By Kristen Fu and Colin Jun 
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Last week, on March 15th (Thursday) and March 16th (Friday), our wonderful SAS Pudong actors and directors performed the play Edward Scissorhands. This play is the SAS adaption of the dark fantasy movie Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton. Similar to original movie, the SAS play emphasizes the character development of main character, Edward, who uniquely has scissor blades on his hands. Through Edward’s interaction with Boggs family and their neighbors, the SAS play conveys a clear message to our society: we have to acknowledge individual’s unique differences. Difference cannot be the reason for discrimination.

The SAS play adaptation generally followed the plot of the original movie by Tim Burton. However, the SAS play was not only about storytelling - it was also the assemblies which demonstrated the creativity of SASPD students. Different from the movie, the SAS play conveyed important messages and revealed the plot through the brilliant use of colors, unique stage properties and sound.

Although confined to the limited space of the Black Box Theater, the play cleverly utilized the compact and intimate setting to elevate the audience’s viewing experience . The audience were seated all around the center of the room, which acted as the main stage, as well as in the balcony of the theater. Similarly, the actors would often indirectly interact with the audience, allowing for a more engaging experience. A projector screen was often utilized in the play, often adding to the drama of certain scenes as well as the overall uniqueness of this particular adaptation.

The play also stresses the use of colors and props to create a cohesive and compelling production. By keeping the protagonist, Edward Scissorhands, in all-black and the rest of the suburban families in pastel colors, the difference between him and the rest of the town is emphasized. Similarly, by changing the color of the main lights, the drama of the scene increases as the audience reacts to the changes on stage. The use of props throughout the play, including the scissors on Edward’s hands and the well-crafted hedges that he cuts, elevates the visual nature of the play.

​Overall, the SAS Pudong’s adaptation of the classic movie, Edward Scissorhands, was a viewing experience that was very different from most school productions. By cleverly using a more intimate environment through the artful use of sound, colors, and props, the adaptation stayed true to the original movie while offering their own unique twist.

By Ryan Strong
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Over the weekend of March 9th, ten members of the Quizbowl team left to participate in a competition in Singapore. Ultimately, around twelve teams competed to win in this Asia wide completion at Singapore American School.

On the morning of March 9th, at around eight o’clock, the team, supervised by Ms. K and Mr. Drury and led by Sean Yuan, flew to Singapore. The flight was a pleasant five hours, and after landing, the team got into the country without incident. After arriving at the hotel after grabbing a bite to eat, the group decided to leave to go to the famous Gardens by the Bay, with a group of tree-esque structures. After wandering through Singapore for an hour or so, the team eventually arrived, and after a little bit, returned to the hotel to study.

The following morning at around eight the group left the hotel to go to the school. There, the two teams from SAS competed in nine different rounds. The A Team, made up of Sean Yuan, Andrew Chang, Josh Li, William, and Ryan Strong, ultimately 6-3, losing to Singapore A, B and Guangzhou A. The B Team, including Fabio Schneider, Ben Shin, Sean, Ian, and Alex Wu, went 6-3 as well, loosing to Singapore A twice and Dulwich once. Ultimately, both teams tied for fourth place, behind (from 3rd to 1st place) Guangzhou A, Singapore B, and Singapore A. On top of this, Fabio Schneider was the third highest scoring person at the tournament on a per game basis. Several others had excellent games, including Ben Shin, who scored 110 points in a single game, with seven questions given five bonus each for speed. Thus, he won a medal. Several other players did an excellent job in terms of scores, with Sean Yuan and Ben Shin also being in the top ten scorers in the tournament.

Perhaps another person that is worthy of mention is the top scorer overall in the tournament. Her name was Elizabeth Enright, and she was the sister of the captain of Singapore A Team. She was on a team all by herself, and ultimately scored over 100 points per game. In fact, she defeated several teams all by herself, even though she was a freshman. Thus, in the future, the SAS quiz bowl team will have to work hard in order to match her talent and dedication.

Later than night, the team, exhausted and with a mixture of feeling tilted and being pleased, returned to the airport and took a flight to Shanghai at one in the morning. The flight was considerably less pleasant than the original, as everyone was exhausted. In fact, the author fell asleep right as the flight was taking off and essentially slept the entire flight.

​Quiz bowl members generally had positive feelings on the match. “We’re quite surprised by how well the B team performed, given the disappointing results of our past performance in Puxi,” commented Fabio Schneider. Hopefully, progress for both the A and B team will continue into next year, and more people will be recruited next year for the team, as several members will be leaving next year.