Soundscape | Spring 2026

To whoever's listening,
In the fall of my freshman year, I stumbled upon Three to Four Ounces from a flyer posted in the third-floor hallway of Tribble. Having been part of my high school’s literary magazine, I was drawn to the chance to join my college one. I quickly submitted a slam poetry piece I had written and performed a few months earlier at my high school’s open mic night. When it was accepted, those spoken words became my first step into a magazine that, though I didn’t know it yet, would become my most meaningful involvement in college.

Wakeville is a hub for student creative expression

On March 21, Wakeville transformed Scales Fine Arts Center into a student-run, multidisciplinary arts festival. Music filled the breezeway while students drifted between a gallery and karaoke. Down the hall, others painted, stitched and pieced together new creations. At Wakeville, standing still wasn’t really an option.
Now in its fourth year, the festival has grown into a large-scale celebration of the arts featuring the talents of more than 100 students that brings together music, visual art,...

Unpacking memory in “Old Times”

Directed by Cindy Gendrich, Harold Pinter’s three-person play “Old Times” ran in Scales Fine Arts Center’s Ring Theatre from Feb. 11-15. The third mainstage production of the season, “Old Times,” turned memory into both subject and weapon, asking audiences to consider how recollection shapes identity and how easily it can be bent.
The plot is deceptively simple: married couple Deeley (Bennett Haara and Conner Hunt) and Kate (Gabi Velinova and Lauren Veldhuizen) host Anna (Ashlyn Collings and B.G...

Why My LinkedIn Profile Feels Like Performance Art

Did anyone else have that “It’s winter break and I’m still yet to secure that summer internship” meltdown, or was that just me?I raced to every platform and hit “apply, apply, apply,” only to realize that, according to the internet, what people really wanted wasn’t just my resume or that god-awful cover letter. They wanted that blue-and-white website page to look sexy too. And mine absolutely did not. So I glossed her up, pressing all the buttons, maneuvering all the things, hoping confidence co...

“His & Hers” is a ride

***This review contains spoilers.
With six 50-minute episodes, Netflix’s new limited series “His & Hers” adapts its source novel into a slow-burning mystery released just in time for the new year. After watching, I’m happy to report that thrillers are so back.
In typical murder mystery fashion, viewers are thrust into a small, middle-of-nowhere town where a woman’s body was recently found in the woods. What sets “His & Hers” apart from other shows of a similar nature is how it continues from the...
Photo by mk_photoz on Pexels

Sundays

Every Sunday, I woke not by choice, but to the reverberations of Yoruba praise music rattling through my bedroom walls and to the firm knocks from my brother, who had been tasked with making sure I was fully up. The harsh awakening was only the first irritation of the morning, soon followed by the uncomfortable sheen of sweat on my skin after my mother had, without fail, added yet another blanket over me while I slept, despite my constant reminders that I ran hot at night.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

Stage Left, Lab Right

Sunlight poured through a wide back window, catching on muted posters and scattered announcements. High ceilings arched above, and deep red and muted green chairs dotted the open floor beside wooden cube tables. This was the quiet lobby of Wake Forest University’s Scales Fine Arts Center — a beautiful yet off-course setting for freshman Bradley Jiang, who had arrived planning to study chemistry in buildings far from Scales.

An Insider’s Perspective on the Making of ‘Failure: A Love Story’

From our first read through — coffee and highlighters in hand — to a fully built world of characters, the making of “Failure: A Love Story” in just one month was unforgettable. 
Written by Philip Dawkins and directed by Jon Herbert, the show opened on the Tedford Stage on Friday, Sept. 19, after a nonstop month of rehearsals.
Set in 1920s Chicago, the play follows the three Fail sisters — Nelly, Jenny June and Gerty (that’s me!) — who all fall for the same man, Mortimer. 
As quickly as love bloo...

What “The Tempest” Taught Me About Doing Something I Didn’t Want to Do

I didn’t want the role I got.There’s no cute or noble way to say that. When the cast list for The Tempest came out, my name was there—but next to a character I hadn’t even considered. I smiled politely, nodded, and squeezed out a “thank you” when people congratulated me, but inside, I was sinking. Not in a Shakespearean, storm-at-sea kind of way; more in a quiet, disappointed, I’ve-failed-again kind of way.I blamed myself for not nailing the audition and sank into a low-grade funk. And then came...

The Wild Forest Meets Wake Forest: My Wake Recommendations to the "Yellowjackets" Gals

Beware! Yellowjackets Season 1 and 2 spoilers ahead! But I did zip it on Season 3…Yellowjackets is back and better than ever. The ultimate show of female resilience and complexity has dominated screens everywhere as new episodes drop every Friday. As the show delves deeper into the fierce and complicated lives of its characters, it’s hard not to wonder how the Yellowjackets girls would fare in the world of Wake Forest. From the chaotic energy of the wilderness to the vibrant campus life at Wake,...

Study Abroad FOMO? Here’s Why I Chose to Stay—and Why That’s Okay

Study abroad programs are often advertised as the pinnacle of the college experience—a magical escape to a new country filled with adventure, cultural immersion, and perfect Instagram pictures. Who’d want to pass up the opportunity to live out their main character moment, sipping coffee in a Parisian café, strolling through ancient ruins, and bonding with new friends over late-night conversations? It’s no surprise that, for many, studying abroad feels like a rite of passage. But what happens whe...