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Teachers, comedy, makeup, music, dancing and the unveiling of the secret sweatpant design have been a tradition at STA’s annual auction raffle ticket pep rally since drawing teacher Theresa Wallerstedt began writing the script for the first auction pep rally 11 years ago. Wallerstedt wrote her first pep rally skit during her second year at STA, where the tradition of STA’s auction pep rally began on a napkin.

‘My second year [at STA] at in-service, the other art teacher wrote down on a napkin ‘ËœAustin Powers’ and we cast it right there,’ Wallerstedt said. ‘We put Austin Powers’”Craig Whitney, Mini Me’”Garvin.’

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Before writing the skit, Wallerstedt did her research. She saw ‘Austin Powers’ and took notes. Then, she began writing.

Every year, when Wallerstedt and drama teacher Shana Prentiss come up with the concept for the pep rally skit, they try to consider what theme would peak students’ interest.

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‘We decide the skit on what’s popular with the students now,’ Wallerstedt said. ‘So [we consider] what is the hot thing in the summer, what is the hot movie, whatever is really trending that we know the girls will know is how we decide what the skit will be.’

Wallerstedt had previous experience writing scripts from the time she spent writing plays for her sixth grade students when she taught at Visitation School. However, being used to writing scripts was not Wallerstedt’s only inspiration to write STA’s auction pep rallies.

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‘My first year here, the skit was really lame,’ Wallerstedt said.

According to world geography teacher Denise Rueschhoff, who participated in her tenth auction pep rally this year, the pep rally has become an enjoyable experience for both students and teachers.

‘[I] just get to be a complete and total bonehead goofball up there [on stage], and I always find [performing] really fun because I know how much the girls are enjoying it,’ Rueschhoff said.

Wallerstedt and Prentiss are in charge of casting the skit. Typically, they host an open call for participants rather than having a formal audition process. According to Rueschhoff, it can be a challenge to find volunteers which means that the cast is usually made up of the same group of teachers.

‘It’s typically not an audition,’ Rueschhoff said. ‘Whoever we can get to be in the thing is in it. Sometimes we have to beg.’

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Another challenge cast members face is rehearsal attendance. Both Rueschhoff and Wallerstedt agree that one of the most difficult obstacles in performing the pep rally is trying to get a cast of teachers with conflicting schedules together for rehearsal. According to Wallerstedt, she has yet to have a rehearsal with a full cast.

‘We try to rehearse every day for two weeks, but we never have a full cast due to other commitments such as cafeteria duty or advisory parties,’ Wallerstedt said. ‘It’s pretty difficult.’

At rehearsals, it is not uncommon to find the cast members improvising lines or choreography that are not originally in the script. Wallerstedt is open to such additions because she feels that the script is not set in stone. According to Rueschhoff, these lunch activity rehearsals in Prentiss’ room have produced some funny additions.

While teachers face obstacles such as not rehearsing with a full cast and only having one stage rehearsal, Rueschhoff feels that the 12 to 15 hours she dedicates to the pep rally skit are worthwhile.

‘Anything we can do to get you girls to sell tickets, we’ll do,’ Rueschhoff said. ‘Well, pretty much.”