Shimer's Horse of a Different Color

by: Peter Vincent
photos by: Jonathan Timm
Complete with original songwriters, poets, and puppeteers, the Shimer community gathered once again for Orange Horse on the evening of March 20. Students, alumni, staff, and friends crowded Cinderella Lounge on Shimer’s floor amidst the IIT campus. Second years Sean Ryan and Jack Garvin MC’d the event (pictured left), electing to choose volunteers at random for performances to give the show more spontaneity than usual.

Upholding tradition, third year Meg Nelson told the infamous “clown joke”, the exact contents of which aren’t quite appropriate for a mass audience, but in a nutshell describe a boy’s lifetime of preparation for revenge against a deprecating circus clown, only to end in far fewer words than anticipated at his defining moment. However, first years Lena McCain and Vicky Costello took away honors for the amount of time and preparation for their act. They rewrote the majority of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to suit a 10 minute play complete with hand puppets, new rhymes, and a few hilarious puns. Even the stage was redesigned consisting of 4 ½ foot tall cardboard and linen rig. (pictured below)

Shimerians also performed original poems and songs, with a few taking advantage of the lounge piano (like Ari Robbins, pictured below). In all the night consisted of good food, strong performances, and even stronger laughs. The Orange Horse tradition is still alive and well at Shimer College and students already look forward to doing it all again this coming Fall.