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BY MARA REVKIN

In print | Published April 3, 2008

Almost one year after the phoenix was voted in as Swarthmore’s official mascot, a series of grueling auditions has yielded five finalists who will collectively represent the character at various athletic events and campus functions.

Over the weekend, Melissa Grigsby ‘09, Dan Hodson ’09, Juliana Macri ’09, Scott Storm ’08 and Joel Tolliver ’10 surpassed stiff competition from several other hopefuls in public as well as closed-door auditions to earn the privilege of representing the phoenix. According to Kyle White ’08, an architect of the mascot selection process, the team of five students will coordinate their schedules and take shifts representing the phoenix at its numerous public appearances, ensuring that the mascot’s visibility around campus does not suffer from the time constraints of its student incarnation. “Because people at Swarthmore are so busy, this allows students with differing time commitments and schedules to share the responsibility of wearing the suit,” White said.

In preparation for the tryouts, the Communications Office coordinated the “Mascot Communications Subcommittee,” a group of students and staff who helped orchestrate the two rounds of auditions that took place over the weekend.

In Saturday’s preliminary round of auditions, Anna Baeth ‘09, Alex Gilbert-Bono ’10, Finlay Logan ’08, Macri, Hodson, Grigsby and Storm appeared before a packed audience in LPAC, where they were evaluated on the basis of three separate criteria: talent, athletic performance and pep. Kyle White ’08, an architect of the mascot selection process, and Claire Melin ’08, a co-founder of the Ladies Soiree Society, emceed the event, which was scrutinized by a diverse panel of judges including Associate Dean of Student Life Myrt Westphal, Registrar Martin Warner, assistant track and field coach Tom Reynolds, Suneal Bedi ’09, Maggie DeLorme ’10 as well as a visiting consultant and authority on character branding, Dave Raymond. Raymond spent over 16 years as the original Philly Phanatic before founding Raymond Entertainment Group, a consulting firm with which the college has worked over the mascot’s conceptualization.

According to White, Saturday’s competition allowed the judges to evaluate the contestants’ energy and movement as well as their ability to motivate a crowd. “In the final [pep] section, the contestants were played a 30 second clip of music and they had to use that time to get the crowd pumped up. We wanted to see how the audience would respond to their unique personalities,” White said.

The public auditions yielded four finalists: Hodson, Macri, Grigsby and Storm. Tolliver made his debut at a walk-on audition the following day.

At Sunday’s closed-door auditions, each finalist spent nearly an hour in front of the judges, some of which was spent in the phoenix costume itself. As each contestant donned the suit, Raymond gave directions on how to move and act. According to Macri, the person inside the costume cannot speak or show facial expressions, which complicates the portrayl of emotions.

“The suit doesn’t restrict movement too much, but visibility is pretty bad. You actually have to see through a mesh panel in the phoenix’s neck, and in order to have the head of the mascot facing forward, you have to be looking down,” Macri said.

According to Macri, two of the five finalists have to be on hand for any given appearance by the mascot, since putting the suit on is a feat in and of itself. “There are lots of buckles and straps, so it’s important to have someone there to help you,” Macri said.

According to White, the Mascot Committee has set up an email address — mascot@swarthmore.edu — to field requests for appearances by the mascot, who has already been booked for tomorrow’s Alumni Council meeting and upcoming events including the Mr. Swarthmore competition, Senior Week and Commencement. White will work with Assistant Director of Student Life Kelly Wilcox ‘97 to coordinate the mascot’s public appearances.

Director of Communications Nancy Nicely said that she anticipates great future demand for such appearances, which will facilitate the character’s integration into the college’s culture. “We have already received a half dozen requests for this semester and I think this will only increase over time,” Nicely said.

According to Macri, the team of students has been given considerable freedom to “develop the personality of the mascot.” White said that the five finalists were chosen because “they all brought unique energy and gave life to our concept of what the phoenix should be.” Although the Mascot Committee spent much of the fall semester brainstorming a rough framework for the mascot’s character, it is up to the students who wear the costume to develop unique traits.

“We wanted the phoenix to be quirky, clumsy, slightly rumpled, but also friendly. We chose characteristics that embody Swarthmore’s values, but we didn’t get too specific about personality. We’re hoping that the mascot’s personality will evolve over this spring and next fall, and the finalists will play a big part in that,” White said.

The Communications Office has taken several steps to enhance the mascot’s visibility. “The responses we’ve received so far have been very positive and supportive,” Nicely said. The mascot will be publicized on the college’s News Web site with a feature article supplemented by video footage of the auditions.

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