Nora Tjossem ’15, is the producer of Ram’s Head Theatrical Society’s Gaieties show this year. The show is one of the many Big Game Week traditions at Stanford and will run today, Thursday and Friday.
The Daily recently sat down with Tjossem to talk about her direction for this year’s show and how she took on this Stanford tradition.
The Stanford Daily (TSD):How did you get involved in Gaieties?
Nora Tjossem (NT): I’ve acted the past two years in the show and then this year I guess I was ready to take on a bigger role, and it has been a bigger role.
It was about a year ago, week six of fall quarter, when I joined on as the producer, and we started hiring all of the writers. It’s crazy because you start from nothing: It was just me and this name, Gaieties 2013.
It’s been a long process and we’re right at the end. Every single rehearsal I go to, I’m like “they’re so good” and it’s so exciting to see it come together.
TSD:What theme does Gaieties have this year?
NT: “Gaietiesburg: A Campus Divided.” We don’t like to disclose too much about the plot. We like to keep it somewhat hidden, but it centers on the fuzzy-techy divide civil war between the factions and much drama is had.
A former Disney star appears as a villain and Harry Elam is the heroic narrator. There’s good stuff in store.
TSD: How was this theme decided on?
NT: The first people I hired were the head writers, Safiya Nygaard ’14 and Katie Kirsch ’16, and together we hired the rest of the writers – I think for a total of ten writers.
The first thing they did when they were hired was to start generating plot ideas; specifically what Gaieties should be about. They brought their ideas to me and to Ram’s Head and we thought about what had the most potential. I think this theme has become even more appropriate because it seems like every week there’s another article about the crisis in the humanities, or something like that. It’s a division I’ve felt very acutely these past two years and it’s pervasive.
I came into Stanford not seeing a distinction, thinking I could be an English major or a Biology major, and since then it’s become more apparent. Even just the terminology speaks a lot to that kind of divide, techy vs. fuzzy. We’re trying to tackle that division.
TSD: Can you give us a sneak preview of the show this year?
NT: I can’t tell you much, but we got express permission to create characters based on three popular professors at Stanford, including Harry Elam.
We’ve also got a lot of great songs because we had a really talented composer help us out. We try to give as many shout-outs and fun things as possible, so there are a lot of smaller references.
Gaieties has always hinged on cameos and one-liners, so there’s a lot of those, some really golden things. I think there’s something for everyone, which is what makes Gaieties really awesome. Even if you don’t find all of it funny, there’s usually something you can laugh at.
TSD: How are you putting your own flare on this Big Game Week tradition?
NT: I did [Structured Liberal Education] SLE my freshmen year and the past two years in the show, SLE hasn’t come off too well, so I think we do pretty okay with that this year.
It’s a lot of time and it asks a lot of you, but because of everything done by all the people around you, you’re not getting a script that you’re paying royalties for. You’re completely organically creating one. You’re implementing the script, you’re making the music, the lyrics, you’re doing everything. It’s so cool to be able to talk to all of these people who are creating everything and the people who are going to be implementing it.
TSD: How has Gaieties changed over the years?
NT: A lot of the long-time Gaieties people graduated last year also, so we’re seeing a lot of new blood . . . There are a lot of freshmen in this cast, and they bring this new energy and curiosity about this tradition that’s been really great. So the few of us who have returned to Gaieties this year are making sure to keep the tradition strong.
TSD: What do you hope students get out of this year’s performance?
NT: There’s two sides to the coin, because on the one hand we’re a Big Game rally. That’s a big part of Gaieties, getting people excited. But on the other hand, it’s also a culmination of a lot of student work. I really like seeing how people can be really creative while also doing academics. The show is all about energy and bringing that on stage in a way that lets us see how talented all these people are. Plus, the humor always helps, especially this late in the quarter. It’s a really great release.
Contact Josee Smith at jsmith11 ‘at’ stanford.edu.