The Scholar's Take : Write for the Series! The Scholar’s Take is a series of public-facing essays by Princeton graduate students in response to experiences at McCarter Theater Center. Write for the Series! A partnership between McCarter Theatre Center and GradFUTURES, The Scholar’s Take curates essays by Princeton graduate students in response to experiences at McCarter. It is part of Arts & Ideas which connects University scholarship and campus life to the work on McCarter's stages. Co-sponsored by the Humanities Council at Princeton University.Scholar's Take essays expand upon the themes, characters, and ideas in a play or performance, explore the physical space, design, or aesthetic of a concert, and situate a piece or an artist within larger social, historical, or artistic contexts. Graduate students join a collegial and collaborative writing environment and get to share their ideas with a broader audience. In short, The Scholar’s Take brings graduate student research, interest and expertise into conversation with the performing arts. Scholar's Take Essays The Scholar's Take: Alex Diaz-Hui on "An Evening with Natalia Lafourcade" Oct. 10, 2024 Author Written by Alex Diaz-Hui I gasped and lifted my eyes towards the stage once she sang in falsetto. Her voice drew the breath out of my lungs. She would later describe how naked she feels to perform with just her guitar. Then came another shout from someone sitting to my left— “¡Nunca estás sola!” (“You’re never alone!”). The Scholar's Take: Annie Liu on "A Conversation with Laufey" Oct. 2, 2024 Author Written by Annie Liu When prompted to give advice to those who are trying to create their own path, Laufey reassured the audience: “Doing something different probably means you’re doing something right.” She encouraged the audience to claim ownership of their difference and to be a little more delusional. The Scholar's Take: Samantha Sasaki on "Empire Records" Sept. 30, 2024 Author Written by Samantha Sasaki I have a confession: I walked into Empire Records: The Musical without having watched the cult classic film. Surrounded by audience members referencing the movie’s iconic lines, I worried that I would feel adrift without the knowledge or (perhaps, more importantly) nostalgia of the film. Lacking the fond memories of being a record-buying teenager in the 90s, would the show hold up? The Scholar's Take: So Hye Yoon on "Empire Records" Sept. 29, 2024 Author Written by So Hye Yoon “All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” A fitting twist on this quote from Anna Karenina that could be applied to McCarter Theater’s musical Empire Records might be, “Every weird happening is weird in its own way.” The Scholar's Take: Samantha Sasaki on "Choice" May 18, 2024 Author Written by Samantha Sasaki When is a theater performance over? Is it when the final line is spoken? Or when the actors take their final bow? Or when the audience stops talking about and thinking about the show? Winnie Holzman’s Choice makes a convincing case for the latter. The Scholar's Take: Andrew Schlager on "Choice" May 13, 2024 Author Written by Andrew Schlager What is it that makes us simplify ourselves for others? How hard do we follow the dream of being uncomplicated, free of our mess of contradictions, so that we might have a story about ourselves, and about a world we’re sure we know how to change? The Scholar's Take: Rachel Glodo on "Trailblazing Women of Country" April 21, 2024 Author Written by Rachel Glodo Different hair, different woman, different decade...but it hurts just the same. And that right there is the key to women’s country music—thank you Dolly! The details might be different, but it’s all the same story, and that story is by, about, to, and for other women. The Scholar's Take: John White on "Hubbard Street Dance Chicago" March 28, 2024 Author Written by John White Whether looking at a painting, reading a poem, or going out on the town, we encounter inspiration that moves us, oftentimes literally. I was reminded that the identity of ‘dancer’ has no barriers, no prerequisites. As long as we are moving, we are dancing. The Scholar's Take: So Hye Yoon on "Dreamgirls" March 8, 2024 Author Written by So Hye Yoon Applying an economic perspective to Dreamgirls adds depth to analyzing the allure of its characters and their potential success. The musical invites academic curiosity by raising questions about demand prediction. For me, it also illuminates the importance of human values, raising an issue not typically pondered: Must we resign ourselves to frustration and conflict if we anticipate being less desired in the marketplace? The Scholar's Take: Ipsita Dey on "Coco" Oct. 4, 2023 Author Written by Ipsita Dey This October, we shared a temporary, never-again-to-be-experienced musical rendition in a shared space, shoulder to shoulder with our fellow audience members. Live music is a full body experience, Coco is a full emotional experience, and theater-going is a fully shared experience. The Scholar's Take: Ipsita Dey on "Bulrusher" Sept. 14, 2023 Author Written by Ipsita Dey Most of us will never receive the gift of a neat third act that tidies the loose ends of family mysteries and answers questions we have carried with us. We learn to live with our unknowns, carrying them, sorting them, and passing them down. Some of us carry histories of violence, trauma, and dehumanization. Others of us struggle to find a place to belong, our feet placed in homes separated by oceans and/or geopolitical borders. Some of us yearn for dreams we cannot articulate, hopes we cannot speak aloud because no one has cared to listen before. Team Peter Benson, GS (ENG) University Administrative Fellow Email [email protected] Peter is a Ph.D. Candidate in the department of English. He studies 18th and 19th century transatlantic literature on race, environment, theology, and speculation. His dissertation in progress, “Novel Spectres, Novel Selves: Speculative Fiction in the Nineteenth Century,” explores the influence of religion and racial politics in the development… Debbie Bisno Director of University and Artistic Partnerships, McCarter Theatre Social Impact Fellowship Mentor Email [email protected] Debbie Bisno (Director of University and Artistic Partnerships) was McCarter’s Resident Producer for 6 years and has recently turned her attention to deepening McCarter’s engagement with Princeton University and surrounding partners. Bisno’s experience spans Broadway, Off-Broadway, London and Chicago theater. James M. Van Wyck Assistant Dean for Professional Development Email [email protected] James M. Van Wyck is the liaison for the Humanities & Social Sciences. He manages graduate student professional development programs, strategic communications, the GradFUTURES Fellows program, including the University Administrative Fellows Program, and the Community College Teaching Initiative.