Oakland, CA rap duo Main Attrakionz, formed by Mondre M.A.N. and Squadda B, are poster children for the obscure cloud rap movement: an emerging genre known for ethereal lyrics and cascading synth lines hooked around amorphous beats. After losing their first mixtape when the hard drive holding their work crashed, Main Attrakionz—in collaboration with Sacramento producer Tynethys—have finally released their self-titled mixtape, Main Attrakionz x Tynethys.
In a phrase, this album can best be described as hit-or-miss. Unfortunately, the many misses strewn throughout the 10-track release outweigh the hits. The song “On1,” which was pre-released in September, is clearly the highlight. It’s the perfect embodiment of the cloud rap movement and an excellent example of Tynethys’ (pronounced “teen this”) prowess. The lyrics are light and gentle, playing off of Squadda B’s soothing vocals and allowing the song to float over the listener. However, the soothing moment is regrettably followed by “Life,” an angry and scratchy mix with weak lyrics accompanied by unoriginal sounds and beats.
Main Attrakionz mostly stuck with the trademark descriptors of cloud rap: effortless and breezy. But from the leaders of the cloud rap movement, I expect uniqueness and unpredictability like we hear in “USB,” not the sleepy vocals and elementary rhymes displayed in “Verbal.” Tynethys describes this collaboration as “simple like the title. Drugs, a whole lotta tree, some brandy with lemonade, some vodka, drugs, a keyboard, and a microphone […] then repeat.” The process shows in the mixtape—if your interest is in unoriginal lyrics and simplistic airy beats, then this is your album; if not, stick with their hits and hope for more consistency on their next release.
Students will head to the polls Nov. 6 up to 15 to vote in the upcoming Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Fall referendum period.
Four questions have been approved to appear on the ballot—two regarding the existence and a funding increase for the Midnight Kitchen, one regarding a fee increase for the SSMU Daycare, and the third requesting changes to the SSMU constitution.
Midnight Kitchen
Midnight Kitchen is asking students to support both its existence and an opt-outable fee increase from $2.25 to $3.25 per semester.
The student-run service provides pay-what-you-can vegan lunches on weekdays. According to Midnight Kitchen Outreach Coordinator Vince Tao, the organization’s popularity has increased over the years, but its budget has remained the same since 2011.
“We’re serving about 250 people a day now,” Tao said. “We end up running out of food by the time we get to the end of the line.”
Tao also explained that SSMU’s implementation of a new pay equity policy in 2012 means that salaries now account for approximately 61 per cent of the Midnight Kitchen’s operating budget.
Kelly Schieder, chair of the referendum question’s “Yes” committee, said Midnight Kitchen aims to use the proposed fee increase to meet the current demand from customers and expand its services.
“The first thing we’re planning to do is to buy a higher quality and bigger variety of food for our lunch servings,” she said. “We’re also hoping to introduce breakfast servings.”
Despite concern about the organization’s funding, Arts and Science Representative Courtney Ayukawa, stressed that Midnight Kitchen ultimately provides a necessary resource that does not exist elsewhere on campus.
“I know of many people who can’t afford to buy or make lunch every single day because of financial or time constraints,” she said. “The convenience of an affordable, accessible, and timely lunch is a really important thing.”
—Anna Ma
(Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)
SSMU Daycare
SSMU Daycare also seeks an increase in funding, and a “Yes” majority vote to its referendum question will raise its current non-opt-outable fee from $1.50 to $2.50 per student per semester.
The SSMU Daycare is a childcare service provided to the children of undergraduate parents at the cost of seven dollars per day.
Since the current fee was set in 2006, the daycare has faced a number of changes to the services it offers and its operational costs. In 2009, the daycare opened a nursery, which accommodates babies aged four to 18 months. In the same year, the daycare’s rent to McGill increased.
Stefan Fong, SSMU vice-president Clubs and Services and president of the daycare’s Board of Directors, said the daycare requires the fee increase in order to maintain its current level of service.
“If the daycare fee increase does not pass, the daycare will have no choice but to reduce the amount of services it offers, which is a shame considering how much it has grown to accommodate students,” Fong said.
He noted that the student fee would be the best source of funding to adjust to account for the increase in costs. The daycare currently receives funding from three sources: a subsidy from the government, a fee from parents of children in the daycare, and the current student fee.
