by Rafael Escobedo

On Saturday, May 27th, seniors from both St. John Bosco and St. Joseph’s High Schools celebrated and attended their final high school dance: Prom.

This year’s Prom took place at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach. The dance began at 7:00pm, where students were greeted with decorations and games upon arrival, such as pool tables and air hockey. In addition two photo booths were available for guests to use to create keepsakes for the high school memories they’ve forged.

Shortly after check-in, dinner was served around 7:30pm. The menu consisted of many different dishes and refreshments such as chicken alfredo, mac and cheese, Caesar salad, lemonade and more. 

“The food and beverages were really good. It wasn’t nothing too fancy; it was just plain and simple, which is what I liked about it,” said senior Joshua Lopez

Shortly after dinner, the dance floor began to fill up with students dancing and singing to all sorts of songs that were played throughout the night. And it seemed like the guests were pleased with the music choices, as everyone danced non-stop.

This is all thanks to the contribution of senior Anthony Martinez who is Events Moderator for the senior class and was responsible for choosing which genres of music were to be played and also helped announce this year’s Prom King Candidates.

“I really wanted to make Prom as memorable as possible, not only for me and my friends but for whole class of 2024, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of that,” Anthony said.

Toward the end of the night both Prom King and Prom Queen were revealed. The candidates for prom king were Gerritt Goodman, Andrew Perez, Michael Rodriguez, Onyedikachukwu Omoko and Nicodemus Bezuayeho. For Prom Queen, the nominees were Kylie Anderson, Maria Murillo, Corryn Thrash, Mollyann Donnelly and Amanda Rodriguez.

Prior to Prom, both senior classes voted on who they believe should be crowned Prom King and Queen, and it was revealed at the dance that Gerrit and Mollyann were elected as the 2024 Prom King and Queen. Shortly after, everyone circled around them as they shared a traditional slow dance. 

“Being Prom King is the biggest honor and being selected for something like that really makes you wonder about all the people you are representing with your titles,” Gerritt said. “I am living proof that the job is never over until you say it’s over and right now the job is over.”

Gerrit is involved in theater, ASB, Onori Society and a leader of the St. John Bosco Tribe. After high school, he plans to attend California Baptist University. Not only was Gerritt surprised to win, but Mollyann was shocked, too, while feeling excited and honored.

“To be honest, I was really surprised when I found out I was Prom Queen. It was so special to me because it was my first time winning anything big. I’ve run for ASB and [Homecoming] Court but never won, and [winning Prom Queen] was such an amazing experience,” said Mollyann.

Mollyann is involved in marching band, choir and President of the Anime Club. After high school, she plans to attend California State University, Long Beach and wants to major in Psychology. 

Both students, teachers and, especially, seniors are all counting the days until summer break and graduation. Seniors have one final class event left before Baccalaureate and Graduation, Disneyland’s Grad Nite, which takes place on May 17th.

by Andy Ortiz

The Theater Company of St. John Bosco High School concluded performances of their Spring play, the silly and fun Attack! Of The Killer Man From The Sun!

This crazy comedy show was chosen and directed by the Director of Theater Production, Mr. Martin Lang. Attack! Of The Killer Man From The Sun! is a satire based on typical 1950’s sci-fi B-movies, like “The Thing” or “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.” It’s an unserious and hilarious story that takes pride in overexplaining its chaotic story and characters, while making fun of traditional clichés in the genre of science fiction.

“[I chose this play] because it was a comedy. It’s silly. We all need to laugh, and because of the way the world is, we need some lightness,” said Mr. Lang.

The premise of Attack! is simple. It’s up to Lou Ion, played by Bosco senior Grant Hidalgo-Villanueva, his wife Anne Ion, played by St. Joseph’s sophomore Kaylee Freesmeier, their forgetful sister, some aliens, a few military privates and plenty of others to save the world from deadly solar flares. 

The marketing and promotion for this show might give people the idea that this was a “serious” and “dramatic” play with twists and turns. Well, one might not necessarily be wrong in those assumptions, but Attack! is better characterized as a fourth wall breaking hell of a time, a show that can’t even take itself seriously and doesn’t care to. Bosco’s rendition of this show especially makes use of its cast to include the audience and the community in the joke. 

“To perform comedy is difficult. If you try to act funny, you’re not,” said Mr. Lang. 

The actors did a spectacular job at performing the comedy the show demanded, making the audience laugh hard at their jokes. One actor that especially did a splendid job in their role was Bosco sophomore William Pearce. He played the role of The Announcer, a narrator that describes the scenes from the side. He is more than just a narrator, he’s an actual character that breaks the fourth wall and calls out the Master Electrician controlling the lights on what to do next. William nailed those sorts of meta, ironic jokes and had great interaction with the audience. 

Another great character audiences loved was Susan Smiths, played by St. Joseph’s junior Daniela Campos. Susan is meant to be the “forgetful” archetype, a sort of airheaded individual. Daniela aced this role, as she excellently portrayed an absent-minded character that fit the comical nature of the play.

One more great performer that had a shining moment near the end of the performance was Bosco senior Zion Perez-Tobar. He played as a tertiary scientist, whose main quirk was that he said absolutely nothing in the entirety of the time he was on stage, except when the characters are about to be annihilated by the Killer Man from the Sun. At that point, he makes this huge emotional speech, and it’s comic timing is perfect. Zion pulls off this kind of personality really well, and while he is well-suited for more loud and boisterous roles, he does an excellent job in a quieter one.

The stage design was relatively simple: painted on the walls was a really cool image of a flaming sun, made by Bosco art teacher Mr. Tommy Johnson and his Visual Arts students. Props were brought in and out between scenes.

But what brought the stage to life wasn’t the stationary objects on it, but the liveliness of the performers and their candid humor, making for a fun good time and a theater full of laughter.