The HoofbeatMILLARD NORTH HIGH SCHOOL | ISSUE 3 November 19, 2012

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Paws for applause: Canines take center stagemehgan cainfocus editor

Favorite songs of the starsELLE WOODS

EMMETT FORREST

PAULETTE

“Legally Blonde was my favor-ite song to sing because it

was kind of the breaking point for Elle and the lyrics were really mean-

ingful. ‘Take It Like a Man’ was fun as well because the audience seemed to respond really well and singing alongside Cole

was so much fun,” senior Greta Morris said.

“Take It Like a Man [was my favorite song.] Greta and I al-ways came together for some

harmonies at the end that I just feel are the best notes of the whole show. I always got a huge buzz

from singing that number. And everyone cheered and clapped at me when Greta sang to the audience, ‘Is he not hot?’ I mean, there’s no greater ego

boost than that, right?” senior Cole Edick said.

“‘!e Bend and Snap’ is such an exciting and hilari-ous song. !e boys in it were so great to work with and they knew how to over exagger-ate and be funny. !at was the one song I got to be in with the Delta Nu girls,” senior Katie Schroeder said.

Photo by Lyndsay Schroeder

I didn’t initially tell the cast I was adopting Dara, so I brought her into school about two weeks before the show to get her acclimated and have her meet about twelve of the kids to start.

“scott dugdaledirector

Intimidating Introductions: (A&B) Senior Katie Schroeder, Paulette of Legally Blonde, meets and bonds with Linus who was cast to co-star with her on stage as Rufus. “The dogs were so fun to work with and it was such a new experience from the past musicals I’ve done,” Schroeder said. Photos contributed by Katie Schroeder

A B

As the perky blonde prances onto the stage, what-ever whispers could be heard from the crowd cease. !e bouncy little character clad in pink consumes the con-centration of everyone in the theatre with just one simple sound: a bark. Along with the typical cast of musicians, actors, and thespians, this year’s fall production of the Broadway show Le-gally Blonde featured an 8-pound chihua-hua owned by the-atre department head Scott Dugdale and a 148-pound bullmasti" owned by English teacher Kari Murphy. !ese candid canines became honorary members of the theatrical family.

Murphy spent the three months leading up to the mu-sical preparing herself mental-ly to let her bullmasti", Linus, become Rufus, a beauty shop owner’s loving mutt.

“Dugdale asked me this summer if he could use

my dog for the show; I had brought him to school be-fore so I knew that he liked everyone and that everyone seemed to like him, so I knew he could do it,” Murphy said.

Murphy has owned the colossal canine since he was about nine weeks old and 20 pounds. Now he is one-and-

a-half-years-old. Although large and powerful, Linus was well disciplined and easily co-erced into behaving on and o" stage.

“He behaved pretty well. Linus is persuaded really eas-ily by treats so he pretty much did whatever we needed as long as he got one,” Murphy said.

While the human mem-bers of the cast rehearsed and

practiced getting into charac-ter, the massive mutt became accustomed to hearing him-self called Rufus. Other than being taught to bow at cur-tain call, Linus did not have to endure any other training; he just continually rehearsed his scene in order to assure it’s accuracy.

During a#er school play practice, Linus would have to be qui-etly and quickly escorted into a small trailer prop on stage so the audience would not notice him. He would wait in there until it was time for him to burst out and obedi-ently gallop to senior Katie Schroeder who

played Paulette, his on-stage owner.

“Linus looked intimidat-ing at $rst. He weighs more than I do, but it turns out he’s a really big sweetheart with lots of slobber,” Schroeder said.

Along with his two-legged co-stars, Linus became quite close with Dugdale’s chihuahua Dara, who played Bruiser.

“I adopted Dara about three weeks before the show, she’s a little over one year old now,” Dugdale said, “I actu-ally got her from the wonder-ful Nebraska Humane Society because I needed a dog for the musical; one day I was look-ing for a ‘Bruiser’ and the next thing I knew she was sleeping in my bed; I never thought I’d be supplying the dog, or keep-ing it, but I fell in love with her.”

With coaxing from Dugdale, the nervous shelter dog transformed herself into a canine starlet from LA.

