2B — Thursday, February 4, 2016
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Writers’

Community shops

student pieces

By NATALIE GADBOIS

Daily Arts Writer

Around the table, talk turns

to magical superpowers, English
classes and the questioned exis-
tence of Wookie genitalia. Ten
or so students joke and posture
at one another, taking off jackets
and pulling out laptops, report-
ing aloud answers to Buzzfeed
quizzes. Time is called when a
black top hat is placed in the cen-
ter of the room, and the meeting
begins.

This is Writers’ Community,

an intimate group of students
who meet every Thursday to
workshop one another’s writing.
Though they come from a variety
of majors and preferred writ-
ing genres, the members show
an admirable dedication to their
work and the improvement of
one another’s. As club president
Cammie Finch, an LSA senior,
said, “It really is a community.”

Legend has it that famed play-

wright Arthur Miller formed the
organization while he was at the
University in 1935. Originally just
seven writers, the size ebbed and
flowed over the next 70 years,
even dipping down to two at one
point. There is no official appli-
cation process; for much of its
lifetime, Writers’ Community
has functioned as a semi-secret
society. Members are brought in
solely through word-of-mouth.

“It’s always been our persona

to be sort of a secret society,”
Finch said. When she joined as
a freshman, she was one of only
four in the group, invited by a
friend who had heard about it
through another friend.

“Workshopping and present-

ing your work to other people
where it’s free reign to comment
and you don’t know if it’ll be good
or bad can be really frightening,”
Finch said. “And with the low
levels of people, that was a good

space to begin for me.”

However, some of this clan-

destine persona was changed in
2013 when the group opened up
to the public, even having a booth
at Festifall — albeit in the com-
munity’s distinctly quirky way.
They set up a cardboard poster
outside of the Dana Samuel Trask
Building, distant from the other
Festifall booths, with their mas-
cot the “Dapper Walrus” sitting
on the table.

“The ones who sought us out,

those were the people we want-
ed,” Finch said.

This strategy drew in over 50

people intrigued by the unusual
nature of the club, overwhelming
the group for a few months until
the community was stabilized.

Now, the group comprises

around 15 writers with a variety
of writing styles and forms, from
screenplays to short fiction to
poetry. There is a benefit to hav-
ing such an arrangement of writ-
ers — their critiques and advice
build on each other in unique
ways, enriching the pieces brave-
ly presented at meetings, Finch
said.

At this meeting, I watch as two

very distinct pieces are work-
shopped. One, a short story that
the group has been discussing
for a few weeks now, is a dysto-
pian tale with a resilient female
protagonist. As the author reads
her story, I watch the members
take notes on their copies, nod-
ding when they like a phrase or
frowning when a word seems
off. Though not an official rule
of Writers’ Community, it feels
as though honesty is part of the
sacred ritual here — when one
participant admits that he dis-
liked a certain character, the
story’s author isn’t defensive or
hurt. She takes the criticism at
face value. Here, opinions are
valued and respected — the room
lacks the jealous competitiveness
often found in writer’s circles.

LSA senior Eugene Jehl, who

was one of the original four mem-
bers before the group became
public, finds this sense of cama-
raderie one of the most impor-

tant aspects of the community.

“(In class) you’re kind of judg-

ing each other, or reading some-
thing and thinking, ‘Oh, that’s
pretty good,’ or ‘Psh, I don’t have
to worry about that.’ And it’s a ‘no
one is talking about it, but every-
body’s thinking it’ kind of thing,”
Jehl said. “That doesn’t exist
here. We all help each other out.”

Perhaps it helps that it feels

as though these people truly are
friends, often flying off on tan-
gents or ragging on each other
with ease. Jehl finds this to be
true.

“The people are fun,” he said.

“Everyone has a great sense of
humor with each other; some
are shy or introverted, but that’s
cool, writers often are,” he said.
“These have been some of my
closest friends through my time
at U of M.”

Despite its semi-secret nature,

Writers’ Community doesn’t give
off an air of exclusivity or preten-
sion. As Finch put it, “It’s just a
bunch of nerds getting together
each week to help each other
out.”

Many of the writers are seri-

ous about pursuing careers in
the field; Finch is planning on
getting her MFA, while Jehl is
double majoring in creative writ-
ing and screenwriting. But oth-
ers are only here for their own
enjoyment: one other member
is a neuroscience major, another
planning to become a therapist.
This diversity of talent and back-
ground is due in part to the move
to publicize the club.

An introvert myself, I walked

into the meeting nervous, clutch-
ing my notebook as a crutch. But
I was instantly welcomed. Jokes
were made that they all must be
on their best behavior since I was
there. People introduced them-
selves and asked about my day.
It was easy to understand why
writers are drawn to this place
and why they push themselves to
a higher plane of excellence when
they contribute.

As Jehl said, “I joined three

years ago, and I’ve never been
able to get enough of it.”

