Ben LippertJuice Editor

Everyone has a story to tell. Most of these great stories go unheard by the general public because they aren’t considered “news worthy.” Check out The Juice throughout the semester to hear an average student’s story.

The 2011 Capers performance is going on all this week at Donor Auditorium. This week we talk with Jada Joseph about what it takes to be a performer in Capers. Joseph has been in the annual show every year since she was a freshmen. Four years later she’s still showing off her semi-pro acting skills and making the crowd laugh.

Ben: Tell me how you got into Capers and why you enjoy it so much.

Jada: They played a video of it at Cavorts my freshmen year back in 2007, and it was just a bunch of ridiculous people jumping around and dancing, and I’m a very ridiculous person. We went to try outs and it’s pretty much a giant party.

Ben: What is this year’s theme?

Jada: It’s “The Unabridged History of Capers.” It touches on a couple things, like things throughout the past as Capers grows on. There’s a couple appearances by Hitler and other people throughout time like Neil Armstrong, people like that. We have reoccurring themes like the “Admin Ladies” every year.

Ben: So this is kind of a break from the norm? The last few years you’ve done YouTube videos and other pop-culture stuff, and this is more of a walk through history?

Jada: Kind of…we still touch on some of the different YouTube things that have happened. It’s kind of more just poking fun at history and stuff like that.

Ben: So what is this set that we’re sitting on? Can you describe it to me?

Jada: Yes I can. It’s a bunch of different books. We’re sitting by Mein Kampf right now. They have Moby Dick, Macbeth, just a bunch of different layers of books. It’s actually one of the tallest sets that we’ve had. It’s kind of scary dancing up there (gestures to the top level of the set).

Ben: So what is your roll in Capers this year?

Jada: I’m in the pre-show which is a knock-off of “California Girls,” called “SDSU Girls,” which makes fun of living around here. I’m an admin lady named Rhonda, she’s a very raunchy old woman. It’s pretty exciting and very “risque” this year, that’s for sure.

Ben: So is it pretty tough fitting Capers practice into your schedule?

Jada: This year all my stuff is pretty together so I’ll have two hours of practice every night and then I’m done. You go from seven to 10 every night and every weekend we do “dance weekend,” which is nine o’ clock til one and then from one in the afternoon til five. It’s long. It takes a lot of time. I’m still catching up on homework.

Ben: Even the performance week is pretty stressful because it’s so many nights. What is the performance week schedule?

Jada: It’s Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then two performances on Saturday; so it’s very time consuming. By the end of it, all you want to do is sleep for a week.

Ben: Are your teachers pretty understanding?

Jada: Yeah, they’re pretty understanding about that. I have a lot of basic classes but now I’m starting to get into my major classes and it can be tough. It can be hard, but teachers are pretty understanding.

Ben: So do you have much of an acting background at all?

Jada: I’ve been acting since forever. I’ve been in school plays and stuff like that. I’m not really too big about doing it here at State.

Ben: What kind of personality traits does someone need to have to be in Capers?

Jada: Pretty much anyone can be in Capers, but you have to be alright with saying some pretty “out there” stuff because we do swearing and a lot of the themes are pretty, “oh my gosh!”

Ben: Do you have choreographers or do the students just do pretty much everything?

Jada: It’s put on by APO, the honors fraternity for theatre. They put all of it together, so it’s all run by them and student-run. They come up with the dances but they’re also willing to listen to suggestions if you want to throw them out there.

Ben: Who does the money benefit?

Jada: The money goes towards the APO fraternity, that’s pretty much the only fundraiser they do. It helps out with building the sets each year and catering for the theatre program and end-of-the-year banquet.

Ben: If you had to say one thing to the audience, what would be your plug for Capers this year?

Jada: It’s fantastic and everybody should be there! Watch out if you’re in the first few rows because you’re gonna get messed with.

Watch my interview with Jada on our website. Get a sneak peak of the set and some of the cool things going on at Donor.

Capers is showing all week with two shows on Saturday. Student tickets are $8, non-student tickets are $10 and reserved seating is $12.

Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Donor Auditorium box office and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Union.

If you or someone you know would like to have your story in The Collegian, let us know! Send us an email with your story to [email protected].

#1.1918865:1790886736.png:IMG_1432.png::#1.1918862:2259182552.png:IMG_1375.png::