Pop Culture Journalism Class Blog

Michael Burgos has spent a LOT of time in the Drugs and Alcohol services office….learning about drug dealers to research his role in the play, “This is Our Youth.” The Mason’s Players performance ran from March 1 to March 4.

Burgos doesn’t drink or smoke. His character, on the other hand, does all of the above and even more. “I’ve never done cocaine and my character does….a LOT of cocaine,” he said.

Burgos is a senior at Mason, majoring in theater. Growing up in Mananas, he loved music. He went to Mason to study music but after acting in a few of his friends short films, he realized how much he enjoyed it and decided to take acting classes at Mason. Through those classes, teachers and directors asked him to try out for shows. Once he did he began getting roles frequently. Burgos simply put it as “Life presented acting to me. I never chased the path, instead it found me.”

The play focuses on three friends and their drug-induced trip to try and fix the problems they had created. Along the way, there is lots of pot smoking, coke snorting, ogling over girls, and plenty of party fouls. His character is named Dennis Viegler. Burgos describes him as naturally brilliant with a nack for winning.

When Burgos was cast, the director asked him to grow out all of his facial hair, later they shaved his beard into a scruffy look.

Prepping for the performance, he  read and read and read his lines. With about six rehearsals a week and three hours of studying independently, the lines became second nature. However, studying the text was not enough to understand this character who is so different from who he is.

At times it was difficult for him to justify the crazy intoxicated lines that his character constantly spoke. Burgos tries to understand why his character says what they say, but this was difficult with Dennis. So he spoke to experts.

He visited a professor in the Mason Criminology department to understand the logic of drug dealing, and even more, why a person from an affluent background would get into selling. Then he spent time at the Drug and Alcohol Services office on campus to learn why people use drugs and where these addictions come from. This helped him understand and channel his character.

And, he says, his cast mates helped a lot.

“I learned how important the other person on stage with you is,” he says. “You are the only person there for them and they are the only person there for you.”

By Rachel Newdorf

Deborah Lash lost everything when she was 8.

Her house burned down leaving her family homeless. With little to no material objects, Lash and her five siblings kept each other company and occupied while their parents dealt with the burden of trying to put their lives back together.

In her new solo-photography exhibit, “When The House Burns Down,” Lash revisited that difficult time and recreated it through photography.

“I’m grateful for this experience. To go back to those places brought back such a powerful memory,” Lash says.

In honor of Black History month, Lash’s exhibit will be displayed in Gallery 123 on the first floor of the Johnson Center. Her photography deals with issues of racism and what it means to be human and create intimate relationships with each other.

Lash, 29, from Fairfax, graduated from Mason in 2006 with a bachelor of arts in Spanish and Latin American Studies and earned her Master of Fine Arts in the fall of last year.

Because that experience was so powerful, she decided in the summer of 2009 to go back with two real-life friends, and recreate the experience.

Featured in her show are seven photographs of two friends, who are about Lash’s age when the fire happened. They are photographed playing in a field with sticks, trying to see if there is change in a Coca-Cola machine, as well as lying down on a sample mattress in a mattress store.

Lash let the models do as they pleased. She gave them very little direction because from her own experience, she had very little to go on while re-building her life after the fire.

“The most beautiful moments come from the unexpected,” Lash said.

Lash is currently working at SoA Print, a print shop located in the Art and Design Building on campus.

“When The House Burns Down” is currently open and runs until March 6.

For more information about the artist and her other works go to deborahlash.com

By Rachel Newdorf

Three years ago, Rachel Levitin went to an American Idol audition just for fun.

But it was so much fun, she hired a voice coach and started singing professionally. Now, the 24-year-old sings and plays her guitar at gigs all over the D.C.-area.

“Music got me excited,” she says. “It was just fun, and still is.”

The 4 foot 9 singer moved from Chicago to the District in 2005 to attend American University where she earned degrees in both music and journalism. Her freshman year, she released her first studio album, “Come As You Are.” She has since released three more discs.

When she’s not singing, she’s writing. She blogs about the Nationals for We Love DC.

