Section:
B
The University Daily Kansan
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Rock Chalk Edition
THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2000
Rock Chalk Revue gives about $35,000 each year to the United Way. Check out the programs that this money helps finance at www.unitedwaydgco.org
Rock Chalk goes 'Out of Focus'
Tickets are still available for 2 shows
WWW.KANSAN.COM
By Jessie Meyer
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Things will be a little "Out of Focus" tonight at the Lied Center as 300 college students kick off the first of three Rock Chalk Revue programs.
The revue is a University-wide philanthropy project that makes a little song and dance go a long way in the Lawrence community.
Five sororities and five fraternities paired together last spring and have been preparing 20-minute skits that they will perform at each of the three programs. The nearly 60 cast members in each group are responsible for providing the skit, costumes and sets for their performance, said Marie Mossberger, Leawood senior and executive director of the show.
Lori Krug, Marina Del Rey, Calif., senior and the revue's executive producer, said the competition among the groups had made the show better each year.
"The push to be the best and look the best on stage makes the competition all the more intense," Krug said. "There is a rivalry to be the best, but there is camaraderie in that they work together to make one big show."
Together, the performers create an event of music, song and dance centered around this year's "Out of Focus" theme.
Krug said that there was much more to the night than most people thought.
"It's not just girls on stage dancing," Krug said. "The guys are right there doing everything that the girls are
"The push to be the best and look the best on stage makes the competition all the more intense."
Lori Krug
Rock Chalk Revue executive producer
doing, and that equality makes the night a lot more fun."
All proceeds from the show will go to the Douglas County United Way. Last year's revue raised about $37,000, and Mossberger said she hoped to raise more this year.
The sorority and fraternity pairs performing are Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon, Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi, Gamma Pi Beta and Delta Upsilon, Kappa Alpha Theta and Phi Delta Theta, and Phi Beta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta.
"We had 12 different pairs try out," Mossberger said. "But only the top five get to perform."
Although the revue is open to groups from all living organizations, greek groups were the only groups who tried out this year. Mossberger said.
The event will be held tonight, tomorrow and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. at the Lied Center. An awards ceremony will be held Saturday to honor groups with the best skit, best actor or actress, best interpretation of the theme and other categories, Krug said.
Tickets for tonight and tomorrow still are available at the Student Union Activities office in the Kansas Union, said Jennifer Crowley, Kansas City, Mo., senior and SUA box office assistant.
"We have about 50 or 60 tickets left for Thursday and Friday nights combined." Crowley said. "We have a pretty healthy amount left because they haven't been going too fast this week." Right here for Saturday's show, which
Tickets for Saturday's show, which has already sold out, were available only through participating greek organizations.
Carrie Rugles, Wichita sophomore, plays Cindy in "Lindley's Last Stand," the skit performed by Gamma Phi Beta and Delta Upsilon. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
'Out of Focus 2000 Rock Chalk Revue
Who: The sorority and fraternity pairs performing are Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon, Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi, Gamma Pi Beta and Delta Upsilon, Kappa Alpha Theta and Phi Delta Theta, and Phi Beta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta.
When: 8 p.m. tonight, tomorrow and Saturday
Where: Lied Center
- Tickets are available for tonight and tomorrow nights from the Student Union Activities box office in the Kansas Union. Tonight's tickets cost $10, and tomorrow's tickets cost $13. Saturday's show is sold out.
- winners will be announced after Saturday's performance.
- Proceeds from the show will be donated to the United Way.
Proceeds from the show will be donated to the United Way
Theme decision not taken lightly
Advisory board considers 500 ideas before choosing
By Lauren Brandenburg
Kansan correspondent
It is no snap decision. This year's theme, 'Out of Focus,' was chosen from among about 500 proposed ideas, said the revue's executive director Marie Mossberger. Leawood senior.
"It takes three to four hours to figure it out," he said. "We start
Before anyone can write a script, try out for the show, or begin time-consuming rehearsals, the Rock Chalk Revue advisory board must decide the show's theme.
Jamie Kaplan, executive assistant director and St. Paul, Minn., sophomore, said the theme needed to be something the directors could have fun with.
throwing ideas out, and people shoot some down and suggest some new ones."
He said the board picked 'Out of Focus' because it was versatile.
"Different people on the board looked for different things," he said. "I looked for something simple — not too long. About the last few years there have been three-word themes. I don't look for anything too complicated, and I look for something you can play with."
One of the themes that 'Out of Focus' competed with, 'Little Black Box,' would have forced all the performances to share at least one element.
"That would mean that any show would have to have a little black box on stage, and that wasn't very original." Mossberger said. "We wanted something that could be taken in any light."
"You can take the literal meaning of focus, you can make focus a place, or you can have focus be a substance or an object," said Kaplan. "Some of the groups get very creative with the theme and how it plays a role in their show."
The directors thought 'Out of Focus' allowed the skits to have more original interpretation.
Members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon production said that for them, getting "out of focus" was not a positive thing.
"The show is based on a duel between two bikers, and there is inevitably a bike race," said Katie Eagan, director for Kappa Kappa Gamma and Tulsa, Okla, junior. "The first guy to get out of focus is the first guy to crash and burn, so you don't want to get out of focus in our show."
The decision to interpret the theme this way came after many ideas and discussion, Eagan said. After coming up with the biker idea, the group decided how to interpret the theme in its show.
See Advisory on page 2B
Competition stiff for five positions in the 51st revue
By Kara Ryckman
Kansan correspondent
The tension and excitement in the air almost suffocates the participants. Behind the tightly drawn curtains, cowboys and pirates frantically run around, applying that extra coat of lipstick and murmuring their tongue-tied lines.
Five minutes to show time — and the packed house at the Lied Center is a steady hum of whispers and curiosity about the production that will unfold.
After six months of planning and practicing, the finish line is in sight. Lights! Camera! Action!
Since the first curtain rose 51 years ago, the Rock Chalk Revue has been a tradition at the University of Kansas. It has matured in both size and popularity, and the intent of the show has grown too — the revue is focused toward a community service event and a full-blown Broadway performance.
Fraternity and sorority chapters that wish to participate in the revue must win their partner for the following spring by serenading a house they want to team up with. Each group then chooses a directing staff of four to 10 people between the two chapters who create, design and choreograph the entry.
The name of the revue is announced by the Rock Chalk board of judges in early September. Each week, the judges require the houses to turn in a portion of the final product.
Courtney Cullor, Fort Scott senior, knows the experience well. She's in her second year as a Rock Chalk director for Kappa Alpha Theta.
"We would get together every night for 2 to 3 hours," she said.
"Time-wise, you have to be organized and set an agenda, because you never get a break from the weekly deadlines."
The deadlines are set to help the directing staffs keep up with the amount of material that must be submitted two months later — including a plot summary, character sketches, set design, technical cues, original musical score and a studio-recording.
"We had no clue how to do most of technical things, so we had to get a hold of people who did. It was a real learning process," Cullor said.
The judges are University graduates who have been out of school for at least 10 years. They are responsible for narrowing the 13 entrants down to five that will be in the show.
Once the final shows are completed, the directors are interviewed and perform a portion of their show for the judges. Weeks later, the five qualifying groups are announced.
Despite the magnitude of the task, Cullor said she wouldn't change any part of the reve.
"It's so much fun," she said. "You get to know a lot of people and the break from school is nice."
Running the show
Marie Mossberger, executive director, spent months monitoring skits, choreography and other aspects of the show.
Practice makes perfect
See page 3B
Rock Chalk Revue participants practiced their skits throughout the week in preparation for this weekend's shows.
See page 8B