“I didn’t initially tell the cast I was adopting Dara, so I brought her into school about two weeks before the show to get her acclimated and have her meet about twelve of the kids to start. She was v e r y nervous at first b u t

now she just prances around and loves it,” Dugdale said.

In or-der t o

pre-pare for h e r

part, the timid pooch only had to grow accustomed to her sur-roundings and act as a purse-dog . Prancing side-kick Dara just had to learn to be herself around the large cast and crew.

For senior Greta Morris, the female lead Elle Woods, getting used to her petite part-ner in crime was natural, how-ever the endearing Dara was still unpredictable.

“One night Dara ran o" stage into the audience at the very beginning of the show and Anna Jessick [a senior cast member] had to chase a#er her for awhile before someone $-nally caught her,” Morris said.

!rough rehearsal, trial and error, and rewards, the dogs of Legally Blonde made it through the show and now hold a special place in the memories and hearts of the cast.

As

M o r -ris said

while playing Elle Woods, “Bruis- e r ’ s not a dog, Bruis-er’s family!”

Issue 4 | December 18, 20122 Hoofbeat news

Students take ACTion in preparing for standardized test

Each year nearly two mil-lion high school students take the American College Test (ACT). !is nationally ad-ministered standardized test consists of four sections: math, science, reading, and Eng-lish, as well as a "#h optional section, writing. !e ACT is not required governmentally, however a large majority of U.S. colleges, especially in the Midwest, require this test.

Designed as a high school summarizing exam, this typi-cally tedious test requires much preparation from most students. However, prepara-tory classes, books, and ex-ams are incredibly pricey. At MN, seniors Tyler Chen and Jesse Mu saw the costliness of ACT preparation as an outlet to help their fellow students.

“!is year I started to no-tice that a lot of my friends were preparing for the ACT and that the cost of classes and books ends up being very expensive, so I thought I could help by of-

TAKING ACTION: Senior Jesse Mu lectures fellow classmates reviewing for the Dec. 8th ACT. Mu and Tyler Chen will o!er re-view for future tests. Photo by Alex Elfering

mehgan cainfocus editor

New year, new !eld: 2013 begins with turf at MN

Early in September, the !eld was torn up. The ground was then leveled at 1 degree to the north to aid in draining.

Jesse and Tyler’s review re-ally helped, they had some nifty charts for English and verb forms that were helpful. They also helped to explain concepts that I needed re-freshed.

“curtis stokes junior

Under the surface Tarp: Disables plants from properly growing through the surface.Gravel: !is rock is the middle layer, and it allows the turf to be on a level surface.Glue: Created by the Chemical Concepts Company this specialized glue will hold the turf together.

After the !eld was leveled, tarp was laid, covering the ground. This tarp will serve to prevent plant growth.

The turf campaign began last January after the bond issue was turned down. The booster club began to fundraise for new turf.

Crushed rock was shipped to the !eld. The workers "attened all of the rock for the turf to be laid on top of it.

Next, a concrete siding was put on the outside of the !eld. This was so the construction crew had solid boundaries to work within.

Finally, the turf is put on top of the crushed rock. The construction crew hopes to !nish this process before Dec. 25th.

fering free tutoring,” Mu said.!is fall Mu and partner

Chen, both having scores of 35 on the ACT, began playing with the idea of using their academic excellence to help peers and classmates get ready for the Dec. 8th ACT. !ough the two boys or-ganized the free study sessions, they decided it would be a won-derful opportuni-ty to incorporate other excelling se-niors to help out.

“Our friends Vaibhav Viswanathan and Peter Xu have added to the sessions as well, they are very helpful; MN 99 news has also played a large part in helping us get the word out,” Mu said.

!ree sessions were held prior to the December test: Monday Nov. 26, Tuesday Nov. 27, and Tuesday Dec. 4 immediately a#er school in the library classroom. Juniors and seniors taking the De-

cember 8th exam signed up for the sessions in hope of ex-tra help for no extra cost. For junior Curtis Stokes, this help came easily with the sessions.

“Jesse and Tyler’s review really helped, they had some

ni#y charts for English and verb forms that were helpful. !ey also helped to explain math concepts that I needed to be refreshed,” Stokes said.

At each session Chen and Mu went over high school standard English, grammati-cal rules, and comprehen-sion; they analyzed ninth through twel#h grade scien-ti"c concepts even touching on graph reading. Along with Viswanathan, Chen and Mu

spent time tediously review-ing mathematical concepts.