She’s hoping to start combing her loves and write more about music and music education. Last year, for example,  she interviewed students at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and famous performers who visit the school, such as Earth Wind and Fire.

“I have fun with both music and journalism,” Levitin says. “I’m learning everyday, it actually feels like I never left school.”

For more information about Rachel, her tour dates, albums and even her personal blog, go to http://rachellevitinmusic.com/

To check out We Love DC, go to their website http://www.welovedc.com/

BY Zohra Alnoor

Millions of fans have been waiting to see what happens next to the Dark Knight.

George Mason University senior Anum Siddique has an idea of what happens in the “Dark Knight Rises” — because she got to be in the movie.

“The experience is something I’ll never forget,” says the 23-year-old Biology major. “What started out as me taking my little brother to the audition, ended with me becoming an extra as well.”

Her brother, a theater major at Northern Virginia Community College, heard there were open auditions in Pittsburgh for extras in the new Christopher Nolan movie.

Anum drove her 19-year-old brother, Saad Siddique, to the Steel City and stood in line with him for six hours while he waited to audition.

“As [Saad] was filling out the application he asked me, ‘Anum, why don’t you just audition? You drove four hours with me and stood in line for about six hours, you might as well give it a shot — you never know,”  Anum says.

A month later, they both received calls asking them to be a part of the movie. Anum was cast as a reporter, and her younger brother would play a water boy for a football team.

“It got better and better after that,” Anum says.

On their first day shooting, Anum got to eat lunch with Christopher Nolan and his family.

“No one was approaching him so when we did he was really nice and gave us advice on how to make it in the film industry,” she says.

Still, she says, it was hard work filming from  6 a.m. until 8 p.m. in 90-degree weather wearing winter clothing.

“It’s definitely not all fun and games, like most people think,” she says.  “But I would most definitely do it again.”

BY: RYAN WEISSER

Stomp-stomp! Clap! Stomp! Slide. Clap-clap! Stomp!

Sounds from the National Pan-Hellenic Council “Divine 9” fraternities and sororities of George Mason University’s Annual Step Show will resonate in the concert halls of the Center for the Arts on February 26.

Stepping has been a tradition among black fraternities and sororities across America since the mid-1900s, and is a very rigorous form of dancing using the body to create music and performing stunts.

“Last year we literally trained for our step show,” said Britt Wright, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. who is a 20-year-old junior from Richmond, Va., studying communication at Mason. “And this year, we’re not holding back. We’ve been training since before Winter break.”

And while the fraternities and sororities are training and preparing for the step show, other Greek organizations are getting excited about the show.

“I’m really looking forward to the step show this year!” said Bridget Drain, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha who is a 20-year-old junior from Falls Church, Va., studying psychology at Mason. “I missed it last year which was a major bummer, but I went to the show my freshman year and it was AMAZING. They were doing all these crazy flips and dance moves, and it was just super awesome!”

Stan Heaney, a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, is rallying up the rest of his fraternity to go to the event on Sunday.

“I want as many of my brothers going to the show, so that NPHC knows we support them and absolutely love their event,” said Heaney, a 20-year-old junior from Remington, Va., who is studying government and international politics.

Even students outside of the Greek system know about this event and are getting pumped for the performance.

“I bought my tickets online for the show last week,” said Colleen Wilson, a 19-year-old sophomore from Centreville, Va., who is studying communication. “It’s a huge deal on campus, and I’m definitely not going to miss it!”

The NPHC Annual Step Show will be at 6 p.m. (doors will open at 5:30 p.m.) and tickets are being sold at http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=TDC&pid=7176442 for $10. Tickets will be $15 on the day of the show.

By Tabby Hardman

David Lieu calls himself a coupon king.

Although he’s not as crazy as the TLC Extreme Couponers who stock their garage with mountains of diapers and deodorant the 24-year-old Mason Graduate student doesn’t buy anything without a coupon.

“I was raised to know that every cent counts, my parents and their parents were first generation Americans so they came from a place of no money—eventually that mentality just stuck,” said Lieu.

He spends hours — sometimes weeks — researching a product, tracking and matching prices before he goes to a store.

