by Sarah Combs
Pageant night is more than just a play put on by the Junior/Soph. class for their big sisters, it’s more like a bond of sisterhood and a place where classes can come together, have fun and get to know each other. I was told that the best memories I would have would be of staying up until midnight every night rehearsing for pageant—and the person who told me that was right. I became better friends with people that I wasn’t close to, and I’m happier than ever—but don’t just take my word for it, see what others told me about what pageant means to them.
Marissa McNamara, a third-year senior, was the Shadow in Peter Pan, the 2017 Pageant. “Pageant was an awesome experience that helped create a bond between our class that we would not have had without it. The good and bad times were able to bring us closer because of the time period we had to do it, it required our full attention,” she said. “I don’t know what life would have been like if we didn’t have the moments pageant brought for us. I know that my part was unable to talk, but that made practice all the more fun. I felt that I could help others through my playfulness so that they didn’t have to focus on stress, or help out where I could since I didn’t have as much to do with others. It provided an opportunity to create memories and stronger personal bonds that living with someone, or just hanging out in class, or another situation couldn’t provide.”
Next, I spoke to Morgan Rittenhouse, who was one of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. She said, “I was a Lost Boy and I loved Pageant. It’s the only time that everyone in our class got together and bonded. I miss it so much. You might think it sucks now, practicing constantly and it being a major inconvenience, but you will miss it when it’s over. If I could go back and do it over again I would. It was so fun getting to hang out with everyone that I had never hung out with before. I liked working really hard for it and then it being successful in the end. I felt really accomplished but sad when it was over. It feels great to do stuff for your big sis as well, especially since they do so much for us.”
Cassidy Harrison played Smee, who served as the right-hand man to Captain Hook. “Pageant, to me, was an opportunity to develop friendships with people in my class that I previously had not talked to. It gave me the chance to come out of my shell more because I had never acted in a play outside of my youth group back home. It gave me the chance to grow closer with my fellow sisters in my class.”
Chelsea Leachman, who was the maid in Peter Pan, said, “Pageant was so important to me because I felt like by being a part of traditions, I was giving back to my sister and her class. It was a funny way of saying ‘thank you’ for being the best! I was only in two scenes so that’s about it, but I loved making the audience laugh.”
Lastly, I spoke to graduating senior Megan Matthews, who was a part of the chorus in the 2016 Pageant, Alice in Wonderland. She said, “Pageant was a good time for my class, so we could bond. We were able to come together and get to know each other. Without pageant it never would have happened.”
The women at Judson College take pageant very seriously, and having fun and working hard to put on a good show is what we strive for. We don’t lose sleep for nothing. Having this bond of sisterhood is what makes and molds this school. Being a big sister is exciting, because we can watch our littles perform, and we also get to see the bonds that they have formed with each other over the course of their rehearsals.