that really irked me. For one, I expected all nine demigods to
have POVs, not just Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, and Nico. Being the last book and all, I thought
that all of their thoughts about the final battle with Gaea would be included, but apparently
not. Also, why didn’t Percy get a POV? The Blood of Olympus wouldn’t be happening if Percy
didn’t defeat the Minotaur in The Lightning Thief. I know that Percy isn’t the main protagonist
anymore, but it would have been nice to have the series come more full circle (but we do get
more Percy POV in Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, so it’s not that bad). Anyway, most of the
battles seemed really… anticlimactic. Like, we go through more than 2,500 pages and five years
of waiting just to know that Gaea had to be rocked back to sleep in the air? And not just that
battle too, but all of them were really short. Most importantly, LEO WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG
WITH YOU??? You just DIED and came back to life, and your only concern is flying off into the
sunset on a magic dragon with your new girlfriend? You’re not even going to go to Camp HalfBlood to tell them you are okay first? I’m Team Leo for life, but you are still one of the biggest
idiots I have ever read about.
Now that that’s out of my system, let’s talk about why Blood of Olympus was a great
book. I’m really happy that Reyna and Nico got POVs. I never really appreciated Reyna as a
character before BoO, but now I love her. Reyna is the Queen of Everything.
Nico is a character that I have been itching to learn more about since he was first introduced in The Titan’s Curse, so being able to read inside his mind was an amazing experience.
Speaking of Nico, I am so happy with the way his story ended. He’s more confident now, and he
has friends, and he’s just happier than he was before this book. And Nico/Will is now my new
OTP.
There were so many funny moments, as always. The fact that Gaea, an eternal, allpowerful force, was awakened by Percy’s nosebleed was just marvelous. Octavian’s death was
stellar. Never before have I laughed so hard about someone dying.
While the ending was anticlimactic, I love how it came full circle. It was Jason, Piper,
and Leo kicking butt in the beginning of this series, and it’s those three at the end of it. And no
one died. Well, at least no one important was permanently dead.
Overall, Blood of Olympus was hilarious and fun. I love Rick Riordan’s books, and will
read them for the rest of my life. The Percy Jackson books are so amazing, I wish that everyone
has an opportunity to read them. Thank you, Uncle Rick, for writing this incredible series that
people of all ages can enjoy.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Jim
Kay
Book Review by Jordan Chester
This story revolving around an ancient monster
and a young boy is one of the most gorgeous and emotional books I have ever read. Everything about it is
perfect. Jim Kay’s illustrations are breathtaking, and
Patrick Ness’ writing gave me a book hangover that
lasted for weeks. It is a short read that has just the
right balance of fantastical and contemporary elements. However, A Monster Calls is not as creepy as
the title and cover may imply. But there is nothing
wrong with that. I could not recommend this book to
you more.
Rating: All of the stars
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The Deerfield Harvest Festival
Article and Photos by:
Nicole Green
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As per usual, the Deerfield Harvest Festival officially kicked off
with “family night” on October 10th. Friday was filled with local bands,
the annual SingFest contest, and unlimited rides for only $20! Surprisingly, this year, whoever plans the Harvest Festival for us decided to open
up a day earlier than usual. Thursday wasn’t any different from Friday,
but it was still a great excuse to get out of the house and hang out with
our friends.
I only started going to the Harvest Festival in eighth grade and,
personally, I’ve picked Saturday as my favorite day to go. Lots of people
are there and while I can’t stand crowds, I absolutely love seeing everyone get out of their houses and have a good time with their friends. My
favorite part about Saturdays? The famous artists they get to play for us.
It must cost a fortune to have such great artists come to Deerfield, when
they could tour Europe instead. Honestly, we should be so grateful.
We’re seriously lucky.
Jason Michael Carroll played at the Harvest Festival when I was
eighth grade. I remember begging my mom to go only for this specific
reason. I mean, it was Jason Michael Carroll who opened up for amazingly talented country artists like Trace Adkins and Brooks & Dunn, with
songs on the “Top 40” charts, and who has played for the CMA awards
and the Grand Ole Opry, which is a pretty big deal for any country artist. It was worth it. I got to give him a high five,
he hugged me, shook hands with my dad and then offered for me to go up on a lift with him. I denied the latter part,
having stage fright and all.
On Saturday this year, Gloriana opened up for Lonestar. They’re both really amazing country bands, and I’ve
been obsessed with Lonestar ever since I was little. They both played amazing sets and I absolutely loved the entertainment. They played all of my favorite songs and some new songs that I’ve grown to love as well! And on Sunday,
Uncle Kracker came back to play for us again. Should I say more?
To add to the excitement, there was merchandise to be sold. Why is that exciting? The merchandise was a
shirt, a bracelet and… Autographed CD’s. It can’t get
much better than that!
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Colts Giving Back: CRHS Blood Drive
By: Jordan Chester
Lots of vampires went hungry this Halloween! Instead of going to our ever-growing
undead population, the blood of about 75 Cumberland Regional students and staff was donated to the Community Blood Council of New Jersey. Mrs. DuBois, the administrator of this
great event, said, “For every pint of blood, the students were able to save three people.” So
that means that 225 people can be saved by the over nine gallons of blood that was donated!
Donating blood is a great way to help the community and to quote senior Kayla Davis, “It
was really nice to help people and it was fun.”
Colt’s Tale writer Jordan Chester
polled CRHS students about their
attitudes toward donating blood.
She compiled her data into the
chart and graph here.
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Colts Giving Back: The Tex Robinson
Food Drive
The annual CRHS Tex Robinson Food Drive is a
way for CRHS staff and students to give back to
families right in our own community. Run through
Colt Connection, this year they were able to provide 25 baskets of food including turkeys and all
of the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner, as well as
pantry staples such as peanut butter and jelly.
A faculty dress-down day raised $525 for the
cause, and a canned food drive for students and
faculty brought in plenty of food to stock the baskets, with enough left over so that there will be
enough to provide for continuing needs throughout the winter.
The canned food drive also included a contest for
students and staff, who were eligible to win gift
cards for participating. Winners included Abby
DiJoseph, Reghan Coombs, Mrs. Wilson, and Mrs.
Blount.
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