“Tutoring for the ACT has strengthened my con"dence in the areas of the test, and it was an enjoyable opportu-nity to help others to improve their scores and work on the time management,” Chen said.

With about 20 students showing up on Nov. 26th, and 13 showing up the 27th, the popularity of the free all en-compassing review session was eminent. !ough this session of tutoring was limited to stu-dents taking the Dec. 8th ACT, the boys plan to continue their service for other test dates.

With the stress of college around the corner, the slight re-lief that Chen and Mu are pro-viding to their classmates is not only kind, but very bene"cial.

“I appreciated tutor-ing a lot because I just really want others to succeed and I know that nearly every-one taking this test is appre-hensive, so I enjoy sharing tips and knowledge to make them less nervous,” Mu said.

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Issue 1 | September 18, 201210 HOOFBEAT ENTERTAINMENT

Cheddar’s: New restaurant o!ers delicious food, appealing prices, and a lively atmosphere

Time travel has always fascinated the entertainment media. From Back to the Fu-ture to Dr. Who, millions of people stand by in awe as they imagine the great adventures and detriments of bending time.

As time has progressed, the human race has mastered time travel; not by fancy ma-chine or magic, but by visits to aged attractions, such as the Dundee !eatre.

Situated o" of 49th and Dodge Street is the Dundee !eatre, a blast to the past: a small ornate theatre erected in 1925. !e Dundee !eatre was originally built for vaude-ville acts and was later convert-ed into the only single-screen movie house in Omaha.

Matthew Brown, a twelve year employee of the theatre and the current manager, be-

lieves that the theatre’s small business status adds to the ap-peal.

“!e Dundee theatre is special because, well, it’s not corporate (like most theatres these days are),” Brown said.

Along with it’s atypical ownership, the Dundee !e-atre is a unique place in and of itself. !e movie house’s age and history make it a character of its own.

Zach Cutler, an employee who has been working at the theatre for a little more than a year, describes the cinema in a unique way.

“!is theatre is quirky, a little eccentric. It revels in it’s niche and appeal; it’s kind of like a quirky college professor or a senile old man. It’s great,” Culter said.

!e theatre, with it’s or-nately carved mint and cream trim, swollen carpet, and clas-sily chipping paint, is truly

more than just an interesting place to visit: it is a unique ex-perience.

For junior Hailey Clark, the theatre is magni#cent in-side and out.

“!e most memorable part [of the theatre] for me is the sign on the outside because it gives you a little sneak peek of what’s on the inside,” Clark said.

Clark has been regularly going to the theatre for a little over a year now and is a big fan of the theatre’s artsy appeal.

“!e Dundee !eatre re-minds me of the older theatres like you see in movies that only play foreign #lms with sub-titles,” Clark said.

Brown does o$entimes schedule foreign #lms to play at the single screen theatre. However, the lone screen is primarily occupied by inde-pendent, or generally smaller scale domestic movies.

Sta" favorites like Gus Van Sant’s Milk, Darren Afro-nosky’s Requiem for a dream and Jim Sharman’s adaptation of !e Rocky Horror Picture Show have all graced the the-atre’s silver screen.

Not only does the theatre o"er quirky titles, but also many special events take place at the theatre.

Every week, with very few exceptions, the Dundee !e-atre shows movies at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets for these specially shown #lms cost $6 each (un-less posted otherwise).

Midnight showings are an exciting weekly event, but plenty more special events oc-cupy the theatre throughout the year.

“Coming up in October we have an overnight horror movie marathon. It’s on Oct. 20 and it starts at 9pm and goes until 10 the next morn-ing,” Brown said.

Tickets for this escapade are on sale now for a limited time price of $15. Brown em-phasized that those who enter the marathon, will be allowed to leave and re-enter the thir-teen hour event.

Before that cinematic celebration even takes place, a handful of other #lms will grace the theatre’s single

screen. Now playing in the the-

atre is a dramatic movie star-ring Richard Gere entitled Ar-bitrage. Tickets for this movie are available for purchase at the theatre.

Tickets cost $6.50 for #lms that play before 6 p.m. and $8.50 for movies a$er 6. However, senior citizens and [college] students can get into shows for $6.50 around the clock with presentation of proper photo identi#cation.

