The Story
He's Beauty and He's Grace, He's... Mr. William and Mary
On Thursday, February 18th, the Commonwealth Auditorium was filled with the appreciative laughter of an audience watching the odd antics of ten William & Mary male students. No, these weren’t members of I.T. or the 7th Grade Comedy Club. Instead, they were the competitors for the Mr. William and Mary pageant, put on every year by the Bone Marrow Drive (BMD). These men spent the evening showing off their good looks, talents and intellect, striving to prove that they had what it takes to be Mr. William and Mary.
The competitors were McKinley Sims (’10), Patrick Leavitt (’13), Brian Terrill (’12), Sebastian Brock (’11), Stuart Shields (’12), John Donehey (’10), Mark Nauta (’11), Lamar Shambley (’10), Philip Embury (’10), and the absent David Schneider (’10), who was showing off his talents at another competition: a basketball game against Iona for the ESPN BracketBusters contest.
After a slight delay, the MCs Hayley Reddish (’10) and John Stanford (’10) introduced the three judges: Clay Clemens, Associate Chair/Chancellor Professor in the Government Department, Anne Arseneau, Associate Director of Student Activities, and Ginger Ambler, Vice President for Student Affairs.
“There were three categories - evening wear, talent, and interview, for which the candidates were each scored 1-10,” said Jennifer Grenga, the co-chair with Stanford of BMD campus events.
So the contestants were escorted in for their introductions in their evening wear. However, the phrase “evening wear” is used loosely, as the boys interpreted this to mean anything from a top hat with sunglasses to simply carrying a towel over a shirtless shoulder.
For Shambley, one escort was not enough so instead he had fourteen. Shields, on the other hand, needed only one: himself. What’s certain is that all the competitors quickly established their big personalities.
“The guys take it in a very light-hearted way,” said Grenga when asked why Mr. William and Mary. “They make it a lot of fun and are willing to help our cause by doing some very bizarre acts.”
And boy did they ever.
“I didn’t know some of the other contestants were going to have stuff planned with choreography and all that jazz,” Nauta said of the talent portion, most likely referring to Donehey’s Riverdance-esque performance and Shambley’s step routine with BMD chant. “I went in and pretty much winged it.”
Nauta was one of the other dance performances, showing off his break-dancing. Other talents were more obscure, like Brock’s yo-yo styling, Sims’s Napoleon Dynamite Snuggie dance, and Leavitt’s lip-syncing Mambo No. 5 with the help of his friends dressed in drag.
By far, the most bizarre act was Terrill’s who played My Heart Will Go On with two instruments. The first was a slide whistle… played through his nose.
“The second instrument I played was one of my own design,” Terrill said. “A Hannibal Lecter mask with a nose whistle fitted into it so that I can play the whistle while keeping my hands free.”
After every performance, the judges provided colorful commentary.
“I don’t know if he’ll end up being Mr. William and Mary,” Clemens said of Shields’ song and dance performance, “but he is so William and Mary.”
“I’ll never look at the opening ceremonies the same again,” Arseneau said of Embury’s stand-up comedy routine, which commented on the potentially raunchier aspects of the Olympics.
The final category was the interview. Every contestant answered, “Why should you be Mr. William and Mary?” The second question was a random one pulled out by the judges. They ranged from, “What are your feelings on random hook-ups and dormcest?” to “Who is your male celebrity crush?”
While the judges tallied the scores, BMD member Annah Mackin shared a story about a W&M family that has been directly influenced by the BMD.
“In order for the family to have their father return home, they must remove all the carpet floors from their house because of their weak immune system [from leukemia],” Grenga said about the family’s situation. “Thankfully, we have had many successful fundraisers this year and we are proud to say that all of our proceeds… will be given to this family in need.”
Finally, the results were announced. Mark Nauta won second runner up, John Donehey was first runner up, and the 2010 Mr. William and Mary is Lamar Shambley.
“All the contestants were wonderful,” Grenga said. “Each of them was so compassionate, excited, and talented… but since Lamar did incorporate Bone Marrow Drive in his step routine, I certainly think he earned the crown.”
Every contestant graciously accepted the results.
“The only regret I have is not growing out a fro like Napoleon Dynamite,” said Sims.
“I’m very happy about the results,” said the newly crowned Shambley. “I really do believe that each of the guys were amazing in what they did. They were all incredibly nice guys but I’m glad that the judges pulled my way.”
Leavitt nicely summed up the feel of the whole evening.
“I really don’t mind the results because it was never about winning. It was about having fun, poking fun at yourself, and supporting a great cause.”