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Keira Marckel

Keira Marckel, Photography Editor

Keira Marckel is a junior, and this is her second year writing and taking photos for The Cardinal Chronicle. Aside from photography and writing, her hobbies include reading (specifically historical fiction,) art of many kinds, baking and exploring nature. Her favorite days are rainy, spent in her bedroom with her cats, a warm mug of tea and a book in hand.

All content by Keira Marckel
A Guide to Relaxing in Warm Weather: Books, Movies, Drinks and Songs

A Guide to Relaxing in Warm Weather: Books, Movies, Drinks and Songs

Rajeshwari Rawal and Keira Marckel
May 29, 2023
Day of Silence pin indicating a speaking supporter. SAGE handed out pins to students and staff at MHS the morning of May 12.

[PHOTO] Lessons Learned: The Day of Silence 2023

May 29, 2023
The Mysterious Man, played by MHS senior Jack Asmus, is the long-lost father of The Baker. Meant to look like he had been living among the trees for decades, his costume was a long black cloak, skillfully decorated with black netting, flannel patches and fake greenery. Additionally, the costume crew attached little metal bits and pieces to the cloak that would jingle whenever he walked. His costume was effective in making him blend in with the woods until the time came for him to interject into the scenes he was a part of, hence the name “The Mysterious Man.”

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Jack’s Mom, played by MHS junior Reese Johanningmeier, had two costumes in this show. During the first act, when she and her son were poor, she wore a tattered shawl over a patched apron. The patches, intended to match the ones on her son’s pants, were hand-sewn by the costumes crew. While making this costume, it was important to consider the effect the patches would have from a distance; audiences would be viewing it from afar, so any added details had to be clearly visible. After her son, Jack, went up the beanstalk and stole gold from a couple of giants, she indulged in a new, more dressy wardrobe. She wore the second ensemble through the second act of the show.

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Jack, a daring young boy, was played by MHS sophomore Owen Sehgal. He is responsible for climbing the overgrown beanstalk and angering the giants in the sky by stealing their gold. He only wants to help his mother, who complains of having no money but inadvertently gets himself and the rest of the kingdom into trouble. His costume, fit for his risky stunts in the sky, consists of a caramel-colored button-up, brown vest and blue knee-length pants. He carries a satchel to bring stolen goods from the giant’s territory back to his mother.

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MHS senior Vera Akimova played Cinderella’s Stepmother. Worn with white lace gloves, this lovely purple gown gave her the same elegant look as her daughters, only slightly more mature. The dress originally had a very long train that was becoming a hazard onstage, so it had to be pinned up before each show. Cinderella’s Stepmother joined her daughters in their boldness and sophistication at the ball.

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The Stepsisters Getting-ready Looks. Each stepsister had a corset, a pair of bloomers and a cage hoop skirt. They wore these at the start of the show as they got ready for the king’s ball. The hoop skirts created so much movement onstage and enhanced the elegance of the stepsisters’ looks. The maroon-and-white lace was handsewn onto the neckline of the corsets to give them more texture.

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The stepsisters, Florinda and Lucinda, were played by MHS seniors Annabelle Latino and Grace Freiberg. Full of sass and stylish flair, they made a hilarious duo. It was only fitting that they wore bright and bouncy pink and teal dresses with mismatched feather boas and shiny pearls. Every time they took the stage, they made quite a spectacle.

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The Wolf, who was played by MHS senior Mason Bauer, can be described as a misleading, cruel and frightening character. His costume was a sleek gray suit over a dark gray striped button-up, complete with a purple bowtie and a tophat. The ears on the tophat were handmade by the costume crew and glued onto the hat. A panel of furry fabric was sewn onto the back of the suit jacket to emphasize the wolfy look.

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Rapunzel, a maiden locked away in a tower by The Witch, was played by MHS sophomore Sylvie Schmitz. Her lustrous silver dress with blue puff sleeves and a blue sash matches her prince’s jacket perfectly. When the dress was originally pulled from the costume closet, it was sleeveless with no sash. Since the goal was to have Rapunzel complement her prince, the blue sleeves and sash had to be hand-sewn onto the dress.

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Cinderella’s Prince (right) was played by senior Alex Arinkin. Rapunzel’s Prince (left) was played by sophomore Linus Ballard. Their costumes, matching in their intricacy and shine, illustrate their royalty. Each of them matches their respective princess. Cinderella and her prince are red and gold, while Rapunzel and her prince are blue and silver. Both princes jackets were ordered online and worn with ruffled white shirts, black dress pants and fancy shoes.

