Joshua Earle

When you see a man cry, what do you think of him? Words like sissy, wimp, coward, weak, maybe even woman, might come to mind. Emotion is an area that women seem to have more freedoms in than men.

For women, it is okay to cry and get emotional, but men are expected to stay strong and resolute in upsetting situations.

Emotions are associated with women, making men appear frail and weak if they show emotion because those emotions are also associated with showing weakness.

Women who are considered cold or unemotional are judged for not showing emotions since they are going against the stereotype of “nurturer.”

However, if a woman shows too much emotion she is also judged for being too emotional; her femininity may even be attacked by pointing a finger at her menstrual cycle as the source of her strong emotions or changes in emotion.

Men are mocked for showing the slightest bit of emotion since they are expected to be the “macho” breadwinner that doesn’t care about anything. According to western society, men aren’t allowed to care too much because caring is a sign of weakness.

Alison M. Jaggar, a known feminist philosopher, wrote about differences in how women and men express emotion in “Love and Knowledge: Emotion in Feminist Epistemology.”

She explains that philosophy has discussed how women are seen as more emotional and irrational and therefore inferior, while men are seen as rational and reasonable and therefore, were originally seen as the only people able to make decisions in politics and society.

Men still have emotions, they just can’t show that they have emotions or else they risk losing their “cool guy” cover.

“In contemporary western culture, emotionally inexpressive women are suspect as not being real women,” Jaggar wrote.

“Resting bitch face” comes from the notion that women have to be happy and cheerful all of the time like “real women.”

They are supposed to be kind and willing to please everyone so seeing a woman who appears even the slightest bit mean or “bitchy” is absurd and obviously means something is wrong with her.

“Whereas men who express their emotions freely are suspected of being homosexual or in some other way deviant from the masculine ideal,” Jaggar wrote.

Sometimes men who show emotion are mocked for being gay, which causes some men to lash out to prove their heterosexuality and resort to physical violence (because gay men can’t be violent, right?).

On the other hand, the expectations of men’s behavior is the opposing character to how women are expected to act. They need to have their emotions in check and hide anything that makes them upset.

In a society where men are three and a half times more likely to commit suicide, we need to acknowledge emotion as real and worthy of acknowledgement. Societal expectations play heavily on self-identity and self-esteem.

Gloria Anzaldua, a chicana feminist writer, has written about the connection between that expectation of “macho” men and the occurrence of domestic violence in “La Conciencia de la Mestiza/ Towards a New Consciousness.”

“The loss of a sense of dignity and respect in the macho [man] … leads him to put down women and even to brutalize them” Anzaldua wrote.

Emotions happen for a reason and if a person isn’t able to express themselves in a healthy way, situations tend to blow up.

If a man can’t cry as a reaction to the birth of a child or the death of a loved one, how will they be able to process those strong emotions of joy and grief?

One in 16 men are sexually assaulted on U.S. college campuses each year. This is not always seen as much of a problem because the statistic is fairly higher for women.

However, it’s important for the man falling into that stat to reach out for help as he heals from the trauma and not have to worry about keeping up a “macho” facade. Society should be willing to accept that he is in pain and help him through a difficult time emotionally.

Emotions have become a source of shame, but they happen for a reason. We have evolved to have emotions so that we can react to our environment.

As feminists we focus on equality. However, we can’t demand equality for ourselves while also denying men the right to show emotion.

If women want to be treated with respect we need to respect men as who they are instead of them as the idea of “manly man.”

So let men cry, let women be cold and let people deal with emotions however they need to.

ChocAmo Cookie Cups is a startup company created by Drexel alumnus Michelle Silberman. It launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for production costs on Oct. 28, which will be open until Nov. 30. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and style.

The Triangle: Could you describe your company?

Michelle Silberman: We’re an innovative dessert company, and our flagship product is the cookie cup. It is a cookie cup comprised of a cookie shell, on the inside it has dark chocolate or cream cheese frosting, and the inspiration was cookies and milk with a modern twist.

