Arcadia HS play probes life and death

For those who like their art tinged with a little controversy and probing questions about the meaning of life, go see Arcadia High School’s run of Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “The Shadow Box,” which runs at 7 p.m. March 25-28, in the school’s Little Theater, 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia. (626) 821-8370, Ext. 1129.  Its star, Nikki Caiello, recently won a drama competition at Fullerton College.

Here’s the story…

ARCADIA – A buzz has been brewing on the Arcadia High School campus over the drama department’s production of “The Shadow Box.”

Michael Cristofer’s play, which won the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award
in 1977, and runs through Saturday, March 27, deals not only with the
taboo topic of death, but it also involves a gay couple, a drug addict
and language many might consider “objectionable.”

“It is a little controversial for a high school
play,” said Director Steven Volpe, who teaches drama and English at the
school. “It does have a little bit of mature content…but it is so
well-written…and the themes are so relevant to our time.”

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Nikki Caiello plays Maggie with Matt Burstyn as Joe in Arcadia High School''s
production of "The Shadow Box" during a dress rehearsal on March 19, 2008.
(Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb)

Where do high school students apply for college?

     Arcadia High School offered students a chance to tour various Ivy League and other Northeastern universities this Spring (see article), then discovered that they couldn’t round up enough students to make the trip happen.  
    College Counselor Laurie McQuaid complied some interesting stats about which colleges the students apply to, where they’re accepted and where they ultimately attend.
    The most applied-to and most-attended colleges were UC Irvine and UC San Diego.  

4572-arcadia chart.jpgBut what was even more interesting to ponder the acceptance and attendance rates at some of the elite schools.

    Sixteen students applied to Caltech and both of the students accepted there wound up attending. None of the 13 who applied to rival MIT got in.
    Similarly, 16 applied to Yale. Two were accepted, but none went there. At Princeton, one of the 11 students who applied got in, but that student didn’t attend.
    Other students were accepted to Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, Georgetown and Boston College, but wound up not going there.
    It makes me curious along with McQuaid, who said, ““Did they not realize that it snows (there)?
Did the school not offer their major? Was there a better school that
they got into? Was it too expensive? Did they not get the financial aid
they wanted?”