Faculty Follies 2k15

Science instructor Sasha Alcott strums her Gibson Flying V as classical languages instructor Nick Unger, donned in an all black outfit, screams into the microphone. English instructor Tyler Caldwell grooves to the beat of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” in an all-faculty  dance video. Modern languages instructor Fermin Perez-Andreu acts as the fictional character Inigo Montoya in the 1987 movie “The Princess Bride.” These are just a few snapshots from this Tuesday’s Faculty Follies, a biennial event prepared by Exeter’s faculty to provide humor and laughs to the student body.

In this year’s Faculty Follies, many students expected Maggie Dietz, a renowned author and poet, to speak at assembly. When the students arrived at the Assembly Hall, however, they found Dean of Faculty Ronald Kim standing on the stage.

When assembly began, Kim announced that Dietz unforunately could not make it to Exeter due to hazardous weather conditions. He added that he would read her poems instead.

Kim’s announcement prompted students to suspect the assembly to be the Faculty Follies assembly. “I thought Faculty Follies would be either [this Tuesday] or next Friday,” senior Grace Yin said. Yin was one of the people who conjectured that Faculty Follies would be just around the corner. “Like many others, I thought it would be last Friday because the description for assembly was ‘Russell Weatherspoon,’ but it wasn’t. So I started looking at all the assemblies until March break.”

Although Kim had announced that he would be reading Dietz’s poems, he instead began to read poet Robert Frost’s poems. Some students immediately burst into laughter, and when it became clear to all that the day’s assembly was indeed Faculty Follies, the Assembly hall erupted into applause and cheers.

Faculty Follies commenced with a skit prepared by a group of instructors who teamed up to act as various fictional characters such as technology-addicted teenagers and a six-fingered dean. Science instructor Richard Aaronian came onto the stage wearing a bright red blazer and holding a “book” made from a pizza box. Roars of laughter filled the Assembly Hall as Perez-Andreu and math instructor Jeff Ibbotson played their roles as the villian and hero of “The Princess Bride” respectively, sporting outlandish costumes. The trademark hiss was heard as a lovestruck Kayoko Tazawa, a modern languages instructor, considered going to Andover.

Following the skit was a video and performance by Döömgrinder, a mock death-metal band comprised of Unger, Holcomb, science instructor John Blackwell and English instructor Todd Hearon. The band, which Unger created eleven years ago, performed a heavy-metal version of “Love is an Open Door” from Disney’s “Frozen.”

English instructor Duncan Holcomb described the process of filming and rehearsing. “Mr. Fermin-Perez filmed it and did a great job. We just show up and wear the costumes. I was sick, so John Blackwell played me in the video. We’ve only rehearsed once with [Alcott and] Chris for an hour last night. Unger had an idea to do a Valentine’s thing and she came up with the idea of ‘I can add a little rock into it.’” It was obvious that Döömgrinder had done a good job despite all the obstacles, as lower Grace Duisberg described their performance as “hilarious.”

After the rest of Döömgrinder exited the stage, Alcott and husband Chris Viner remained, performing as When Particles Collide, to the whoops and cheers of the audience. Duisberg talked about her thoughts while watching the performance. “I thought it was really awesome, and I think it’s really cool that we have teachers who are not just teachers but they’re something more.”

As a swan song, the projection screen slid down. Exonians waited in anticipation as the Faculty Follies video finally came on. The video was just as good as expected, with students singing along and cheering when they recognized a faculty member. The video even featured a cameo from the new principal, Lisa MacFarlane.

The surprise that was the Faculty Follies assembly did much to lift the spirits of the Exeter community amidst the dreary New England winter. It was great to hear the students genuinely laugh and have a breather from the fast pace of Exeter. The biennial tradition of Faculty Follies is a heavily anticipated event and this year’s performance exceeded student expectations.