Prom night is often seen as the most festive event of teenhood. Phillip Baggett manages to steer clear of the glamorous party plans and highlight the one stressful step taken way before the big night. This piece takes you on a journey with Baggett as he tackles the issue of asking a girl to prom. He even uses music to draw us in but there are no distracting lyrics. It's interesting to hear a guy go through the difficulties of asking someone out when it has become such a casual thing to do. It is also refreshing to hear him break away from the pressure to be macho and just be himself. His first attempt doesn't recieve very good feedback. He politely asks, "Would you do me the honor of going to prom with me?" Bagget is told that he sounds a bit too polite and old fashioned. He had a few suggestions on how he should ask a gril to prom before finally getting what he wanted, how he wanted. Perhaps he could have gone into detail about why it was so important to have a date to give the audience a better sense of who he is. Either way, he definately puts himself out there with honesty. Phillip Bagett's personal piece had a lot of personality which, in my opinion, is crucial on radio.
Will You Go To Prom With Me? is an adorable piece about the trials and tribulations of acquiring that all-important prom date. The piece is a personal narrative from Phillip Baggett and I loved it. I especially liked the unique perspective of a guy looking for a prom date which I thought was interesting, since as a girl I always assumed that guys had no trouble finding a date. Throughout the piece Phil asks multiple girls not only if they'll go to prom with him, but also how he should ask the next girl. It becomes humorous as he asks advice from three different girls and gets three different responses. The piece has a great blend of audio from interviews to music that helps to take you through this difficult journey with Phil.
Will You Go To Prom With Me? is truly fitting for any show about prom (which happens to be this month) or even a show about teen dating.
This is a fun, first-person audio essay on one teen's effort to get a date to the prom.
I like the simplicity of this piece - it's not overdone and it's a subject most of us can relate to. The one question left though, did he get a date?
This piece works as an easy drop-in to the cutaway slot in WESUN, WESAT or Day to Day. It's also timeless, so in can work in future years around prom, homecoming etc.
'Tis the season to go a-promming. Yet when young Phillip Baggett's fancy turns to a woman to ask to the prom, he finds himself tongue-tied.
Well, not exactly. He tries popping the question, "Kirsten, will you do me the honor of going to Prom with me?" She demurs, and he offers that the formality of his invitation sounds as though it came from 1943.
In spring 2007, when it comes to finding a date for the prom, Phil is beset with the same shyness his granddad faced in the 1940s. This the-more-it-changes-the-more-it's-the-same befuddlement may have to do with the current generation, in which formal dating has given way to "hooking up." If so, then another young woman's solution to Phil's problem, "Hey, you're coming to Prom with me, that's it, no questions asked about it," would be cool. Phil rejects this hang-out/hit-on/hook-up macho bee ess, though; he longs for more.
He also rejects another female interviewee's suggestion that he print up a card with a "yes" and a "no" box to be checked off by the woman being asked out.
Meanwhile, a background sound track, with quarter notes banging away on a piano in repeated chords with a rinky-dink melody line, stresses the pulse beat of anxiety Phil is feeling. It's not as though he fancies himself a Prom King looking for an ideal Queen. He just wants someone to go out with.
I won't divulge the surprise ending of this amusing interstitial. Instead, let me say that Curie Youth Radio has once again given us a gem. This particular diamond of a production gains its brilliance from being old-fashioned, like the institution of marriage. As a reaction to our hook-up culture, "Will You Go To Prom With Me" is, in the best sense of the term, a revolutionary setback. The fact that its characters are totally hip, street-smart denizens of southwest Chi Town makes it all the more fresh and irresistible.
Comments for Will You Go To Prom With Me?
Produced by Phillip Baggett for Curie Youth Radio
Other pieces by Curie Youth Radio
Rating Summary
4 comments
Kaila Strickland
Posted on May 08, 2008 at 02:02 PM | Permalink
Review of Will You Go To Prom With Me?
