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The Fourth Wall
Letter from the Editor
I have been working on this
first issue since May when Jim
Vomero, last year’s SGA
President, approached me
about establishing a campus
newspaper. I have had to learn
as I go, having no training in
the newspaper industry. The
experience I have gained from
working on this project is
invaluable.
There are several people to
whom I owe thanks for helping
me with this endeavor. Dan
Mroz and Staci Willhide from
IT have gone out of their way
support. Matt Hass and Josh
Klenzing from SGA have been
supporters from the beginning.
A special thanks to the library
staff for giving us space to
work. Certainly, this newspaper
would not have been possible if
it were not for the advice and
encouragement given to me by
Dr. Boon and Dr. Dendle.
Funding for the printing of
this issue was provided by
SGA, for which we are very
grateful.
To the staff: It was your hard
work and effort that made this
newspaper happen. The Fourth
Wall is fortunate to have such
dedicated writers and looks
forward to attracting more
contributors from the student
community.
Danielle Ramsay
Editor-in-Chief
Mission Statement
The Fourth Wall was
established to provide a
responsible forum for dialogue
within the student community
and for the free expression of
considered ideas; to build
community; to promote
student involvement in
activities and issues that have
an impact on students’ lives;
and to disseminate information
about campus activities,
organizations and events. This
is our chance, as students, to say
what we really think.
Announcements:
Currently seeking
contributors
The Fourth Wall is seeking
writers for all sections, including
sports and arts & entertainment.
We also need general writers on
assignment and general article
writers. There are openings for
regular columns, such as a
political column, humor column,
advice column, and cartoons. All
students are welcome regardless
of major. Writers are not required
to submit articles on a regular
basis.
To make this paper
successful, we need you to
participate by writing in your
opinions, concerns, and
comments. Interested parties
should send emails to
fourthwall@psu.edu.
There will be a meeting for
Adult Learners on Tuesday Oc-
tober 12 from 2:30-3:30 in the
Wiestling Student Center.
This Month...
Cumberland Valley
Women’s Conference
“Healthy Women:
Mind-Body-Spirit”
Saturday October 30
Workshops such as Mak-
ing Memory Quilts, and
Basic Feng Shui.
Also free blood pressure
screenings, bone density
scans and many door
prizes.
“Be part of a movement
of realization of potential
of women.”
Contact Alice Royer at
749-6234 or
axr24@psu.edu
for more information
Students wishing to place advertise-
ments can submit them to
Sourthwall@psu.edu for consider-
ation. This is a free service for stu-
dents.
Prof. Kevin Boon
“The Fourth Wall” is a
theatrical term referring to the
imaginary wall between actors
on a stage and an audience.
The term refers to part of a
proscenium theatre, one of
three main theatre designs.
Most stages have historically
been designed as arenas, thrust
stages, or prosceniums. All
three types refer to the
relationship between a stage
where performances occur and
an audience. Arena theatres are
comprised of stage surrounded
on all sides by the audience.
Theatre in the round is
performed in an arena theatre.
Thrust stage theatres use one
wall as a backdrop to the
performance and surround the
stage on three sides with the
audience.
A proscenium theatre
positions an audience on only
one side of the stage, leaving
three walls to frame the
performance. Nearly all
modern theatres are designed
this way, but the first permanent
proscenium theatre was not
built until 1618 when the Teatro
Farnese was in the Palazzo
della Pilotta.
The term “The Fourth
Wall,” which came into vogue
just after the American Civil
War, refers to more than the
missing fourth wall that allows
the audience to view the
performance. The term implies
a relationship between the
drama and the audience, one
that is unbroken by direct
acknowledgement of the
audience’s presence. Prior to
the American Civil War, it was
common for actors to deliver
speeches directly to the
audience. In modern theatre
this is referred to as “breaking
the fourth wall.”
Since the growth of motion
pictures in the twentieth
century, “The Fourth Wall” has
come to signify an imaginary
separation between audience
and performance, or between
those who observe and those
who are observed. Performers
act as if the fourth wall is not
there, as if their actions cannot
be seen, while an audience
peers through the fourth wall at
the action. This relationship
marks the term’s relevance as a
name for a newspaper.
The strength of a news
source in a free democracy is
its unrestricted access to the
actions of ruling bodies and its
power to comment on those
actions without fear of reprisal.
A public press (sometimes
referred to as the “fourth
estate”) is both a platform for
the free exchange of ideas and
a “fourth wall” into the
machinations of governing
bodies. A free and public press
has the power to observe
actions and discussions that
might otherwise take place in
closed rooms. The press in a
free society operates as a fourth
wall through which that
society’s citizens view the
actions of its government. The
fourth estate is a fourth wall for
the people.
In naming the Mont Alto
newspaper “The Fourth Wall,”
the editors are putting the
newspaper forth as a window
into the Mont Alto campus
society, a means by which
students can view the inner
workings of their campus and
university and, conversely, a
means by which the university
can learn what is on the minds
of its students.
Library 204.
The Fourth Wall
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