COMMUNITY8 l January 9, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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By Lillian O’Rorke

Jessica Karius struts across the stage at Skyline High School in six-inch red alligator print stilettos. Before being cast of the seductive Cookie Cusack in “Rumors,” a farcical play writ-ten by Neil Simon, the 16-year-old junior had never worn high heels.

Now, seven days before the show is set to open, Karius breaks in the new shoes, which comple-ment her back-combed hair, walnut-size rhinestone earrings and slinky black dress.

“I don’t know how my parents are going to feel. This slit goes up higher,” she said, laughing back stage.

Karius’ character is all dolled up to attend the 10th anniversary party for New York’s Lieutenant Governor and his wife. But when she arrives the celebration has already been turned upside down. The Lt. Governor has shot himself in the earlobe and his wife and servants are missing. Rumors fly, and the story twists and turns as each new guest arrives to the mansion.

“It’s one of the funnier Skyline shows I’ve been involved in and seen in the last couple of years,” said Maria Palacios, a junior at Skyline and the stage manager. “Our cast is incredibly talented, and it’s very difficult not to be like crawling on the floor, laugh-ing back stage.”

Palacios, 11 other crew mem-bers and the cast of 12 have all been meeting almost every day after school since auditions were held at the end of October.

“There are kind of waves of elements that come in. You start with read-throughs, and then you start with blocking, and then you start building sets,” she said. “We are actually entering my favorite part of production time, which

is where all the elements start to come together. We are starting to see lights and mics and costumes and hair and makeup and set and props all come together.”

From many of its key aspects, like set construction and lighting, the show belongs to the students. When asked by their director, Elijah Myles, if they wanted to continue work over the recent winter break, the entire cast and

crew showed every day. “Those who have the heart

and the desire; the way that they have taken direction I get goose bumps,” said Myles. “I came in to inspire, because I remember my dreams started when I was in junior high and high school. But I became the one that got inspired by them putting in so much time.”

Myles was hired in October and choosing an off-the-wall farce for his inaugural show at Skyline was no accident.

“I just wanted to give a new fresh face to the theater pro-gram,” he said. “I think the way to get people in the seats is to start with something really light-hearted and really hilarious instead of something so serious

and heavy.”After graduating from

Sammamish High School in 1991 Myles became a professional per-former.

His acting and musical career included nearly a decade in Los Angeles, a successful stint producing shows for Norwegian Cruise Line and four years per-forming in cabarets in New York. Young thespians at Skyline are happy to be working with a pro-fessional now that he’s returned to spend more time with his fam-ily in the Northwest.

“He brings a lot of energy to it. He makes sure we are all super riled up,” said Jake Sullivan who plays the role of party guest Lenard Ganz. The high school senior added Myles is helping him to become a better actor. “He asks us a lot what our characters would be like so we can decide for ourselves. He pushes us in the right direction but doesn’t exactly tell us what to do. It’s a very open space, which I really like.”

From brandy bottles filled with grape juice to the two-story set to “Rumors” upbeat energy, Sullivan said he is also excited to take part in such a lavish production.

“I’ve done a couple produc-tions here before and it’s never been this full scale,” he said. “I think it’s hysterical. It’s never serious. There are those shows that are really funny, but then there is one scene that gets really down, and you have to bring yourself in. But I just like how you never stop just being crazy, and I love being able to do that.”

The show opens at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 at Skyline and runs for four nights, including 7 p.m. Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 and 7 p.m. Jan. 12. General admission is $8 and students with ASB cards are $6.

Skyline players set to thrill audience with ‘Rumors’

Photo by Greg FarrarSkyline High School drama students (from left) Nick Borkowski, Bhavya Chhabra, Marie Guenette, Madeline Miller and Aaron Jin wait on stage before the beginning of dress rehearsal Jan. 3 for the school production of ‘Rumors.’

Photo by Greg FarrarJessica Carius (right), Skyline High School junior, helps junior Hannah Green, her fellow actor, with makeup for the full dress rehearsal Jan. 3 of the Neil Simon play ‘Rumors.’

Photo by Greg FarrarJake Sullivan, Skyline High School senior, has his eyebrows thickened up by sophomore Charlotte Gitelman, makeup and hair director and lightboard operator, before a Jan. 3 dress rehearsal for ‘Rumors.’

By Lillian O’Rorke

To a crowd of cheering Eastlake fans, the girls basketball team pulled off a 55-39 win Jan. 4 over longtime rival, Redmond.

