KU News Release

April 10, 2008
Contact: Ann Eversole, Student Success, (785) 864-4060.

KU announces winners in its 59th all-campus student-run Rock Chalk Revue

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LAWRENCE — For several hundred University of Kansas student performers in Rock Chalk Revue, it was showtime for fun, laughs, awards and philanthropy at the 59th annual production March 6-8 at the Lied Center.

To get ready for their moments in the spotlight, students had given up months of after-class hours in required daily practice sessions. KU students run the show. They wrote, produced, acted, sang and danced in each of the five original skits to portray the “Better Left Unsaid” theme chosen by the Rock Chalk Revue student advisory board.

Rock Chalk Revue is considered one of the top student performance-philanthropy campus traditions in the United States, said Ann Eversole, longtime Rock Chalk Revue adviser and assistant vice provost for Student Success.

In addition to their annual monetary gift to be announced later, KU students contributed more than 10,000 volunteer hours this year to Douglas County and Lawrence community organizations affiliated with the United Way of Douglas County. Students from residence halls, scholarship halls, fraternities, sororities and off-campus, participate in this component of Rock Chalk Revue.

Since 1991, Rock Chalk Revue has raised more than half a million dollars; United Way has been the beneficiary since 1983. The record single-year donation was $52,000 in 2003. The 2007 Rock Chalk Revue was recognized as a United Way Campaign Star and Pacesetter for its $33,000 gift, announced Sept. 22 at the KU-Florida International football game at Memorial Stadium.

This year, the student advisory board surprised Eversole by establishing in her honor the Ann Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award. She was named its first recipient. Eversole has been the show staff adviser for about 20 years. The award will be given annually to individuals who have a longstanding record of supporting the show.

Other KU staff members in advisory roles are Ruth Stoner, Student Success budget and personnel administrator who is the show’s business adviser, and Rueben Perez, director of the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, who is the show’s community service adviser. Representing the United Way was its 2008-09 chairwoman, Judy Wright, KU Endowment assistant vice president and director of its Chancellors Club.

A panel of 20 judges voted as best show overall “Tune Town” staged by Chi Omega sorority and Beta Theta Pi fraternity. The show also won seven of the top performance awards including best set, best original song, best production number, best costumes and best vocal performance in addition to two top individual awards for best lead male performance and best lead female performance.

A close second with six awards was Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Phi Kappa Psi fraternity’s “A Write to Love,” taking best pre-show video, best choreography, best script, best interpretation of theme, best performance by a chorus and best male supporting performance.

“Snowed Inn” by Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity won the United Way Audience Choice Award based on $1 votes cast for a favorite among the five skits.

Other skits selected for this year’s show were “Singin’ in the City” by Pi Beta Phi sorority and Delta Upsilon fraternity and “Flight of the Starquest” by Delta Delta Delta sorority and Theta Chi fraternity.

Rock Chalk Revue was coordinated this year by a 21-student advisory board that selected the theme and other show details and requirements. Coed groups interested in performing in the 2008 show began creating scripts in fall 2007, then submitted synopsis notebooks and performed a five-to-seven minute preview to an independent panel of judges. From 11 entries, judges announced the selection of five at the traditional In-Out event in late November.

Students in senior leadership positions on the 2007-08 board were Ryan Staub, Wichita senior, executive producer; Michelle Gates, Omaha, Neb., senior, executive director; Danny Struble, Salina junior, assistant executive director; and Laura Berry, Lenexa senior, business manager.

Chi Omega sorority won the Most Charitable award based on a combination of levels of attendance and participation in Rock Chalk Revue fundraisers

By volunteering more than 2,000 hours to United Way agencies, Delta Delta Delta sorority members earned the Most Charitable Community Service Organization award. Morgan Grissum, Baldwin City sophomore and sorority community service chairman, accepted the prize.

Thirty organizations won group volunteer awards based on four levels of donated hours per member. The gold award recognizing at least 13 hours or more went to Delta Delta Delta sorority and Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma sororities earned silver awards for 11-12.9 hours per person. Bronze award winners for 9-10.9 hours per person were Alpha Chi Omega and Alpha Gamma Delta sororities and Beta Theta Pi, Pi Kappa Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities. Honorable mention winners were Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Delta, Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Kappa sororities; Delta Upsilon, Kappa Sigma, Phi Kappa Psi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Theta Chi fraternities; and National Pan-Hellenic Council members, representing Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sigma Lambda Gamma and Zeta Phi Beta sororities and Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Beta Sigma and Sigma Lambda Beta fraternities.

Other awards to individuals given by show judges:

— Best lead female performance: Abbey Murray, Lawrence junior and member of Chi Omega for the role of the perky Annie McBride who takes her stressed-out husband, Jonathan, on a vacation but lands in “Tune Town,” where citizens lead a daily song-and-dance life complete with omniscient narrator.
— Best lead male performance: Drew Saylor, for his “Tune Town” role as the husband Jonathan McBride, whose car breaks down and stays in disrepair long enough for him to break away from the corporate life, laptops, cell phones and his Trapper Keeper.
— Best female supporting performance: Beth Elliott, Kingwood, Texas, sophomore, and member of Pi Beta Phi for her role of Terri Jones, the Prada-wearing, Devil-type queen of the music business in New York City in “Singin’ in the City.”
— Best male supporting performance: Andrew Patterson, Overland Park sophomore and member of Phi Kappa Psi, for his gesticulating, pompous portrayal of Mr. Stewart, manager of Hotel Hemenway, in “A Write to Love.”

The advisory board also gave individual awards for each show’s best individual male and female chorus members. Winners listed by show in order of performance were:

— For “Flight of the Starquest,” Lauren Precopia, Lawrence sophomore, Delta Delta Delta, and Brett Lawrence, Lawrence graduate student, Theta Chi.
— For “A Write to Love,” Rachel Rasmussen, McKinney, Texas, junior, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and J. W. Vanderloo, Prairie Village sophomore, Phi Kappa Psi.
— For “Snowed Inn,” Rula Andriessen, Sioux City, Iowa, senior, Alpha Gamma Delta, and Mark Shonka, Wichita junior, Pi Kappa Phi.
— For “Singin’ in the City,” Emmie Leek, Overland Park junior, Pi Beta Phi, and Tanner Hotze, Wichita sophomore, Delta Upsilon.
— For “Tune Town,” Jessica Luong, Garden City senior, Chi Omega, and Tyler Thress, Wichita junior, Beta Theta Pi.

Individual award winners as well as students in lead or revue production roles or those on the advisory board are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, parents’ names, high school and Rock Chalk Revue achievement.

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