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Cinderellas Queen Gown. After Cinderella takes The Baker’s Wife’s advice, she and the prince get married. She wears a deep red and gold gown to her wedding, accessorized with a gold and red beaded crown. This dress glowed onstage, drawing the audience’s attention to the kingdom’s new queen. The red and gold color scheme paired perfectly with that of her prince. Also pulled from the costume closet, this dress was too glamorous not to use in the production.

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Cinderellas Ball Gown. Cinderella wore this dusty-gold tulle gown with silk evening gloves to the ball, where she met the prince. He fell in love with her and wanted her to marry him, but she felt hesitant. Fleeing the ball, she encountered The Baker’s Wife, who talked her into pursuing the prince. Since nothing in the costume closet seemed right for Cinderella’s ball gown, this one was ordered online. The costumes crew had to trim and hem it at the base because it was difficult to walk in when it first arrived.

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Cinderellas Peasant Dress. Cinderella was played by MHS senior Sophia Jorgensen. At the start of the show, Cinderella is living with her stepmother and stepsisters, who put her to work as their servant. She wants nothing more than to attend the king’s festival, but she is forbidden to do so by her stepmother. After her stepfamily leaves for the ball, Cinderella hurries to visit her mother’s grave. MHS senior Maddie Sorenson played Cinderella’s mother. When she hears that Cinderella wants to go to the festival but isn’t prepared, she presents her with a gorgeous gold dress. Complete with a tattered shawl, this “peasant dress” was selected from the existing costume collection.

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MHS senior Isa Garay played the role of The Baker’s Wife. Her costume matched The Baker’s in terms of color scheme, which tied the two together visually. Throughout the story, she is determined to stay by her husband’s side, doing anything she can to reverse their curse. Her dark green dress shirt and beige skirt came from the costume closet and her floral apron and forest-green boots were ordered online. The wooden spoon was secured inside her pocket with a couple of stitches.

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The Baker, played by MHS senior Matthew Jordan, owns a bakery alongside his wife. The story follows the pair as they attempt to reverse a curse that was imposed upon them by The Witch, making them unable to have children. He is protective of his wife and would do anything in his power to give her the child she wants. At the start of the show, as The Baker is toiling away at the bakery, he wears the costume on the left: a pale green dress shirt underneath a coffee-brown vest, with patched brown knee-length pants. Then, on his way out of the bakery door and into the woods, he puts on his father’s hunting jacket, a cross-body bag and a cap.

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Little Red Riding Hood, played by MHS freshman Ava Greenberg, is a young girl on a journey to visit her grandmother in the woods. Her trip becomes dangerous when she is confronted by an ill-intentioned wolf who wants to turn both her and her grandmother (played by MHS senior Sophie Pieters) into his next meal. From her encounter with the wolf, she learns an important lesson about not straying from the path and being careful around strangers. Her costume, a floral dress with a poofy crinoline underneath, would be incomplete without her signature red hood. The dress and crinoline came from the existing stock of costume pieces, while the red cape was ordered online. After it arrived, it was hemmed to fit the length of the dress and embellished with white lace.

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The Witch, played by MHS senior Lalou Ratsmihah, begins as an incredibly powerful yet haggard old woman, dressed in a tattered, long black cape. But as the story progresses, The Witch sacrifices her magic powers for beauty. In a mysterious turn of events, The Witch had to be transformed very quickly into a seemingly young, gorgeous, flashy character. Such a sharp transition meant an on-stage quick-change needed to be planned and carried out by the show’s costume crew. The solution was to make the original long black cape easily removable while keeping this sparkly black dress hidden underneath it. After the quick change, The Witch wore the sequined black dress as-is for the rest of the first act. During the second act, The Witch wore the purple cape on the left with purple feathered gloves to maintain her witchy look.

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Designing Costumes for Into the Woods

Designing Costumes for “Into the Woods”

Keira Marckel
April 30, 2023
Social media activism may be gaining popularity, but not all that glitters is gold. In a world where support for social issues is losing sincerity, users should be cautious about how they are participating in social media activism.

[PHOTO] Is Social Media Activism’s End?

April 13, 2023
During the pandemic, many people felt more nostalgic than ever. But a psychological effect may be making our memories fonder than they actually were.

[PHOTO] The Hidden Effect of Psychology in Retrospect

March 24, 2023
It feels like Middleton High School can’t stay out of news headlines. Are we an outlier, or are other Wisconsin public high schools experiencing the same attention?

