By Deepa SeetharamanThe Daily Northwestern
The mood was so jubilant and the laughter was so uproarious backstage at Evanston Township High School that drama teacher Tim Herbert could barely be heard giving his thanks to the cast of YAMO, ETHS’s student-written musical.
Congratulations were in order on Saturday, the final night of the 49th annual YAMO, a production akin to Northwestern’s Waa-Mu. More than 100 participants and their faculty advisors cheered, stamped their feet and jumped up and down for their peers.
“It seems so long and when it gets going, it goes so fast,” Herbert said of preparing for YAMO.
“Too fast,” someone in the room interjected.
This year’s show opened Oct. 13 in ETHS’s Upstairs Theater and drew an audience of thousands, who filled the house for nearly all seven shows at $10 a ticket. All but four of the theater’s 320 seats were filled Saturday night. The show’s directors and cast observed the show from the rafters.
Planning for this year’s show, titled “YAMO for Dummies,” started in February. The 14-member executive board wrote the script and lyrics over the summer and rehearsals started in August. Students spent two hours after school and six hours on Saturday every week since August preparing the music, choreography and dialogue for the production.
“It’s a wonderful crazy,” said YAMO coordinating director Katrina Engel.
The origin of the name YAMO is unknown, said Aaron Carney, head of ETHS’s fine arts department, but it could be a play on the name ‘Waa-Mu.’
YAMO funds the rest of the shows put on by the ETHS’ theater department, Carney said.
“(The show) tends to bring in a big audience,” Carney said. “I would say this one did exceptionally well. I don’t think we’ve come so close to filling out all the shows.”
The musical opened with a young girl left stranded and alone the day of her birthday party. No one attends, not even the band geeks, her “back-up guests.” After her parents leave her to go clubbing, she starts to open one underwhelming gift after another.
Then she opens a book titled “YAMO for Dummies,” and the opening number begins. The skits range from clever vignettes to screwball comedies such as “The O.C…D.,” a parody of the television show “The O.C.” The parody starred two characters named Brian and Clarissa with a penchant for drama and an uncontrollable urge to adjust furniture.
The last show had a different energy from previous shows, said general director and ETHS senior Marie Semla.
“Sometimes on the last night, the actors try to add stuff,” Semla said. For example, in the skit titled “60,” about a klutzy, forgetful special agent, the actor ended the scene with an added bang, slamming into the wall before racing to save the president.
This year’s show in particular was a more collaborative effort among board members, said ETHS senior and acting director Harrison Stamell. The entire board had a hand in writing the script.
One of Stammell’s favorite scenes is entitled “Snowflake” and is about two parents giving a kitten to their son for Christmas. In an ill-fated attempt to keep the kitten alive, the pair drills holes into the box. On Christmas morning, their son is greeted with a bloody surprise.
Backstage, the atmosphere at the event was excited, but relaxed. Students wearing kilts, angel wings, doctor’s scrubs and formal suits crossed paths, joked around and wished each other well. But the last night was bittersweet for many.
“It has been my life for the past eight months,” Stamell said. “It’s going to be completely different. I already miss it.”
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