We’ve been growing the company, we have a lot of undergrad Close School of Entrepreneurship students working with us, which is amazing. We just got into the new Whole Foods on Pennsylvania Avenue and 22nd Street, and we launched a Kickstarter campaign.

We have two cookie cups available — our flagship classic and the mini. The industry was really begging us to go the mini route, so we made the mini completely by hand.

We launched a Kickstarter campaign so that we can afford new equipment and skilled production to mass produce the mini, so we can get it to more retailers like Whole Foods across the country and other caterers and event planners, so we can really lower the cost. Labor is the biggest part of the cost now.

TT: Are you mainly in Philadelphia?

MS: Yeah, but we have gotten orders all across the country. We’re only doing U.S. shipping, but we’ve shipped all across the United States. But we bake in Philly and we’re based in Philly. We’re definitely a Philly-foodie company.

Students can donate to the Kickstarter campaign at http://kck.st/2fedJEf.

Charlotte Observer: Diedra Laird

The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. With the results of the presidential election, I’m sure many of us have experienced some if not all of these feelings.

Denial. Telling yourself there is no way this man will be president. This has to be some sort of cruel joke.

Anger. How could these people be so stupid? I hate this country so much.

Bargaining. Okay, so if we have another election right now and make every single American vote, whoever wins can be president for eight years instead of waiting four years for another election.

Depression. While crying and eating copious amounts of ice cream, you think about just taking a nap for the next four years.

Acceptance. This is the most important step.

We as a country need to accept that this happened and we’re going to have to live with it for the next four years. If this blows up in our faces, we can use it as a learning experience and make sure our country never goes down that path again.

How did the American people let the country get to this point? The overwhelming power of the rich, old, straight, white man in our patriarchal society had something to do with it.

In her blog post for the American Philosophy Association titled “What Feminist Epistemology Would Say to Donald Trump,” Villanova Philosophy Ph. D. candidate Miranda Pilipchuk, looks at why Donald Trump is able to be so sexist and racist and still gain a following for president.

Epistemology is a philosophy term essentially meaning the study of knowledge. More specifically, it is the study of who is a credible knower and why.

“As a white, rich, heterosexual, cisgendered, abled man, Trump occupies both the most privileged social location, and the most advantaged epistemic position,” Pilipchuk wrote.

Trump’s credibility is not called into question because of his status; he is automatically considered a credible knower.

“When Trump speaks, his audience is more likely to believe that what he says is truth, and less likely to challenge his right to speak at all,” she continued.

Since he is in the highest position socially — and now the highest position politically — he is often supported without having the validity of his arguments called into question.

Donald Trump has been in the media for most, if not all, of his life. He is clearly a sexist. There is a video of him telling Billy Bush he can “grab women by the pussy” because Trump is a celebrity and of him explaining that bragging about sexually assaulting women is just “locker room talk.”

Our next president is sexist, which is a big step back from Barack Obama who has fought to get rid of the wage gap and address the issue of sexual assault on college campuses.

“In the context of an epistemically privileged position such as the one Trump occupies, the central concern … is not objectively establishing what the truth is, but rather defending the right of the epistemically privileged to speak ‘the truth,’” Pilipchuk wrote.

This idea of epistemic privilege or epistemic authority makes it less likely for people to think Trump is lying. So instead of Trump justifying his arguments, he defends his position as a figure of epistemic authority.

Pilipchuk’s blog post was meant to point out that even though it has been proven that Donald Trump has lied or doesn’t have the authority to speak about certain issues — Hillary Clinton’s sex life or Republican debate moderator Megyn Kelly’s menstrual cycle — he is forgiven for saying anything offensive because of his position as a “white, rich, heterosexual, cisgendered, abled man.”

Our next president is sexist. It’s okay to be upset or angry about the result of the election, as long as you come to accept that it happened. Fighting against the results of the election and making your opinion heard about what he tries to change are completely different.

