Student disqualified from Cabaret
Content of skit breaks performer's contract
By Stephanie Musat
Posted: 3/6/08, 12:52 AM EST Section: News
Campus Cabaret, an event sponsored by the Residence Hall Association, started Tuesday with eight acts, but ended with seven.
Sophomore Caleb Sheldon was disqualified from the event Tuesday night by RHA for making "homophobic remarks and alluded to cutting himself and he said the f-word several times," said Victoria Simpson, director of social programming for RHA.
Sheldon performed an excerpt from "Camp Sunshine," a satire by Ken Bradbury at the Campus Cabaret, a campus-wide talent show featuring representatives from each dormitory and South Campus.
"I've performed it in front of people, and it's something that I've rehearsed for a while and I've never gotten 'this is so offensive, this is so inappropriate,'" Sheldon, who represented DellPlain Hall at the event, said. "And one of the main reasons I don't get this response is because it really isn't that inappropriate."
Sheldon was interrupted during his performance by the event's master of ceremonies because they didn't want him to continue swearing throughout the rest of the performance.
He used expletives twice in his performance.
The disqualification was a choice made by the RHA, not by the judges although the judges stopped scoring, Simpson said.
Before the cabaret, Simpson met with all the performers to discuss the criteria, how the scoring works and to ensure each performer signed a contract, she said.
"The contract basically said that there weren't going to be any homophobic, discriminatory or racist remarks and that the performers are not going to swear," she said.
She also said other participants adjusted to the criteria by editing their songs to cater to the audience. Because it was a free event, anyone could have attended, so the criteria were tailored to ensure the cabaret would be completely appropriate.
Michael Grzelak, president of RHA, said Sheldon missed two of the meetings so Simpson had to go out of her way to explain the contract to him. This was not an issue with any other participant, he said.
Sophomore Caleb Sheldon was disqualified from the event Tuesday night by RHA for making "homophobic remarks and alluded to cutting himself and he said the f-word several times," said Victoria Simpson, director of social programming for RHA.
Sheldon performed an excerpt from "Camp Sunshine," a satire by Ken Bradbury at the Campus Cabaret, a campus-wide talent show featuring representatives from each dormitory and South Campus.
"I've performed it in front of people, and it's something that I've rehearsed for a while and I've never gotten 'this is so offensive, this is so inappropriate,'" Sheldon, who represented DellPlain Hall at the event, said. "And one of the main reasons I don't get this response is because it really isn't that inappropriate."
Sheldon was interrupted during his performance by the event's master of ceremonies because they didn't want him to continue swearing throughout the rest of the performance.
He used expletives twice in his performance.
The disqualification was a choice made by the RHA, not by the judges although the judges stopped scoring, Simpson said.
Before the cabaret, Simpson met with all the performers to discuss the criteria, how the scoring works and to ensure each performer signed a contract, she said.
"The contract basically said that there weren't going to be any homophobic, discriminatory or racist remarks and that the performers are not going to swear," she said.
She also said other participants adjusted to the criteria by editing their songs to cater to the audience. Because it was a free event, anyone could have attended, so the criteria were tailored to ensure the cabaret would be completely appropriate.
Michael Grzelak, president of RHA, said Sheldon missed two of the meetings so Simpson had to go out of her way to explain the contract to him. This was not an issue with any other participant, he said.
Be the first to comment on this story