Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
May 7, 2025
May 7, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

arts



COURTESY OF RUTHE HUANG
Ruthe Huang’s painting of Che Guevara was done in watercolor.

Visual Arts program supports students

As an English major, I’m often irked by people who assume I’m headed to med school to become a doctor as soon as they learn that I’m at Hopkins. Since making my final college decision during senior year, I’ve found myself in this situation all too often, and I’m sure my fellow students who make up the “arts” of Arts and Sciences would agree.


Throat Culture get laughs at new show Sketchcom

Throat Culture presented Sketchcom to a packed audience in Arellano Theater last Saturday night. The showcase was directed by junior Joshan Bajaj and sophomore Michael Feder and featured both the new and returning members of Hopkins’ only sketch comedy troupe. The 12 hilarious scenes entertained a full house of Hopkins students.



 COURTESY OF MIA CAPOBIANCO
Alongside other popular Baltimore acts, Deacon performed live at the Compound on Friday evening.

Dan Deacon headlines local Halloween party

I had to fight to get into the Compound’s Halloween Party. My group and I arrived shortly after it had sold out. They were prepared to close the gates on us, and we only managed to enter after pointing to a few people departing the event and convincing the bouncer that they were exiting permanently. And so we snuck in right as the chain link fences were closing behind us.



Q&A with Gary Larsen of alternative rock band Royal Teeth

Up and coming band Royal Teeth creates music that can delight anybody. The band consists of four members, Gary Larsen, Nora Patterson, Thomas Onebane and Josh Hefner, all from Louisiana. They are currently touring with alt-rock band Rooney in anticipation of their Nov. 18 release of their new EP, Amateurs, from Round Hill Records. The News-Letter’s Hayley Bronner was able to sit down for a phone interview with singer Gary before their Baltimore concert. Here is what he had to say about touring, New Orleans and their new EP.


 MARK C. AUSTIN/CC-By-Nc-2.0
Rapper Tory Lanez features on Meek Mill’s DC4 with a strong verse on a track titled “Litty Again.”

Meek Mill strikes back with Dreamchasers 4

Meek Mill is coming off a horrific year. He was stuck in jail for months over a parole violation. He started a legitimate fight with Drake over a ghostwriting allegation that he backed up with hard evidence and still lost. He’s beefing with both Game and Beanie Sigel who released some vicious diss tracks (update: Game and Meek have squashed the beef) and the release date of his project was postponed by a stipulation in his probation that prohibited the release of new music.





 Courtesy of The Barnstormers
Freshman Sebastian Durfee stars in the Barnstormers’ Rumors.

The Barnstormers reach new high with Rumors

The Barnstormers present Rumors, a farce by Neil Simon, this weekend in Mattin Center’s Swirnow Theater. Rumors centers on five hysterical couples whose lives intersect on one absurd night at a swanky New York residence. The News-Letter attended a dress rehearsal of the show on Tuesday night. The show was produced by junior Gillian Lelchuk and directed by guest-director Jeffrey M. Cordell.


OXPAL/cc-by-sa-3.0
Artist Lauren Wilmshurst inked this spooky haunted house as part of the annual Inktober challenge.

Inktober helps artists draw outside the box

In recent years, an art challenge known as Inktober has become a global phenomenon within the online art community. The premise is simple: On each day for the month of October, artists create one ink drawing and post it on social media.


New Black Mirror season explores relationships

Science-fiction/horror series Black Mirror made a splash with its debut five years ago, and recently its newest season premiered on Netflix as part of a new distribution deal. The third season excels in more ways than it falls short, but the real highlight of the season (and perhaps the 2015-2016 fall television season) is the fourth episode “San Junipero.”


 KENNYSUN/CC-BY-SA-3.0
Death Grips’ MC Ride is known for his visceral live performances.

Hip-hop Halloween: tricks, treats and 808s

It’s that time of year again. While college guys deliberate which skin tight costume most prominently shows their pecs, and rackety old men prepare their pile of toothbrushes for distribution, some of us look for albums and tracks to fill our Halloween playlists.


 COURTESY OF LEON SANTHAKUMAR
The Buttered Niblets competed against UMBC as part of the improv comedy show titled Quickdraw.

Buttered Niblets compete at Quickdraw show

The Buttered Niblets, the University’s only improvisational comedy group, recently performed as a part of Quickdraw, an improv competition with other local colleges sponsored by the Baltimore Improv Group. For the performance last Thursday night, the Buttered Niblets faced off against University of Maryland Baltimore County’s (UMBC) Dog-Collar Comedy Troupe. The two groups played to an enthusiastic crowd at the Baltimore Improv Group’s space at Single Carrot Theatre in Remington.


Let the Right One In revives horror genre

Let’s face it, vampire movies have become overrated. After the release of the Twilight Saga movie series the vampire genre has taken a turn from classic horror to cheap entertainment. Now, it is hard to take a vampire movie seriously unless it is meant to be laughed at (i.e. What We Do in the Shadows). Thankfully, we still have one vampire movie that can satisfy our thirst for something that’s chilling, creepy yet artistically profound: Let the Right One In.


 COURTESY OF KATHERINE LOGAN
The 7th annual Scary Stories Night showcased a Baltimore tradition.

Windup Space hosts annual night of scary stories

I walked into The Windup Space on Monday night to see a huge screen, several sparsely populated tables with Halloween-themed décor and little baskets of candy, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the 7th Annual Scary Stories Night. I felt like a foreigner among the crowd, who were talking and laughing amongst each other that  I got the sense that the majority of them had definitely been there before.


 COURTESY OF CATHERINE KEHOE
Catherine Kehoe tackles a number of themes in her work, which include techniques such as still life.

Painter Catherine Kehoe will speak at Hopkins

Next Thursday, Oct. 27, the Hopkins’ Center for Visual Arts will co-sponsor a talk by representational painter Catherine Kehoe about her work. The talk is free and open to all students, as well as the general public.



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