Acceptance does not mean you like it or agree with it. Acceptance is a promise to continue to push forward in the feminism movement and other movements for social equality to continue to better the country.

When we think of women and sex we often don’t immediately think of the holy trinity: a vagina, a clitoris and an orgasm.

Most people think of a penis in a vagina.

This is because female sexuality is largely viewed through a male perspective in our society, meaning the woman is seen objectively. Men are seen as sexually active beings with their own sexual desires, whereas women are seen as only having the desire to please men. Sexual desire is a double edged sword for women; if they enjoy sex they are labeled as a “slut”, but if they don’t want sex they’re a “prude” and a “man-hater.”

In the popular 2012 movie “Pitch Perfect,” Stacie (Alexis Knapp), a character defined by her sexual nature, justifies her active sex life saying “he’s a hunter” when referring to her vagina. It’s a visible pop-culture example of the idea men are the only gender capable of having active sex lives. Stacie’s only justification for embracing her sexuality is to describe what makes her female as male.

Sex can often be about a power dynamic as it is used to dominate and assert power over others.

“What is called sexuality is the dynamic of control by which male dominance … eroticizes and thus defines man and woman, gender identity and sexual pleasure,” radical feminist Catharine A. Mackinnon wrote in her article “Sexuality,” where she discusses the sexual objectification of women in Western society.

In heterosexual relations, the “end” of sex is considered to be when the man ejaculates. Men control how the experience progresses and when activities change during sex from arousal to foreplay to penetration to climax to completion.

“Whatever it takes to make a penis shudder and stiffen with the experience of its potency is what sexuality means culturally,”Mackinnon said in reference to arousal.

With easy access to the internet and the media, sex is portrayed through how men see it in pop culture and pornography. Sexually curious teenagers see sex through a computer screen before they ever experience it for themselves, so they approach their sexual lives with expectations found in porn.

“[Pornography] constructs women as things for sexual use and constructs its consumers to desperately want women, to desperately want possession and cruelty and dehumanization,” Mackinnon wrote when talking about how oppression blooms from pornography.

In pornography, women are depicted as a set of orifices for a penis instead of a person having sex as well, which takes their humanity away from them.

Rape is another way sexuality is used to overpower and oppress women, both individually and socially.

Individually, the person who was sexually assaulted loses all power during the crime. They must then somehow heal and feel powerful again as they live with what has happened to them. Socially, women as a whole live with the fear and knowledge that they have a one-in-five chance of being raped in their lifetime.

In another scene of “Pitch Perfect,” when the new members are learning the traditional dance routine the Barden Bellas perform, Stacie keeps reverting to “sexy” dancing, almost as if she can’t help but dance like that and touch herself. This uncontrolled desire plays into rape culture.

Rapists will sometimes justify their actions, saying they couldn’t control their sexual desires. When Stacie dances in a way that “needs” to be sexual, and considering the fact that she sees her sexual side as masculine, she is supporting their argument that uncontrollable male sexuality is a valid excuse for rape.

“The male sexual role… centers on aggressive intrusion on those with less power,” Mackinnon wrote.

Female sexuality is seen through men now, but viewing situations from a different perspective gives us more understanding. I doubt Stacie from “Pitch Perfect” was meant to portray the oppression of women’s sexuality in society, but if her actions are seen from a feminist perspective, she is a representation of how men see the women and their sexuality.

“Feminist theory becomes a project of analyzing [a] situation in order to face it for what it is, in order to change it,” Mackinnon wrote.

Not every individual views women and sex this way, but society as a whole has for generations. If it is acknowledged that women and sex should be seen independently of the desires of men, changes can be made to society and new generations will not think that it is normal to view female sexuality as the desire to please men. Women will be taught to accept their sexuality as their own without the need to think of it in terms of their partner.

The average American woman is 5 feet 4 inches and 166 pounds. The average American model is 5 feet 10 inches and 110 pounds, according to the University of Minnesota’s “Guidelines for Adolescent Nutrition Services.”

