August 29, 2013
Single and Sexy play celebrates 25th anniversary
Edgy and entertaining play helps first-year Waterloo students reflect on real issues faced by young people
Orientation week for first-year students can be a blur of new faces, new places and spontaneous group chanting, but a highlight of Waterloo’s Orientation is the production of Single and Sexy.
Celebrating its 25th year, this provocative play is written and performed by upper-year students.
Edgy, entertaining and educational, the play covers challenging topics that students are likely to face during their university career: sex, drug use, racism, homophobia, date rape and gender identity, among others. The cast presents these topics in a non-judgmental way, using language students will understand and mashing them into catchy musical numbers. Throughout the play, on-campus resources are referenced to ensure students know where to turn if they face challenging situations.
Each year, the script gets updated to reflect current issues such as plagiarism and cyber stalking, and for some students the play can be shocking. “We talk about truthful experiences that many students will go through,” says cast member Brendan Stehouwer, a third-year arts student. “The issues aren’t sugar-coated and some content can be hard to listen to, but it is best to be open about it.”
Provocative play is true to life
This is exactly what helps to make it memorable for students. “I cried when I saw it in first year,” says Elise Brisson, another cast member, now in her final year of arts. “It has such deeply human moments contrasted with the silly moments of real life. It’s poignant.”
Some students are so affected by the performance that they attend open auditions to secure one of the coveted eight spots in the show. “I saw it last fall and knew I wanted to audition to help others have the same positive transition that this play gave me in first year,” says cast member Kelly Hornung, a second-year environment student.
For 25 years, this play has been presented to the incoming class to rave reviews. Launched by Waterloo’s Health Services, this creative approach to health promotion has been sold to other universities and colleges around the world. uWaterloo’s manager of health education, Sandra Gibson says, “Other institutions really value Single and Sexy’s innovative script, its impact on students and its ability to engage audiences year after year.”
