Theatre of the Relatively Talentless
Encyclopedia
The Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (T.O.R.T.) is a theatrical company that puts on musicals and other performances written, produced, directed and performed by students of the University of Minnesota Law School
. T.O.R.T. is a duly registered, non-profit, campus life student organization through the University of Minnesota
Student Activities Office and operates under the purview of the Law School. Formed in 2002, its goal is to "provid[e] law students and faculty with a desperately needed creative outlet." By far the most visible activity that T.O.R.T. engages in is the annual Law School Musical, but also may appear at various law-related functions under the aliases of "The Law School Singers" and "Law School Vocal Ambassadors."
Membership in T.O.R.T. is traditionally open to "all law students without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, creed, marital status, public assistance status, sexual orientation, class standing, political preferences, bluebook
ing skill, or ability to use the term a fortiori in a sentence." T.O.R.T. is governed year-round by a 10-member Executive Board consisting of two producers, a director, a music director, a technical director, a head writer, a treasurer, a VIP liaison, a head costumer, and a choreographer. As T.O.R.T. has become more established, the cast has grown to a current size of more than 80 members. Participants are known as the TORTfeasors.
Traditionally acted, written, directed, produced, and run entirely by students, the musical is an annual event held in late February or early March of each year. The event draws over a thousand audience members each year and features cameos by law school professors, deans, staff, alumni and other distinguished members of the Minnesota
legal community.
The theme, which is kept a secret to all but the Executive Board until auditions, is chosen during the summer. Auditions are held during the fall semester, and the script is written and theater is reserved before spring semester.
Cast members are assigned either to lead parts or to the chorus. Chorus members may also have speaking lines, and often impersonate law school professors, staff, or administrators.
Executive Board members for the following year are elected on the night of each final performance.
Law School
Law School
Law School
Law School
Law School
Law School
TORT Alumni
University of Minnesota Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D.,...
. T.O.R.T. is a duly registered, non-profit, campus life student organization through the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
Student Activities Office and operates under the purview of the Law School. Formed in 2002, its goal is to "provid[e] law students and faculty with a desperately needed creative outlet." By far the most visible activity that T.O.R.T. engages in is the annual Law School Musical, but also may appear at various law-related functions under the aliases of "The Law School Singers" and "Law School Vocal Ambassadors."
Membership in T.O.R.T. is traditionally open to "all law students without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, creed, marital status, public assistance status, sexual orientation, class standing, political preferences, bluebook
Bluebook
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. The Bluebook is compiled by the Harvard Law Review Association, the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal....
ing skill, or ability to use the term a fortiori in a sentence." T.O.R.T. is governed year-round by a 10-member Executive Board consisting of two producers, a director, a music director, a technical director, a head writer, a treasurer, a VIP liaison, a head costumer, and a choreographer. As T.O.R.T. has become more established, the cast has grown to a current size of more than 80 members. Participants are known as the TORTfeasors.
Musical
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
legal community.
The theme, which is kept a secret to all but the Executive Board until auditions, is chosen during the summer. Auditions are held during the fall semester, and the script is written and theater is reserved before spring semester.
Cast members are assigned either to lead parts or to the chorus. Chorus members may also have speaking lines, and often impersonate law school professors, staff, or administrators.
Executive Board members for the following year are elected on the night of each final performance.
Current Show
The next show will be performed on March 4 & 5, 2011, at the Pantages Theatre. The theme has not yet been announced.Past Shows
- 2003: Wizard of Fritz - a spoof on The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, performed in the Open Book Loft in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. - 2004: Law Wars - a spoof on Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, performed in the Coffman Memorial UnionCoffman Memorial UnionCoffman Memorial Union is the student union on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota, United States. It anchors the south side of Northrop Mall, on the south side of Washington Avenue, overlooking the Mississippi River...
Theatre on the Minneapolis campus of the University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. - 2005: Walter Wonka & the Lawyer Factory - a spoof on Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
, performed in the St. Paul Student Center Theatre on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. - 2006: West Bank Story - a spoof on West Side Story, performed in the St. Paul Student Center Theatre at the University of Minnesota
- 2007: Frankenlaw - a spoof on FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, performed in the Pantages TheatrePantages Theatre (Minneapolis)The Pantages Theatre is a historic theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original building was a Beaux-Arts style twelve-story complex on Hennepin Avenue, designed by Kees & Colburn and operated by Alexander Pantages, a Greek immigrant who opened 500 theatres.The building was reduced...
in downtown Minneapolis. - 2008: Robin Hood, Esq. - a spoof on Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, performed in the Pantages TheatrePantages Theatre (Minneapolis)The Pantages Theatre is a historic theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original building was a Beaux-Arts style twelve-story complex on Hennepin Avenue, designed by Kees & Colburn and operated by Alexander Pantages, a Greek immigrant who opened 500 theatres.The building was reduced...
in downtown Minneapolis. - 2009: It's A Wonderful Law School - a spoof on It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, performed in the Pantages TheatrePantages Theatre (Minneapolis)The Pantages Theatre is a historic theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original building was a Beaux-Arts style twelve-story complex on Hennepin Avenue, designed by Kees & Colburn and operated by Alexander Pantages, a Greek immigrant who opened 500 theatres.The building was reduced...
in downtown Minneapolis. - 2010: A Midsemester Night's Dream - a spoof on A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, performed in the Pantages TheatrePantages Theatre (Minneapolis)The Pantages Theatre is a historic theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original building was a Beaux-Arts style twelve-story complex on Hennepin Avenue, designed by Kees & Colburn and operated by Alexander Pantages, a Greek immigrant who opened 500 theatres.The building was reduced...
in downtown Minneapolis. - 2011: Harry Torter and the Magical Law School - a spoof on Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
, performed in the Pantages TheatrePantages Theatre (Minneapolis)The Pantages Theatre is a historic theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original building was a Beaux-Arts style twelve-story complex on Hennepin Avenue, designed by Kees & Colburn and operated by Alexander Pantages, a Greek immigrant who opened 500 theatres.The building was reduced...
in downtown Minneapolis.