Prom night is often seen as the most festive event of teenhood. Phillip Baggett manages to steer clear of the glamorous party plans and highlight the one stressful step taken way before the big night. This piece takes you on a journey with Baggett as he tackles the issue of asking a girl to prom. He even uses music to draw us in but there are no distracting lyrics. It's interesting to hear a guy go through the difficulties of asking someone out when it has become such a casual thing to do. It is also refreshing to hear him break away from the pressure to be macho and just be himself. His first attempt doesn't recieve very good feedback. He politely asks, "Would you do me the honor of going to prom with me?" Bagget is told that he sounds a bit too polite and old fashioned. He had a few suggestions on how he should ask a gril to prom before finally getting what he wanted, how he wanted. Perhaps he could have gone into detail about why it was so important to have a date to give the audience a better sense of who he is. Either way, he definately puts himself out there with honesty. Phillip Bagett's personal piece had a lot of personality which, in my opinion, is crucial on radio.
Libby Donovan
Posted on May 05, 2008 at 08:14 AM | Permalink
Review of Will You Go To Prom With Me?
Will You Go To Prom With Me? is an adorable piece about the trials and tribulations of acquiring that all-important prom date. The piece is a personal narrative from Phillip Baggett and I loved it. I especially liked the unique perspective of a guy looking for a prom date which I thought was interesting, since as a girl I always assumed that guys had no trouble finding a date. Throughout the piece Phil asks multiple girls not only if they'll go to prom with him, but also how he should ask the next girl. It becomes humorous as he asks advice from three different girls and gets three different responses. The piece has a great blend of audio from interviews to music that helps to take you through this difficult journey with Phil.
Will You Go To Prom With Me? is truly fitting for any show about prom (which happens to be this month) or even a show about teen dating.
Arvid Hokanson
Posted on June 28, 2007 at 07:46 AM | Permalink
Review of Will You Go To Prom With Me?
This is a fun, first-person audio essay on one teen's effort to get a date to the prom.
I like the simplicity of this piece - it's not overdone and it's a subject most of us can relate to. The one question left though, did he get a date?
This piece works as an easy drop-in to the cutaway slot in WESUN, WESAT or Day to Day. It's also timeless, so in can work in future years around prom, homecoming etc.
James Reiss
Posted on May 23, 2007 at 02:46 AM | Permalink
Review of Will You Go To Prom With Me?
'Tis the season to go a-promming. Yet when young Phillip Baggett's fancy turns to a woman to ask to the prom, he finds himself tongue-tied.
Well, not exactly. He tries popping the question, "Kirsten, will you do me the honor of going to Prom with me?" She demurs, and he offers that the formality of his invitation sounds as though it came from 1943.
In spring 2007, when it comes to finding a date for the prom, Phil is beset with the same shyness his granddad faced in the 1940s. This the-more-it-changes-the-more-it's-the-same befuddlement may have to do with the current generation, in which formal dating has given way to "hooking up." If so, then another young woman's solution to Phil's problem, "Hey, you're coming to Prom with me, that's it, no questions asked about it," would be cool. Phil rejects this hang-out/hit-on/hook-up macho bee ess, though; he longs for more.
He also rejects another female interviewee's suggestion that he print up a card with a "yes" and a "no" box to be checked off by the woman being asked out.
Meanwhile, a background sound track, with quarter notes banging away on a piano in repeated chords with a rinky-dink melody line, stresses the pulse beat of anxiety Phil is feeling. It's not as though he fancies himself a Prom King looking for an ideal Queen. He just wants someone to go out with.
I won't divulge the surprise ending of this amusing interstitial. Instead, let me say that Curie Youth Radio has once again given us a gem. This particular diamond of a production gains its brilliance from being old-fashioned, like the institution of marriage. As a reaction to our hook-up culture, "Will You Go To Prom With Me" is, in the best sense of the term, a revolutionary setback. The fact that its characters are totally hip, street-smart denizens of southwest Chi Town makes it all the more fresh and irresistible.