In Brief

'Alien' Looks Glorious on Stage in This New Jersey High School Play

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By Elizabeth Howell
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A New Jersey high school production of "Alien" — the 1979 movie that launched a multi-film franchise — went viral over the weekend.

Pictures on Twitter show that the students at North Bergen High School went all out in the production, including spacesuits that looked convincingly real, a set with otherworldly terrain and structures, and, of course, an absolutely phenomenal "Alien" costume. The creative sets in large part were built from recycled materials, said senior Justin Pierson in an interview with NJ.com. "Just anything that was lying around, like cardboard and metal," he said.

Perfecto Cuervo, drama teacher at the school, said the students and art teacher Steven Defendini have been working on the production since September. Cuervo added that while people on social media have been asking for more shows, it's probably not in the budget.

"We fundraise for ourselves," he said to NJ.com. "The community doesn't have a lot of money. I don't think we can afford another production unless someone is willing to pick up the tab."

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace