Would you get up and shake all you’ve got in front of twelve hundred people? Members of the 56th annual Humorology, Inc. production are doing just that.
This year’s show, “Against All Odds,” will take the stage at Memorial Union Theater this weekend. Each of the skits incorporates the “Against All Odds” theme into song and dance numbers comprised of numerous popular songs with their words re-written to fit the theme.
The entire show was written and produced by Humorology, Inc., a student organization comprised mostly of students from UW-Madison’s Greek system.
The goal this year is to raise $50,000 to provide one scholarship for a child at Camp Heartland and one college scholarship for a child of a firefighter lost on Sept. 11. If they reach this goal, it will mark a 400 percent increase in fundraising over the last two years.
“This is one of the largest student-run philanthropies in the country, and it’s comprised almost totally of students from the UW Greek System, and we’re really proud of that,” said Kelly Ryan, an executive producer of the show. “We’re hoping it will help people realize all the great things the Greek system is doing for the community.”
Participating campus sororities and fraternities include Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Phi, Delta Gamma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Gamma Rho, Gamma Phi Beta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Chi Omega, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Chi Omega, Delta Upsilon, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and ACACIA.
The group that best exemplifies the three spheres of Humorology — awareness, altruism and action — will be bestowed with the Heart of Humo Award Saturday night. This award is highly coveted in the Greek system.
This year’s show benefits The Dean of Students Crisis Fund, the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, and Camp Heartland — a camp in Minnesota created by Neil Willenson, a UW alum, for kids affected with and affected by the AIDS virus — as well as other charities in the Madison area.
The whole process of producing the show began in September with the pairing of fraternities and sororities. Members of each group then put together a small sample of what they hoped would eventually be their part of the show.
The groups then auditioned this sample for the Humorology, Inc. executive board in December, bringing the original nine groups down to a select five. These five groups then practiced three times a week perfecting their singing and dancing skills.
“It’s a lot of work, but the ends justifies the means,” said Brandon Strickland, pledge class president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and a performer in the show.
Another essential part of the show is Lucrative Business Deal, a band who will provide the accompaniment for each of the skits. They also play versions of popular songs during the scene changes.
The show runs this Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Memorial Union Box Office and range from $15 to $20.