By BAILEY KADIAN

Daily Arts Writer

This weekend Rude

Mechanicals presents
“Dancing at Lughnasa,” a
story of five
unmarried
sisters facing
the inevitable
unraveling of
their family.

Written by

Brian Friel,
“Dancing at
Lughnasa” is
set in Ireland,
in the summer
of 1936, during
the pagan
Festival of
Lughnasa.
“Lughnasa” is a memory play,
told by the narrator Michael,
who recounts the events of
that summer at the cottage in
Donegal. “Lughnasa” explores
the complexities of the family’s
tense relationships, such as the
sisters struggling with poverty
and instability. The play also
highlights the importance of
Catholicism in Ireland and
the threat emerging paganism
posed.

“Lughnasa” first premiered

in 1990, at the Abbey Theatre
in Dublin. In 1991 it starred
in London’s National Theatre,
earning the original cast three
Tony Awards including Best
Play.

With only three and a

half weeks to put on this
production, Rude Mechanicals
is working hard to bring this
story to life.

Rude Mechanicals is a

student theater troupe that
aims to provide quality stage
productions to the Ann
Arbor area. The organization
emphasizes the importance of
allowing any member of the
student body to participate
in the productions, whether

onstage or behind-the-scenes.
The organization was founded
in 1996, by two engineering
students who realized there
were few opportunities
for non-theater students
to contribute to campus
productions. Rude Mechanicals
provides opportunities for
students in the School of
Music, Theater and Dance to
try out roles they wouldn’t
otherwise be able to explore.

“This opportunity allows

students to explore other facets
of themselves artistically
rather than being confined to
the thing they decided to major
in when they were 18 years
old — it’s an amazing thing,”
said director Regan Moro in an
interview with the Michigan
Daily.

Moro explained the play’s

focus on memory — the way it
shapes us and frames our lives.
In this play, the unraveling of
the family is depicted through
Michael’s memory of the
events.

“The play encompasses

so many different things,
on the most basic level, it’s
a story about a family that
is on the precipice of falling
apart,” Moro said. “It’s also
a play that examines the
religious, political, and social
atmosphere of Ireland.”

The piece examines how

memories change form and
frame our outlook, depending
on what we choose to
hold onto. Moro said some
memories are fact-based and
some are distorted by our
own perception of the event.
Michael’s narration walks
the audience through these
depictions.

“The last memory I think

we all have (in this play) is loss
of our last glittering memory,”
Moro said, “a memory of our
family before everything
dissolved.”

Memory and its importance

also translate to the technical
design of this show.

“There are certain details

of a place, people or of things
that stick out to you more than
others,” Moro said, describing
ideas shaping the production’s
set and lighting.

The lighting parallels

Michael’s recounting of
events — bulbs light up
above certain characters as
Michael remembers them.
Moro described these lights
as ominous and a way to
highlight the back and forth
nature of the plot. Memories
are given a bluer tone, while
the present has more pale,
realistic lighting. These colors
are shown through costuming
as well.

“There are bits of blue and

green, a union of sky and the
earth,” Moro said. “There
is something mysterious
and mystical about these
colors that lifts it out of the
drabness.”

Moro also stressed that all

members of the team — cast,
assistant director and director
— have worked together
equally to figure this piece out,
rather than dividing positions
of power.

“There’s no hierarchical

thing,” Moro said. “We have
ripped that down and it is all of
us working together.”

With thematic complexity,

deep character relationships
and a collaborative, insightful
cast, “Lughnasa” has plenty to
offer.

“The play is full of depth,

and it’s intricate and complex,
and I still feel like I’m learning
more and more about it, every
single day,” Moro said. “It’s
an enormous gift to work on
something like this, especially
because you feel like the
growth never stops.”

‘Lughnasa’ explores
complex memories

A cooperative of
creative writers

SINGLE REVIEW

Yesterday, Feb. 2, I was

scrolling through my Twitter
feed out of procrastination when
I came across
this golden
tweet: “Teen
Suicide is
Back … Pan-
thers in the
Superbowl.....
Tied Iowa
Caucus.....
New Kanye....
wow.....
blessed..... incredible......” tweeted
by Elvis Depressedly’s twitter
account. The first phrase “Teen
Suicide is back….” made me lose
my breath momentarily. If you
know anything about Teen Sui-
cide, you know that they haven’t
released a new full-length album
since 2012, so this is big news.

Lurking through Twitter, I

found information about the
band’s revival. They released
a single from the new 26-song
album to be named It’s the Big
Joyous Celebration, Let’s Stir

the Honeypot, called “Alex,” and
when I played this song it was
like all of my hopes and dreams
had been fulfilled.

Teen Suicide fans have been

waiting so long alone in the cold,
and the band has released a fire
track to bring us back home to
the warmth. “Alex” begins with
Sam Ray’s melancholy voice sing-
ing “Alex is the best / When she
wants to die,” accompanied by
the soft sounds John Toohey cre-
ates on the guitar and Alec Simke
radiates from his bass.

