The Tufts Undergraduate Orientation Shows, which exhibit some of the many talented student groups on campus, will include even more talent this year. Beginning today, five shows held at separate venues will each display the expertise of a broad range of performance groups on campus.
On the first night of orientation, incoming freshmen will be treated to an assortment of vocal, comedy and dance performances on the President's Lawn. A second show on Saturday will focus purely on comedy, and on Sunday, new students will have the opportunity to view two productions put on by some of the acting troupes on campus. Finally, on Monday night, an a capella concert will highlight one of Tufts oldest and proudest traditions.
The performers for today's opening show will represent the vast array of performance art at Tufts. One of the featured groups is Spirit of Color (SoC), a dance collective that incorporates multiple genres in their productions, including hip-hop, jazz, contemporary dance and even step. But not all groups are as broad: Tufts Bhangra, another student dance team, brings a very specific cultural dance from the Punjab region of India to the stage.
Saturday's Comedy O-Show may come as a welcome relief after a week filled with ice breakers and ice cream socials. Tufts groups will perform in standup, sketch and improvisational comedy.
This performance will provide a more involved and personal setting than any of the other orientation shows. Sophomore Michele Herzog, a member of the improv comedy troupe, Cheap Sox, said this unique atmosphere benefits both the freshmen and the student performers.
"Everyone is right in your face," she said. "It's the best way for freshmen to dive into the comedy scene at Tufts, or even just sample it. The entire subtext of the show is 'Hey! Look at us! You could do this, too.'"
The Comedy O-Show will take place in the Balch Arena Theater at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Tufts' theater groups will hold performances on both Sunday and Monday. On Sunday night, freshmen can see "[title of show]" presented by Torn Ticket II. The first showing of "[title of show]" will take place on Sunday at 9:00 p.m. in Balch Arena Theater, with a repeat performance on Monday at 2:00 p.m.
Pen, Paint and Pretzels (3Ps), Tufts' oldest student theater organization, will present "All in the Timing," by David Ives, on Sunday at 7:00 p.m., with a repeat performance on Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
In the final orientation performance, the O-Show a capella concert, students will get to see performances from Tufts eight a capella groups. The concert will be held on Monday, Sept. 2 at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in Distler Auditorium.
