Two weeks ago, the Theatre Arts and Light and Sound Technologies career techs and members of GlenOak’s International Thespian Society went to New York to experience the Big Apple in person. They got to explore Central Park, see The Outsiders Musical on Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and experience city life over the course of three days.
“I’d have to say, I think that seeing The Outsiders was my favorite part,” sophomore Thespian Kyra Halkias said.
Getting to New York was a journey; the students took a charter bus for nine hours, with about four breaks in between, but they say it was worth it.
“For being on a bus for nine hours together, I feel like we got to know people that we didn’t really know or talk to before that,” light and sound senior Logan Raybould said.
Day one of the trip consisted of going to Central Park, touring Radio City Music Hall, getting dinner at Planet Hollywood, seeing The Outsiders Musical and going to Times Square. The students loved the musical; it followed the book very well and they thought the actors did a great job encompassing the characters as they were originally portrayed.
“As a sound engineer myself, I really like how the sound design was. I also really liked the music, the music was wonderful,” Raybould said.
On day two, students took the Staten Island Ferry to view the Statue of Liberty from the water before visiting Ground Zero, the 9/11 memorial in place of the fallen towers, shopping around Chinatown, Little Italy and going to the top of 30 Rock, a 69-story skyscraper.
“I do wish that I would have gone into more stores, because I don’t feel like I shopped enough, but everything that I did do, I liked. I wish that going up to the top of 30 Rock was optional though,” theater arts senior Ele Solovyov said.
On the final day in New York, students went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for approximately three hours before making their way back to Ohio. Visiting the MET was fun for the students because of the experience as well as the opportunity to explore the museum with their friends instead of a chaperone.
“I loved the MET! I thought it was so entertaining and there were some art pieces that felt like I was looking in the mirror,” Solovyov said.
Overall, the students had an amazing experience and thoroughly enjoyed getting to visit such an iconic city. They got closer to many of their friends, people they did not know very well and teachers, and they had the chance to do many things that they may never have been able to.
“This trip made me want to go back to New York, but only for the reason of wanting to see another Broadway show,” Halkias said.
