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Making Sense of the Madness

Johnston Center senior Cole Cohen took on multiple personalities in October for her performance in "Manic," a one-woman show that challenges the dehumanization of the mentally ill.

The play was the culmination of two semesters of research under the guidance of literature professor Heather King and evolved after Cohen read a New York Times article that shared the ideas and perspectives of mentally ill people.

"That was when the piece really took shape," Cohen said of the day she read the newspaper article. "I found text from the mouths of those who dealt with these issues in their day-to-day lives … each individual had a truly distinctive voice worthy of preservation."

Cohen translated seven monologues to the stage, including the story of Renee, a 5-year-old schizophrenic girl, and "the Viola Kid," a patient from Jim Carroll's poem, "Locked Wing." Redlands faculty members were featured as the "Voices of Reason" in the play, providing dictionary quotes connecting the monologues.

After King approved the script's final draft, Cohen put the play into production, pooling faculty resources. Theater professor Victoria Lewis met Cohen to discuss acting, while Dan Corks provided insights from the audio-visual department.

"The support was overwhelming," Cohen said of the faculty's role in her project.

The student has plans to take the show to Los Angeles and to tour local high schools. She also is working with the newly renovated Rainbow Theatre of Redlands to schedule a set of performances.

Proceeds from "Manic," held in Glenn Wallichs Theatre, went to benefit The Living Museum, a studio/gallery within the Creedmore Psychiatric Ward in New York.








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Ghosts Spook University

Tales of ghosts abounded at the East Fire Pit Oct. 24, providing explanations for everything from dorm noises to mysterious apparitions.

The stories chronicled the habits of well-established ghosts such as Bekins Hall's "Jolly Knocker," known for its tendency to knock on doors late at night and throw strange voices from empty rooms, as well as lesser known stories of phantoms told by students in the audience.

Student Darinee Hoonsuwan recalled the time she and her friends heard piano music in Memorial Chapel late at night. After opening the front door, they discovered that the lights were out inside and that the music was coming from the stage, which they could not see. Spooked, the girls left the chapel.

"Someone told me that the chapel pianos are locked at night so that they can't be played," Hoonsuwan recalled. "It must have been a ghost in there playing at that time."

Also told that night was the story of the "Lady in White," the university's most notorious ghost. A talented theater student said to have died in a car accident hours before giving a stunning final performance for a full audience (who was unaware of her demise), the lady has been spotted near Gannett and the Glenn Wallichs Theatre. She also has been known to haunt nearby houses.

Of all the tales told at the fire pit, though, there was one piece of advice believers and non-believers alike agreed upon.

"Don't go into the orange groves at night," student David Faller warned. "Weird things happen there."