“The amount of funding the daycare receives is fairly fixed,” Fong said. “Out of these three, only the SSMU Daycare fee is flexible enough to be able to financially support the daycare in both a short-term and long-term way.”
—Jessica Fu with additional reporting by Eman Jeddy
Constitution referendum
Another referendum question will ask students to approve a series of changes to the SSMU constitution.
According to the referendum motion, the changes to the constitution are based on suggestions made by SSMU’s legal council.
“SSMU has undertaken a multi-year governance document revision process with our legal counsel in order to ensure that our governance structure and processes are stable and legal,” the motion reads.
According to SSMU President Katie Larson, most of the changes are primarily format-based in order to improve SSMU members’ understanding of the document. This includes the addition of two and a half pages of interpretations and definitions and a reorganization of many of the articles in the document.
“It’s a lot of moving things around [and] clarifying definitions, which was really important because you read through it now and it says one word like ‘council,’ but it’s not super clear what is council, who is council, what can they do, and how it’s similar and dissimilar from other bodies,” Larson said.
One significant change will affect the way in which councillors are appointed to SSMU’s Board of Directors (BoD).
Quebec Law requires that SSMU have a BoD to act as the organization’s highest governing body and make decisions on its financial activities. In previous years, the BoD was formed through appointments within Council by councillors themselves. According to Larson, the new procedure would require that a General Assembly ratify these appointments.
“The structure will change so after councillors are elected […] they will then be appointed as board members for the following year, and they will have to be confirmed by all members and not just their faculty,” she said.
SSMU does not currently have a BoD, due to the failure of the Fall General Assembly to meet quorum and ratify Council’s appointments.
After going undefeated on an extended road trip to start the RSEQ season, the McGill Martlets pushed their winning streak to five in a tight home opener at the Love Competition Hall against Laval on Friday. Victory over the Rouge et Or—who also entered the match undefeated—confirms McGill’s return to form after a disappointing 2012-2013 season in which they went 8-12 and missed the playoffs.
The match was pushed to five suspenseful sets, after the Martlets gave up a 25-22 first set victory by losing the next two to Laval, 18-25 and 19-25, respectively. However, McGill bounced back to tie it up in the fourth set thanks to a strong team performance, posting 10 kills, and a hitting efficiency of .292. This stood in stark contrast to the Rouge et Or’s fourth set hitting percentage of .029. The Martlets finished off the match 15-10 to mark just the 13th time in regular-season play that McGill has defeated Laval.
The game featured a highlight performance on both sides of the ball from veteran Middle Blocker Virginie Hebert. She registered seven kills on 19 attacks and had a huge impact on the court. She also laid down six blocks and four assisted blocks, and finished the game with a team-leading 15 points. Being in her final year, this season marks Hebert’s last opportunity to help the Martlets claim the RSEQ title.
“Virginie has improved every one of her four years […] since she came to us from College Lionel-Groulx […] and will be a big part of our team this year,” Head Coach Rachele Beliveau explained.
The team’s recent success comes in a season that could have been written off as a rebuilding year. The team lost setter Marcela Mansure—who held the position for five consecutive years—to graduation. However, third-year setter Yasmeen Dawoodjee has proven all season to be a capable replacement. In Friday’s game, the Ottawa native posted a resounding 37 assists and 13 digs.
“Yasmeen has been improving a lot after playing more regularly,” Beliveau said. “Following Marcela is a big step and [Yasmeen] will learn, and we have confidence; […] but we need to be patient, we can’t put all the pressure on her to do what Marcela was doing right away.
Although it is still quite early, the Martlets have shown a strong balance of veteran leadership and team chemistry to challenge for the RSEQ title this season. After their bronze medal showing at Nationals two years ago, McGill hopes to ompete with perennial powerhouses Montreal and Laval once more, which is undoubtedly a tough task.
“Every game we play is going to be a solid fight. Our approach is that we’re going to take each game one by one and prepare as much as we can for the games we play,” Beliveau said. “It will be challenging, but fun.”
The Martlets are back on the road on Friday Nov. 8 against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or with the intent of keeping their streak alive, before traveling to Quebec City on Nov. 10 for a return matchup with Laval. McGill currently sits in a tie with Montreal for first place in the RSEQ, with 10 points apiece.
As Arcade Fire is currently riding the crest of their popularity, the band’s newest release could have consisted solely of white noise and people would have talked about how groundbreaking it was. Thankfully, Reflektor is so much more than that.