The two teams have been rivals since 1993, when part of Redmond High School was split and stu-dents were sent to the newly formed Eastlake High School on the Sammamish Plateau.

“These kids and the whole community, everybody gets up for this game,” said Sara Goldie, coach of the Eastlake Wolves. “The gym is not usually packed, and it was packed tonight.”

The two teams tied 13-13 in the first quarter and continued to match each other shot-for-shot well into the second quarter, when they were tied 19-19 with only three minutes left in the

half.“We

came out with a lot of energy, but our energy was just too much,” said junior Maggie Douglas, a co-captain of the team. “We had most of our turnovers, mostly in the first quar-ter, just because we just weren’t being smart with the basketball. We weren’t focusing our energy.

But we got a lead on them.”Eastlake began to pull away

when senior Rachel Ainslie and

Douglas together put five points on the board. After a more than minute-long drought, the second quarter ended 25-19.

“It was just back and forth. We’d score; then they’d score; then we’d score. We just needed to start focusing more on getting

stops,” said junior guard Elizabeth Tracy. “I was actually a little ner-

SportS10 l January 9, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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By Lillian O’Rorke

The Skyline boys basketball team came out to grab the lead Jan. 4 in its first league game fol-lowing winter break, but eventu-ally lost 49-41 after Ballard ran away with a fourth quarter win.

“I thought we had it in the bag,” said junior guard Jonah Eastern who led the Skyline Spartans that night with 23 points. “We came out mentally ready. We wanted it. And we know how to win; we just don’t know how to finish, and that’s something we’ve got to learn.”

After grabbing on to 9-3 lead during the first five minutes of the game, the Spartans main-tained their distance to finish out the first quarter with a score of 11-6. The Ballard Beavers quickly answered back in the second quarter with a 3-point field goal to start things off, followed by a successful performance at the foul line to tie the game 11-11. Eastern netted a jump shot and the fight was on.

The two teams battled basket-for-basket. With three minutes left in the first half, a three-point-er gave the Beavers their first taste of victory with a 16-15 lead. The Spartans countered with Eastern drawing the attention of two Ballard defenders on himself before passing the ball to Bryan Starnes, who fired it in from behind the 3-point line. Despite a free throw by the Beavers in the final minute of the quarter that tied the score, the Spartans pulled away with a 21-18 lead, after Eastern dropped in another three-pointer.

The third quarter started with a bang when Skyline sophomore Matisse Thybulle stole the ball and put two on the board with a dunk.

“It was fun,” said Thybulle. “I wasn’t expecting it myself really. Kind of like, the game takes over, and you just go with the flow.”

His dunk put the Spartans in line for a 9-3 run, which includ-

Photo by Lillian O’RorkeSkyline junior Blake O’Brien works his way around Ballard’s defence in the Jan. 4 KingCo 4A match-up.

Ballard outshoots Skyline boys

Photo by Lillian O’RorkeLauren Mittenthal, a junior guard for Eastlake, breaks past Redmond’s defender Jan. 4.

Eastlake girls shut down Redmond 55-39 in rivalry

Boys lose close oneEastlake boys fall 59-56 to

Redmond.After starting off with a 7-point

lead in the first quarter Jan. 4, the Eastlake boys basketball team lost 59-56 to Redmond.

The Redmond Mustangs took hold of the lead in the second quarter when they outscored the Eastlake Wolves 21-12. After that, the two teams pretty much tied, basket for basket, allowing Redmond to hold on to its slight lead.

Scoring for the Wolves were Brandon Lester with 18 points; Mike Hwang with 12; Mason Pierzchalski with nine; Jake Davidson with seven; Connor Perry with four; Mick Vorhof with three; Kyle Laubscher with two and Davis Woerner with one.

See EASTLAKE, Page 14

See SKYLINE, Page 11

calendar12 l January 9, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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A headache support group meets at 6:30 p.m. the sec-ond Monday of each month at Swedish Issaquah in the second floor conference center leader-ship room. Call 313-5406.

The Sammamish Heritage Society meets from 7:30-9 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at the Pine Lake Community Club, 21333 S.E. 20th St. in Sammamish.

Sammamish Plateau Amateur Radio Club meets at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Fire Station 83. The club is open to amateur radio operators and those interested in the hobby.

Rotaract, a community ser-vice for young adults ages 18-30 sponsored by the Sammamish Rotary, meets twice a month. Email scott.brewer@sam-mamishrotary.org.

