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In 2009, Maggie Stark (Visual Arts faculty) received a fellowship to study German culture at the Goethe Institute in Berlin. Her fellowship coincided with the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Maggie’s observations of the public events and historical discourse surrounding the anniversary provided a conceptual framework for her new exhibit, Still/Time.

Still/Time—through video, sculpture and photography—uses representations of childhood playground play to examine the implications and associations of the Wall before and after its fall. Playground play is a primal vehicle for humans to work out fundamental dualities—you/me, inside/outside, here/there. These dualities appear writ large in the complex divisions and the personal, social and political meanings created by partitions like the Berlin Wall.

The primary motif of the exhibition’s first video, Wall/Play, is the hopscotch board. Unlike the game hopscotch, which produces an oppositional winner and loser, Wall/Play’s players/adversaries are locked in a joint effort to illuminate and extinguish pre-existing patterns. The second work, Still/Time, explores the delicate balance between players/adversaries—me/you, here/there, up/down—by investigating variations on the motif of the “seesaw.” Like a musical fugue, the piece progresses and repeats as it winds its way through time. Integral to both works are light, sound, movement, and the interdependence of two performers.

Each year, Milton’s performing arts and music departments collaborate on a challenge that becomes the ultimate crowd pleaser: a full-scale musical, created from start to finish in just two months. This year’s production, City of Angels, will not disappoint.

“The play includes a great script and a fun and challenging score,” says director and performing arts faculty member Kelli Edwards. “Everything is a double entendre—all very clever and funny.”

Premiering on Broadway in 1989, the play is set in Hollywood in the 1940s. The production unfolds as two stories happening simultaneously: a comedy revolving around the filmmaking industry of the time, centered on the screenwriter Stine; and the fictional film world of Stine’s creation—a detective drama and murder mystery.

The show’s cast comprises about 30 students—representatives from all four classes. Staging a musical “takes a village,” as Kelli puts it. Nearly every member of the performing arts and music faculty has a role in creating the magic, from music to choreography, film elements, lights and costumes.

Nick Bland (I) has received the Scholar-Athlete award from the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation. The Scholar-Athlete award is one of the most prestigious in high school football.

Nick’s head coach, Kevin Macdonald, nominated him for this honor. “Nick is a tremendous receiver. He has the most exceptional hands of any receiver I have coached in 36 years,” says Kevin. “Nick has made spectacular catches, often snagging the ball with one hand as he is falling out of bounds. His most noteworthy quality is his tremendous competitiveness and leadership ability. Nick never gives up, and his tenacity is likely why his peers have elected him a three-sport captain. He is also one of the most unselfish players I have coached. He is an exceptional leader and role model.”

In his senior year, Nick caught 37 passes for 558 yards while playing an eight-game ISL schedule. Being selected for the award involves a long application process and includes a review of the nominees’ academic records.

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