A Ghostly Winter Term

I love winter term in Oberlin. To me, winter term is a blissful oasis, a prolonged moment of peace right when we need it most. Everyone gets to focus on one project they’re passionate about, without the additional stress of classes and a million extracurriculars. With something like only a third of students here, it’s more peaceful than ever, and with everyone more available than usual, it’s an opportune time for forging new bonds. It’s a month of togetherness and community.

I didn’t technically need to do a winter term project this year; we only need to complete three to graduate, which I did last year. However, I was not about to pass up my final January in Oberlin. I originally wanted to do an independent project, either teaching myself how to sew or throwing pottery. Instead, and somewhat predictably, I could not resist ending up in a musical. It’s called Ghost House, a student original by my friend Alvaro and various Oberlin composers. Ghost House follows the story of Ray (who is, you guessed it, a ghost) as he attempts to save his haunted home from being demolished by the crew at Hammond Construction. Ghostly hijinks and chaos ensue!

Despite my ongoing involvement with OMTA, this is my first time in a winter term show and the process has been very different from what I expected. When I auditioned, I thought, I’ve been in tons of semester shows before, of course I know exactly what the time commitment looks like! I did not realize just how intensive cramming that timeline into the course of thirty days would be, but c'est la vie. I adore the cast and team, and while it has been a busy month, it’s absolutely worth it for the lovely community we've built.

Our schedule is somewhat sporadic, because we have some cast and crew members involved in more than one winter term show. We usually have rehearsals in the afternoons and evenings, with a few morning rehearsals thrown in here and there. We’ve had cast hangouts at least once a week, including a fish fry, many game nights, and two snowball fights--the first impromptu, the second the much-anticipated Great Oberlin Snowball War. Last week, almost all of the winter term shows got together for a showcase. Our respective tech weeks and performance dates are all overlapping, which makes it extremely difficult to see all of the other shows if you’re in one yourself. Thus, the showcase was born so we could all share what we’ve been working on and celebrate each other in the final chilly days of this process. 

When I’m not in rehearsal, I’ve been very busy working at the yarn shop, finishing up my graduate school applications, preparing to direct another production in the spring, and throwing pottery whenever I can. If you read my Learning How to Throw post, you know I’ve been on a multi-year journey to make the perfect mug. I am pleased to report that this winter term I managed to make not one, but two mugs that I am very happy with! My next goal is to recreate the same shape, paint it pink, and use my favorite underglaze transfer (the little cats, pictured on the right) to make the perfect mug. Folks, we're almost there. 

In these final days of January, I’m feeling very grateful for all of the winter terms I’ve spent here. It really is a special time on campus. My biggest advice for making the most of winter term is just to take advantage of every opportunity for connection you can find. Host events, plan outings, get to know new people, go on all the wintry adventures you can find. Better yet, if you’re on campus this February, go see all the winter term shows!