Hours were spent brainstorming and thinking, writing and editing, improving and perfecting ... and eventually the dreaded college admissions essays were complete. After sending them inside professional-looking envelopes affixed with printed address labels to universities all over the country, students were relieved, yet somewhat frustrated at the idea of all their hard work only serving one purpose -- to decide their college fates.
Today, Saturday and Sunday, at 8 p.m., the essays of first-year students will be released from their sealed envelopes and acted out center stage in Old Cabell Hall at this year's performances of Voices of the Class.
Voices of the Class is a drama performance that has taken place at the University for about five years. Several hundred essays of the incoming first-year class are provided by the Office of Admissions, with their authors' permission, to the Spectrum Theater.
"We pick ones that we think are very descriptive and beautifully written and sometimes describe extraordinary circumstances," Dean of Admission John Blackburn said.
According to Blackburn, the diversity of the students is displayed in the show, with some essays being "extremely sad" and others "breathtaking."
After receiving the essays, the large amount is narrowed to just over 50 essays that have more of a theatrical feel. In the next step, the cast and directors working together to create a script.
According to third-year College student Julia Shebalkin, director of the Spectrum Theater and producer of Voices of the Class, some essays are nearly word for word, while others that may be on a similar topic are combined into one scene.
"It's easier to recognize some essays than others," Shebalkin said.
Although the show does not announce who the authors of the essays are, many students realize during the performance that the skits being acted out on stage are products of the hours of time they spent laboring over college essays. Shebalkin herself recognized her essay while in her first year at the University.
"I wasn't sure, because it was about a math geek. When they had the scene I thought it sounded pretty close to mine, but it wasn't until I was talking to one of the directors who was a good friend of mine that he confirmed they had used my essay," she said.
Try-outs for the cast of the show take place in the spring and essays are mailed home during the summer so that preparations can begin. The cast also returns to school several days before classes for all-day workshops and continue with three to four hour rehearsals once school starts until the show.
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