“I typically like to use multiple coupons at one time, or stack them, but you have to know the best order to use them otherwise you won’t get the most for your money,” said Lieu.

And it’s not just groceries he scores deals on.

“I always go and look for coupons when I go clothes shopping because I refuse to buy clothes online—Kohl’s are great because you can stack coupons and they are notorious for always having sales,” said Lieu. “Sometimes they try to say you can’t stack and I will stand my ground by asking where it says that in the fine print and if they are difficult I have no problem getting back in line for separate transactions.”

Instead of old school coupon clipping from the Sunday paper, he pulls up a lot of coupons on his phone.

“You can go to the store, pull up a coupon on printablecoupons.com and scan the bar code—you don’t even need a piece of paper,” said Lieu.

Getting good deals is addictive, he says.

“Because you love the high of finding a good deal, even if you don’t need something—it’s just the excitement of it,” said Lieu.  “I don’t enjoy couponing, but I can’t help it—it’s an obsession.”

By Samita Mason

A giant, green balloon with Kermit the Frog’s face floats in the air as visitors approached the Johnson Center Cinema Friday night where the Weekends at Mason (WAM) department was sponsoring a free event for students, $2 for outside guests to watch the movie, “Muppets Takeover!”

Flyers, Kermit masks and muppet posters were just some of the muppets memorabilia that were displayed at the entrance of the cinema. There were also the it’s-not-easy-being-green cupcakes in the lobby.

“There is a caricaturist that will muppify you,” said Millod Shahsiah, 21, a junior studying Global Affairs from Virginia Beach, Va. who was working at the event.

Doors to the event opened at 7:30 p.m and in 15 minutes, Caitlyn Veisely, a 23-year-old graduate student majoring in Health Communication, had handed out 50 muppet tote bags.

“Who knows about your Muppets, people?” asked Shahsiah, beginning trivia for pre-show movie goers.  The first question, “What are the names of Hensen’s hecklers?” read by Shahsiah as it showed on the big screen. Hands quickly flew in the air. “Statler & Waldorf,” screamed out Ian Watts, 16, from Fairfax, Va., who was attending the event with his mother Susan Watts.

Ian won a Muppet keychain.

There is one event every weekend. Details for each weekend’s event can be found online at the WAM website. “Our job is to brainstorm on events that people would want to attend,” said Shahsiah, a WAM Program assistant. “I just want to make sure people get involved and have something fun to do. Everyone loves free things.”

Peeking into cinematic history, films with the word Gone” in the title have had huge success. Gone with the Wind, Gone Baby Gone, and Gone in 60 Seconds are great movies that come to mind. Unfortunately, the new blockbuster, Gone, will not be joining that list.

Gone, starring Amanda Seyfried hit theatres this past Friday. Seyfriend plays Jill, a woman who claims she was abducted over a year ago and never saw her attacker. The local police didn’t believe her causing the investigation to be dropped, dragging Jill deeper into psychological torment. When Jill’s alcoholic sister, Molly, played by Emily Wickersham, was also abducted, Jill’s gut tells her that it’s the same attacker.

The story continues at a moderate pace as Jill looks for her sister on her own.

Jill keeps telling lies upon lies, making the seperation from fact and fiction a little hard to follow. It’s hard to trust the main character if her actions and intentions are not completely clear. The film has many small climaxes, but nothing to make the viewer have an “oh my god” moment.

Overall, the movie was a huge dissapoinment. Gone is like a boring game of Clue that almost all the players gave up on. Seyfried’s character is not easy to understand or disect, mostly because she’s just an uncontrollable wreck. In time this movie will be gone and forgotten.

By Tabby Hardman

Not only are Bindle Bags stylish and chic — but buying one
helps the homeless.

Frank Petricoin, a 19-year-old philosophy major and aspiring
social entrepreneur created the concept for Bindle Bags last fall.

The idea to start this business had been brewing in Petricoin’s head since junior year of high school and after taking introduction to entrepreneurship last semester with Dr. Paul Rogers, Petricoin was

enthralled by the concept that you can have your own business but help others
as well.

