Entering the Stockton Campus Center Theatre on October 11, 7:30 pm, the warm glow of lights illuminated expressional backdrops of French girls and the like in black ink. The Bud Noble Quintet sat at the front, instruments at the ready, and as the lights dimmed and the last few audience members snuck to their seats, the show began. Including actors Madeline Barrows, Dylan Brierley, Michael Farr, Laura Eguia, Isabella Fiore, and Kristen Garretson, Paris ‘75 is a new musical written by Henry van Kuiken, including broadway songs all tied together in an eccentric and comic presentation.

Andrea Mychaels and Henry van Kuiken Choreographed the show, with scenes including a Can Can dance, a sultry salsa number, and some upbeat tap. The variety of songs allowed for an assortment of dance styles, and a fun storyline that jumps around quite a bit despite there being one stage setting (by set designer Venustiano Borromeo). For example, after the intermission, the story follows two boys and their shared crush in between other stories, and their woes are used to enliven the story, but by no means contributes a deep or prominent storyline on its own.

Probably the most eye-catching part of the medley, though, were the costumes (designed by Henry van Kuiken), due to their period accuracy and natural flow with the setting and lights, paired well with the performance over all. Backed by the Bud Noble Quintet, the singing of each of the actors was compelling and each was talented at telling their story, not only singing a song. The enthusiasm and skill presented by this Medley made the show seem very sincere and enjoyable. As the Can Can performance wrapped up, the actors bowed to a standing ovation. Ending on a spectacularly cheery note, the room cleared with high spirits and impressions of the actors. The crisp night air brought the performance to an end and left a wonderful memory with everyone.

The Art Gallery at Richard Stockton college is no large entity. It is a spacious room, with three partial walls in it, but plain and simple are words most appropriate to describe it. Down a short flight of stairs, the pieces adorning the walls right now are those of the seniors graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts. Featuring seven students, their focuses range from designing posters and business cards to piecing together collages and creating . Many had their websites open to view, and an array of business cards and resumes were placed along with their pieces, but the artwork was not taken away from by such small formalities, and was presented as the main feature.

Going counter-clockwise around the room, Rachel Anvalone’s paintings begin at the right of the stairs. With a combination of canvas, fabric and duralar (a plastic sheet-like material) mediums, her pieces focus on acrylic paint and an eye-catching combination of subjects. Putting math equations, geometric shapes, and fractions in her paintings draws the audience’s attention, and stirs one’s mind with confusion. When I looked at her pieces, I was pulled to find some interpretation of her mixed topics, but left the gallery still wondering. Some of her artwork’s titles include “No Trespassing”, “Finally There”, and “Sybil”.

Next to Anzalone’s work was Maureen S. Howells’ section. Focusing on graphic design, Howells uses text and photo manipulation to convey her message or present an idea. Her photography is of nature, and her graphic design is closely tied to this theme as well. Meredith Brenan also focused on graphic design, showing a series of designs for Home Bound. An interesting and different graphic design student, Roberto Nieves, concentrates on a series of video game posters, bringing up topics of bullying and misogyny in the gaming world. His other pieces are Senior BFA Exhibit posters and a website.

SoJung Lee’s section of wall comes next. Her various sized pieces are arranged in a heart-shape on the wall, and each give a happy and inspirational feeling. Working majority with photomanipulation and text, Lee also shows her talent with pencil and paint. In the center of her heart arrangement is a sign that says “DREAMISNOWHERE,” which can be read multiple ways. Her happy and girly vibe is shown by these letters.

Last on the wall is Wesley R. Rowbotham. Presenting concepts for apps, websites, and products, Rowbotham’s pieces are practical, almost market-ready. His photography takes a turn to the abstract with his additions of shapes and titles. Very simplistic, his style comes off as clean and simple, yet eye-catching.

The various student’s futures are shown through their art pieces, and as well as the great effort they have put into their time at Stockton. By exhibiting their students. Stockton takes the opportunity to show its pride in these students. Despite the art gallery being small, and likely out-of-the-way, it is an interesting place to quietly stroll through and ponder the artist’s intent and process, especially when the work is of aspiring and still growing artists as this exhibit was today.