Cydney Humphrey

More by Cydney Humphrey

Current Freshman Helps Make Spring Musical A Success

5/5/2013

Current freshman at Towson University, Taylor Rieland, is the supportive lead in the spring musical this year: Spring Awakening. Between the many shows, even more rehearsals, loads of schoolwork, and auditioning for other plays, and Taylor was kind enough to sit down and give an interview (and mini photoshoot)!

Her Campus: Congratulations on all the success that the show is having! Tell me about your character.

Taylor Rieland: Thank you! Hanschen Rilow is a very complex person. He’s very comfortable with himself physically and doesn’t put up with a lot of drama. He’s very cocky and manipulative and at times. There are things he wants so badly and can’t have because of outside forces like his religion and people wanting things for him. But I try to bring out a side of him that is loveable.

HC: How many freshmen total are in the musical?

TR: There are five of us total. The cast is very small but talented.

Spring Awakening: The Spring Musical

5/5/2013

 

Spring Awakening, the spring musical at Towson University this year, has been the talk amongst Tigers recently. Having heard nothing but great things about it, I decided to check it out for myself. As a freshman it was my first time to see a musical on campus, so I was so excited I was almost nervous.

I wasn’t surprised to see a lobby full of people. Towson is full of people who love and appreciate the arts just as much – if not more – than I do. People who were familiar with the musical, people who were forced to go for a class, family and friends of the cast, or people who wanted to support their fellow Tigers, like me.

Directed and choreographed brilliantly by MFA alumnus Joseph Ritsch, Spring Awakening was easily one of the best musicals I have ever seen. With relatable characters, breathtaking musical numbers, and an amazing set, how can you go wrong?

The musical is takes place in 1891 in a provincial German town where parents shelter their children from anything and everything secular. The problem is; they’re not children anymore. They’re teenagers who are ready to explore the world, doubting the things their parents tell them little by little as more things come into light. It’s very dark and certainly for mature audiences; touching on themes of abuse, homosexuality, sex, and suicide.

The 20/20 Experience

3/28/2013

 

I’ll be the first person to admit that the obsession I’d developed with Justin Timberlake in the early 2000s came back with a vengeance when I heard that he’d be coming back from his hiatus from music late last year.

The 20/20 Experience is everything I thought it would be and more. It’s like waking up on Christmas morning to the present at the top of your list – it’s one of the most musically rewarding albums I’ve heard in a long time. Even if you’re not a fan of his, I guarantee that you’ll find at least one song on the album that you won’t be able to get off your mind – and you won’t want to, either.

Timberlake, album art. 2013.

The FutureSex/LoveSound singer released a brand new 10-track album on March 19, following major TV appearances and commercials. Each track has it’s own unique style – just when you think, “Oh, I’ve heard something like this before,” JT twists it wonderfully to make it his own sound.

When I think of the album, I think of James Brown, Prince, and… Justin Timberlake. At 32 years of age, Timberlake has mastered the skill of taking elements from the best of the past and making them appeal to both young and older crowds.

How to Survive a Triple

11/10/2012

 

I’m not sure whose idea it was to put three people in a dorm, but I can assure you it’s not a good one. Having a random roommate is bad enough in college – why punish someone with two? Maybe I’m being dramatic. Maybe there is some kind of logic behind this decision, and I can’t see it. There is one thing that I can assure you: being in a triple helps prepare you for the harder things in life in a seemingly never-ending, frustratingly annoying way. At the end of this article, I will give you three simple rules steps that you need to survive a triple in college. But first, I will tell you my story.

At Towson, freshmen who live in triples live in Glen Towers, Prettyman, and Scarborough. When I received my roommate information in the beginning of August and found out that I would be staying in a triple, I almost didn’t want to come… it didn’t help when I found out that we’d be living in Prettyman, one of the oldest dorms on campus that also doesn’t have air conditioning. I knew that most triples got de-tripled, but I didn’t want to wait around for that to happen the entire semester, especially if I ended up not liking my roommates. Imagine my horror when I was told that triples in Prettyman don’t get de-tripled because Prettyman and Scarborough are built to house more than two people to a room.

When we got here at the end of August, everything was smooth sailing. I got along with both of my roommates, Prettyman was bearable if we had all of the windows open and all of the fans on, and I was so in love with Towson to find anything wrong with it. How it fell apart so quickly, I still can’t believe.

I Dare You Too... Say Your Opinion For An Entire Day

10/29/2012

During our first October Her Campus meeting, all of those in attendance were given a dare and then asked to write about it and share with all of you. My dare was something that came very easily and naturally to me because I already do it all the time.

The Dare: Say your opinion for an entire day and note how people respond to it.

For those who know me, they know that I’m very opinionated. I will say how I feel (respectfully, of course), even if it is offensive or you might not like what I have to say. Since I usually do that face-to-face, I decided to take to mass communication to get my voice across to a bigger audience, Twitter being my choice of medium.

Most people refrain from posting their opinion on Facebook and Twitter because there is always someone out there looking to shoot down your statement, or come at you with a counterargument that no one really wants to hear about anyway. Instead of doing it just for one day, I did it for the remainder of the week. It was quite enlightening actually – most people probably knew only I was being facetious, but quite a few people took it personally and asked me if I was tweeting about them. While that wasn’t my goal, that just goes to show how people appreciate hearing something real on their timeline, as opposed to the people who constantly tweet pictures of their food or the people who always tweet quotes and claim them as their own (Such a pet-peeve of mine!!). It also shows how people know that it’d be super embarrassing to be the object of someone’s annoyed tweet.

 

NOTES FROM A FRESHMAN: Welcome Week Edition

9/6/2012

First of all, I just want to make it known that I am super excited to finally be at Towson. It’s definitely a dream come true. I seriously can’t begin to sum up how much fun I had during Welcome Week. From laughing at Bertice Berry’s empowering, encouraging, and absolutely hilarious speech, to the CAB-hosted Hot Tub Limo concert, it was like a non-stop party.

Hot Tub Limo, Welcome Concert

My orientation leader, Isobel, was so helpful and incredibly nice throughout our time together – she also answered a ton of questions I had coming into Towson. She encouraged us to go to all of the orientation events and also helped make things less awkward between the people in my group. Even though some of the orientation events were absolutely gruesome – the walk to Towson Center is a walk I will probably never get used to – the ones I did attend helped me in a way I’m sure I’ll never forget. Although it’s difficult to get a bunch of teenage kids to come out of their shell and make some friends in a new environment, Isobel did a great job in getting us to interact with one-another.

My FYE, Dr. Potter, was a God-send. Not only did she answer any questions I had on my schedule, she helped me learn how to add/drop a class and even how to select my schedule for next year. She completely cleared up how to navigate through the freshmen catalogue, and taught me how to stick with my major’s requirements while I fulfill my core requirements simultaneously.