SPECIAL ISSUE OF ARCHBISHOP WOOD CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL�S

VVOLOLUMEUME XIVXIV,, NNUMBERUMBER 22 WWWWWW..VIKINGVVIKINGVOICEOICE ..ORORGG WW EDNESDEDNESDAAYY,, NNOOVEMBERVEMBER 24,24, 20042004

voiceThe viking

Krantz brings style to the game

Wood wins the PCL title

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

>>>> AA SEMISEMI --MONTHLMONTHLYY JOURNJOURNALAL OFOF EVENTSEVENTS AATT WWOODOOD ,, ARAROUNDOUND AMERICAAMERICA ANDAND AACRCROSSOSS THETHE WWORLDORLD W 11/24 SIW 11/24 SI

Boys varsity soccer coach Joe Krantz guided the teamto its first ever PCL Championship Title on Sat., Nov. 20.

For Coach Joe Krantz and his Boyssoccer team, this year�s PCL title winwas anything but a total surprise,despite how underestimated the teamwas at the beginning of the season bythe rest of the league.

It was clear to Krantz early on thatthey had what it took this season.�After seeing how we handled LaSalle,especially in the first half, I knew wecould play with anyone�, said Krantz,of the first encounter with LaSalle ofthe season. That confidence in theteam�s ability came after a retooling

of the Wood defenses.�The key to a solid team [this year]

was getting the defense squaredaway after losing solid players likeRyan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Drum lastyear.�, Krantz said. Wood accom-plished that and more with the returnof Matt Deluca and addition of play-ers like Matt Nolan. �[Our] defensejust did an outstanding job all season.�,Krantz affirmed.

While Krantz has sometimes beenjoked about for his unique coachingstyle, he says �I�m not sue if I have astyle. I know what we practice, [and]what the instructions are. When some-one deviates from those plans, thenthere�s a problem.� He was quick toadd though, that �the saying we liveby is that �the next play is the mostimportant play��.

Senior stopper Mike Murnane saidof Krantz, �He�s a great coach. If hegets on your back, it�s mainly to help

you out, and for a positive reason. He�san all around great coach, a true PCLchamp.�

Sean Matthews, a senior sweeper,also had high praise for his Coach.�He�s the man, he�s my hero. He�s thefunniest man alive.�

After so many years of coaching,there had been rumors that Krantzmight retire soon. Krantz denied therumors, however, saying �I have nodefinite plans. Looking at next year�steam we have six starters back, whichmakes a good nucleus, and will allowfor those who were on the bench thisseason to move up.�

Krantz especially enjoyed the sup-port of the always formidable Woodfan base at the games throughout theseason. �Our fans are great. They pro-vide lots of support, and are veryloyal. Players on other teams evensupported us, so hopefully our boys do

After 26 years of coachingBoys soccer at Wood, JoeKrantz has brought homePCL champions. Their overallseason record is 17-3-2.BY TOM SHAKELY �05> EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

�KRANTZ� CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

For the first time in Wood'shistory, the Boys Soccer Teamcan call itself the champions ofthe Philadelphia CatholicLeague. The boys finished offtheir great run on Sat., Nov. 20with a dominating performancein the title match against St.Joe's Prep at HaverfordCollege.

The team jumped out to a 1-0 lead off of a strike by PatTaylor fifteen minutes into thefirst half and never lookedback. Prep had few chances toget at the Wood goal all game,due to Wood's suffocatingdefense.

The defense gave up just

eleven goals all year, with eightof those coming in the PCL regu-lar season. The defense, howev-er, managed to step up its playanother notch in the postseason,stifling the opposition's attack inall three playoff games, inwhich Wood conceded no goals.

Led by seniors JayHalbreiner, Mike Murnane, andMatt DeLuca, Wood boasted thestingiest defense in the league.Joe Basgil and Matt Nolanstepped into starting roles intheir first seasons as varsityplayers, and did a superb job.

The offense did its fair sharetoo, with Dave Laurich setting aWood single season record for13 goals scored in the PCL and20 goals scored in a season.Sophomores Pat Taylor and Will"The Thrill" Morris scored keygoals this year as they part-nered with Laurich up front forthe Vikings. In the midfield JoeTaylor and Sean Matthewsworked well together, findingthe team's wing midfieldersMike Madden and Vince Parker.Taylor set the school record forcareer assists and Matthewschipped in with key goalsthroughout the year.