A big step up from 2010’s The Suburbs, the album feels like their most mature offering to date—both lyrically and musically. The instrumental arrangements are as complex as ever, but producer and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy gives their sound a new edge, distorting and isolating different components of the music until it all dovetails into an euphoric climax.
Highlight tracks like “Here Comes the Night Time” and “We Exist” are both strongly reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s first album, yet they also manage to sound like something new entirely. Those two tracks are particularly good, but the album as a whole might as well be a greatest hits compilation—there doesn’t seem to be a single weak song.
Reflektor is Arcade Fire’s longest album, with each song clocking in at about six minutes. The length of the tracks could have made the album sound bloated or unfocused, but instead it manages to be more on-point musically than The Suburbs riffing on a wide variety of influences from Haitian rave music to Greek mythology. Even glam rock is present—David Bowie makes a vocal appearance.
What results is an album that is both joyous and angsty; cacophonous and melodic; and above all, intimate. It sounds like nothing they’ve ever produced before, or anything that anybody has produced, and it’s all the better for it.
Like current single “Roar,” Perry is focused here on responding to the adversity of self-repression—except on “Love Me,” her impressive vocals mix some crooning in with the roars. The song’s light verses are reminiscent of U2’s “Beautiful Day,” but contain a handful of delicate tones that demonstrate Perry’s prowess and sensitivity. As the song creeps into its chorus, the production picks up and resembles more of a typical upbeat Perry track, but it’s the calculated restraint of the verses that hit the right spots.
“Open Ended Life” is a real barn-burner: it’s a fun and exciting track, and literally talks about burning houses to the ground. That is the verse subject matter that sets up the chorus lines, “I was taught to keep an open-ended life /and never trap myself in nothin’.” The 2:20 and 4:06 marks are where the song is funnest; the first kicks off a blustering instrumental break capped of by a slick electric guitar riff, and the second delivers a good old fiddle solo.
*The times and instrumentation may vary from the album version.
And It Stoned Me
Artist: Van Morrison
Album: Moondance (Deluxe Edition)
Released: Oct. 22, 2013
Other than his beloved “Brown Eyed Girl,” Van Morrison hasn’t gained the same traction with the average young listener that other passionate vocalists like Bruce Springsteen or James Brown. But Moondance is worthy of the four-CD, 60-track deluxe edition that was recently released, 44 years since it originally came out. It’s hard for the beauty of “And It Stoned Me” not to resonate—as Morrison belts out the sublime experience of being caught in an intense rain shower, we can participate in his cathartic moment.
J. Cole owns this track. With a concentrated instrumental beat behind him, he exudes confidence with lines such as “Get smacked if you said I’m neck and neck with these square rappers,” and reveals some vulnerability with a line like “Cried myself to sleep on thousand dollar sheets.” He also sings the chorus hook, which unleashes the palpable frustration that is embroiled in the verses, yearning for a release from hell’s kitchen. Bas delivers a decent second verse, but this is the rare DJ Khaled song that may have been better off with just one feature.
The SSMU referendum period from Nov. 6 to 15 features questions on three distinct issues affecting the undergraduate student body. Below are the Tribune’s endorsements:
SSMU Constitution
One of the questions at issue this referendum period regards approving changes to the SSMU constitution, including a set of provisions focused on the Board of Directors. These changes are based on an annual review by SSMU’s general counsel on the legal compliance of the association’s constitution. The referendum would make appointments to the Board of Directors contingent on ratification by General Assembly, introducing a new element of accountability to SSMU leadership.
The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote
SSMU Daycare
Childcare is an absolutely vital service to some students, and the SSMU daycare keeps this service affordable for all. Ensuring that the daycare remains financially stable and can continue to grow to meet demand will be a victory for accessible education. As such, the Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote.
Midnight Kitchen
Since its creation in 2002, the Midnight Kitchen has been an extremely successful venture in food accessibility on campus. By raising its fairly nominal semesterly fee by a dollar, it promises to consider serving breakfast as well as lunch, a step forward in its mission of “providing affordable, healthy food to as many people possible.” The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote for both the existence and fee increase questions.
Legendary producer Brian Eno once famously remarked, ìThe first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.î These thoughtful words say a lot about the type of artist Lou Reed wasóbut not everything. While reflecting upon that quote, it struck me just how great the singular and idiosyncratic contribution he made to popular music was.