The media distorts our perception of body image. Shouldn’t models actually be what their job title describes and model the appearance of the average woman in the country they represent? There’s a worldwide epidemic plaguing the First World, and America plays a big part in enabling it.

The media’s depiction of unrealistic standards for body shape affect younger people every year. Altering images with Photoshop and using incredibly skinny women in fashion and pop culture perpetuates low self-esteem among young girls, which often leads to extreme dieting.

“In large scale studies, approximately 30 percent of boys and over 55 percent over girls report using unhealthy weight control methods such as vomiting, laxatives, diet pills, cigarette smoking, and diuretics in effort to lose weight,” Jillian Croll wrote in the chapter “Body Image and Adolescents,” in the “Guidelines for Adolescent Nutrition Services.”

American society teaches people that one can do whatever one wishes as long as one puts in the work for it. This could play a part in how eating disorders became such a problem in the U.S.; people work so hard for the body they want and don’t see results fast enough, so they end up developing disordered eating habits.

Children are being taught false beauty standards from all fronts. Parents talk about dieting around their kids and about how they hate their bodies. They use anti-aging creams and dye their hair because they are unhappy with how they look. Since children learn through watching and mimicking, it is inevitable that they will pick up some of the habits of their parents.

Television shows often display actors and actresses with tiny waists. Even children’s toys affect their ideas of an “ideal body.” Barbies, Bratz, Monster High Dolls all show girls with disproportionately slender bodies. Similarly, G.I. Joes, superheroes and video game characters give young boys false ideas about what men “should” look like.

Schools try to help with how young people see themselves, but calculating body mass index in class is not the way to do it. No matter how many times they say BMI doesn’t matter and the only reason they did it was to learn about a concept, those numbers affect students negatively if the number they calculated wasn’t “ideal.”

Steps toward ending body shaming are being taken in certain countries in Europe and the Middle East. “The French government has passed a bill decreeing that models working in the country must possess a medical certificate deeming them fit to work,” announced British Vogue from December 2015. France is taking a stand against the use of “excessively thin” models in the hopes of promoting a healthier body image to the public. Israel has passed a similar law that bans unhealthy models and requires a doctor’s approval for a model to be able to work according to another British Vogue article. Both countries have also required that photographs with digital modifications be labeled as such.

What if restrictions like the ones in France and Israel came to the U.S.? The U.S. has a huge influence on the rest of the world. If it starts with models needing health checks, then eventually toy companies might be required to make dolls with realistic bodies. After that, digitally altered photographs might be banned along with the fashion industry’s obsession with zeros.

In the preface to the 10th anniversary edition of her book “Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body,” Susan Bordo wrote about the influence of American media on body image throughout the world. Bordo elaborated that prior to the introduction of television that only showed American, British and Australian shows, Fijian women were comfortable with their bodies and eating disorders were practically nonexistent in the area. Disordered eating habits increased three years after TV was introduced in Fiji in 1995.

If people are taught at a young age how to love themselves for how they are and are not taught that their body determines their worth, the number of people with eating disorders would drop significantly. Healthy and happy is all that matters whether someone is curvy or skinny.

I am a woman and a feminist, and my skin is the color of coffee… after you put about a pint of cream in it. After reading the text Andrea Smith’s “Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide” , I saw an aspect of feminism I had never seen before. Feminism fights for equality, but gender is not the only source of inequality; race is another source of discrimination and in order for feminists to gain true equality racial discrimination needs to be addressed.

As a feminist and activist, Smith brings up topics not usually discussed in history classes when looking at race, colonialism and feminism in regard to the negative aspects of how the U.S. began.

Smith’s piece discusses the intersection of race and gender. Both have been respectively oppressed in society, and these oppressions impact individuals differently, dependent on their racial and gender identities. The topic of oppression often comes up around Columbus Day because it is a day to celebrate the “discovery” of an already inhabited nation and the uprooting of the land’s native people..

For years, Native Americans have been speaking out against the celebration of Columbus Day and what it stands for: the genocide of their people.