The team looked destined forgreatness from the openinggame, thrashing SouthernDivision rivals ArchbishopCarroll 7-0 on the road. They

carried the early momentumover to the start of the PCL reg-ular season, handedly defeatingvisiting LaSalle 3-1. SeanMatthews gave the Vikings thelead early on with an incrediblehead ball goal. Wood startedthe season in first place andnever relinquished its spot at thetop of the league.

After an easy win over BishopMcDevitt, Wood faced anothertough test against perennialpower Archbishop Ryan. Woodwas deadlocked with thedefending PCL champs for 78minutes of the game until a PatTaylor corner sneaked its way

into the net. Wood continued itsundefeated run and finished thefirst half of the season in firstplace with a 6-0-1 record.

The boys hit a bump in theroad, however, losing two of itsnext three games, both by onegoal. Refusing to let the adver-sity get the better of them, theteam went out and beatCardinal Dougherty in a gamewhere Dave Laurich struckoffensively for two goals. Intheir next match the boys left itlate but came away with a 1-0win over Conwell Egan.

Needing just a win and a tiein its last two regular season

games to secure the number oneseed in the Northern Division,the team showed its class bydefeating Father Judge 3-1 andNorth Catholic 1-0.

The first playoff game wasagainst Conwell Egan. Egan wasa tough match-up for Wood inboth regular season games ear-lier in the year, but the samewas not true in the post season.Pat Taylor assisted Dave Laurichon both of the game's goals andthe Vikings were through to thesemifinals.

The semifinals pitted theVikings against Kennedy Kenrick

Archbishop Wood's Boys Soccer Team wonits first ever Philadelphia Catholic Leaguechampionship, capping off a season ofbroken records and first time achievements.BY TOM SHAKELY �05> EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ARCHBISHOP WOOD 3 ST. JOE�S PREP 0

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Elated Viking soccer players and fans celebrated on the field at Haverford College after the final whistle. Coach Krantz and Joe Taylor motion to St. Joe�s Prep, letting them know where the party is.

�SOCCER� CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Senior Joe Taylor meets thepress after the game.

PPAAGEGE 2 | E2 | EDITDITOROR ��SS DD ESKESK & & WWOODOOD NN EWSEWS NNOOVEMBERVEMBER 24,24, 20042004

EDITOR’S DESK: AMERICA SPOKE ON NOV. 2THE VIKING VOICE

The first issue received a huge-ly enthusiastic response lastmonth, and also marked the firsttime Wood has ever had a 12page newspaper in its 40 yearhistory.

There were some hiccups andtypos, as there always are, butone thing most people noticedwere the �Fs� and �As� thatappeared in certain articlesthroughout the issue. Additionally,certain punctuation was also miss-ing throughout. To clear that up:yes, we saw those mistakes too,and no, we didn�t make them onpurpose. They occurred as theresult of a bizarre error at theprinting office which we use, anddid not originally appear in thefiles we sent to be printed.

All in all, I really want to thankeveryone who gave us all suchstrong feedback. Keep it com-ing�this is for you.

ELECTION IMPLICATIONSEarlier this month the American

electorate made it clear that itwill not be subjected to the poli-tics of fear and intimidation.George W. Bush sailed to re-elec-tion with the most popular votesof any president in our history,with over 58 million. This has beenthe first time a president wonelection with a majority of thepopular vote since 1988, some-thing not even Clinton could man-age.

That fact should prove mostupsetting for all those Bush-haters

who feebly try to claim Bush is"not my president." The Americanpublic has spoken with a clearvoice, handing Bush re-electionthrough both popular vote andelectoral vote.

Many prominent Democratshave said that they must nowmake an effort to �better under-stand� the American people, andmost are still operating under theidea that the Bush win means thatAmericans are still �uninformed�.

The fact that Democrats thinkthey need to better understandthe American people shows justhow hopelessly out of touch withthe nation they are, no matter howright some of their policies mayseem.

Scaring the youth with liesabout a draft failed. Scaring theold with lies about Bush being�out to get them� by taking awayhealthcare failed. Scaring blacksand other minorities by openlysaying that Bush�s re-electionwould bring about a pre-deseg-regated America failed. Scaringthe country with lies about howBush has and will destroy ourcountry failed.

