This #TBT is a throwback to Booth Follies—a show organized, produced and performed by Booth students. Follies is everything you’d imagine—punny skits, hilarious short movies, and extraordinary performances. Boothies get the opportunity to step outside their case studies, their financial models, and their cover letters to showcase their artistic abilities.
As a dancer and choreographer in the show myself, I loved the new community of Boothies I was able to create through the practices, rehearsals, and show. The range of our experiences ran the gamut—from competitive dancers to people who were stepping on stage for the first time in their lives! The diversity and talent in the class was nothing short of incredible.
One of the 2016-2017 Follies leads and performers, Sheetal R. Bhaskarabhatla, shares her firsthand account of this long-running Booth tradition. Plus, extra kudos to Sheetal for being our first guest blogger during the new TBE “regime”!
You might have read a previous post on TBE blog entitled “Ten Unforgettable Moments,” and I am here to leave no doubts that Follies was #1.
What is Follies, you might ask? Basically, the funniest people at Booth get together to write, direct, and act in a series of sketches about life at Booth or just life. There are also guest performances from Booth Dance Club and Economies of Scale (our pun-derful a cappella group). Our show this past May, Ha Ha Land, was absolutely incredible. I highly encourage you check it out before reading further: youtube.com/boothfollies
There was a ton of momentum and hard work leading up to the show, starting Winter Quarter, and that’s what I’ll remember the most. The material coming out of the weekly writers meetings was hysterical and it was so cool to see the creative sides of our classmates get unleashed. Auditions were the most difficult part for the co-chairs, because people were insanely talented (the accents! the charisma!) and we had 75 Boothies auditioning to fill only 25 spots. We ended up with an A+ cast. The terrific leaders of Booth Dance Club and Economies of Scale were choreographing and arranging all quarter long, and their fun acts helped to bring diversity to the show and higher participation.
Being a part of the show was a blast—there was so much camaraderie in the dressing room and on stage. That special blend of nervousness and excitement during the show, and then a burst of endorphins during the big closing number and after show. Everyone who performed was on such a high, and the Boothies who attended the show were completely blown away with the quality of performances and sheer talent on stage. While inside jokes about Booth were in abundance, the partners and friends of Boothies in the audience had a great time and thought the show was hilarious!
So, as a potential future Boothie yourself, keep in mind that every year, we’ll need tons of writers, actors, singers, dancers, directors, producers, and cheerleaders to continue the success of Booth Follies. Perhaps that will include you!
— Sheetal R. Bhaskarabhatla