Enoís quotation addresses the fact that Reed influenced many artists, but it leaves out that the way in which he exerted influence was what truly made him great. Sure, a lot of punk bands recorded songs that sound like ìIím Waiting for the Manî; however, his music was dynamic in such a way that one could feel his sway without necessarily wanting to write songs that sounded anything like his. Certainly, one can desire to create something that rawly expresses sensation with the tangibility of ìHeroinî or melancholically evokes longing like ìPale Blue Eyesî in any other style of music or artistic medium.
This phenomenon can be most recently seen in Kanye Westís Yeezus, an album which Reed himself glowingly reviewed just a few months before his death.Yeezus references a plethora of genres, including hip-hop, soul, industrial, and dancehallóall styles that donít immediately seem to have much to do with Reedís work. The possible exception is industrial, but the two treat it so differently that to connect them musically would be a stretch. Yet, itís hard to imagine an album like Yeezus existing without Reed as a spiritual ancestor. His fearlessness, commitment to his musical vision, and refusal to aesthetically compromise paved the way for artists such as West to have the freedom of experimentation at the risk of failing to meet popular expectations.
Enoís quotation also doesnít get to the heart of just how revolutionary Reed was. Just as Elvis redefined what a white man could sound like, Bob Dylan created a new style of popular singing, and Jimi Hendrix gave us a new notion of how the electric guitar could be used, Reed reinvented how a rock band could be defined and what they could aspire to be. Could a rock album have a track featuring an instrumental jam underneath a spoken word story about an accidental killing, as heard in ìThe Gift?î Could it have an 18-minute free-form ambient improvisation with lyrics about drug dealers and transvestites like ìSister Ray?î Reedís importance depends not on whether these became popular trendsóthey didnítóbut rather that they opened up a new realm of musical possibilities for the artists who followed him.
Finally, Enoís quotation doesnít capture the seemingly perpetual ënewnessí of Reedís output. Even though the earliest Velvet Underground recordings are nearly 50 years old, they sound like they could have been released last week and would still be avant-garde as hell. Their abrasiveness, disregard of traditional structures, and willingness to push boundaries would place them on the fringe of any era of popular music since its conception.
Amazingly, none of this boldness makes the work feel esoteric in the slightest. Even at its most experimental, his music always had something to keep it from feeling completely insular: a sense of humor, a powerful exhibition of passion, or a melody you just couldnít forgetóeven if you wanted to.
Eno certainly made a valid point about Lou Reed, but he didnít capture the scope of his importance to popular music. Reed has been a vital figure since the release of his first recordings, and itís difficult to imagine a future where he wonít continue to be one. Lou, youíll be sorely missed.
Selina Liu has been interested in sustainability for as long as she can remember. Currently a U3 student studying chemical engineering, she has been involved in various outlets to promote sustainability across the McGill community.
Last year, Liu served as the finance coordinator for the McGill Farmer’s Market. As one of four coordinators, she helped organize the market that takes place on McTavish every Thursday throughout the months of September and October. It allows local farmers to showcase and sell their products, which range from fresh, organic vegetables to different types of honey, bread, and tea.
“It gives an opportunity for farmers and students to interact,” Liu said. “It lets students become more aware of what they’re eating and where their food is coming from.”
Liu’s favourite thing about the market is that it brings together farmers and students in support of locally grown food. She said she feels it is important to support the agricultural community by either buying vegetables at the market or signing up for the Community Supported Agriculture baskets, which are baskets of locally sourced food.
“It’s great because you pay for the baskets up front, which eases the start-up costs for the farmers,” she explained. “It also makes sure you get fresh, seasonal vegetables for eight weeks. It’s convenient, and it’s a great learning experience because you get to learn what grows in your region, when different vegetables are ripe, and different ways of cooking them.”
Liu has also been a sustainability coordinator for the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) for three years. This year she is starting a committee called the EUS Sustainability Commission, which aims to build a network of students and groups on McGill campus, specifically in engineering, who are involved in sustainability.
“The committee is about getting engineers to find their niche,” Liu said. “So many engineers are already passionate about sustainability, but don’t know all the ways that are out there that they can get involved.”
The committee will be the link between engineering students who share this interest and like-minded organizations that are looking for volunteers.
Liu hopes to organize a sustainability fair sometime in the future, where engineers can see all the different opportunities available to them.
