Skule Nite
Skule Nite is a musical revue / comedy / sketch show run entirely by Engineering students at the University of Toronto. It is put on annually at Hart House, and is a professional-level production done entirely by volunteers.
History
Early History
The origins of Skule™ Nite can be traced back to the early years of the 20th century. At that time, there was no show as such, but frequently students and professors would perform short skits and musical ensembles at social events during the year. In 1920, the Engineering Society appointed a Stunt Night Committee to bring together all these scattered dramatic efforts into one show. There was so much interest in this idea that it was decided Massey Hall should be rented for the performance. At 8:30pm, on Wednesday, March 2, 1921, a entitled “Ngynyrs in SPaSms” was performed there with overwhelming success. The show contained eleven skits, ranging from "the Toronto Dislocation Commission" to "the Adventures of Chloreen". The show was accompanied by a student band called the "Toike Oikestra". The show was such a success that it was repeated verbatim the following year, with attendance of over 2000.
Early Hart House Era
In 1923, the show was moved to Hart House. At the time, Hart House was only open to male students due to the stipulation of its founder, the Massey Foundation. However, Hart House could be opened to both genders for special events, so in order to “bring the lady friends into the House to enjoy all the facilities that it had to offer,” the Engineering Society organized "Faculty Night", a comprehensive showcase of displays and events put on by engineering students and departments of which the theatrical presentation was only a small part. At the same time, a new format of Skule Nite, combining a variety of theatrical reviews and displays, competitions and dancing, was established, and continued as such for over twenty years. In 1940′s, as the show evolved into the extravagant evening of theatre known today, so much time and effort was being put into production of the theatrical portion of Skule Nite that no time or support was left for the other events. The 'Revue', as it was referred at the time, became Skule Nite.
At the close of World War II, during which Skule Nite had been cancelled once (in 1942) and displaced to the Royal Ontario Museum (in 1944), the show was moved to the fall and for the first time began to have an entire year of production behind it. Every aspect of the show was ramped up and the professionalism of the acting, singing, dancing and effects escalated. This trend continued for twenty years, until attendance at Skule Nite began to drop off in the mid-1960's. As a result, in 1968 the Engineering Society decided to put on a Broadway musical, "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off", in place of Skule Nite. The show flopped and EngSoc was left stuck in debt from the production costs, leading to the cancellation of Skule Nite for the foreseeable future.
Modern Era
Four years later in 1973, as a tribute to the hundredth anniversary of the faculty and the fiftieth anniversary of the show, Skule™ Nite was resurrected, originally intended to be one time only. The success of that show, however, supported by an enthusiastic coterie of enthusiasts of the theatre, has resulted in a unbroken run of theatrical delights since that time. In 2000, the production moved to current format of 5 shows in 4 days.
Skule Nite Directors and Producers
| Year | Director | Producer | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-2017 | Justin Hugh | Mech 1T3 | Alex Perelgut | NΨ 1T6+PEY |
| Savannah Forest | Civ 1T6 | |||
| 2015-2016 | Michael Manning | NΨ 1T3+PEY | Patrice Boisclair-Laberge | ECE 1T5+PEY |
| Kevin Hugh (Assistant Director) | CSC 1T6+PEY | Massimo Gordillo | Indy 1T5+PEY | |
| 2014-2015 | Sean Sit | Indy 1T2+PEY | Shashwat Sharma | NΨ 1T3+PEY |
| Michael Manning (Assistant Director) | NΨ 1T3+PEY | Laura Burget (Assistant Producer) | Chem 1T6 | |
| 2013-2014 | Navid Nourian | NΨ 1T2+PEY | Jad Knayzeh | NΨ 1T3+PEY |
| Sandra Sousa (Assistant Director) | ECE 1T3 | Patrice Boisclair-Laberge | ECE 1T5 | |
| 2012-2013 | Christopher Sun | NΨ 1T3+PEY | Amanda Bell | Indy MASc 1T4 |
| Scott Whitty | NΨ 1T3+PEY | Ian Parker | Min 1T2+1 | |
| Chunkei Tang | Chem 1T4 | |||
| 2011-2012 | Jonny Sun | NΨ 1T1+PEY | Wayne Lin | Indy 1T1+PEY |
| Ian Parker (Assistant Producer) | Min 1T2+1 | |||
| 2010-2011 | Mason Lau | Chem 0T8 | Katerina Daginis | Chem 1T1 |
| Chris Tuff (Assistant Director) | Chem 1T0 | |||
| 2009-2010 | Daniel Marquez | Indy 0T8+1 | Katerina Daginis | Chem 1T1 |
| Mason Lau (Assistant Director) | Chem 0T8 | Alvin Ho | Elec 0T9+PEY | |
| 2008-2009 | Kian Marandi | Mech 0T7+2 | Rossana Rodriguez | Indy 1T0+1 |
| Steven Szeto | Indy 0T9 | |||
| 2007-2008 | Jordan Silverman | Mech 0T7 | Steven Szeto | Indy 0T9 |
| 2006-2007 | Chris Peressotti | NΨ 0T1 | Don McAuslan | NΨ 0T4 |
| Carolyn Hicks | Civ 0T7+PEY | |||
| 2005-2006 | Leona Smith | MSE 0T6 | Alice Xu | Arts 0T5 |
| 2004-2005 | Jon Hoss | NΨ 0T4+PEY | Matthew Szeto | Comp 0T3+1 |
| 2003-2004 | Jane Lam | Chem 0T2 | Carrie Smith | NΨ 0T3+PEY |
| Chris Langley (Assistant Director) | NΨ 0T2 | Matthew Szeto | Comp 0T3+1 | |
| 2002-2003 | Agnes Jedrzejewski | Comp 0T2 | Donovan Pollitt | Min 0T3 |
| 2001-2002 | Mike Wood | Min 0T2 | Tiffany Conroy | NΨ 0T1+1 |
| 2000-2001 | Chris Langley | NΨ 9T8 | Glenn Hauck | ? |
| 1999-2000 | Aryn Pyke | COMP 9T5 | Wilfred Lam | NΨ 0T0 |
| 1998-1999 | Kern Lewin | NΨ 9T7 | Xavier Galvez | Comp 9T9+PEY |
| 1997-1998 | Trevor Mills | NΨ 9T8+PEY | Kristin Hofstee | NΨ 9T8 |
| 1996-1997 | Alex Hatzivassilis | Elec 9T4 | Trevor Mills | NΨ 9T8+PEY |