Cameos
2003
VIP- Former Vice President Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
('56) - Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Paul H. AndersonPaul H. AndersonPaul H. Anderson is currently an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, taking office on July 1, 1994. He previously served as Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 1992-1994....
('68) - Federal District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen ('81)
Law School
- Dean Alex Johnson
- Professor Ann Burkhart
- Professor Guy-Uriel Charles
- Professor Jim ChenJim ChenJim Chen is the current Dean of the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, after recently leaving his position as professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School...
- Professor John Matheson
- Professor Judith T. Younger
2004
VIP- Former Vice President Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
('56) - Then-Attorney GeneralAttorney GeneralIn most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Minnesota Mike HatchMike HatchMichael Allen Hatch is an American politician, and was Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007. In 2006, he was the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee for governor of Minnesota...
('73) - Federal District Court Judge James M. Rosenbaum ('69)
- Hennepin County District Court Judge (then Chief Judge) Kevin S. Burke ('75)
Law School
- Dean Alex Johnson
- Professor Dale CarpenterDale CarpenterDale Carpenter is an American legal commentator and Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law at the University of Minnesota Law School...
- Professor Maury Landsman
- Professor John Matheson
- Susan Gainen, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
2005
VIP- Former Vice President Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
('56) - Then-Hennepin County District AttorneyDistrict attorneyIn many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharAmy Jean Klobuchar is the senior United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party...
(currently a U.S. Senator representing MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
) - Hennepin County District Court Judge Stephen AldrichStephen AldrichStephen Aldrich is an American judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota.According to the Star Tribune he has a pattern of making crude jokes at the expense of suspects and court officials.Aldrich joked about sending a Somalian suspect to Guantanamo....
('71)
Law School
- Dean Alex Johnson
- Associate Dean of Students Erin Keyes
- Associate Dean Jim Chen
- Professor Bradley Clary
- Professor Laura Cooper
- Professor Maury Landsman
- Professor John Matheson
- Professor Judith T. Younger
- Collins Byrd, then-Director of Admissions
- Susan Gainen, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Steve Marchese, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Linda Lokensgard, Director, Building & Events
2006
VIP- Former Minnesota Attorney General Mike HatchMike HatchMichael Allen Hatch is an American politician, and was Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007. In 2006, he was the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee for governor of Minnesota...
('73) - Federal District Court Judge John R. Tunheim ('80)
Law School
- Dean Alex Johnson
- Associate Dean of Students Erin Keyes
- Professor John Matheson
- Professor Judith T. Younger
- Professor Jim Chen
- Susan Gainen, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Vic Massaglia, Career Advisor in the Career & Professional Development Center
2007
VIP- Former Vice President Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
('56) - Federal District Court Judge John R. Tunheim ('80)
- Federal District Court Judge James M. Rosenbaum ('69)
- Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Paul H. AndersonPaul H. AndersonPaul H. Anderson is currently an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, taking office on July 1, 1994. He previously served as Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 1992-1994....
('68) - Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Lorie Skjerven GildeaLorie Skjerven GildeaLorie Skjerven Gildea is an attorney and the current Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She served as an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2006 to 2010, and as a district judge for Hennepin County in the Fourth Judicial District from 2005 to 2006.-Early life and...
Law School
- Co-Dean Fred Morrison
- Co-Dean Guy-Uriel Charles
- Professor John Matheson
- Professor Judith T. Younger
- Professor Laura Cooper
- Professor Ruth Okediji
- Professor Stephen Befort
- Professor Bradley Clary
- Professor Maury Landsman
- Professor Prentiss Cox
- Susan Gainen, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Steven Marchese, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Vic Massaglia, Career Advisor, Career & Professional Development Center
2008
VIP- Federal District Court Judge James M. Rosenbaum ('69)
- Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Paul H. AndersonPaul H. AndersonPaul H. Anderson is currently an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, taking office on July 1, 1994. He previously served as Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 1992-1994....
('68) - Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Lorie Skjerven GildeaLorie Skjerven GildeaLorie Skjerven Gildea is an attorney and the current Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She served as an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2006 to 2010, and as a district judge for Hennepin County in the Fourth Judicial District from 2005 to 2006.-Early life and...
- Mike CiresiMike CiresiMichael "Mike" V. Ciresi is a prominent trial attorney and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for the United States Senate from Minnesota. He dropped out on March 10, 2008. Ciresi gained his public reputation by litigating several high-profile mass tort cases...
('71)
Law School
- Co-Dean Fred Morrison
- Co-Dean Guy-Uriel Charles
- Professor John Matheson
- Professor Judith T. Younger
- Professor Claire Hill
- Professor Richard Frase
- Professor Stephen Befort
- Professor Heidi Kitrosser
- Professor Laura Cooper
- Professor Prentiss Cox
- Susan Gainen, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Steven Marchese, Director, Career & Professional Development Center
- Vic Massaglia, Career Advisor, Career & Professional Development Center
TORT Alumni
- Kirby Petersen ('07)
- Trevor Helmers ('07)