STUNT
It's February 1st which means my sisters at Wesleyan are gearing up for STUNT. STUNT Reading is probably this weekend. I wish I could make it back home to see the show this year, it's always a magnificent event. I lived and breathed STUNT this time of year from 2001 - 2004. This is my STUNT story.
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I often joke that I didn't go to college for an education, I went for the extracurricular activities. This is partially true. What I wanted from college was an experience. This is precisely why I chose a small, residential, liberal arts, women's college. I wanted to be a person there, not just a name in a roll book somewhere. In fact, I'm convinced that had I gone to a large university, i would have dropped out after my first semester. Instead, I finished right on time in eight semesters without ever having to take a summer class. I also lived on campus all four years. Two years in dormitories and two years in on-campus apartments. I was heavily involved in all sorts of activities from being a CRA (Computer Resident Assistant - this basically meant i was live in tech support in the dorms... mostly I just unjammed the community printer) to serving as a Wesleyan Student Ambassador to being the Chair of STUNT. Also, as anyone who knows me may have guessed, I was heavily involved in the theatre department. I rarely missed a show which meant on top of everything else I was generally in two shows a semester. I was a busy girl.
STUNT is a Wesleyan tradition dating back 112 years now (well the next STUNT will be number 112). STUNT is not an acronym for anything so why they decided all 5 letters should be capitalized I'm not sure, but I'm not one to mess with such a tradition. STUNT is a competition, between the 4 classes. The winner receives, apart from eternal glory, the STUNT Cup... perhaps Wesleyan's most coveted prize. The only other award that comes close to the prestige of the STUNT Cup is the Soccer Cup, which my class won 3 out of 4 years. We never won STUNT, this is still a sore subject for the Green Knights of 2004.
I must now do one of my characteristic steps back and explain our class system briefly before I return to STUNT. I am a Green Knight. There are also Purple Knights, Golden Hearts and Pirates. Pirates are red, but for some reason their color is not said along with their mascot like the rest of the classes. I think this is a bit odd... but again, who am I to question such a tradition. The sorority system was founded at Wesleyan in 1851 with Alpha Delta Pi and 1852 with Phi Mu. However, shortly after the turn of the last century, Wesleyan banned sororities on campus due to the debilitating effects on the student body. They instead adopted this all inclusive class system. I am a Green Knight because I entered in the fall of 2000. Every student belongs to a class just by signing up, there is no "rushing" or "pledging". You're already included and you can just choose to participate or not. I chose to participate as fully as possible. I loved it, ate it up! I was a Green Knight all four years and after my classes graduation, the next class to enter were also Green Knights.
STUNT charges each class with a task; elect a committee that will write an original 15 - 30 minute musical. The committee will spend from September to January working on the script, rewriting lyrics to existing songs and designing a backdrop, all in secret. No one but the committee and the STUNT Chair and Co-Chair can know what the scripts are about. In late January or early February the committees each meet with their class and present their STUNT. The class members then audition for roles and the madness begins. From that night there are 3 weeks until STUNT Night. The first week is spent painting the 25' x 40' backdrop (no rehearsals allowed!). The 2nd week is spent painting AND rehearsing and the 3rd week is spent rehearsing. Each class is allowed 2 hours of rehearsal a night. It's quite an experience.
I served on STUNT committee for my class for my first two years. Our first STUNT was quite remarkable, especially for a first year class. We did not win, but came in a close 2nd. Our story was about a girl named Ginger who longed to be a Broadway Star (anyone see my influence on the story yet?). She moves to NYC only to completely bomb her first audition and leave crying. On her way home she falls and hits her head... there is a dream sequence. In this dream she meets 7delightful characters, each teach her a valuable lesson through song and dance that Ginger later uses to accomplish her goal of being a Broadway Star.
Our Sophomore year STUNT was just plain nuts. It involved Prairie Dogs, Bette Midler, French con men and hydroponic cashmere. That's all I have to say about that.
It is the responsibility of the STUNT Co-Chair to become the Chair the following year. It is also the responsibility of the Co-Chair to pick the person who will take her place when she assume the duties of the Chair. I was chosen to be the Co-Chair which meant my senior year was to be spent as STUNT Chair. This picture of me is from that night. That was my "DAMN" dress... meant to solicit a "DAMN" when I walked on stage to give my opening remarks. I think it worked.
As the Chair I basically had to run the whole show (oh and forgot to mention my Co-Chair quit on me and I did most of it alone until the replacement Co-Chair could begin her duties). One of my favorite parts was getting to work with the committees as they developed their scripts. It was the prefect combination of theatre, organization and leadership that really allowed my ENTJ sensibilities to flourish. I loved it and ran a very successful 108th STUNT.
The Green Knights, of course, never did win. But we always put on one hell of a show.