The Midwinter’s Night Lock-in was what Alpha Psi Omega members called their Friday night of madness in Rice Auditorium.
Members of the honorary theater fraternity got together to find out more about each other in a different environment than usual, with no pressure of memorizing lines or acting. The idea originated from a class project junior Hali Jewell and senior Amanda Luthi were working on. They brought it to Alpha Psi Omega to do a trial run to see how it would go.
President Brian Berrens said the members wanted to have a little party to strengthen the bond in theater and have some fun while doing it.
“I’m in charge of entertainment,” Berrens said. “I’m kind of nervous. The first time you do it, you don’t want anything to go wrong. This is the first time it’s been done at Baker.”
Junior Ashley Pike said she had a blast at the lock-in.
“I loved it,” she said. “I wish more people had come. I thought it was successful with the people who did come. I definitely think it should be done again.”
Luthi thought the night was a lot of fun, but she was disappointed by the lack in numbers.
“We would have liked more people to have come,” she said. “Only one freshman came.”
The members played games like charades and watched a movie while eating many snacks. They also decorated a Christmas tree. Assistant Professor of Theater Tom Heiman and his wife, Adjunct Instructor of Mass Media and Communication Patty Heiman, even showed up to have some fun with the games. Luthi said everyone worked together really well. Each member was responsible for helping, with some buying snacks or deciding on entertainment.
“We work together a lot,” Luthi said. “We designated different activities. We wanted time to sit and relax.”
One of the more entertaining parts of the night, Pike said, was when they put little sponge animals in water and watched them grow.
“Everyone there laughed,” she said. “We hung out with each other and had fun.”
All members had their own favorite part of the night, but playing games seemed to be the highlight of the evening.
“I really enjoyed the theater games,” Berrens said. “Tom Heiman even joined us.”
There was also a dance party with lights and a catwalk.
The tagline of the night was “We eat here, play here and work here – we might as well sleep here.”