“The issues of colonial, race, and gender oppression cannot be separated,” Smith wrote in her text about Native American colonization.

In her work, she describes how the rape and mutilation of the Native Americans by white settlers during colonial times was almost expected. Seen as very low class, dirty and sinful, Natives were considered “rapable” and subhuman compared to the colonists. Native Americans, however, treated the colonial women they captured with more respect than their white husbands — 40 percent of New England women captured by Native tribes actually chose to stay with them as opposed to returning to their homes in the colonies.

When settlers came to the New World, they did not understand the lack of patriarchy in the Native Americans’ culture. Different expectations for women and men existed, but the women were not seen as a lower class compared to men. Rape and violence were used by colonial men to force patriarchy and oppression onto the Native communities and to deter white women from believing there was an option other than patriarchy. Smith writes about how white men had to attempt to change the Native culture into a hierarchical system in order to keep their power as “superior” white men.

Native women still feel this patriarchal oppression today. In a Huffington Post article titled “50 Actual Facts About Rape,” writer and feminist Soraya Chemaly reports that while women in America in general have a one in five chance of being raped, Native American women have a one in three chance. However, according to Smith, U.S. attorneys rarely prosecute rape cases on tribal territory, and rape does not fall under the jurisdiction of the tribal courts so many rape cases involving Native women go unprosecuted.

“When a Native woman suffers abuse, this abuse is an attack on her identity as a woman and an attack on her identity as Native,” Smith wrote.

“The history of sexual violence and genocide among Native women illustrates how gender violence functions as a tool for racism and colonialism among women of color in general,” Smith continued.

Women of other races face similar oppressions. Each race experiences oppression based on gender differently and therefore views feminism differently. Women of different races are sexualized differently. Black women are expected to be curvy and full figured while Asian women are expected to be skinny and petite.

The correlation between race and gender can be seen in some statistical data from the 2000 U.S. Census. In a study conducted by Adam Galinsky of the Columbia Business School, it was found that 75 percent of marriages between whites and Asians consisted of a white husband and an Asian wife and 73 percent of marriages between African-Americans and whites consisted of an African-American husband and a white wife. Furthermore, 86 percent of marriages between Asians and African Americans consisted of an African-American husband and an Asian wife. In a different study, Galinsky found that African-Americans are considered more masculine and Asians are considered more feminine. These gendered traits are associated with different races because of the expectations of society for these races.

As a white person, my race doesn’t affect me as a feminist negatively, so why am I addressing an issue about race that does not personally affect me? The privileged are the ones with the voices that are more likely to be heard. Most of the legislature in place today was written by white women. I want equal rights between the races just as I hope men want equal rights between the genders.

Melanin, bone structure, language, culture — it doesn’t matter. We are all people and so why are certain people treated differently?

Note: I’m writing this column about women’s issues but anyone is welcome to comment on what I have said. Strongly negative or hateful comments will not receive a response, but I’m am happy to start a discussion with curious readers.

Cramps, bloating, irritability, acne, feminine hygiene products. Menstruation sucks. Period. But what sucks more is the shame and embarrassment that comes with it. While America is not the worst place to be a bleeding woman, it’s not the best either. We’re still allowed to go to school and enter the kitchen while we’re on our periods, unlike some ladies living in Africa, but there remains a stigma against menses in our society.

Recently, I read Gloria Steinem’s article “If Men Could Menstruate,” published in Ms. Magazine. It plays with a hypothetical reversal in present-day society: what if men could menstruate and women could not? Steinem uses the topic to discuss how people in power justify inequality. She humorously brings up the holidays, celebrations and, of course, luxury name-brand tampons that would arise around men’s menstruation.

Why isn’t menstruation viewed in such a positive light for women?

Men have historically held more power in society. So if they got periods, of course this would be seen as a good thing. Before reading this article, just based off the title alone I’d assumed that it would hypothesize a situation in which men experienced periods, instead of women.

