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sinsemilla » a very strong form of marijuana obtained from unpollenated female hemp plants.
The old time soda shoppe offered several classic flavors. They offered either sinsemilla or sasparilla. The former was the more popular choice, but mos,
ehrend students to act in
an Erie Halloween
By Connor Sattely
entiertainment editor
cisso6oVpsu.edu
For up-and-coming actors and actresses in college, the
chance of being able to act with local experienced actors and
directors is very slim. However, two Penn State Behrend stu
dents have found that very opportunity, and will be acting in
the Director's Circle Theatre this week in a new premier play,
"The Mummy an' the Armadillo."
Alanna Stecura and Prema Bangera, two students at
Behrend, have been given this very opportunity.
The show, written by Hollywood playwright J.S. Cardone,
follows a young woman who stops at a café along old Route
66 in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm. Joseph Spusta, the
play's director, says that that's when things go from bad to
worse.
"She shows up at the
café," says Spusta, who
has been directing at the
Dirctor's Circle Theatre
with his wife for three
years. "and, without giving
too much away, things def
initely don't go how she
expected."
The result, Spusta
claims, is the perfect envi
ronment for a Halloween
show. "The Mummy an'
the Armadillo" is what the
cast calls a "gothic sus
pense thriller." The theatre
where it is being per
formed is a small venue,
which makes the perform
ance of the show even
more personal and scary. It's non-stop action, and it's like a puz-
Stecura and Bangera zle you fit together as the suspense
play two girls who meet builds. It's a really exciting, really
the owner of the café at a intense play."
bar and head back to the The Directors Circle Theatre is
small roadside building to located at 1001 State Street in down
hopefully continue the town Erie. It's in the Renaissance
party. When they get CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Center, on the second floor. The show
there, though, they find The show's cast plans to help audience members have runs on Thursdays through Saturdays
that things are not exactly a thrilling, unforgettable Halloween night. from Oct. 25 to Nov. 17, with the cur-
as they seem, and contin
ually get darker, and more sinister
Stecura, a sophomore at Behrend and a political science play." Spusta says. "Since nobody else has the rights, and it's
major, says that the way she got the part was rather unique. already become a motion picture, it's really a once-in-a-life
" Joe contacted me on Facebook," she said. "I called him right time opportunity."
Hollywood writers'
contract nearing end
By Samuel Levine
staff writer
sjls 1220_0 psu edu
If you love television, you're proba
bly dreading what could happen at the
end of the month.
Or you should be.
At the end of the month (Oct. 31 for
those of you without a calendar), there is
the possibility that some of your favorite
shows will be forced to go into reruns.
This is the direct result of when the con
tracts between television networks (as
well as movie studios) and the Writers'
Guild (a labor union for many writers for
television, movies, and other forms of
visual media) ends at the end of this
month.
The worst possible outcome would be
a full-scale writer's strike; lasting until
some of the writers' demands were met
and negotiated on for new revisions in a
new union contract. Network executives
are working with the Guild in hopes to
prevent a strike however there does not
seem to be an end in sight. Although
there's no definite or immediate plans for
the union to strike, the major television
networks are already dreading it and
writers within the guild are considering
all of their options if they don't get good
news by the 31st.
Are you scared yet?
A strike from the union would be a
major blow to the quality of programs on
the air for the major networks. The
shows first hit would be programs that
are produced on a day-by-day basis,
shows like The Daily Show and The Late
Show with David Letterman. Eventually,
these shows would have to stop produc
tion altogether. If a strike were to take
place, their productivity would be sev-
ered and they'd be thrown into a mortify
ing rerun limbo. But that's only the
beginning.
The same applies to all the other net
work primetime television shows.
However these repercussions would not
occur until later, well into 2008.
Primetime shows may end up with short
er seasons and lesser quality. If the strike
happens at all, also expect some lesser
quality movies coming out in 2008 and
more and more reality shows, which
don't require writers to produce.
The largest issue that may (or may
not) come into play is that of the increas
ing sales of television shows on DVD
and more and more shows appearing for
sale online through media such as iPods.
Another problem the writers have lies in
the payment they receive from DVD
sales. Guild members say that they get
four cents per purchase of their DVD
sales. Now they want eight cents. Patric
Verrone, the president of the Writers'
Guild comments that, "We [writers]
make less money than the person who
makes the box when it comes to DVDs."