Yet still, the Democratic partycontinues to be blinded by its ownhatred of Republicans and the�moral majority� to realize howscared it should be of its evernearer implosion.

CONGRATS BOYSOn behalf of the entire staff of

The Viking Voice, I want to thankthe Boys soccer team for its enor-

mous efforts on the field this year.You worked hard, and youearned your reward: Wood�s firstPCL title in boys soccer. You�vegone down in Wood history, andyou�ve helped energize a lot ofschool spirit. The rest of us oweyou one.

EDITOR�S NOTE

In the previous issue of The

Viking Voice, I asserted that themethod of seating us with ourparent�s was a �relatively newthing�. I was mistaken in this asser-tion, at least to a point. Wood, asa school, has seated students withtheir parents at graduation forthe past 14 years.

I do, however, continue to

defend my position on gradua-tion. Even 14 years of prece-dence is not terribly meaningfulconsidering that Wood has beenaround for 40 years in all. Furtherstill, not all tradition is necessarilymeaningful or good tradition.

Nothing should continue basedsimply on the argument that it�s�tradition.� I was informed by theadministration that the seatingwas changed specifically inresponse to bad manners from theboys of the divided Wood. This isthe basis of our current �tradition-al� graduation; to keep us in lineby seating us with our parentsbecause we�re supposedly tochildish to sit as a class�as highschool graduates no less.

Some of us might be too child-

ish, sure, but again, according tothis newspaper�s own poll, 85percent of seniors would like toget the second to sit as a class. Isit right that a class from the late80s in the boy�s school deter-mined our new �tradition� throughtheir immaturity? Most definitelynot.

An administration�s fear of howit thinks we may behave is notsolid backing for this currentarrangement, especially whenopposed by the vast majority ofseniors. This is only seen as goodtradition by one faction of theschool. The wishes of the studentbody still deserve to be heeded.

- TOM SHAKELY; EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

TOM@VIKINGVOICE.ORG

Well, fall is on its way out andwinter is on its way in. So far thisyear, the student council has donea few significant things, and hasmore planned.

As you read about in the lastissue of The Viking Voice, we set upa concert with the bands SkyViewand Winslowearlier thisyear. I consid-er it to be asuccess, andwe hope tohave anothersimilar eventlater thisyear.

Also, MattS p a d a fo r aorganized this year's pre-home-coming tailgate. It was such agood time that there was anotherone the following week.

In the near future, as in pastyears, Big Little Day will be tak-ing place. Also, we hope to havea dodge ball tournament. Detailsare still sketchy for that, but staytuned to the TV for information aswe get it. Also, we hope to resur-rect the ping pong tournamentthat took place two years ago.That will most likely happen inearly '05.

A lot of people have been ask-ing if we are going to get a dressdown day. I want one too, trust

me. The student council is doingwhat we can, but it pretty muchdepends upon how the adminis-tration feels about the dresscode.

In response to the editorial inthe last edition of The Viking Voice,a representative from Aramarkwill be at our next student councilmeeting. That should be interest-ing; so expect to see a report ofwhat happens in the Dec. issue ofthe paper.

If anybody has any ideas thatyou'd like to see happen, tell yourhomeroom rep. and ask him tobring them up at our monthly stu-dent council meeting, or just tellany of the executive board mem-bers.

On a totally different note, Isuggest that everyone listen to theband Guster. Their website iswww.guster.com, and there aresongs you can hear for free onthe site. Also, for any Dispatchfans at Wood, I'd highly recom-mend their new live doubleCD/DVD, "All Points Bulletin".

It includes tracks from theirfinal show in front of 110,000people at the Hatch Shell inBoston, along with their warm-upshow at the Somerville Theatre.The DVD alone is worth the cost.

ERIC SNYDER

STUDENT COUNCIL

ERIC IS PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT

COUNCIL AT WOOD. HIS COLUMN

APPEARS IN EACH ISSUE.

On a totallydifferent note

The Viking Voice Special Issue � Contributing Staff

Dear Helga,I'm terrified of catching the flu.

Yech! What can I do to avoid get-ting sick?

