The week of homecoming is full of student involvement — chalking, building, pomping, planning, painting and acting. It is a time when students get to display their creativity and build connections.
On Oct. 23, students participated in Horseplay, a beloved Furman homecoming tradition in which students perform skits surrounding the homecoming theme. This year, the theme of homecoming was “Rolling Out the Purple Carpet,” and each team of student organizations was assigned a genre of film — horror, adventure, mystery, sports, comedy or science fiction.
Each of these skits was assessed by a panel of judges, and the winner was announced the next day. This year, Sigma Alpha Iota and Pi Mu Alpha, the music fraternities, won the competition with their skit on the mystery of the stolen ice cream machine. They mixed themes from the board game “Clue” with the well-known fact that the ice cream machine is often missing from the dining hall.
The skit followed Detective Paladin, played by sophomore Foster Neely, as he interviewed his suspects: Mr. Chick-Fil-A Sauce, Mrs. Black Swan, Professor Purple, Professor White, Mr. Blackwell and the Safe Ride Lady. Each of these characters comedically personified Furman stereotypes and jokes among the student body. For example, why does the Dining Hall always have stir fry? And where did the other black swan disappear to?
Horse Play skits bring joy and laughter to all who are involved, both on and off the stage. Mary Garcia Coe, a junior in Chi Omega, played Buddy the Elf in their comedic skit depicting Will Ferrell movies. She has enjoyed acting her entire life, including her most recent performance in Horse Play.
“It is a beautiful way of storytelling, and it helps to transport both the actors and the audience into another world, even if it is for only seven minutes,” said Coe.
Furman life is full of career preparation and academic stress, so breaks like this are needed. Horse Play gave everyone the opportunity to forget about looming grades, upcoming papers and interviews, allowing them to enter into the world of Christmas, Space Jam or an alien invasion.
In addition to this much needed comedic relief, Horse Play helps to strengthen bonds within and between student organizations. Coe explained that, before Horse Play, she did not know the members of Beta Theta Pi very well. However, the skit gave her an opportunity to build connections with them.
“I think, as organizations, we were able to collaborate and become closer in a way we would not have otherwise,” said Coe.
Neely shared Coe’s sentiments, feeling that Horse Play was an opportunity for the music fraternities to become more involved with the broader Greek life community.
“I felt like it was great for us to be integrated with the Furman Greek community. We aren’t as well-known as the other Greek groups on campus, and it was very enjoyable to be involved last week,” said Neely.
Horseplay helps to bring students together by encouraging them to work and spend time with people they may not have met, and without Horse Play, maybe never would.
Because of their lightheartedness, inclusivity and entertaining creativity, Horse Play skits are the kind of event that students look forward to every year.
