I think it’s safe to say that practically everyone at Rosary Academy loves Red and Gold. The promise of flashing stage lights and cute drill costumes inspires a feral competitiveness among rival team members, encouraging even the quietest of Royals to step out of their comfort zones and blossom through creative musical performance. And, even for those who find the show itself stressful or the flex days too long, at least it can be said that the rushed excitement of Red and Gold seems to shorten the gap between Christmas Break and Spring Break.
For those who haven’t experienced their first Red and Gold, however, and are unable to determine which side of the excitement seesaw they tilt toward (ferality versus senioritis), I thought I’d share my experiences with Red and Gold to present an inside scoop on this chaotic Rosary tradition.
One of my favorite Red and Gold experiences was actually last year’s show, Red and Gold: In the Blink of an Eye, as I was a part of the winning Red Team and a drama lead, playing charismatic frat boy Jasper. Throughout the show, Jasper’s main storyline followed his insecurity in proposing to his girlfriend, Carmen, as he fought to uncover his true wants beyond surface level jokes, all while battling a cruise ship sea monster.
But the best part about playing Jasper, more than the funny accent or medley of jokes, was the chaotic quick-change before the final wedding scene because I’d never done anything like it before on drama.
Essentially, after a choral number, I was given less than three minutes to run down to the crowded pit and slip formal slacks and a blazer over my beach attire before running back on stage for my grand wedding entrance. But this seemingly simple task was burdened by two main obstacles – the pit was swarming with girls frantically changing into finale wear and my microphone was left on air, so I couldn’t talk or make any noise.
Because of this, I employed Spencer Thiemann ‘24 as my official “Quick Change Assistant” – she was standing by the pit entrance with my pants and jacket, ready to help on cue every show, which took a huge burden off my shoulders.
But something was bound to go wrong, and it did on our final show on Saturday night. After the choral scene, I’d bolted down to the pit entrance, like usual, but Spencer and my outfit were nowhere to be found. I immediately panicked, and strained to hear the monologue on stage to keep track of time while frantically tapping anyone nearby. I finally managed to get someone’s attention, and a group of girls rallied around me and looked for Spencer.
When asked if she remembered the near-traumatic experience, Spencer shared: “…I just completely forgot because I was so caught up with getting ready for the finale. Someone tapped me and asked where Kit’s suit was and I had a heart attack… I had a bottle of glitter in my hand that I ended up spilling all over the floor because I practically dropped it so I could grab the suit.”
Despite this chaos, I still made my cue in proper costume, Spencer still was able to finish getting glittered up for the finale, and Red team ended up winning Red and Gold! So, let my fun memory from last year be a lesson to all future Red and Gold participants: embrace the chaos and don’t be afraid to improvise, because you never know what fond memories those adventures will create, memories to be looked back on for years to come.