Evanston Township High School’s 67th production of YAMO, a student-created sketch-comedy show, takes audience members through a year at YAMO High.
Following the theme ‘YAMO: Ate My Homework,’ the show begins on the first day of school, ends at graduation and covers central parts of the school year, including adjusting to new policies like ETHS’ new phone policy and events like the student representative election.
Timothy Herbert, an ETHS theatre teacher, said the show is relatable for anyone who has gone to high school.
The goal of the show is to let audience members sit back and have a good time, said ETHS senior Arlo Lee, a YAMO general director. He added that, this year, the student board also wanted the audience to feel motivated to be civically engaged.
“(The audience) should contemplate society,” Lee said. “They should be inspired to vote.”
The scene before intermission, titled ‘Election Night at YAMO High,’ reflects this year’s U.S. presidential campaigns and the ETHS student representative election last year, according to ETHS senior Jane MorrisHoffer, one of its writers.
The main characters during the scene, Fred and Sophia, embody Donald Trump and Kamala Harris respectively, MorrisHoffer said.
The back page of the show’s program has a QR code to help audience members register to vote.
“I’m someone who’s very civically engaged and trying to get people to register to vote,” said ETHS senior Josephine Gallo, YAMO’s musical director. “It’s that accessibility where, ‘Oh, I’m at YAMO. Oh, wait, I’m not registered to vote.’ So you can just whip out your phone and register to vote.”
Over 100 ETHS students helped create the show. The student board, selected by Herbert and other theatre department faculty, began brainstorming and writing the show this January, Gallo said. At the start of this school year, students joined stage crew and auditioned to be in the cast.
The cast is made up of four groups, or “companies” — Acting, Impulse, Dance and Unexpected — all of which have their own director. MorrisHoffer is the director of Impulse.
Many of the board members have worked on YAMO for three or four years in high school.
For Gallo, YAMO is also a family affair. She said her mom and uncle participated in YAMO when they attended ETHS.
She added that this year, YAMO is a “full-circle moment” because her family gets to see her do what they did years ago, and in the same theater.
ETHS senior Ethan Arnold, YAMO’s vocal music director, said the show is “ingrained” in ETHS and Evanston culture.
“I go out wearing a YAMO shirt, and someone will come up to me and be like, ‘I was general director for YAMO ’84,’” he said. “It’s such a fun tradition (that) happens every year, and everyone who is in Evanston or stays in Evanston knows it and is a fan of it.”
The show, which runs for two more weekends, is sold out. YAMO also sold out last year.
MorrisHoffer said the show exceeds expectations every year, because when people hear about a student-created, student-run show, they’re usually hesitant about the quality. However, she said that once people see the show, they’re pleasantly surprised.
MorrisHoffer added that the show always exceeds student expectations as well, because of the relationships they create and memories they make.
“It feels like a big, big family now,” she said. “I’m bonded to these people so much, because you spend that much time and that much effort, and you put that much love and time and attention into (this show).”
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