On Friday the 13th, theatre kids rose like the full moon. 111 Forum was characteristically bright on the first Friday night of the semester, but this time, was not preparing for a No Refund Theatre show to begin. At 6 pm, about 15 people gathered in Forum waiting for a specific set of instructions that would begin the 2012 VAGANZA weekend.
Steve Travis, a 2010 meteorology grad, who organized this year's VAGANZA, explained, "This year, you have the opportunity to adapt a big-budget movie for the stage, on no budget at all! These are movies that no one would be crazy enough to try to adapt into a play. But the key is parody. Don't take a script word-for-word and shot-for-shot...please don't. That would be illegal. But you can mock it all you want,"
In the past, VAGANZA gathered teams on the first weekend of the Spring or Fall semester, and gave each team a word. Teams had 24 hours to write, produce and rehearse their own 30 minute plays, somehow utilizing the theme word.
When Steve participated in VAGANZA, the word was "field," which his group turned into "Play the Field," a Dating Game inspired show. Another year included the word "inflation." One team that year turned the word into a musical based on the Hindenburg. According to Steve, VAGANZA has been around for at least a year or two before he joined the club in 2009.
But, Steve noted that recently interest had waned in NRT's annual theatre challenge: "And then one day, I was joking around with my friends. We were talking about how weird it would be, taking movies that are just so ridiculous and saying, 'Okay, now we're going to put them on the stage.' And then we just put the two together and said, 'That would be a really good idea for the VAGANZA.' It was something I would really want to do, so I thought I could get a lot of people interested in it."
That proved true for the 2012 participants. VAGANZA allows newcomers to NRT a chance to get their feet wet with the club. Anyone can participate. This year, Max Simone, current president of NRT, made sure that everyone cannonballed into the theatre pool, and had some fun splashing around in it before Steve assigned the teams, and those teams battled it out for their movie choices.
First came the license to let go and let the creativity flow. Everyone formed a circle, revealed their favorite Pokémon, and passed an imaginary bunny back and forth. And with that, they immediately bonded with their new teammates.
Team Max Simone included junior in English and film, Max Simone; freshman in nuclear engineering Brian Gutierrez; senior in computer engineering, Josh Angstadt; and senior in wildlife and fisheries, Luke Abercrombie. VAGANZA's Friday served as their first introduction to each other. Although Josh said he did participate in the pit for NRT's production of Dr. Horrible, in which Max also participated.
"I wore flannel!" Max said.
Brain bantered, "And nothing says participation like flannel!"
It was clear I was witnessing the birth of a great theatre collaboration.
Team Vince Tran included sophomore in telecommunications, Vince Tran; 2007 grad in secondary education, Dustin Yenser; senior in secondary English education, Martin Byrne; and freshman in civil engineering, Rachel Taylor (on the night of the show, Matt Kaye filled in for Dustin.)
A pantomimed shoot-out settled the dispute of who would choose their movie first. Team Max Simone got the Jurassic Park movie they were gunning for, while Team Vince Tran decided to perform the complete works of Harry Potter...abridged! Martin thought the rule that prohibited teams from buying supplies for their shows provided the most excitement for the challenge.
"Being poor is a parody of being alive," he said.
On the night of the show, however, no expenses were spared. The VAGANZA cup, which Steve deemed "legit" for the $60 he spent on it, sat center stage.
"This is what they're really playing for," Steve reminded the audience.
Steve Travis, a 2010 meteorology grad, who organized this year's VAGANZA, explained, "This year, you have the opportunity to adapt a big-budget movie for the stage, on no budget at all! These are movies that no one would be crazy enough to try to adapt into a play. But the key is parody. Don't take a script word-for-word and shot-for-shot...please don't. That would be illegal. But you can mock it all you want,"
In the past, VAGANZA gathered teams on the first weekend of the Spring or Fall semester, and gave each team a word. Teams had 24 hours to write, produce and rehearse their own 30 minute plays, somehow utilizing the theme word.
When Steve participated in VAGANZA, the word was "field," which his group turned into "Play the Field," a Dating Game inspired show. Another year included the word "inflation." One team that year turned the word into a musical based on the Hindenburg. According to Steve, VAGANZA has been around for at least a year or two before he joined the club in 2009.
But, Steve noted that recently interest had waned in NRT's annual theatre challenge: "And then one day, I was joking around with my friends. We were talking about how weird it would be, taking movies that are just so ridiculous and saying, 'Okay, now we're going to put them on the stage.' And then we just put the two together and said, 'That would be a really good idea for the VAGANZA.' It was something I would really want to do, so I thought I could get a lot of people interested in it."
That proved true for the 2012 participants. VAGANZA allows newcomers to NRT a chance to get their feet wet with the club. Anyone can participate. This year, Max Simone, current president of NRT, made sure that everyone cannonballed into the theatre pool, and had some fun splashing around in it before Steve assigned the teams, and those teams battled it out for their movie choices.
First came the license to let go and let the creativity flow. Everyone formed a circle, revealed their favorite Pokémon, and passed an imaginary bunny back and forth. And with that, they immediately bonded with their new teammates.
Team Max Simone included junior in English and film, Max Simone; freshman in nuclear engineering Brian Gutierrez; senior in computer engineering, Josh Angstadt; and senior in wildlife and fisheries, Luke Abercrombie. VAGANZA's Friday served as their first introduction to each other. Although Josh said he did participate in the pit for NRT's production of Dr. Horrible, in which Max also participated.
"I wore flannel!" Max said.
Brain bantered, "And nothing says participation like flannel!"
It was clear I was witnessing the birth of a great theatre collaboration.
Team Vince Tran included sophomore in telecommunications, Vince Tran; 2007 grad in secondary education, Dustin Yenser; senior in secondary English education, Martin Byrne; and freshman in civil engineering, Rachel Taylor (on the night of the show, Matt Kaye filled in for Dustin.)
A pantomimed shoot-out settled the dispute of who would choose their movie first. Team Max Simone got the Jurassic Park movie they were gunning for, while Team Vince Tran decided to perform the complete works of Harry Potter...abridged! Martin thought the rule that prohibited teams from buying supplies for their shows provided the most excitement for the challenge.
"Being poor is a parody of being alive," he said.
On the night of the show, however, no expenses were spared. The VAGANZA cup, which Steve deemed "legit" for the $60 he spent on it, sat center stage.
"This is what they're really playing for," Steve reminded the audience.
Continue reading V for VAGANZA.