Signed, Germophobe

Dear Germophobe,The first thing to remember is

to remain calm. Just because youdon't get a flu shot doesn't meanthat you're going to die. Carryingaround some essentials will makeyour life easier and will decreasethe chances of your peers gettingsick, too.

Unfortunately, we can't drag asink and bar of soap with us allday. This is where hand sanitizercomes in: it's effective, portable,and should kill most germs on yourhands. If, for some reason, youdon't have any way of cleansingyour hands after coming in con-tact with a sick person, simplyavoid putting anything in yourmouth (I sincerely hope by nowthat none of you still suck yourthumbs!).

Already sick? Please, PLEASEuse medicine! Think of it: you feelbetter and your pharmacist gets

paid! Everybody wins, ja! Invest inthose miniature packs of tissues,as they're much more sanitarythan using your hand and alarm-ing other germophobes. Befriendthroat lozenges and cough drops,as well as Vicks vapor-rub. Theseitems will help to clear yourthroat.

If you need to stay home sick,try to entertain yourself. The Lordof the Rings: Return of the KingPlatinum edition comes out onDec. 14. What's not to love aboutfour hours and ten minutes ofswords, battles, and evil jewelry?

Dear Helga,Do they really brainwash you on

Encounter?Signed, Just a little curious

Dear Curious,Yes. They also barcode you

and convince you to spontaneous-ly tap dance with turkey legs.

Actually, nobody brainwashesyou on Encounter. In fact, if youdecide to participate, "they" willbe your own colleagues!Encounter is a retreat � you

know how once a year the schoolconducts retreats in each gradewhere visitors address varioustopics? This is the same concept,except it lasts for a weekendinstead of a day. Also, one of mysources tells me that it's "an amaz-ing experience" and "best ifyou're open-minded." Interestedin going on Encounter this year?See Fr. Chris in the Ministry Office(Room 317) to find out moreabout it, or to sign up.

SEND QUESTIONS TO HELGA VIA EMAIL:HELGA@VIKINGVOICE.ORG OR DROP

OFF QUESTIONS IN THE NEWSPAPER

BOX IN THE ACTIVITES OFFICE.

Helpful Helga

November 24 Issue; Printed Nov. 22

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF; DESIGN

TOM SHAKELY �05SPORTS EDITOR

JOE TAYLOR �05FACULTY ADVISOR

MR. WILLIAM DEVLIN

MAGGIE MARSHALL �06, STEPHANIE

BOAG �05, TIM WISNIEWSKI �06,ED WADDINGTON �05, ERIC SNYDER

�05, SEAN WHALEN �05

Letters to the EditorLetters should be sent to:letters@vikingvoice.org.

DisclaimerMaterial appearing within The VikingVoice (articles, editorials, online content, etc) reflects neither theviews of the school administrationnor the views of The Viking Voicestaff, but merely the philosophy of the respective author.

NNOOVEMBERVEMBER 24,24, 2004 2004 SSPORPORTSTS | P| PAAGEGE 33

Wood soccer players both past and present unite on field after the game in triumph as goalie Jay Halbriener holds the PCL plaque. PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM SHAKELY �05

Antsy Wood fans await the final whistle, preparing to storm the field and celebrate with the team.

The fans and team cheer together basking in the glow of Wood�s first boys soccer championship title.

Coach Krantz (center) proudly displays the PCL plaque with seniorJoe Taylor (left) and sophmore Pat Taylor.

�SOCCER�of the Southern Division. In ahard fought match, SeanMatthews' right foot finished offa corner kick, winning the gamein a 1-0 victory that advancedthe team to its first ever cham-pionship appearance.

Despite never having been toa final, Wood looked the looserand more poised of the twoteams. Prep, who was 0-14 inchampionship games headinginto this final encounter, wasdesperate to end their losingstreak.

Wood took the lead earlywith Pat Taylor's goal, and thenJoe Taylor doubled the leadshortly afterward. With timewinding down, Dave Laurichpicked up a loose ball andsped towards the Prep goal. Hewas pulled from behind by ahelpless Prep defender in thebox, resulting in a penalty kickfor Wood. Joe Taylor put ithome, ending all thoughts of aPrep comeback. After ten moreminutes of play, the final whistlewas blown and Wood's playerswere blissful on the field.Wood's die-hard fans stormedthe field and celebrated thevictory just as joyously as theplayers did.