“I’m very passionate about empowering engineers in the world of sustainability,” she said. “There is so much potential for engineers to get involved, both at McGill and after you’ve graduated.”
Her intention is that the committee will highlight how crucial engineers are to the creation of a sustainable society.
“Engineers are the ones who will be building the infrastructures and technologies that will allow us to take better care of the planet,” Liu said. “We’re such an important piece of the puzzle that most people don’t realize.”
Although Liu isn’t sure if she will pursue sustainability as a career, she knows that her passion for it will permeate into whatever field she chooses to follow.
What did you dress up as for Halloween?
A piece of bacon, which is funny because I’m actually a vegetarian for this semester.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oatmeal. But only the large flake kind, not the instant kind.
Who’s your favourite TV character?
Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. Or the girls from “Girls.” Those are the only TV shows I’ve been watching recently.
With the National Football League (NFL) moving into the second half of its 2013 season, neither the American Football Conference (AFC) nor the National Football Conference (NFC) has a runaway favourite to win the league. Two contributors weigh in on which conference boasts the most talent in a league renowned for its parity.
AFC
Offence:
No team in the NFC compares to the offensive powerhouse that is the Denver Broncos. Led by Peyton Manning and his new favourite target Wes Welker, the Broncos are on pace to shatter just about every scoring record, including most points in a single season. Manning is also slated to break Tom Brady’s record of 50 TD passes set in 2007. With weapons like Demayrius Thomas, Julius Thomas, and Eric Decker, no defence in the NFC—or AFC for that matter—has the personnel to match the Broncos for a full 60 minutes. Moreover, the top four AFC teams have outscored the top four NFC teams by a 933-877 margin, as well as 111 touchdowns to 98, respectively.
Defence:
On the surface, it may appear that the AFC is disadvantaged because much of the media coverage focuses on the strong defensive units of the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. What many overlook, however, is Kansas City’s defence, which leads the league in points allowed, sacks, and fumble recoveries. Additional statistics prove the AFC’s defensive prowess. Seven of the NFL’s top 10 defensive teams in terms of points allowed hail from the AFC. Of the 10 teams that lead the league in sacks, eight come from the AFC. Seven of the top 10 stingiest units in terms of yardage allowed and yards-per-play also are from the NFC. Finally, four of the five worst defences in terms of yardage allowed and points allowed are from the NFC, showing that there is depth from the top to bottom in the AFC.
Coaching:
In terms of coaching, the AFC stands well above its NFC counterpart. Andy Reid has taken a Kansas City team that went 2-14 last year and turned them into a legitimate Super Bowl contender, boasting the league’s only remaining undefeated record. Over in New England, Bill Belichick—one of the greatest football minds of our generation—has led a Patriots team decimated by injuries and free agency to an AFC East best 6-2 record. No matter what players are lining up on the field, or what team they are playing, Belichick devises game plans that put his team in a position to win each week. In Indianapolis, Chuck Pagano, who overcame his battle with cancer last year, is leading a young Colts team to one of its best starts in franchise history. Having taken his second-year quarterback Andrew Luck under his wing, Pagano and the Colts have handed out huge losses to NFL powerhouses such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.
— Drew Allen
NFC
Offence:
At the halfway point in the NFL season, it is clear that the league’s most lethal offences reside in the NFC. With the read-option tearing through defences and versatile quarterbacks dotting the conference landscape, NFC teams are virtually unstoppable.
The NFC North is home to the league’s top quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, while running back Adrian Peterson and wideout Calvin Johnson are also the standard bearers at their respective positions. Julio Jones, Cam Newton, and Drew Brees light up the scoreboard on a weekly basis and give the NFC South some of the most electrifying players in the league. The NFC East may lack an elite team, but with Dez Bryant, LeSean McCoy, and Robert Griffin III, it has no shortage of thrilling young offensive stars in intriguing systems. The future of the NFL resides in the NFC West as Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson both lead two of the NFL’s flashiest young teams.
Defence:
Unlike in the AFC where defensive statistics are skewed by weak offences, NFC teams have the tough task of taking on a slew of talented offensive players each week. TThe truth is that the most daunting and imposing defensive players dwell in the NFC. Led by Richard Sherman and Patrick Willis, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are two of the league’s premiere defensive units. The teams combined to make up over half the All-Pro defensive team last season, and have continued to puzzle offensive coordinators and quarterbacks alike in 2013.
