In a sea of a cappella groups and musical theatre troupes, Salty Dogs stands out as one of the most unique student performance groups at Masters. The club was founded only two years ago and has since earned a very positive reputation on the Masters campus. Since the club’s founding, the members of Salty Dogs have attempted to accomplish more frequent and more advanced projects each year.

“Salty Dogs is so much different from anything else you can do on campus,” Ian Accetta, co-president of Salty Dogs said. The group meets every Wednesday during lunch to sing sea shanties, or songs of the sea, and perform on various occasions throughout the school year. They mostly sing popular shanties and learn the majority of the music by ear. Salty Dogs is primarily known, however, as a space where students of all grades can have fun and be themselves.

“I joined because I thought it would be funny,” Junior Theodore Horowitz, a founding member of the club and contributing writer of Salty Dogs in Space, said, thinking back to his first moments in Salty Dogs and acknowledging its progress. “In my freshman year, I ran from the outside of the dining hall to the library and printed out several copies of a blank sheet of paper with the words ‘Salty Dogs’ on it—but I had no idea what it would become,” he said.

Lately, the members of the Salty Dogs have been working together to culminate an especially unique experience for their first performance of the school year. “Salty dogs in Space is our most ambitious show yet, and the world’s first shanty musical,” Accetta said, introducing the idea. He said that the shanties are incorporated as musical numbers and that the additional dialogue was written by various members of the club. The process took several weeks, and they are extremely excited to showcase their hard work.

“It’s been a project that we’ve wanted to work on since our performance last year, and we just decided we should give it a shot this year,” said Noah Crooks, co-president of Salty Dogs, reflecting upon the initial decision to perform Salty Dogs in Space. He added that he hopes the club will continue to transform their ideas into realities.

Crooks emphasizes the importance of Salty Dogs in his own life, and as a presence at Masters. “If I ever had a really hard week and needed somewhere to relax with a bunch of friends, Salty Dogs was that place where I could be wild and crazy,” he said. Other members agree that Salty Dogs gives them an opportunity to meet people who enjoy the same things they do and really have fun. Salty Dogs is also looking ahead at future performances and projects to come. Accetta noted that the group hopes to produce films, albums, and other works similar to Salty Dogs in Space.

Salty Dogs in Space will commence on Thursday, December 14, in the Experimental Theater at 6:30 p.m. Come out and support the Salty Dogs and their hard work!