After months of preparationand hard work, the team and itscoaches (Joe Krantz, HughieKelly, Ray DeStephanis, andDave Dilts) finally got what theyhad coveted for so long: a PCLtitle.

The team would like to thankits many fans for all the supportgiven throughout the year at thegames. It was definitely a seasonno one will soon forget.

�KRANTZ�the same.�

While some moments after thegames have been tense, Krantzcommented that �our fans arevery vocal, but are also general-ly positive, [which] probably putsthem among the best fans we�vehad.�

Undoubtedly, Krantz couldn�thave guessed when he startedcoaching Wood soccer in the late70s that it would eventually behis own nephews that would helplead the team to the first title,though, Krantz joked, �I�d like tothank my sister and brother-in-law for making it all possible.�

Even with the season now overfor the boys, Coach Krantz isanything but complacent. �I�mthrilled for our team, and [for]our future prospects.� After all,says Krantz, �practice starts in274 days.�

Wrestling season approaches for Fitz

As the winter seasonapproaches the weather beginsto get colder and colder, but youcan always find warmth inWood�s wrestling room, wherethe wrestling team is hard atwork.

The wrestling season is startingup in a brand new fashion underits new head coach, Jack

Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick, formallyknown by his team as Coach Fitz,has been around wrestling sincehe was a teenager. He graduat-ed from Wood in 1992 as a starathlete on the wrestling team.

You can find his name in therecord books for the most wins ina season with 43, and also as amember of the 100 win club.

Fitzpatrick moved on to wres-tle at the college level at TrentonState University, but it wasn�t longbefore he returned to Wood. Hehas been a member of the coach-ing staff for the past nine years,and served as assistant coachbehind Todd Mullen for the pastfour years.

He has now stepped into the

driver�s seat and is ready to leadhis team to its third appearanceand second team championship inthe past four years.

Senior Chris Ochnich stated,�Coach Fitz is a great guy, andI�m really glad he�s our headcoach. I think he can lead us backto the championship this year,and win it.�

The wrestling program atWood is one of the most domi-nant in the Catholic League,always fighting for a team cham-pionship. Last year�s team wasone win away from bringinghome another Catholic Leaguetitle until the player�s dreamswere shattered by NorthCatholic.

This year�s wrestling team isfull of returning lettermanwrestlers who hope to redeemthemselves of their tragic loss inthe title match a year ago.

Returning to the varsity lineupare seniors Ed Waddington,Drew Meister, Drew Martin, andChristian Szablowski. Juniors areTom Bisset, Matt Weygand, alongwith sophomore Mike Esham.

Some key newcomers this yearto the varsity lineup are seniorsChris Ochnich, Dennis Troxell, andTony Aqualino, along with juniorTom Colbridge and his freshmanbrother, Greg.

Fitzpatrick will be helped byTerrance Oliver and Newt Hill thisyear, both of whom have had

wrestling experience in the past.Fitzpatrick said, �I am very

excited for this year. I have agreat group of guys to work with,and I think if we keep workinghard we can win [in] the CatholicLeague.�

MUST-ATTEND MATCHES

Wood @ LaSalleWed., Jan. 19 at 7pm

St. Joe Prep @ WoodWed., Jan. 26 at 7pm

Conwell Egan @ WoodSat., Jan. 29 at 1pm

Wood @ North CatholicWed., Feb. 2 at 7pm

As new head coach JackFitzpatrick takes over, thewrestling team has highhopes and a huge heart forwinning the PCL title back.

BY EDDIE WADDINGTON �05> STAFF WRITER

PPAAGEGE 4 | E4 | ENTERNTERTTAINMENTAINMENT NNOOVEMBERVEMBER 24,24, 2004 2004

Where Has All theSpirit Gone?Letter to the EditorWood Winds; Dec. 1981

Dear Editor:I think that the fire in Wood's

school spirit may need to berekindled. From my observationssome students here lack dedica-tion not only to their school, butto their friends.

At some of the sports eventsthere are scarcely any specta-tors. Those who do attend aregreatly appreciated, but thesupport of our teams is not to beleft up to a select few. When ourteams reach their goal of win-ning the championships, we showtremendous pride in them, whichis hypocritical since we showedthem little support during theseason.

I thought it was a disgrace tolearn of the difficulty faced bythose selling tickets to fill onespectator bus for the soccerchampionships. I could under-stand problems with getting abusload of people for an awaygame, but this was for the

Catholic League Title.I ask everyone to re-evaluate

what you think spirit is. Do youthink you are spirited, if youaren't, why not?

Big Brother Is ComingCrossroads; Sept. 1969

A closed-circuit television sys-tem has been acquired by theschool. The funds for the equip-ment were contributed by theclasses of '67, '68, and '69. Thesystem consists of one TVCamera, one Video-TapeRecorder and one TV Monitor.The system has the capability ofbeing enlarged with more cam-eras and sets.

According to Fr. Van Thill, thenext step is to equip every class-room with a TV set. "We alreadyhave the antenna and the wiringin each classroom." These wereinstalled when the school wasbuilt.

At present, the system has theability to place special eventsand regular TV programs onVideo-Tape.

FROM THE ARCHIVESThe following excerpts are taken from archived issues of Wood�s

newspaper, then called �Crossroads� and �Wood Winds�, in the Boy�sschool and Girl�s school, respectively. We will be running the �Fromthe archives� feature throughout the year to celebrate Wood�s 40thanniversary and give some insight into what Wood used to be like.

- Tom Shakely; Editor-In-Chief

Bourne is back, Spielberg hits bigWhat would a newspaper be

without a film review column? Youknow, the place where an angryloser rants about how bad everymodern movie is. Well, this one isno different.

I work at a video store andeveryone there talks aboutmovies. I think just by that I'veachieved the "loser" title. I reviewfilms that come out on DVD afteror at least near the release ofeach issue of The Viking Voice.

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY

I'm not quite certain what thewriter was trying to accomplish bymaking another Bourne film. I'vecome to believe that the overallsetting of European cities tends toplease a majority of Americanswhether or not they actually likethe content. The director seems toexploit that fact and simply "for-get" to make the film decent.

The film begins on a nice trop-ical island where Jason Bourneand his girlfriend are relaxing,and everything is going just rightuntil � BAM! � they're after himagain! Those darn intelligenceagencies have nothing better todo than pick on Jason and givewhat somemay call a"plot" to thismovie.

All thatproceeds isb a s i c a l l yBourne tryingto get themoff of hiscase becausehe didn't do anything. On thebrighter side, some of the tricksare neat � he thinks fast and hassome good ideas. It just seemedtoo much like a wannabe Bondfilm.

THE TERMINAL

Steven Spielberg, theacclaimed director discovered arather interesting story in a Frenchairport, off of which he based thisfilm. Tom Hanks plays ViktorNavorski, a Slavic traveler whoarrives at a US airport on vaca-tion to find that his countryencountered a revolution duringhis flight and he does not haveaccess to the United Statesbecause of it. He is stuck at theairport.

The idea, although it actuallyoccurred, was a clever one. Therewere, of course, some Spielbergmoments � holes in the story thatmade the movie both mainstreamand �Hollywood acceptable.�

Hanks, however, acted wonder-fully and his accent soundedsuperb. I've always respectedHanks for his varied roles in all ofhis movies, as opposed to some-

one like Morgan Freeman who,although a talented actor, playsthe same part in every movie: theelder know-it-all who "doesn'ttake no ones jibber-jabber."

The Terminal is worth seeing,but make sure you aren�t in any

rush, because it isn�t a very fast-paced film.

TIM WISNIEWSKI

RATED RENTALS

FILM SUGGESTIONS CAN BE MADE TO

TIM EITHER BY DROPPING A NOTE IN

THE NEWSPAPER MAILBOX IN THE

ACTIVITIES OFFICE, OR VIA EMAIL TO:TIMW@VIKINGVOICE.ORG.

WWW.IMDB.COM

Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon, stars in the second of theBourne movies as a government-trained assasin fleeing in Europe.

Backstage Pass: Wood Performing Arts

"There are no small parts, onlysmall actors." This old adage byWilliam Shakespeare, who is con-sidered the greatest writer inEnglish literature, is one of themost famous quotes of all time.

Shakespeare knew the impor-tance of all actors in a cast, not

just a select few. This can easilybe applied to the ArchbishopWood Performing ArtsDepartment (P.A.D.).

