Theatre of the Relatively Talentless

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The Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (TORT) is a student theatrical company that puts on musicals and other performances written, produced, directed and performed by law students of the University of Minnesota Law School. [1] TORT is a campus life program through the University of Minnesota Student Activities Office and operates under the purview of the Law School. Formed in 2002, it "provides law students and faculty with a desperately needed creative outlet." [2]

Contents

Membership

TORT is open to "all law students without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, creed, marital status, public assistance status, sexual orientation, class standing, political preferences, bluebooking skill, or ability to use the term "a fortiori" in a sentence." [3] TORT is governed year-round by an executive board consisting of two producers, a director, a music director, a technical director, a head writer, a treasurer, a head costumer, and a choreographer. [4] As TORT has become more established, the cast has grown to more than 70 members. Participants are often known as the TORTfeasors.

Musical

Scene from T.O.R.T.'s 2004 production of Law Wars. TORTmusical04-102.jpg
Scene from T.O.R.T.'s 2004 production of Law Wars.

The musical is an annual event held in late March or early April of each year. The event draws over a thousand audience members each year. The show is notable for its cameos by law school professors, deans, staff, alumni and other distinguished members of the Minnesota legal community.

The theme is chosen shortly after the last year's show, and a draft of the script is completed over the summer. Auditions are held during the fall semester, and rehearsals begin at the start of spring semester.

Cast members may be assigned as leads, featured singers, featured dancers, or members of the chorus. Chorus members may also have speaking lines, and often impersonate law school professors, staff, or administrators. TORT has its own pit orchestra, also composed entirely of law students, which provides musical accompaniment for the show.

Executive Board members for the following year are elected on the night of each final performance.

Past shows

Cameos

Walter Mondale at the introduction of the "Fighting Mondales" following the 2004 production of Law Wars. UMNFightingMondales.jpg
Walter Mondale at the introduction of the "Fighting Mondales" following the 2004 production of Law Wars.

2003

VIP

Law School

2004

VIP

Law School

The international students, Frankenlaw, and Igor in the 2007 production of Frankenlaw. Photo by Emily Melvin. Monsters emily.jpg
The international students, Frankenlaw, and Igor in the 2007 production of Frankenlaw. Photo by Emily Melvin.

2005

VIP

Law School

2006

VIP

Law School

Mob scene from the 2007 production of Frankenlaw. Photo by Jessica Johnson. Frankenlawmob2.jpg
Mob scene from the 2007 production of Frankenlaw. Photo by Jessica Johnson.

2007

VIP

Law School

2008

VIP

Law School

TORT Alumni

2024

Law School

Alumni

Past TORTfeasors have formed an alumni group called TORT Alumni Relationship Taskforce (TART). [28] [29] This group is responsible for organizing the alumni afterparty for the Saturday night performance of each year's musical. It also hosts alumni events over the course of the year, and maintains alumni contact information, in order to help the TORT Executive Board with recruiting VIPs, selling tickets, and generating sponsors.

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References

  1. ↑ "Student Organizations | University of Minnesota Law School".
  2. ↑ "About Us - U of MN Law School". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  3. ↑ "About Us - U of MN Law School". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  4. ↑ "Executive Board - U of MN Law School". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  5. ↑ Emily Ayshford, Musical pokes fun at life in the Law School, Minnesota Daily, March 8, 2004.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Naomi Scott, U law students put spin on 'Wonka', Minnesota Daily, March 4, 2005.
  8. ↑ Cass Erickson, Playtime for Law School students, UMN News, March 2, 2005.
  9. ↑ Anna Pia Nicolas, TORT Show Sings and Dances to Sell-Out Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine , Perspectives, Spring 2006 (page 63).
  10. ↑ Megan Kadrmas, A famous play the Law School way, Minnesota Daily, March 2, 2006.
  11. ↑ Elizabeth Cook, Law students perform parody of Frankenstein, Minnesota Daily, March 2, 2007.
  12. ↑ Danny LaChance, About Campus: Stage Fright, Minnesota Magazine, May 5, 2007.
  13. ↑ The Merry Band of TORT Heroes Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine , Perspectives, Spring 2008.
  14. ↑ TORT Squad Brings Ditherer to Her Senses, University of Minnesota Law School (MARCH 19, 2009).
  15. ↑ Courtney Mault, Breaking Legs in Mondale Hall, Minnesota Law & Politics
  16. ↑ TORT Tames Eternal Struggle in "Midsemester Night's Dream" Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine , e-Perspectives, Spring 2010.
  17. ↑ Harry Torter Conquers Injustice in TORT Production Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine , e-Perspectives, Spring 2011.
  18. ↑ Performance viewable online: Google "Alawddin"
  19. ↑ TORT Discloses Hidden Talent for Tenth Year Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine , e-Perspectives, Spring 2012.
  20. ↑ U of M Theatre of the Relatively Talentless Presents 'Alawddin', KSTP-Hennepin County, Monday, February 27th, 2012.
  21. ↑ Performance viewable online: Google "Back to the Future Interest"
  22. ↑ TORT Travels Back to the Future Mondale Hall Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine , e-Perspectives, Spring 2013.
  23. ↑ "Clue: A Murder Mystery in Mondale (2014) – T.O.R.T." umntort.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  24. ↑ "Walt Mondale's Froze-In (2015) – T.O.R.T." umntort.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23.
  25. ↑ "Minnesota Jones (2016) Full Color Playbill – T.O.R.T." umntort.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10.
  26. ↑ "The TORT Producers". Theatre of the Relatively Talentless. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  27. ↑ levis016 (2019-02-25). "TORT Presents: Tale as Old as Time". University of Minnesota Law School. Retrieved 2019-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Theater-of-the-Relatively-Talentless-TORT-Alumni/222086921212025 [ user-generated source ]
  29. ↑ " @tortalumni " on Twitter
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