The Movie Tavern at High Street offers three of college students’ favorite things — entrees under $10, alcohol and movies — all in an atmosphere free from overexcited high school students.

Following its soft opening last week, the Movie Tavern at High Street officially opens today. It is located in the brand new High Street Shopping Center on Richmond Road, just past the IHOP. Expanding from the South, the majority of Movie Taverns are in Texas, it offers Williamsburg a new type of movie experience and claims that “Movies Never Tasted So Good!”

The Movie Tavern aims to combine movies with an in-theater dining experience. At first, it seems like a regular movie theater with a seemingly ordinary concessions stand in the lobby. The differences, however, begin as soon as you read over the menu. The Tavern offers a wide range of choices including burgers, movie-themed pizzas (“The Godfather,” “Goodfellas” and “The Italian Job” to name a few), wings, egg rolls, wraps and milkshakes. The Tavern also serves beer, wine and margaritas. Although Five Guys is next door and has seen a good deal of business despite being the lone store open in the complex, to this point moviegoers will find it hard to resist the temptation of grabbing a burger before their show.

The Tavern also offers concession items such as soft drinks, candy and fresh-popped popcorn for those who need the comfort of traditional movie food. After ordering, you receive a glow-in-the-dark number and your food is delivered promptly during the show.

After a short tour, an employee named Victoria commented, “the food is sent out really quickly.” Victoria also promised that the dim tracks lights that run down each aisle “are hardly noticeable during the movie.”
Although the in-theater dining is one of the more unique qualities of this cinema, the Movie Tavern seems to be an improvement of standard movie theater characteristics. Compared to the Kimball Theatre in Colonial Williamsburg, which offers a mix of ongoing and featured live performances, movies and film festivals, High Street will primarily show mainstream movies from major film companies and distributors during the initial release period of each film.

The Tavern offers stadium seating, similar to Regal Cinemas in New Town, but boasts 3-D digital projection capabilities. Inside, each theater looks almost like a conference room, with long tables spanning an entire row and high-backed, leather rolling chairs for most seats.

With ticket prices for students at $6 all week, the Movie Tavern offers a cheaper movie going option than Regal Cinemas in New Town. After 6 p.m., patrons must be 17 years of age or older, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Drew, one of the Movie Tavern’s managers, expressed his enthusiasm about the Tavern becoming a part of Williamsburg nightlife.

“We are just excited to get it up and running,” he said. “It really is a first-class movie experience.”
With its friendly staff, stylish atmosphere, cheap tickets and tasty food, the Movie Tavern at High Street will be a great addition to Williamsburg and has the opportunity to become a hot spot for college students.

The sound of crashing waves breaks the silence as a dancer’s figure shines dimly on the dark stage. He appears to be shipwrecked and frightened by a cluster of sirens, whose calls allure him against his will. His motions finally synchronize with theirs, and he is under their spell. Audiences will find themselves bewitched by this and every scene from Orchesis’s student-choreographed production, “An Evening of Dance,” which will showcase tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall.

The stage was a paragon of discipline during the final week of dress rehearsals, but the situation backstage was just short of chaotic, with dancers in costumes scurrying around amid calls for socks and bobby pins. Despite this chaos, student choreographer Jordan Gehley ’09 seemed relaxed at the prospect of seeing her dance performed.

“I’m excited to just sit back and watch,” she said.

Gehley, one of seven members of Orchesis whose dances will be featured in the production, submitted a proposal last spring and was selected by the dance company’s three professors to create a piece. Students have been working since November with the company, which consists of 22 dancers, to realize their visions.
A dancer since the age of three, Gehley joined Orchesis as a freshman.. Her dance, entitled “3 ≠ 3,” was inspired by her study abroad experience.

“My dance is based on the philosophy of mathematics,” she said. “I came up with it when I was in Italy taking a philosophy of science class.”

Her dance’s three sections are based on three distinct attitudes toward math that emerged throughout history.