The lo-fi band is sticking to

their true colors. The entire song
makes you feel kind of compla-
cent, with lyrics like “We’re both
only 16 / Skipping class to smoke
weed,” and “Lying on her back /
She says she wants to die.” Every
sound complements the others,
evoking a simultaneous feeling of
tranquility and angst. The music
is diverse and feels like a dream
in the clouds during sunset. It’s
gorgeous. April is too long a wait
for this new album, but the little
taste they’ve given us makes me
feel #blessed.

- SELENA AGUILERA

A-

Alex

Teen Suicide

Run for Cover

Records
RUN FOR COVER RECORDS

Dancing at
Lughnasa

Arthur Miller
Theatre

Feb. 5 & 6,
8 p.m. Feb.
7, 2 p.m.

$7 (Students)

$9 (Adults)

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

By MARIAM SHEIKH

Daily Style Editor

While fashion week for

ready-to-wear clothing hasn’t
quite begun, the couture shows
are well under way in Paris.
With gowns one could only
dream of seeing in person,
yet alone wearing, designers
brought their A-game this sea-
son. But nothing stunned me
more than the classic styles
debuted at Valentino’s show.

With ethereal floor-length

gowns that ranged in color,
texture and versatility, Valen-
tino creative directors Maria
Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo
Piccioli managed to embrace
all of the new edgy trends this
season while keeping the ever-
so-elegant Valentino brand
very much in tact.

Oh, where to begin? The

show started with flowy gowns
that pulled from ethereal ele-
ments, in colors ranging from
deep forest green to oxblood,
all the way to the it-color of

the season: mustard. Gowns
embellished in rich velvet, pat-
terned to perfection with regal
gold embroidery, were some of
the most notable.

A bit out of character, some

designs embraced the pure
nature of the feminine body —
with models completely nude
underneath the translucent net
and laced bodices, accompa-
nied by a long tasseled robe. In
a sign of another trend already
starting to take hold, many
of the outfits featured floor-
length dusters, which often
added a pop of color and con-
trasting texture to the runway
look.

High necks, deep Vs and ruf-

fles all managed to make their
way on more than one design in
this couture collection. Accom-
panied by elegant headpieces
and stunning body jewelry,
each design from the fabric to
the accessories was carefully
curated and calculated to fit
into the larger collection at
hand.

Yet with all the impeccable

designs and added extras,
nothing managed to distract
from the outfits. The light-
ness of the designs and the
effervescent atmosphere of the
collection overall was different
when compared with the other
darker and often heavier col-
lections featured throughout
Paris couture week.

While none of us mere

mortals may never have the
privilege of wearing one of
these engineered masterpieces,
I’m sure that we will be see-
ing many of these designs at
upcoming award shows and
galas this season. As one of
the first original houses to
have started this high-fashion
industry we style fiends find
ourselves obsessed with each
season, Valentino’s couture
collection catered to the rich
and famous, the pure, the dar-
ing, the goth, the goddess and
everyone who finds themselves
stuck in between.

Versatile Valentino

VALENTINO

They’re just so beautiful, I don’t have anything mean to say.

STYLE RECAP

EPISODE REVIEW

This season’s “New Girl”

was off to an uncertain start,
with its main character Jess
(Zooey Deschanel, “(500) Days
of Summer”)
taking leave
for Descha-
nel’s pregnan-
cy. Though
Jess remains
the lynchpin
that ties the
outlandish
ensemble
together, her
absence has left them fending
for themselves in one hilari-
ously unprecedented situation
after another.

“Bob & Carol & Nick &

Schmidt” demonstrates just
that. Nick (Jake Johnson,

“Jurassic World”) and Schmidt
(Max Greenfield, “American
Horror Story”) must establish
the boundaries of their extreme-
ly close friendship when Nick’s
cousins come into town and
ask Nick to donate his sperm
to them. When Nick discovers
Schmidt has planned Nick’s life
out for him (with charts and
timelines, no less), Nick realizes
that it’s not his cousins that he
must set boundaries with, but
Schmidt — who spends most of
the time navigating the help-
lessly dim-witted Nick through
situations where his judgement
fails him.

Without Jess, who is seques-

tered for jury duty, Cece (Han-
nah Simone, “Oldboy”) must
prepare for her wedding alone.

The well-meaning Winston
(Lamorne Morris, “Glitch”)
takes over Jess’s role and over-
enthusiastically goes wedding
dress shopping with Cece, only
to sway her into buying a hid-
eously bedazzled dress after
they both get too drunk off of
complimentary champagne.

Full of hysterical one-liners,

this episode is no exception to
“New Girl” ’s continued ability
to elicit endless laughs. Despite
initial doubts over the show’s
absentee main character and a
slow decline in its previous sea-
son, the unexpected new bound-
aries have created an element of
surprise that leaves us looking
forward to the new ways it will
have us laughing this season.

- SHIR AVINADAV

B+

New Girl

Season 5
Episode 5

FOX