Learning the 'hoppity hop' before opening night

Let's take it from the top," Jacob Brent, Triangle Club's choreographer, shouted. In response, the cast members of the upcoming Triangle show, "Orange and Black to the Future"— which will play at McCarter Theater at 8 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 13 and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 — spread throughout their rehearsal space at Broadmead. ¶ The next moment, Joey Cotruvo '06, the club's pianist, began the backdrop for the full-company number, "The Prox Hop," with lyrics by Cathy Rampell '07 and music by Cotruvo. Over 20 lively actors jumped, twirled, sang and cheered through the complicated choreography of the song, which reveals Princeton students' tendencies to do anything to avoid removing their identification cards from their pockets when entering buildings.

"Pick it up on the lindy," Brent said after a lull. "Five, six, seven eight!"

Once again, the cheery actors spun around the room.

"Girls, jump!" Brent yelled, as the cast members hopped back and forth. "Good!"

The cast practices three hours per day Monday through Thursday, and five or six hours on Sundays. Last Saturday marked the first "sitzprobe," a sing-through in which the orchestra plays for the cast members, as opposed to their normally separate rehearsals.

Triangle Club's writers have been developing this show's sketches since the spring. In weekly three-hour meetings last semester, they discussed their ideas and material, and — except in pairings of music and lyrics writers — worked independently on their scenes, according to Writing Coordinator Zachary Goldstein '05.

"Nothing is ever finished," Goldstein said. "We go to rehearsals and constantly revise to make things play better once they are off-the-page. Now rewrites are also done to suit the director's goal with the pieces. Rewriting consumes far more of our time than the writing does. But it's fun."

The upcoming show — an annual Triangle event — follows the trials of a team sent back in time from 2084. The men and women of the future aim to halt the performance of the current Triangle Show because the 2004 kick line (which will feature men dressed as cheerleaders) causes the destruction of the world 80 years later.

This performance marks Triangle Club's 114th show. Buoyed by over a century of experience — making Triangle America's oldest collegiate musical-comedy group — the club continues its commitment to hard work and humor.

But despite Triangle's many longstanding traditions, this show differs from those of the past.

"In recent years, we haven't had as complicated a plot," said David Mesrobian '05, Triangle Club president.

While past Triangle shows have been more revue-like, this year's show has defined characters and a distinct storyline, according to Mesrobian. He estimated the 15 sketches and 10 musical numbers of the performance to span one hour and 50 minutes, including intermission.

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"Our song writing is especially strong this year, and that's certainly different from past years. Our musicians are very strong, and our music writers are very strong, so we are very blessed. That's definitely a good thing," Mesrobian said.

At the rehearsal, Brent reviewed specific portions of "The Prox Hop," perfecting the actors' performances.

"Take it from the bunny hop," he said.

"Can we do it from the 'hop, hop, hoppity hop'?" Jing Jin '06 asked.

"Sure," Brent said.

This interaction typifies those between Triangle Club's hired professionals — including Brent, Director Jeremy Dobrish, Music Director Steven Silverstein, Orchestrator Ron Drotos and Costume Designer David Kaley '97 — and the student actors.

Though Triangle Club has hired professionals for several decades, this year marked a crucial change: the usually merged role of Choreographer-Director is now divided into Brent's and Dobrish's separate territories, according to cast member Rory Kress Weisbord '07.

"It's nice to have those split perspectives," she said.

According to Mesrobian, the professionals are committed to making the show a student production. They aim for efficiency during the rehearsals, but are receptive to the cast members' questions and opinions.

"They're fairly laid-back," Mesrobian said of the rehearsals. "It's non-combative."

At Broadmead, Brent addressed the cast. "Questions about this number?" he asked.

"So, girls, are we deciding that we're dipping on four and putting our arms up on seven?" Triangle member Victoria Pourakis '05 asked her fellow actors, who nodded in response.

As Brent consulted with Dobrish and Silverstein, the cast members chatted and practiced their steps. Chris Berg '07 and Kyle Booten '08 staged a mock fight in the center of the room, to the amusement of other cast members.

On another run-through of the song, Brent faced the imaginary audience, his back to the actors. He demonstrated the steps as they performed. "Oom, bah, oom, bah," he said along with the beat as he thrust his hands to the right, left, right, left with the cast.

"This show, even more so than in past years, is a show for the students, by the students," Mesrobian said. "It's a little more relevant to us, and not quite as aimed at an older audience."

This year's set design, by Andrew Trueblood '05, is particularly notable.

"It's the first time we've had a student scenic designer, which is really cool," Weisbord said. She described the intricate Nassau Hall set, which divides into five pieces and spins around the stage.

In addition, Weisbord said, this year's writing program is much more structured than those of the past.

After reviewing "The Prox Hop" in its entirety several times, Brent and Silverstein worked with couples who had featured dance roles in the number. Berg and Nicole Greenbaum '07 practiced their sequence, consulting with the choreographer and musical director, who watched intently.

"Let's do it without the music," Berg suggested, and he and Greenbaum twirled away to his singing.

"This year, we have a really great team all around, who work really well together," Weisbord said.

"It really gives you a sense of the University," she said of "Orange and Black to the Future," and strongly encouraged students to come to the show. "I think it's a really integral part of being a student here."