Everybody has his or her own story. Imagine yourself back in your last year of high school, sifting through endless college applications, hoping and praying for acceptance into U.Va. So what if your SAT scores weren't up to par, or your brief stint with the National Honor Society didn't go so well, the college essay can be the redeeming element, the key to your glory days at the University. In college applications, your story can save you. And, as Spectrum Theater's "Voices of the Class" shows, some stories are more interesting than others. Using actual admissions essays from the Class of 2009, Spectrum will present a collection of comedic and sometimes poignant skits.
The creative process for this production started last April; the Office of Admissions sends the essays to the Spectrum Theater group shortly after acceptance letters go out. Before you get worried about protection of your privacy: An applicant must check a box that allows for his or her application to be given to Spectrum, and all names and Social Security numbers are blacked out before the group receives them. Seventy-five to 100 of the essays are then chosen by the director (this year it's fourth-year College student and Spectrum Producer Nate Patten) for consideration by the cast, who whittle down the 100 to about 25 that will be made into scenes.
In choosing which essays to perform, "I look for the ones that impress me," said third-year College student Keenan Carter, one of the Voices of the Class actors.
Second-year actor Josh Rachford was more interested in essays that had some element that got the creative juices flowing.
"Sometimes it was totally off-the-wall, not even related to the essay," he said.
If this is all hitting a little too close to home, don't worry -- the cast never performs an essay exactly as it was originally written. Multiple essays may be combined into the same skit if they represent a coherent theme or offer comedic contrast. The cast, in its elimination process, usually goes through improvisations that will later lead to a scene. For example, a scene that involves the '90s sitcom "Sister, Sister" came from an essay that talked about the author's sister -- even though there was no mention of the show.
However, sometimes an author knows his work, no matter how it may be described.
"A few years ago, we did a skit that was really obvious and [the author] came up afterwards and asked 'Was my essay really that bad?'" fourth-year College student Walt McGough said.
While Voices of the Class may not directly reproduce original essays, the characters will all seem vaguely familiar to us. The cast takes an idea and then develops it, often exaggerating a college stereotype. For example, among the many personalities portrayed are the first year who still asks his mom for permission to do anything, the computer guy who is a little too obsessed with his Dell laptop and the parents who pressure their children for perfection.
My personal favorite scene takes place during a Juilliard class discussion about the artistic value of country music. To truly understand the comedic genius, you'll have to see it for yourself; but as incentive I'll tell you it involves a philosophical discussion of the joke "What do you get when you play a country song backwards?"
Really, Voices of the Class is all in good fun. I'm still surprised they let me in to U.Va. when I recall my own horrible admissions essay. Luckily, everybody has his or her story, and most of them are a lot more entertaining than mine.
Sept. 8-10 in Old Cabell Hall 8 p.m. Tickets are $5, available on the Lawn and at the door.
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