“My first section is based on the abacus; it’s very linear,” Gehley said. “The next is about Bruno’s theory of the universe and how math is not completely linear and perfectly abstract, and it’s not this otherworldly thing. My third section is on [Albert] Einstein’s theory of relativity and deals with ideas of gravity and time curving around.”

Once she created a concept, Gehley filled in the details including music, costumes and lighting.

“I usually see images in my head, and I choreograph off of that,” she said. “To me it was definitely the movement first, and then I got the music.”

Elizabeth Foss ’10 had a different process for choreographing her piece, “Intrinsic Thirst.”
“I was looking through iTunes, and I had recently seen the movie ‘Edward Scissorhands,’” she said. “I stumbled upon the Broadway version and found a few songs that I liked.”

The music’s varying styles inspired Foss to create what she calls a “predator-prey piece.”

“Some of the music was more powerful and attacking, and some was more timid,” she said. “We don’t have roles, but some of the movement is inspired by stronger animals, and some is inspired by prey.”

Foss said writing down precise counts and motions seemed like a good idea at first, but it soon grew tedious. She switched to jotting down broader ideas, which allowed for more fluidity in her choreography.
Once the dances were created and cast, the seven student choreographers were responsible for running their rehearsals. The professors viewed their progress every two weeks and offered suggestions, but it was mostly up to the choreographers to make sure their dancers learned their parts.

“If there are difficulties we might meet more often, but a lot of them are working on independent projects so they are expected to deal with it,” said professor of dance Joan Gavaler. “The feedback we give them is important, but it’s dependent on the quality they put out there initially.”

The reason for this hands-off approach, Gavaler and assistant professor Leah Glenn explained, is to allow the student leaders to fully explore their own ideas.

“We want each choreographer to find their own voice and to express what’s important to them,” Gavaler said.
Foss and Gehley said that leading one’s peers is never easy, especially when the realization of your vision depends on them. Both described several challenges they faced in their weekly rehearsals.

“It’s hard being there,” Foss said. “You want to get stuff done, and you’re freaking out but your dancers are not — because it’s your piece.”

Gehley echoed Foss’s worries. “Sometimes it’s hard to teach the choreography,” she said. “I’ll have to switch things because what I imagined is not physically possible. The hardest part is for everyone to be precise at the exact same time. I like things clean.”

The choreographers, professors and other dancers agree that the system works.

“I think it’s easy to be directed by them because there’s a level of communication that’s easy to follow,” Jessy Segal ’12 said. “We respect them because we know them as dancers, and we know what they’re capable of.”

With the assistance of a 10-person crew, the production has come together well. Sitting backstage just minutes before her piece’s first rehearsal with all of its elements, Gehley reflected on what she hopes audiences will take away from her choreography.

“Dance can be approachable and can be about so many different things,” she said. “Dance is an underappreciated art, but it’s definitely not a lower art form.”

Gavaler agreed. “These pieces are accessible,” she said. “Dance is not meant to be a secret formula that only a few understand. Come take it in, and as with any piece of art, you will respond as appropriate for you.”
Tickets for “An Evening of Dance” are being sold at PBK box office for $5 with a WM ID and $10 without.

Today I stood in front of Benjamin Franklin at Wawa. That great American mind — who penned such soul-crushingly insipid aphorisms as “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” and “a penny saved is a penny earned,” putting even Hallmark to shame in the cutesy-phrase-masquerading-as-wisdom department — was buying a pack of Marlboro Reds and a tube of Yoplait Go-Gurt. Aside from the obvious uniqueness of the situation — one that only occurs at other colleges following the consumption of weapons-grade narcotics — I was struck by the tremendous contrast that seemed to exist between my conception of Ben Franklin and the man who stood before me. The uber-patriot, self-made man who invented, diplomatted and rebelled faltered in the face of the admittedly false reality.

