Happy Thanksgiving from FYP

Snow has fallen. The inevitability of a miserable winter hits you in the form of a 30 mph gust, forcing you to walk backwards up a hill. We haven't hit December, but you're sliding across slushy sidewalks caked with salt and mud. This is Syracuse, NY, and winter hates you.

Cheer up. Syracuse students get a temporary reprieve from the horrors of Mother Nature as they're heading out of town (or down the street) for Thanksgiving break. Carved chunks of turkey, mounds of mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie await. Sit back, take some time off from academia, and watch a few games of football with your racist uncle.

As students prepare to leave campus for a week, First Year Players hasn't taken any time off. We're continuing our first semester push with great events, workshops and meetings. Potential cast members had a chance to polish their acting, singing, and dancing skills with FYP staff at our final workshops in the past few weeks. Students took advantage as January auditions for Rent quickly approach. We also held interest meetings for Rent's stage crew, one of the most integral parts of the production process.

Our Find Your Place cabaret on Nov. 7 was a success. Student acts rocked the stage and helped raise money for Friends of Dorothy, an organization that provides in-home care for AIDS patients. A Friends of Dorothy representative visited an FYP staff meeting to discuss the organization and the importance of its work. FYP is proud to be aiding the organization in conjunction with our production of Rent.

After break, the semester will continue to wind down, which means auditions are coming ever closer. We couldn't be more excited.

For now, go forget about school and eat until your stomachs burst. Take advantage of home cooking. I know a few Americans in Britain who would love nothing more than an enormous heap of home cooked mashed potatoes.