Team Shows and Cabarets are one of Nyoda’s oldest traditions. The Gray team puts on a Team Show for the Orange Team in one session. Then the Orange team puts on a completely different Team Show for the Gray Team in the other session. And, of course, the Counselors do not want to be left out of the fun on the stage: Week Six culminates in a Cabaret where the Counselors put on a show for the campers. For many girls, being in a theater production with our Dramatics Department consists of many firsts: learning a song, choreographing a dance, and memorizing plot details. But even for campers who are on their way to Broadway before running down Nyoda’s driveway, it is a first for everyone to produce an hour long production with a cast of up to fifty girls in just 3 days … 3 times each summer.

Nyoda is constantly evolving, but the best part of the “Then and Now” of Camp Nyoda’s Team Shows and Cabarets is that across the seven decades interviewed, the similarities far outnumbered the differences.

The shows Carnival, Brigadoon and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang haven’t been performed in over 25 years. But the past quarter-century has brought new movies and shows to theaters and, thus, to Nyoda. Recent Team Show premieres include Monsters Inc., Holes, Finding Nemo, Princess Bride, Little Rascals, Princess Diaries and Shrek, which since debuting in Theaters in 2001 has already been a Team Show twice (2005 and 2017).

But some classics have persisted through the decades:

The shows have always been a BIG secret from the audience. Rehearsals are in the barn for two and a half days and campers who are not in the show must sing as they pass. However the Speaker System they use now to drown out any sounds of practicing to Barn passerby’s is definitely a recent addition to the process.

The show is finally revealed at the lunch immediately before the afternoon’s performance with a clue on the table. To build the anticipation on show day, old Team Show/Cabaret Theme songs are sung at Breakfast and Lunch, although in the 1950s the theme songs were not restricted to that one day, but rather sung all summer long to build excitement. Songs like “Another Opening, Another Show” and “This is Your Once a Year Day” have been sung to the performers on show day dating back to at least the 1960s.

As is no surprise, the singing continued from the Dining Room to the Performances. Group songs with dances for younger campers/counselors, solos for the Tiamalians/older counselors, and excuses like “I’m not a good singer” would not be entertained by Dramatics Counselors. Few can hit the high F# that Mother Abbess sings in Climb Every Mountain in “The Sound of Music”, but creativity was encouraged AND remembered.

The solos, duets and group songs in Team Show have modernized and are not necessarily from the show’s original score.

1967’s Robin Hood used the actual theme song from “The Adventures of Robin Hood” in their show: “Robin Hood, Robin Hood riding through the glen. Robin Hood, Robin Hood with his band of men. Feared by the bad, loved by the good, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.” And it should be noted that Orange Team Captain Susan Wittman Ott still remembers those lyrics fifty one years later!

2004’s Robin Hood featured a memorable duet between The Sherriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)”, originally from 1946’s Annie Get Your Gun. Most recently, 2016’s Robin Hood had junior campers added a modern twist when they played the other archers in the competition singing “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled. Hits from Alicia Keys, Spice Girls, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Michael Buble and Taylor Swift have all been included in recent Team Shows to match the plot line. However, Cabarets still stick to the original show’s music.

The set of every Team Show and Cabaret is what brings each show to life. The Maples transforms into the interior of a Mansion, the Old Athletic Field is now a Drive-In Movie Theater and Bungs 1-4 constitute an entire town with villagers in the streets … or chimney sweeps on the roofs.

Scenes have always taken place at various locations around camp. The audience has to walk from scene to scene … while the actors have to run. It used to be that two Wapomeans were chosen to lead the Team Captain from scene to scene. But now, it’s all of the performers in the Wapomeo Bungalow holding hands with each other and the Team Captain. Upon arriving at each scene, campers are sure to be mesmerized with the set that appeared just an hour earlier.

Not every scene has to be fully created, Nyoda girls know to use the resources at their disposal. In 2010’s Wizard of Oz, the Farmhouse Porch was Dorothy’s Porch while the Garden next to it was where you found Mr. Scarecrow perched pretending to protect the Farmhouse’s real flowers.

The Von Trapp Family sang their last song in 1988 walking up the hill pretending it was the hills of Switzerland. Then ten years later, a different Von Trapp Family flipped out of a real canoe into the shallow end after their day of play with Maria. And of course, whether it’s the Wicked Witch of the West melting or Mufasa falling off a cliff, dramatic death scenes off of the Deep End of the Swimming Dock are staples of the Nyoda Dramatics Department.

The songs are learned, the scenes are set … now the actors must get in costume. It turns out that between the 100 trunks of clothes and a fully-stocked Prop Room, almost any costume can be found! Bright green leotard for Robin Hood? Check. Long sleeve denim dress for Maria? Check. A Suit for Daddy Warbucks? Check. And of course, whenever in need of a uniform, a white top, blue shorts and bandanas where in every trunk on the hill. But sometimes you just needed to create the vision.

Twenty one different alumni contributed their memories to piece together the history of these five shows. Many admitted to being nervous. Even more admitted that this helped them step out of their comfort zone. But the biggest similarity was not the costumes or the songs, but the CAST. There is undeniably a resilient feeling of accomplishment and unity after a Team Show and Cabaret.

There may have been many changes from then (1954) to now (2018), but there is consistently a true personal impact of Team Show/Cabaret. Working tirelessly for three days to memorize lyrics, choreograph dances, build scenery and create costumes, could be daunting, but when it’s next to your best friends it’s always the time of your life.