All of this got me thinking about the College of William and Mary as a whole. In general, we like to project an image of ceaseless, positive energy. Go to the College’s website, and it figuratively explodes with images of happy, ethnically-diverse students, blogs touting the merits of public service and provocative teasers for upcoming guest lectures. I’m not challenging the fact that these are all threads of the larger College experience. But looking back over the last year of news, a sketchier trend emerges: embezzlement, questionable tinkering with the honor code and low participation in student government. The Flat Hat can put together a robust Campus Police Beat from week to week based on theft alone. It’s enough to, in my weaker moments, make me question the existence of a vibrant and unified community at our esteemed College.

I don’t mean to suggest that spaces don’t exist in which great moments of beauty, friendship or unity can occur. They most certainly do (and these spaces are usually called the delis). But how do you reconcile other aspects of our time here? How do you trust people, even the most outwardly civic-minded students, in their intentions? The Honor Council is such a strongly empowered set of people, and yet I have no clue as to their actual motives. I, like the vast majority of students, have not had the privilege to appear in front of that shadowy body of students. In my mind, they inhabit some kind of subterranean chamber, in which stainless steel furniture stands amongst dripping stalactites, and the chairperson — requisite hairless cat in tow — gleefully jettisons guilty parties into fiery pits of, well, flame. You hope that each member of the Honor Council is personally dedicated justice and honesty, but how many people are sitting at that table, in that murky lair, consciously building a resume on a foundation of crushed futures and ruined reputations? How many are taking their cues from “Austin Powers” movies? Which raises the question, why don’t we introduce a jury system?

Or how do you explain the gradually diminishing number of candidates in Student Assembly elections between freshman and senior year? Sure, people find their own niches and lose the time to get politically involved. But does that mean that we should bequeath all future decisions to a small group of people who only seem to grow more insular with each passing year? I concede that there is an element of ridiculous to this whole experiment. In many ways, the College is just practice for a larger, somehow more real version of society. Still, I would argue that all of it matters just the same. The caring switch cannot be easily flipped on and off, and four years of inactivity here will most likely spawn a depressing string of inactive years in the future. Paradoxically, I can’t tell if most of the time the problem lies with people taking themselves too seriously, or not seriously enough. Probably it’s a combination of the two.

This is not to say that the College is not a fantastic place, or that it doesn’t possess the mix of opportunity and vitality enshrined on its website. However, the way forward rarely stems from passivity. I know that most of the people on the Honor Council are genuine in their dedication to our community’s standards, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engage ourselves regarding our shared values. Old solutions are not best simply because they are old — especially if they lead you to Wawa, in spectacles and pantaloons, hoping to reduce your nicotine-induced high blood pressure with a squeezable stick of yogurt.

__Brad Clark is a Confusion Corner columnist. He prefers his Go-Gurt frozen.__

Williamsburg’s nightlife — or lack thereof — is overdue for a renovation. Thankfully, within the next year the Green Leafe Cafe will introduce the Underground, a venue featuring live music, a dance floor and a bar.

“We want to keep it in the Green Leafe family, but make it something new and exciting and a place where you can get dressed up — more of a date place,” Lindsey Gormley ’01, the Leafe’s proprietor, said. “The Underground will be a place to be more grown up.”

As far as decor goes, Gormley said to think “retro, cosmopolitan, New York and D.C. styles,” For entertainment for the Underground, Gormley wants to feature local talent.

“We want regional bands. Long ago my husband [Leafe Owner Glenn Gormley ’84] was approached by Dave Matthews to play here,” she said.

Though management continues working with an architect, the spacious venue will offer a dance floor, a stage for live music and a dining area capable of seating over 60 guests.

For now, the space still needs renovation. Walls need knocking down, pillars need modifying and ceilings need heightening.

“We planned to open by the 2009 Homecoming, but there’s too much work,” Gormley said.

City codes require that a sprinkler system be installed, and the bathrooms need to be redone. Looming work demands coupled with the slow economy have postponed the proposed opening date to spring of 2010. Plans for the venue have been underway since last spring.

“Before the New Town location, we had talked to the landlord because we were interested in expanding … in March of 2008 the bike shop owner moved and asked the Green Leafe if we wanted to take over the lease,” Gormley said.