Of course, then we run into some biological issues. Since menstruation happens so that one can become pregnant, men would then be the child-bearers. Since they’d have to be able to feed their children, I guess men would also need breasts and wider hips to carry a child. And could they still be considered men if they would need a uterus and a vagina to actually give birth? If men now menstruated, would that mean women would have more power?

Instead of looking at the world and wondering what it would be like if men menstruated instead of women, we should consider the possibility of women not having to face shame for a completely natural bodily function.

In her book “New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation”, Chris Bobel discusses a movement that started in the 1970s known as menstrual activism. The theory battles female body shaming and fights to end the stigma associated with menstruation.

“Increasing numbers of women began to question the safety of menstrual products and, more fundamentally, the social construction of menstruation as little more than a shameful process,” Bobel writes to explain how menstrual activism began. She also brings up how menstruating was known as a “curse” since it was seen as unclean and impure in some cultures.

Bobel also highlights some menstrual activists, such as the “Bloodsisters” who spoke out about the health risks associated with certain feminine hygiene products, and Elizabeth Kissling who brought up how women are seen as “Other” and how that plays into societal views of menstruation.

This brings us back to Steinem’s thoughts on how menstruation is only seem as “negative” because it is associated with the “inferior” gender. Once this negativity is lifted, will there be more equality between the sexes, or will there have to be equality before the stigma is eradicated?

Menstrual activism is still prevalent today as both women and men try to erase the taboo that surrounds menstruation.

Recent menstrual activists have fought against the sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products. Fusion’s love and sex writer Taryn Hillin explains that while many states exempt “necessities,” tampons are rarely included in that category. Pennsylvania is one of five states to actively discontinue the tax on feminine hygiene products, while 40 states still have the “tampon tax” — five states do not have any sales tax.

Menses have come up in the media recently as women fight to erase the stigma associated with “that time of the month.” Kiran Gandhi ran the 2015 London marathon without any period protection as an act of menstrual activism. Meanwhile, Rupi Kaur caused an uproar on social media when the pictures of her blood stained sweatpants and sheets were removed by Instagram twice.

People shame what they don’t understand. Almost every woman menstruates, so why is over half of the population forced to feel shame for something they cannot control? As Bobel says: “Menstrual activists assert that menstruation is a healthy bodily process — a vital sign — that should not be cursed, masked, or suppressed.”

So don’t wrinkle your nose at the thought of talking about menses. Learn about the process. Menses impact everyone, whether you’re aware of it or not.

Note: I’m writing this column about feminist issues, but anyone is welcome to comment on what I have said. Strongly negative or hateful comments will not receive a response, but I am happy to start a discussion with curious readers.

Photo courtesy: GET HYPE Productions

With a sadistic dentist, urban blight and a flesh-eating plant named Audrey II, “Little Shop of Horrors” is far from the typical musical. Falling into the unique category of horror comedy rock, the musical tells the story of a florist named Seymour who attempts to earn the affections of his co-worker Audrey with the help of a peculiar bloodthirsty plant— as one might expect, horror and hilarity ensues.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is the first show in a new program by the Drexel Co-Op Theatre Company called Come Early, Stay Late. The aim of the program is to bring the audience members more information and connectivity than they would typically get just by watching the shows. Ryan Schrader, senior finance major and general manager of the company, explained that the Co-Op Theatre Company wants to add value to the audience’s experience. The program was first utilized in the May 13 opening performance of “Little Shop of Horrors” in the Black Box Theater of the URBN Annex.

Sponsored by the Department of Performing Arts, the Co-Op Theatre Company is a section of Drexel University’s Theatre Program that brings hands-on experience to those interested in seeing the workings of a theater company at a professional level. Student opportunities range from assistant director to social media director to general manager of a production and seniors can even use these administrative roles for their senior projects, as Schrader is doing with his role of general manager. Since there is no theater major at Drexel, the students involved in these performances can come from any major in the university.

