A Cappella Rush

[Leslie Anne]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

I walk into the Jane Lanes' final callback that night and gasp; the group members are in long black dresses and black tuxedos, and they look like they were born to wear them.

Wow! This must have been both very impressive and intimidating.

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

I belt, and I don't crack.

Yay!!!

[Low C Sharp]

I was curled in my bed, feeling like I had a bad case of the flu, until the sky started to lighten. I'd probably been lying there miserable for a good six hours. Then I heard footsteps by the elevator, and the hallway exploded with frantic screaming and pounding on my door. I jumped to the door in my pajamas and there were the Jane Lanes, shoving a sweatshirt and a pair of CD's at me before bursting into deafening song that ended, "Congratulations, Low C Sharp, you're a new Jane Lane!" Before I could even process what was going on, they yelled, "Put your shoes on! You're coming with us!"

Since our initiation is not secret (and I'm not worried that there are many future Bromwell auditionees on this board), I can tell you that after running around and singing at a bunch of special spots on campus, we walked out onto the footbridge over the river -- and Lovely Brunette opened her backpack and handed each of the new members our favorite flavor of ice cream! That's why we'd been asked about it all through the process. We passed the ice cream around and shared the newbies' favorite flavors, in our Jane Lane sweatshirts, while we watched the sun come up over the water.

You know what the amazing thing is? I thought I knew at the time that sunrise together was a happy ending. But the truth is, if I'd had any idea of what a happy beginning it was going to be, and how much those people would mean to me -- forever -- I would have been too nervous at final night to make a sound!

Postscript:

Sadly, Marc wasn't there on the bridge that night. But at the next round of auditions, I got him to try again, and he got in and later became the director, as well as my best friend in college.

God bless her to this day, Judith did indeed prefer the Trents, where she was a much better fit.

Courtney, who skipped out on the last night with the Jane Lanes, did not get into the Trents; Judith was the only woman they took that fall. However, she got in at the end of the year and sang with them for three years.

Socially Freaky Girl came back and auditioned again. That should really go in the psycho/stalker PNMs thread!

The group that shared ice cream on the bridge that night recently reunited to perform at Lovely Brunette's wedding.

The Trents were at the crest of a great few years, but how the mighty fell; they had a bad retention problem, and for the last five years, the Jane Lanes have been the strongest coed group on campus.

As for the Quinns...I'll save that for a thread on dirty rush!
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[Senusret I]

Best. Rush thread. Evar.

*kudos*

[navane]

Wow! What a great thread! Thank you, Low C Sharp, for sharing your experience with us. I really found your story on a cappella rush to be so interesting! I also thought your post script comments were a nice touch!

.....Kelly

[AnatraAmore]

Great story!!!

[FSUZeta]

hooray for you and the jane lanes!!

[dgdramadawg]

Hooray! What a great story!!!

[Faith4Keep]

Yayy! I had so much fun reading!

[AlphaFrog]

Hijack - now that you're done....

What part did you get in the Mikado??

(I love that show!!)

[violetpretty]

It's so funny to see how your a capella rush is so much like NPC recruitment! I had no idea it was like this.

[SECMom]

As a vocalist and a music teacher I am thrilled to learn that these groups even exist!!! I have never heard of them in the SEC. I did sing with the Auburn University Singers back in dinosaur days and have always maintained that the people who you share music with become bonded with you like no other.....which strikes me funny as I write this since my current gynecologist was one of my "Singer's" buddies

I have LOVED this thread! Actually, I am loving all these retro threads and can't seem to get ANYTHING done for reading them! As I type this I am on a break from doing music at Vacation Bible School!

[Low C Sharp]

SEC Mom, I know that there are student-directed a cappella groups at UGA, UF, and Vandy, but I have not heard of them anywhere else in the SEC.

the people who you share music with become bonded with you like no other

Ain't that the truth! The small size of these groups -- 11 to 16 members on most campuses -- combined with their independence from faculty and the frequent travel together forges a sense of inter-reliance that never goes away. I graduated a long time ago, and I live a long way from Bromwell, but I feel quite attached to the two freshman Jane Lanes we took this spring, and vice versa. It sounds very weird to most ears, but not, I expect, to Greekchat ears.

Some campuses have published rush rules:

http://www.yale.edu/proof/rushrules.html

http://acac.wustl.edu/procedures.html

Some of the schools with the most nationally prominent a cappella communities include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Tufts, and UVA.

AlphaFrog, I was in the chorus, but the chorus was only six women strong (due to the size of the stage in that historic theater). That's why I got such a confidence boost from it.

Best. Rush thread. Evar.

OMG, the author of the ACTUAL Best Rush Thread Ever complimented mine! *blushes*
________

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

AlphaFrog, I was in the chorus, but the chorus was only six women strong due to the size of the historic stage in that theater. That's why I got such a confidence boost from it.

That's 2 to a part when the leads join.

Did ya'll do "So Please You, Sir, We Much Regret"? They made us cut that song. No plot advancement. We did however, update the List song, and Pooh-Bah's titles.

Favorite line:
"The Japanese equivilant for Here, Here, Here!"

[Low C Sharp]

Did ya'll do "So Please You, Sir, We Much Regret"? They made us cut that song.

*clutches heart* WHO made you cut that song? And why hasn't W.S. Gilbert struck him to ashes with a bolt of lightning from above?

It's not like the women's chorus has a lot of stage time! I mean, it's not as bad as Pinafore, but Mikado is not exactly a showcase for the women's chorus like Iolanthe or Princess Ida. Plus, the song is only like two minutes long. That's just wrong.
________

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

*clutches heart* WHO made you cut that song? And why hasn't W.S. Gilbert struck him to ashes with a bolt of lightning from above?

Because the director was Mormon?