The La Leche League is committed to helping mothers breastfeed. They plan to meet on the second Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m.-noon at the Sammamish EX3 Teen Center, 825 228th Ave. N.E. Visit www.lllusa.org/web/SammamishWA.

Block Party Quilters meets at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Visit www.bpquilters.org.

Sammamish Citizen Corps, a volunteer group affiliated with the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, meets the first Wednesday of each month at Fire Station 82. Visit www.sam-mamishcitizencorps.org.

The Social Justice Book Group meets at 10 a.m. the third Monday of each month in Sammamish. Email hineswa@live.com.

A support group for caregivers of people with

January 2013

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The Sammamish Book Group will discuss “Moon Over Manifest” by Clare

Vanderpool at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Sammamish Library.

A book release party for “Caregiving for Your Elderly Parents” is set for 6:30 p.m. Jan.

17 at the Sammamish Library.

Build-it Sammamish, a daylong event where participants will use Lego blocks

to build their own expres-sions of Sammamish, is set for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 26 at City Hall. To register, visit www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/events/Default.aspx?ID=2716.

Celebrate winter with an adap-tation of “The Snow Queen” at 11 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Sammamish Library.

Potential Eagle Scouts looking for help on possible

Eagle Scout proj-ects for 2013 can meet with city staff to discuss options from 4-6 p.m. Jan. 29 at City Hall.

Art Historian Susan Olds presents a visual introduction to steam-punk — a modern take

on Victorian era science fiction — from 7-8:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Sammamish Library.

Help clear wintertime debris

Volunteers are needed to help clean up Pine Lake Park from 2:30-4:40 p.m. Jan. 28 at the park. To sign up, visit www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/events/Default.aspx?ID=2754.

Events

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Mars Hill Students is made up of sixth-12th grade students in Sammamish, Redmond, Issaquah and surrounding areas.

It meets every Wednesday from 7-8:30 p.m. for a time of life music, teaching, food and connection. Visit https://www.facebook.com/MarsHillStudentsSAM.

Club Mosaic, a community discussion group, would like to hear thoughts about earth’s origin, the meaning of life, the Apocalypse and more. It meets from 7-8:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month at the Holiday Inn in Issaquah. visit www.clubmosaic.org.

Grief Share Support Group meeting from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday nights at Sammamish Presbyterian Church.

Wednesday night youth group will have games, wor-ship and fun for students in grades six-12 from 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Sammamish Presbyterian Church.

Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) allows mothers of young children time to make friends share stories and grow spiritually. The group gener-ally meets twice a month on Thursday mornings at Mary,

Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Visit www.mops.org.

A Toast to the Lord, a faith-based Toastmasters club, meets from 7 — 8:30 p.m. everyFriday at the Fire Station 83 on Issaquah–Pine Lake Road. They offer job interviewing skill development for those seek-ing employment or a career change; motivational and inspi-rational speaking training. Call 427-9682 or email orator@live.com.

Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church youth groups are for children in sixth-eighth grade and ninth-12th grades. Meetings are at 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Call the church at 391-1178, ext. 129.

Healing Prayer Service is for those who desire to expe-rience God’s love through worship, prayer and healing. The fourth Tuesday of every month except November and December, 7 p.m., at Pine Lake Covenant Church. Email heal-ingprayer@plcc.org.

Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered program offer-ing support. Mondays, 7-9 p.m., Pine Lake Covenant Church. Visit www.missiolux.org, or call 392-8636.

Griefshare, a support group

for those who have lost a loved one is from 7-9 p.m. Thursdays at Sammamish Presbyterian Church.

Moms in Prayer International invites moms to replace their anxiety with peace and hope. Pray with other moms for your children and their schools. Visit www.momsinprayer.org. Contact Linda Yee at lindaryee@com-cast.net.

Pine Lake Covenant Church offers ministry for chil-dren with special needs at 10:30 a.m. Sundays. Call 392-8636.

“Caffeine for the Soul,” a Judaic and Torah class for women, is from 1-1:45 p.m. Tuesdays at Caffé Ladro in Issaquah Highlands Shopping Center. Call Chabad of the Central Cascades 427-1654.

Free Hebrew classes are offered through Chabad of the Central Cascades. Call 427-1654.

Kabalat Shabbat 7 p.m., Fridays, the Chabad House at the Issaquah Highlands. Call 427-1654.

Learn to read and speak Samskritam at the Vedic Cultural Center. Visit www.vedicculturalcenter.org.

focus on faith

jointhe club

See CLUB, Page 13