What's the point of skits?

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by psy

My alma marter stopped doing recruitment skits a few years before I was a student there, but I've read about them on GC, and honestly, I don't really get how they are supposed to help in the selection process. Okay, maybe you get to see how a few of the sisters work together or what they choose to focus their skit on, but it still seems like that time would be better spent actually having the PMN's and the actives *interact*, especially given how relatively short recruitment is.

Can someone please shed some light on how skits are helpful in practice, or the logic behind having them is part of recruitment?

Thanks!

I agree. My chapter did skits one year - the year I rushed, which was the first year all the chapters on campus were NPC. I hated watching them, and after I got to know the girls in my chapter after recruitment, I know they must have hated doing it! Most skits revolve around themes, anyway, and don't really tell you anything about the chapter itself...except for maybe whether they're funny, can act/sing/dance/etc. I think the time can be better spent. My alma mater now does a video day, when all the chapters show videos they've made that actually are all about their chapter, activities, etc.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by psy

Can someone please shed some light on how skits are helpful in practice, or the logic behind having them is part of recruitment?

Thanks!

There are a couple ways that the skits worked, but I'm sure that differed from school to school.

Skits varied so much! You wanted to the be sorority whose skit was memorable but not demeaning - and there were plenty of demeaning skits! It also depended on how the skit was introduced. "Quiet, everyone! We have a little skit for you!" was BAD. Segues were much, much better. Also knowing that there would be skits helped.

I noted earlier that skits gave time for both the sisters & the PNMs to think about the sorority in question, to watch others' faces, to search for phony looks or disgusted looks or "is she on speed?!" looks. They were a time to reflect, while still at the house/party.

I think I mentioned being intellectually insulted by some skits in my own retro rush thread. Good ones mentioned the philanthropy (albeit discreetly); bad ones were much too "little girlish".

One of the best ways of segueing into a skit was if the skit involved some sort of ticket or someone seating you in a way that you realized that a skit was coming, then a few sisters would talk to all of the PNMs in the area. If you think of Pref Parties, think of the ceremonies and then think of them much less serious, and you have a skit party.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I saw an article a long time ago about the Adelphians and the Philomatheans competing for girls once upon a time...they talked about grabbing girls as soon as they got off of the train on their first day.

Please forgive me (especially wince I was devastated not to meet with you at Seasons 52!), but there is no "I" in Adelphean. I think my mission in life is to educate the masses about that! And yes, both Adelpheans and Philomatheans were known to even get on train a few stations prior to Georgia Wesleyan to rush the incoming freshmen.