Whether it be the inex-pensive tickets, the weekly midnight showings, or the un-conventional titles that draw you in, the Dundee !eatre is a place to take a trip back in time.

With an alive atmosphere, delectable dishes, and proper pricing, it’s no wonder why Cheddar’s has become the new hot spot in town. !e newly opened restaurant located on 120th and L Street has captured the appetites of Omahans since it’s opening earlier in the year, with a lot more than just meals to o"er.

!e restaurant draws in its customers with an appeal-ing modern feel. !e stone ac-cents and friendly atmosphere combine the best of luxury and comfort. !e relaxed at-mosphere invites customers to ease up with conversation a$er a long day of work in either your choice of spacious booths or cozy tables both with a taste-ful décor.

Accompanying the great atmosphere came great ser-vice. !e waiters were friendly and not scared to spark up a

conversation, making you feel more comfortable. !ey were always on top of their game when it came to re#lls and cus-tomer satisfaction, despite the large amount of customers.

Along with an excellent atmosphere, the restaurant boasts several other assets as well, especially when it comes to the vast collections of food on the menu. !e menu incor-porates many di"erent types of American cuisine that are sure to satisfy any appetite; from burgers to salads, shrimp to chicken, and sandwiches to steak, there’s an item on the menu for nearly any craving.

I chose the Bu"alo Chick-en Wrap. !e robust %avors inside the wrap complemented one another perfectly. !e ten-der chicken was coated in buf-falo sauce with just the right amount of kick, along with cheddar cheese and rich cab-bage, wrapped up in the perfect tortilla.

Other dishes on the menu that received high rat-

ings from my guests were the steaks. !ey ordered the steak and tenders and the steak and shrimp dishes. !e steaks were cooked and seasoned to perfection to provide a great %avor as well as perfect tender-ness. !e meals also came with sizeable proportions of golden shrimp and crispy chicken ten-ders, as well as one other side of your choice for only $12.

Sides to accompany the main course are far from lim-ited. I went with the clichéd choice of fries, a restaurant favorite, and these golden crit-ters were fried to perfection. !e menu o"ers nearly 10 dif-ferent sides, ranging from fresh vegetables and side salads, to mashed potatoes and classic baked beans. !e sides cover every end of the spectrum, sure to satisfy any appetite.

If you’re still craving more a$er the meal, Cheddar’s des-ert menu o"ers many sweet choices. A top pick is a crisp slice of apple pie with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream to top

o" the american dream. !e menu o"ers plenty of other decadent deserts to satisfy any customer’s sweet tooth.

Along with great food combinations and proportions, the restaurant o"ers quite the bang for your buck. A meal for one costs comfortably $15, with a main dish, and appetizer and a drink. !e quality of the food is superior to the price. Its decadent %avors are what would be expected at an upper class restaurant at a price any-one can a"ord if you’re looking for a less expensive alternative with amazing cuisine that’s priced to compete.

With a comfortable atmo-sphere, authentic %avors, and appealing pricing, it’s no won-der why Cheddar’s is a thriving local new hotspot, drawing in its business with quality food priced to compete. Cheddar’s is the place to go if you’re look-ing for original meals, and a dining experience, that will satisfy your tummy and your wallet.

ANTIQUE APPEAL: The Dundee Theater was originally built in 1925 for vaudeville acts. Today, the theater’s old architecture draws in customers. Photo by Mehgan Cain

CLASSIC CINEMA: The outside of the Dundee Theater, located o! of 49th and Dodge Street. The theater is the only single-screen movie house in Omaha. Photo by Mehgan Cain

mehgan cainfocus editor

brittnee rakoskysta! writer

Favo

rites

On Th

e Men

u Shepherd’s Pie:$7.99

New Orleans Pasta: $9.99

Chicken FriedSteak: $7.99

A trip back in time: Antique aspects, quirky titlesand more combine at Omaha’s Dundee Theater

Baked Spasagna:$8.79

Braised Beef Fall-a-Part Beef Roast: $9.99

now showingCosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson.

Arbitrage, starring Richard Gere. Begins 9/14.

All tickets for midnight showings are $6.

After 6 p.m., all main features are $6.50 for students.

ticketinfo