McIntosh Advanced Drama gets a “Clue”

Advanced Drama’s last production before the spring musical brings board game to life

Allie Hartman, Grace Lovejoy, CJ Boxhill, Cari Heinonen, Yasemin Kalpakci, Maddie Hines, Jozlynn Smith, and Betty Jane Plitt

Mar 21, 2025

Yasemin Kalpakci

McIntosh Advanced Drama rehearses for play “Clue” on March 19. Karina Nirenberg, Abby Greenstein, Katie Ford and Alexandria McCormick react to the “death” of Addy Blair, who plays Wadsworth.

Last night, March 20, McIntosh Advanced Drama had their opening night for the play “Clue” in the McIntosh Auditorium, which they’ve been preparing for since December 2024. Drama teacher Ken Buswell directed the production.

“It went very well, especially since that was the first time we have been able to run through the entire show at once since we rehearse in class,” Buswell said.

The play is based on the board game of the same name, the musical includes original characters like Professor Plum and Colonel Mustard.

“I play Mr. Green and the funny thing about his character is all throughout he is very anxious, tidy, homosexual guy. But at the end he gets revealed [rollover text to reveal a spoiler] that that he is actually a undercover cop,” junior Oliver Furlong said.

Furlong was asked how he avoids making the character a stereotype but honors Mr. Green’s iconic traits.

“I have to make mannerisms and voice to match the change in perspective in his character,” Furlong said.

Unlike other productions, microphones are not being used so actors have to project their voice.

“You [have] to be a lot louder on stage; that way what we call ‘the old deaf lady’ all the way in the back can hear you,” Furlong said.

Senior Lakiah Shah plays the role of Mrs. Peacock, and she’s enjoyed leaning into the humorous aspects of her character.

Senior Addy Blair, as the butler, Wadsworth, retelling the events of how the crimes may have taken place. Yasemin Kalpakci

“She is very Christian but she’s also humorous so she’ll say ‘My lips belong to the Lord,’ but then she’ll see a dead body and then she’ll take a swig and it’s really funny,” Shah said.

Mrs. Peacock is one of the lead characters but doesn’t have as many lines compared to the others, so Shah is doing what she can to present the physicality of the character.

“I feel like it’s more important to focus on her reactions [to other characters]. [It helps me] stay engaged and focus on what’s happening so I don’t zone out, and focusing on the emotion helps m e relate to the character and think about how she would react,” Shah said.

“Clue” has one last show tonight at 7 P.M. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Tickets will be sold at the door, but they can be purchased ahead of time at this site.

“[I was] very happy with [last night’s] performance. It will be even better tonight,” Buswell said.

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About the Contributors

Allie Hartman, Staff

Allie Hartman is a freshman at McIntosh and this is her first year on the Trail Staff. In middle school, Hartman has received a lot of academic achievements. She was on honor roll for 2 years straight and was part of Beta Club. Her favorite places to volunteer are The Midwest Food Bank and Clothes Less Traveled. Hartman was also part of the Booth Yearbook Staff. Hartman enjoys reading and writing. She has read 32 books this past year. In addition, she likes to bake and listen to music. Hartman’s favorite dessert to bake are snickerdoodles. Her favorite artists are Madison Beer, Faye Webster, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Laufey and Taylor Swift. Outside of school, Hartman likes playing tennis with her sister and hanging out with her friends. She is excited to get to know the staff and learn more about journalism.

Grace Lovejoy, Editor-in-Chief

Grace Lovejoy is serving as the Editor-In-Chief for 2024-2025 school year. Lovejoy has been on staff for three years now and served as the Features Editor last year. Lovejoy has won 3 Best of SNO pieces, including her first piece “Collision course: teens and golf cart accidents in Peachtree City” which was the first for the Trail. Lovejoy has been an Ambassador and a part of McIntosh BETA Club for 2 years. She was involved in the Student Press Law Center’s New Voices program in 2023 and won a Best of Sno award for her story “The five freedoms in the First,” recapping her experience. Lovejoy has been involved in theater for 2 years and has performed and worked backstage on numerous shows. This year she is serving as the Historian for the McIntosh Thespians Troupe. Lovejoy is eager to meet the new staff and have another successful year on the Trail.