In the school productions, everymember of the cast works togeth-er to create the final product: awonderful performance for everyaudience. With a different troupeof about 75-80 cast members foreach show; the plays are full ofpeople with lots of different tal-ents.

As a member of Wood'sPerforming Arts Department sincemy freshmen year, I have seen theups, the downs, the good, and thebad. Believe me when I say that

it is not all fun and games.Being in a high school produc-

tion is not for the faint of heart.Although there are no cuts, audi-tions can be nerve-wracking,especially if you have seriouscompetition for a given part.When the cast list is posted, it isone of the most tense days thatyou'll ever experience. Even ifyou're placed in chorus, the roadto a great performance foreveryone is a long and treacher-ous one. While some kids gohome and relax after school, themembers of the play stay after inthe auditorium to rehearse songsover and over, practice a dance

combination countless times, orchoreograph a specific scene.Everyone works hard, not just thepeople with parts. When the showis about a month away, practicebecomes more intense than onemight think. It can be very tiring,stressful, and at times frustrating.

Despite all the hard work, thestress, and the sacrifices of beingin the Wood P.A.D., the shows aretruly a wonderful experience.When you practice with the samepeople everyday, you begin toform a strong, cohesive bond withthem. My peers in the WoodP.A.D. have become almost like asecond family to me over the past

few years. The theater alsoteaches you a lot about teamworkand determination.

Whether a member is on stagefor four scenes or fourteen scenes,it is a tough road to walk in orderto create a great performance,but with the support of other tal-ented actors and more important-ly, great friends, the final productis truly something of dedication,perseverance, and friendship.

�HONK� SHOWTIMES AT WOOD

Fri., Dec. 10 at 8pmSat., Dec. 11 at 8pmSun, Dec. 12 at 2pm

You might see the finalresult once or twice ayear, but do you reallyknow what goes on behindthe scenes of the play?

BY STEPHANIE BOAG �05> STAFF WRITER

‘San Andreas’ offerspretty solid gameplay

Selling millions upon millions ofcopies before even beingreleased, Grand Theft Auto: SanAndreas was unquestionably themost anticipated game forPlaystation 2 this year. The ques-tion is: was it worth the wait? In aword, yes.

The biggest game the PS2 con-sole has ever seen, however,needs a bigger answer to its pop-ularity. To start things off, youplay the game as Carl, CJ, andJohnson of the Grove StreetFamilies gang.

Carl returns to San Andreasfor the funeral of his murderedmother. Upon arrival in LosSantos, however, he is framed forthe murder of a police officer byOfficer Tenpenny, who is voicedby Samuel L. Jackson.

From there, you go on to dovarious missions, street races, sidegames, etc. As you progressthrough Los Santos, the first ofthree cities, you can take CJ to thegym to make him stronger, drivehim around city in one of the innu-merable types of cars, or takeyour car to a body shop to give itnitrous, a body kit, or a new paintjob. If you can think of somethingto do while you are playing thisgame, you can probably do it.

GTA:SA is enormous�overfour times bigger than its prede-cessor Vice City. The state of SanAndreas is broken up into threefictional cities based on realcities.

The first city, Los Santos, is amodel of Los Angeles and is the

biggest of the three. San Fierro isbased on San Francisco, rightdown to the Golden Gate Bridgeand hilly terrain. The final city, LasVenturas looks like a snapshot ofLas Vegas, with many recogniza-ble casinos from the real city.

In between these three citiesare many small towns and farm-ing communities. With such a hugegame, it is unbelievable that thereare essentially no load times. Theonly time the game needs to loadis when you start it, and when youwalk into or out of a building.

With all of the great thingsabout this game�and those men-tioned were only the beginning�there are some things that arewrong.

For instance, there are someminor glitches, and the graphicsaren't spectacular. However, thegood things about this game out-weigh the bad.

To sum it all up, Grand TheftAuto: San Andreas has farexceeded my expectations, andhas proved to be an overly enjoy-able game. From the strong story-line, to the sheer enormity in allaspects of the game, I highly rec-ommend GTA: SA as one of thebest games I have ever played.

BY SEAN WHALEN �05> STAFF WRITER

Grand Theft Auto: SanAndreas seems bound tobecome another classicPS2 game.

WWW.AMAZON.COM

GTA: San Andreas, is availablefor $33 on amazon.com