“I had always done coat drives and blanket drives when I was
a kid with my family but I was getting into the idea of entrepreneurship and I
decided I wanted to start some sort of small business that did some good,” said
Petricoin.

He hopes to launch his business in the next few weeks. The plan is to employ homeless people to
construct—by hand– satchel like bags, in which the bags are then purchased
by a consumer.

The physical design of the bag is supposed to
resemble ‘the bag on a stick’ which as Petricoin explained, which old-school homeless people once carried.

“I am gearing this product toward the more bohemian shopper,
people who shop at Urban Outfitters, Anthropology, those who focus on the
meaning behind a product,” said Petricoin.

As each bag gets bought

the money earned is divided up—40 percent goes to the homeless individual who
made the bag, 30 percent goes to the costs an overhead to keep the business
afloat, and the final 30 percent goes to the company for promotion and
expansion.

“The goal is to help them help themselves,” Petricoin says
of his homeless employees, “and dig them up from the rut they have gotten into—we
are not giving them a bag, we are giving them a job and showing them how to get
back on their feet.”

By working with Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS), a network of homeless shelters and meeting with Karen Horowitz, the
director of NVFS, Petricoin has managed to work out a way for the homeless
individuals who will be employed by Bindle Bags to receive subsidized housing along
with professional training to ensure they will be capable of tackling the real
world one day.

“This isn’t meant to be a full-time career; this is a
stepping stone to get them started on their own life, and we are here to help
for that,” said Petricoin.

He registered with startsomegood.com, a website
designed to gain financial support for those trying to make a difference,
and so far, has raised more than $1,000 from donations by his Facebook
friends and people he knows with hopes to be fully-funded by the beginning of
March.

“This weekend I will be finishing my final prototype and
finding my distributor—once I have my distributor I will become fully
operational,” said Petricoin.

The projected price range for the Bindle Bag product is $20
for wallets and $50 for handbags.

Like most jobs which require a training day to learn the
ropes, Petricoin plans to do the same for his future employees.  “I have made three bags already and this isn’t a complicated
process,” he says. “The bag is made of four materials, duck canvas, a patterned cotton
liner, hemp webbing as the straps, and copper rivets to hold it all together—all
of which are assembled without stitching.” .

Eventually, Petricoin hopes this will become more than just

a small venture but a network and his livelihood. “I want to be able to make
money one day by helping others and doing something I love,” said Petricoin.

Photo Credit: www.realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com

By: Jessica Farley

MTV might be making a George Mason University students dream come true.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, producers from MTV’s hit show “Made” visited George Mason University’s Fairfax campus and auditioned students to star in future episodes.

The show, which has aired on MTV since 2002, features a different individual every episode pursuing a certain goal or aspiration, with the help and guidance of a “Made Coach.”  The show follows the individual for a few weeks as they try to reach their goal.

“This is one of the greatest and coolest opportunities,” says Tyler McDonald, an undeclared Freshman, who went to the auditions hoping to be “made” into a stand-up comedian.  He has performed at GMU’s Homecoming Talent show and runs a comedy-based YouTube channel under the stage name “T-Money.”

“I actually got her laughing,” said McDonald, 18, after his audition. “I thought that was a good sign.”

McDonald was one of nearly 40 students who auditioned for Jessica Arbus, a casting associate producer for MTV Networks.

Arbus selected Mason because she was looking for a diverse student body.

“Mason was a great fit for that,” she said.

Ayana Butler, a Freshman majoring in Vocal Performance, 18, went to her interview in hopes of becoming a collegiate cheerleader. Butler was out of the country at the time of last year’s try-outs, and feels that with the help of the show, she can learn how to kill next years tryouts. Although she was nervous when Arbus asked her to cheer.

While many students auditioned earnestly trying to make a dream come true, others just wanted to have fun.  For example, Jackie Mulherin,  a 21-year-old senior majoring in Global Affairs, went into her audition in hopes of “becoming a dictator.”

Surprisingly, she says, when she told Arbus her sarcastic goal the reaction was “complete seriousness and understanding.”

Now, students who auditioned have to wait and see if the made it to the show. If they did, they’ll get a phone call or an e-mail letting them know, that MTV is going to make their dream come true.

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