In the trenches, the NFC is anchored by Ndamukong Suh and Jared Allen who make even the best offensive lines look like sieves. Linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Clay Matthews have wreaked havoc for opposing teams’ quarterbacks, while Lance Briggs, NaVarro Bowman, and Sean Lee have been spectacular at stonewalling rushing attacks. In the secondary, Charles Tillman and Darelle Revis cause headaches for offensive coordinators with their shutdown defensive abilities. These elite defences can dominate any AFC opponent.
Coaching:
Ever since Lombardi and Landry roamed the sidelines in the 60s and 70s, the NFC has been home to the league’s best NFL minds. Other than the presence of Bill Belichick, the AFC has merely a weak fraternity of coaches.
The New Orleans Saints saw the importance of coaching first-hand in 2012, as their record dropped from 13-3 in 2011 to 7-9 the following season in large part because of the absence of Head Coach Sean Payton. The NFC has offensive masterminds such as Mike McCarthy, who has taken his Packers to the playoffs in four straight seasons and looks to add another Lombardi trophy to his resumé. Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin are two of the biggest names in the business—with a pair of Super Bowl rings to back up their claim. Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll represent the new wave of NFL coaches rising from the college system, and it won’t be long before their knuckles are lined with championship rings too.
— Aaron Rose
Editor’s pick: The NFC
Although the AFC may have the statistics to back up offensive and defensive success, the conference’s numbers are skewed by the presence of a few elite teams, namely the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and New England Patriots. These teams have been able to pad the score sheet with the aid of weak schedules, in contrast to the steady excellence of the NFC.
It’s no secret that there is a healthy amount of tension between Anglophone and Francophone cultures in Montreal, but one place the two co-exist beautifully is at NTS, a school that fosters the acting, writing, and directing talents of young people of both languages.
Canadian actor Colm Feore graduated from the National Theatre School (NTS) in 1980, and last week received the 2013 Gascon-Thomas Award for his contributions to Canadian theatre and his status as a role model to students.
Although the award is an honour for Feore, it’s also a reminder of how long he’s been acting—and of his age.
“If you’re still doing it at my age, they think, ‘Well we better give him something,’” Feore laughs. “[However], it’s encouraging to younger people, I suspect, that you can keep working and making a living doing this.”
After over 30 years in the business, with success on the stage, TV, and in well-known movies such as Chicago and Bon Cop, Bad Cop, Feore is the perfect example of a Canadian actor who has been able to diversify and adapt to different roles, while also remaining true to his roots.
“If you want to be Canadian, you need to start where you know,” says Feore. “The great advantage of being in Montreal is you have those two elements—French and English—that give you a better sense of who you are, and where you’re from. You can go to America and put on an American accent, but there’ll be 50 million people there already doing that.”
Having been determined to become an actor since a young age, Colm Feore unwaveringly pursued his career in the arts. However, he too had some doubts.
“I had applied to universities out of high school [….] I was an indifferent student, and when I got accepted to the Theatre School I took it as an endorsement of what might be possible [….] I thought ‘I should try this, and if it sucks I’ll go back to school and study something serious,’” he says.
It is because of this honesty, among other things, that Feore was one of the best possible role models to confront the National Theatre School students about the reality of finding a job as an actor, and the amount of hard work it takes to succeed in such a cutthroat environment.
“There are many, many more people trying to [act] now,” Feore explains. “Some people get famous fast, and everyone else thinks, ‘Oh, it can work!’ But it doesn’t work like that; it’s horribly difficult and restrictive. If you don’t have a foot in the door, or a friend on the inside who can guide you, you don’t have a chance.”
However, he believes that a school like NTS can help young actors get that footing, and actually have a chance—and that his schooling definitely helped advance his career.
“One of the things about NTS is that it has a reputation around the country. It started in 1960 and churned out the best people in the theatre,” says Feore. “The reputation rippled across the country and the rest of the world that this was the best place to be.”
While NTS fostered Feore’s career when he was young, a certain playwright helped inspire it—Shakespeare. Feore is adamant about the importance of keeping the bard relevant in schools today, especially because his writing can often seem inaccessible to an untrained reader.
“The best thing to do is study the best thing [Shakespeare], because then you know that all the effort that you put into it will be rewarded,” says Feore. “If you have muscled your way through King Lear, or Othello, or Macbeth […] you have a foundational understanding of what a good play is [.…] It becomes a foundational canon of your reference material.”