The last time this kind of strike hap
pened was 19 years ago and television
executives and Guild writers are doing
what they can to hush talk of a union
strike. But the possibility is still there.
As we draw closer and closer to the
Oct. 31 deadline, network executives and
Guild members scramble to find accept
able common ground for negotiations.
What will we watch next year if a
writer's strike does take place? Horribly
written Reality TV with redundant plots?
One would pray not. For what it's worth,
the talented media writers of today
deserve more respect within the
Hollywood community.
away. and sure enough, they had a part for me."
Bangera. in her senior year at Behrend, sought out Spusta
to get her part
Both of the actresses have been working on the show since
early September. However, Spusta claims, it was not original
ly licensed as a play.
When J.S. Cardone wrote the script, he released it as an
independent film in 2004 and won a variety of awards. When
Spusta tried to perform the script as a play, the rights were not
available. He ended up going through a long process that
ended with speaking with the famous playwright himself.
"I wrote a letter to Mr. Cardone explaining the situation
and asking if it would be possible to do the play," Spusta says.
"Then. just a hit after New Year's Day this year, he personal
ly called me and gave permission."
Cardone, having worked with actors such as Wesley
Snipes, gave Spusta full rights of production.
"It was great even having a call
from him," recalls Spusta. "I mean, he's
so accomplished, and for him to give
full rights to something he wrote... it
was great."
The show promises to be a perfect
outing for a Halloween night in Erie.
"It's a great play for Halloween, if
you're looking for something to do
when you go out," says Bangera. "It's
not only scary, but addresses some inter-
esting issues too. And of course, every
actor is fabulous."
Stecura, who has done several
plays with Behrend but none with the
Director's Circle, is amazed at how fast
the production came together. "This is a
great show," she says. "One of the best
I've ever been in. You gotta come see it.
tain opening at 8 p.m.
"It's pretty much the only chance you'll get to see this
play
Drew Carey new host
of The Price is Right
Gabrielle Saitto
staff writer
giKso2o@vsu edu
It is no lie that many people were dis- would also change the feel of the show,
appointed to see Bob Barker retire from but so far. this has not proven to be the
The Price Is Right on June 6, 2007. case whatsoever. Just as Carey told Ryan
Barker initially began hosting the CBS Seacrest on his radio show, everything is
show on Sept. 4, 1972. In 1987, after over basically the same. The wheel and games
a decade of hosting, Barker made the deci- are still the same as they have been for
sion to discontinue
using hair dye and
allow his hair to
go gray. Although
this was initially a
shock to television
game show hosts,
others such as
Alex Trebek and
Monty Hall decid
ed to allow their
hair to do the
On Oct. 31, CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
2006, after 35 Comedian Drew Carey, right, replaced Bob Barker, who had
years of hosting serve d f or 35 years as the popular host of The Price is Right.
The Price Is
Right, and over 50 years on television,
Barker announced his decision to retire.
He also publicly shared that the company
that owns the show, Fremantle Media, had
been searching for a new host for about
three years. Although Barker had previ
ously considered retirement, he said that
he had decided to continue to do the show
because he had so much fun doing so.
On July 23, 2007, the announcement
was made that comedian Drew Carey
would take Barker's place as the new host
of The Price Is Right. Carey previously
hosted the comedy show Who's Line Is It
Anyway?, and many were skeptical as to
whether or not Carey would be able to
make the transition from one show to the
next
Carey began his new hosting job on
Monday, Oct. 15, 2007. His first day
proved to be an interesting one, after one
overly excited contestant did a cartwheel
on stage, and later fell to the floor after
winning "It's In The Bag." Aside from
energetic contestants, Carey has proven
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t of its consumers died
himself to be an excellent host thus far.
Many avid watchers of The Price Is
Right were worried that the change of host
years, along with the theme song that has
been around for years.
The prizes on the show are still the
same, and although this may make them
boring compared to the prizes of today's
game shows, it keeps the genuineness of
the show. Basically, the only aspect of the
show that has really been modernized is
the host.
Carey has proven to be witty and quick
with jokes, but also a friend to the contest
ants on the show. Although he may not
have remembered all of the rules of the
show, he still managed to catch his mis
takes and continue on with the show with
out any major blunders.
The Price Is Right is currently tanked
sixth in the list of longest running televi
sion programs, but with Carey as the new
host, the show might be able to beat some
of its competitors, and jump up a spot on
the list. It has had its I 1 a.m. time slot for
the past 25 years of airing, and is shown
every weekday on CBS.