Photo courtesy: GET HYPE Productions

“The Drexel Theatre Program honestly is one of the most unique programs in the country and I think that is because you actually can’t major in theater here,” Bill Fennelly, director of “Little Shop of Horrors” and director and assistant professor of theater at Drexel, said.

“The amazing thing that happens here at Drexel in the Theatre Program and the Co-Op Theatre Company is you’re working with a team of performers and technicians who love making theater. So suddenly you have these really brilliant young minds from all of these different disciplines,” he continued. The students and professionals involved shared their passions for theater in the before and after commentary for Little Shop of Horrors. They mentioned how they collaborated together, working as hard as they can not because it’s required for their degree, but because they love doing it.

When discussing where the idea of the Come Early, Stay Late program originated, Schrader mentioned that Fennelly was involved in a similar program with a company in Dallas.

“Patrons in the area knew when they bought a ticket they weren’t just seeing the show, they were getting an added experience,” he explained.

Before each performance, Fennelly and assistant director Justin Allison, current film major at Drexel, discussed their techniques for directing, some history behind the musical and the process of how they made this performance unique.

Photo courtesy: GET HYPE Productions

“It’s basically a very casual talk-back … it’s not supposed to be a formal thing, we want people to ask questions whenever they want and trickle in from the lobby,” he continued, referring to the new program.

During the performance the actors involved the audience in several ways by making eye contact, singling out people to sing to and even physically interacting with the first row.

“It’s a very big musical and to put it in a smaller black box … changes how the audience can interact with the show,” Schrader said.

After the show several cast and crew members returned to the stage area to answer questions from the audience. They started off by explaining their routine to get ready for the show and the audience was told how much work and time went into the performance they had just witnessed. The Audrey II puppeteer and entertainment and arts management major, Joy Weir, explained how she enjoyed being able to do something totally different with this performance by working with the puppets of the plant.

She went on to say, “Puppeteering is hard … work in a physical way, but a lot less mentally straining.” She made the plant puppets move while biology major, Aman A Milliones-Roman,  was the voice of Audrey II. The largest plant puppet Weir used was, by her estimation, at least 150 pounds.

“It’s like a big backpack and the bottom jaw is strapped to my waist and then the top jaw is like a bar,” she explained, referring to the bar that she moves to make the motion of the alien plant speaking.

Fennelly explained that having the puppets added to the morality of the play.

Photo courtesy: GET HYPE Productions

“Suddenly, when it’s not a flesh and blood human being, you have to impose humanity onto the thing so in some ways it becomes even more alive because you’re not taking its human essence for granted,” he said.  

“It becomes an even more powerful reflection of human traits, conditions and ideas,” he continued.  

Allison set the scene for the performance before the show.

“The script gives us that [“Little Shop of Horrors”] takes place in September of a year in the 1960s and Bill had the what I think was a very smart decision to set it in 1963 because of how important a year 1963 was to America,” he explained. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech and President John F. Kennedy’s assassination were both pivotal moments in history from the year 1963.

Fennelly elaborated on and drew parallels between the volatility of the country in the time period the show is set in and the volatility of the nation now. “We are trying to contend with who we are as a nation and what is really driving us and what … we really value,” he stated, referring to the upcoming election.

Photo courtesy: GET HYPE Productions

The audience responded to the new Come Early, Stay Late program positively. “Definitely the best Drexel production I have ever seen … each of the cast members gave an outstanding performance, everyone’s motivations were on point and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the Drexel Community,” Zachary Renner, a sophomore architectural engineering major, said about the performance. The company plans to continue the Come Early, Stay Late program for future performances.

More information about the Co-Op Theatre Company can be found on their website at http://www.drexel.edu/performingarts/theatre/co-op-theatre-company/. The last couple of showings of “Little Shop of Horrors” will play at 8 p.m. on May 20 and 21 and at 2 p.m.,  May 21. Although the Facebook page says the show is sold out, those who arrive early will be put on a waiting list, and those on the waiting list will most likely receive tickets. Additionally, getting there early will allow viewers to participate in the first half of the Come Early, Stay Late program.

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