Since then, the Gormleys have been collaborating with Williamsburg city officials, College of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley and students — all of whom, she said, have been supportive.
“It’s very energizing to get [positive] reception from the school,” she said. “It’s cool that [Reveley] gets that the students need something.”

Samantha Greenwood ’09, one of eight students who worked on the Underground’s marketing campaign as part of a group project for a class, met with the Gormleys at least once a week to discuss topics from decor to drink specials. “They wanted to know what students thought of current nightlife and what there is a need for,” she said.

The marketing group interviewed other students and handed out surveys. “Students want a nicer, upscale, metropolitan place,” Greenwood said. “It’s not a club, it’s more of a bar with a dance floor.” She explained that the Gormleys didn’t want a club because it would be out of place in Williamsburg plus there are city regulations.

According to the surveys, most students are in favor of having an upscale scene with dancing. Students were split across the Underground’s suggestion of an underage night. “There were mixed reviews on there being no alcohol. Students [of age] said they’d probably drink before going,” Greenwood said. According to Gormley, the Leafe is currently planning to attract the under-21 demographic on some nights.

“[It] will cut into revenue, so we have to figure out a way to compensate,” she said.

Gormley said the Underground will target students and cater to the College’s needs.

“It’s definitely student driven,” Gormley said, “but it will also bring in locals. It’ll be cool because you’ll get to meet different people.”

As an alumna, Gormley said she identifies with students. “Lots of locals didn’t go here, and there’s a friction between the town and school. We want to bridge the gap between students, the school and locals.”

The focus on students raises issues over vacation months.

“Since it’s more relevant to students, the Gormleys were concerned with how to sustain it during the summer,” Greenwood said.

Consequently, marketing also worked on making the spot appealing to older crowds.

“We were thinking of having themed dance nights — salsa, tango,” Greenwood said. “They could bring in an instructor, make it kind of a dance class.” Students also suggested hosting fundraisers for local organizations to appeal to the Williamsburg community.

Despite what summer specialties are planned, Greenwood still sees it as a younger place. “In total, I think that it’s more geared towards students,” she said.

Greenwood expects the Underground to enliven the dating scene. “It could possibly provide a venue for dating, there aren’t many places with reasonable prices that are upscale,” she said.

Gormley agreed, “It will be more of a date place,” she said. “Guys can be afraid to bring dates to the Green Leafe because they’ll see their friends, and it’s really casual.”

The future location of the Underground is well-acquainted with the dating scene. “Back in the 70s, [the space] used to be the Rainbow Room,” Gormley said. After closing in 1978, the site became a bowling alley, whose wooden lanes now make up the Leafe’s tables. The room extends from halfway under the Leafe to halfway under Paul’s Deli, and will hold approximately 170 people total, including 60 spaces for seating and the rest as standing and dancing room.

Despite the delays, Greenwood said she is confident with the venture.

“I ultimately think that no matter what it is students will go to check it out, just because it’s something new,” she said.

As I watched “The Vagina Monologues” last week, I found myself unsure as to whether I was watching a performance piece or a feminist manifesto.

That being said, the believability of the play’s entrenched ideologies depended on the strength of its theatrics — and for all the heavy-handedness, the College of William and Mary’s production proved effective in both message and artistry.

The audience consisted mostly of women, which inevitably meant that the show was preaching to the choir. An attempt to reference this demographic turned out to be the most disheartening moment of the show. For me and the straight, taken guy next to me, it was almost a deal-breaker.

As part of the show Allison Kellum ’12 asked the audience how many males had come because they were brought by their girlfriends. She then went on to tell them they would have a better chance of getting laid after the show by their soon-to-be vagina-empowered girlfriends. Being a performance on a college campus in the year 2009, it was sad to see this easy nod to gender stereotypes. The idea that men will do anything for sex, and that women will drag their boyfriends to typically female events and reward them with sex later, was disappointingly heteronormative for VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood.