CJ Boxhill, Multimedia

CJ Boxhill is a junior at McIntosh and is serving his first year on staff as a part of the Multimedia team. He plans to focus on helping people share their experiences and public speaking opportunities. Boxhill is a current member of the Spirit of McIntosh Marching Band, he serves a leadership role as percussion logistics in the band. He also serves as the Vice President of the Skills USA club. Boxhill has won two Rookie Of The Year awards and also two Student Choice awards. Boxhill made silver academic recognition these past two years. He is also a McIntosh ambassador. Boxhill has been working at Chick-Fil-A for the past six months and serves as a team member there. When Boxhill is not working or at school he enjoys playing video games or hanging out with his friends. He is very interested in politics and law. Boxhill is the last of his family to attend McIntosh High School, his sister Davian and Cousins Katrina and Chris have all attended McIntosh. One of his biggest goals in life is to be elected as a future President of the United States.

Cari Heinonen, Staff

Cari Heinonen is a freshman at McIntosh and this is her first year on the Trail Staff. She plans to focus on photography and writing. Heinonen holds membership in Beta club and the National Thespian Society. She is also a part of McIntosh’s color guard program and dances at the Peachtree City School of Dance. In Heinonen’s free time, she enjoys reading and listening to music.

Yasemin Kalpakci, Features Editor

Yasemin Kalpakci is a junior at McIntosh High School and currently serves as the Features Editor for the McIntosh Trail. She joined the Trail staff in early 2024 and was part of the team that won the SNO Distinguished Site Award, the first for the school. In addition to her journalism accomplishments, Kalpakci has also achieved success in other areas. She and her fellow staffers won a Superior award in GSPA, and her art has been published on the board of education. Kalpakci has been involved in the Beta Club since elementary school and is an active volunteer at animal shelters and various school activities. She was instrumental in creating her old school’s World Food Club, promoting cultural exchange through food. Outside of school, Kalpakci enjoys listening to Lana Del Rey, creating drama in The Sims, binge-watching Gilmore Girls, and spending hours on Pinterest. Like many high school students, she’s uncertain about her future plans but hopes to figure it out soon.

Maddie Hines, Social Media

Madison Hines is a Junior at McIntosh and is serving her second year on staff as part of the Multimedia team. In her freshman year, she was Vice President of her class. Hines is currently a McIntosh ambassador and has also done debate at the state level. Hines is interested in things like creative writing, film and law. In fact, from 2017-2019, she spent three weeks of each summer staying on campus at Emory University for this summer program called SIG (Summer Institute for the Gifted.) There she took classes like song writing, filming, working a camera, creative writing, things of that nature. At Emory, she was able to see what life would be like as a college student. She hopes to obtain some degree in law as well as journalism in the future. During her free time, she likes to play volleyball, bake, watch movies, and spend time with friends and family. Because she is new on staff, she hopes to learn new things and new life skills such as responsibility, punctuality and reliability.

Jozlynn Smith, Staff

Jozlynn Smith is a new student at McIntosh. She is a freshman and is also serving her first year on the Trail Staff. She wants to focus on getting the truth out for others to read and relate to. Smith wants her stories to give people the enlightenment of their peers, and give people the spotlight they deserve. Smith believes that everyone is a story, and has thought-provoking things about them. In 2023, Smith joined an international writing competition and came in the top 10 of all the people in her state. She wrote an outstanding essay, giving an insight of the book she was assigned. Placing in the top 10 in her state, Smith received an award that is hung up where everyone can see at her grandparents house. Smith also received a first place for an art piece she had put in her local art show. Smith is a creative writer and artist but most of all she is an expert on food. She loves Dr.Pepper and mozzarella sticks. She is a picky eater but is up to trying new restaurants and new food items.

Betty Jane Plitt, Staff

Betty Jane Plitt is currently a freshman at McIntosh and serving her first year on the Trail. Plitt often spends her free time reading, doing homework, listening to music or doing taekwondo, in which she has a black belt. Her current favorite book series is A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which she highly recommends. Additionally, Plitt’s current favorite artists include Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Laufey and the genre of folk music as a whole. Plitt also enjoys volunteering at places such as the Midwest Food Bank or Royal Animal Refuge. Although when she gets a chance away from her usual activities, Plitt is also part of colorguard in the McIntosh Marching Band. She specializes in flag currently but hopes to expand her skills to rifle and sabre. Plitt does not currently hold any achievements at McIntosh High School as she has not attended for very long but she was on honor roll for every grade at J.C. Booth Middle School. Plitt was also part of Beta Club and Thespian Society at J.C. Booth, eager to get involved wherever she can. Now as a member of the Trail, Plitt hopes to expand her knowledge on writing, on-site journaling and meeting deadlines.