[PHOTO] Outlier or Trend? An Examination of MHS in the News

February 26, 2023
ChatGPT can be accessed by opening a browser to chat.openai.com on a device, then creating or logging into an account.

[PHOTO] ChatGPT: A Tool of Deception

February 26, 2023
The new tardy policy helps students to develop successful habits for their future.

[PHOTO] Middleton’s Tardy Policy: The Second Phase

January 29, 2023
Cozy Winter Scene

Cozy Winter Scene

Keira Marckel
January 27, 2023
On Feb. 2-4, MHS Theatre will present Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing in the Blackbox Theater. The cast and crew have been preparing for the show since late November.

[PHOTO] What Goes on Behind the Scenes of MHS Theatre?

December 18, 2022
The cast and crew of The Perfect Ending after their performance at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Theatre Festival. From left to right: Tori Felten (9), Katie Decabooter (9), Sophia Ortiz-Luyova (10), Blu Ginko (10), Helena Harris (9), Ava Leonhardt (9), Chunshower Yang (12), Shay Roy-Lewis (9), Sylvie Schmitz (10), Tina Pham (11), Keira Marckel (11), Star Tangwall (10), Jayda Mand (10), Reese Johanningmeier (11), Ella Baldock (9), Julia Burkholder (10), Juliette Mandelbrodt (11), Rebekah Stine (10), Kate Vatthauer (12), Isa Garay (12), Aydin Rosas (10), Umber Gill (10), Matthew Jordan (12), Eli Tedesco (12), Ahna Higgins (12), Natalie Feagan (11), Rose Hulsey (10), and Audrey Vandervest (9). Not pictured: Kennedy Wagner (12), Finnigan Dialogos (9), Leela Benson (9), Lizzy Robinson (9), and Ashanty Sanabria Adame (11).

MHS Theatre Performs One-Act Play at WITF

Keira Marckel
November 21, 2022
A Guide to Cozying Up in Cold Weather: Books, Movies, Drinks and Songs

A Guide to Cozying Up in Cold Weather: Books, Movies, Drinks and Songs

Rajeshwari Rawal and Keira Marckel
November 20, 2022
The South Entrance of Middleton High School is open for its inaugural school year.

Tour the New Middleton High School

Keira Marckel, Rajeshwari Rawal, and Lauren Lamson
September 30, 2022
PXL_20220220_233751352_2 - Keira Marckel

Mini

May 22, 2022
Members of the cast pose together on the spectacular Newsies set during dress rehearsals. They are in the spotlight and ready to give this show everything theyve got! From left to right: Kai DeRubis (12), Sarah Reichard (10), Vivian Szot (12), Sylvie Schmitz (9), Maddie Sorenson (11), Linus Ballard (9), Owen Sehgal (9), Elora Doxtater (12), Kennedy Wagner (11), Annabelle Latino (11), Alex Arinkin (11), Matthew Jordan (11), Benny Greenberg (4), Tanner Choate (12), Miriam Smith (9), Annie Leffel (12), and Vera Akimova (11).

Middleton High School Theatre Presents “Newsies”

Keira Marckel
April 27, 2022
There is no better way to end a busy day than by doing some laid-back thrift shopping. Almost anywhere one looks in Brooklyn, there will be a picturesque thrift or consignment store such as this one, Life Boutique Thrift. This store had two floors, each packed full of unique clothing, furniture, and jewelry. A new ring or fancy hat would make for an excellent New York souvenir!

A Day In Brooklyn

Keira Marckel
April 24, 2022
The pie case at the Hubbard Avenue Diner. If you need a pie for this Pi Day, head on over to Hubbard Avenue in Middleton, Wisconsin. It is known for its amazing pies!

A Brief History of Pi Day and How To Celebrate This Year

Keira Marckel
March 13, 2022
A bright red alarm clock sits beside an intricate stained-glass lamp. Many people use an alarm clock like this one to wake themselves up in the morning.

Does School Start Too Early?

Keira Marckel
February 28, 2022
Adorable gnome dolls epitomize the holiday spirit with their green and red clothes, snow-white beards, and button noses. Their tall hats are decorated with embroidered patterns, felt hearts, stripes, and feathers.

Photo Story: Downtown Chicago Christkindlmarket 2021

Keira Marckel
December 20, 2021

“Collapsed in Sunbeams”

Keira Marckel
November 22, 2021
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Middleton High School ｜ 2100 Bristol Street, Middleton, Wisconsin
Keira Marckel