Despite this initial disappointment, I felt myself being drawn into the show through the abilities of the monologists. From women who were able to convincingly adopt the accents of a New Orleans food-server or Bosnian villager, to those who could moan orgasmically on command on-stage, the cast made intimate what otherwise would feel foreign. In the most controversial piece — in which a positive lesbian sexual experience seems to save an underage girl from past sexual trauma — the actress conveyed a story that felt neither political nor problematic, but deeply personal and even touching.

New monologues are added to the show on an annual basis. The newest involved the plight of women in historical wars. “Hey Miss Pat,” a monologue about the Japanese government’s practice during World War II of sexually enslaving women, explores the issues of power and patriarchy in terms of extreme human rights abuse. These monologues took a non-controversial but crucial stand against violent practices against women worldwide. Monologues that American college audiences could most easily relate to, such as “My Angry Vagina” and “Reclaiming Cunt,” had the crowd laughing — they supported a positive feminist attitude within the audience members, while the more subtle oppressions of commercialism and representationalism.
As someone still developing her opinions on feminism, both as an ideology and as a practice, I had come to the show cautiously. I left concerned about the issues raised, if not wholly converted in my stance concerning them. VOX fulfilled its mission to educate, enlighten and, of course, entertain.

Editor’s Note: Several corrections were made to the article on March 27. The new piece in the play is actually entitled “Hey Miss Pat.” It was labeled as “Say it.” A quote from the piece “Reclaiming Cunt” was also falsely attributed to Lauren Vick ’12. It was in fact said by Allison Kellum ’12.

Additionally, the print edition incorrectly listed Casey Sears ’11 as the sole director of ‘The Vagina Monologues.” Jennifer Entwistle ’10 and Elizabeth Ferris ’11 were excluded. Proceeds from the show were listed as going towards helping women who had undergone genital cutting. Proceeds were actually split between the Fistula Foundation, which helps women affected by a complication from obstructed labor, and Williamsburg women’s and children’s shelter Avalon.

**The Male Perspective**

Of course I had expectations going into “The Vagina Monologues.” Who doesn’t? Feminine power, I have a vagina and I’m proud of it, all that sort of thing. To an extent, I was right. There was a lot of “I am woman, I have a vagina, and it is beautiful” rhetoric throughout the course of the play, but I was surprised at how politicized the play actually is.

I won’t go into the details of every specific monologue, but one that stuck out to me, “My Vagina was My Village,” shared the experience of a woman who was raped repeatedly as an act of wartime violence. Another, “Say It,” told the story of the “comfort women” from World War II — women who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese government. Now between 70 and 90 years old, they are still waiting for some kind of acknowledgment from the offenders.

The play began humorously and made an effort to keep a light tone throughout. I laughed, genuinely and out loud, at several points during the play. I doubt I will ever have an opportunity to scream “cunt” at the top of my lungs in front of 200 people again, at least not without some kind of repercussions. But soon enough the play took on a more serious tone, leading into the monologues I described earlier, and others that tackled serious issues such as domestic abuse, female genital mutilation and the ugly, and in some cases bright, side of sex work. I can say with honesty, and a small amount of embarrassment, that one of the monologues had me tearing up.

On the whole, I liked the show, but I do have a few complaints. I won’t pass judgment on the idea of empowerment. If you get something out of it, good for you, but the message didn’t affect me either way. However, one of the monologues, a scene that was centered on birth, was entirely unnecessary. Yes, giving birth to and raising a child are very important aspects of womanhood; however, I personally, (and I think a lot of people will agree), didn’t want to hear a graphic description of the bloody, flowing, life-giving river. You can talk about raising a child, even about the pain of giving birth, but spare me the nitty-gritty details. It didn’t add anything to the recurring themes in the play — it just made me squirm in my seat.

As much as the play tries to be funny and empowering, I think its ultimate purpose is to educate, at which it succeeds. Although I personally knew about a lot of the issues the play discusses, a lot of people didn’t. It’s important to get the word out about these issues and to that effect the play does well. Is it a great piece of theater? No, not really. But it entertains and serves a purpose — “The Vagina Monologues” was an effective and enjoyable experience.