chairs

Best act: 1973, 1978, 1989, 2005, 2007, 2021

The original chairs used by Gymkana were discarded by the university library and held together mostly by duct tape. Originally a four-chair, two-person act performed by Al Kokoff and Al Bulgiano in the 1947-48 season, the act has since expanded to include up to 15 chairs and up to seven troupers. The original act included metal chairs and an office table, and only in the 1995-96 season were those chairs retired in favor of the wooden ones used today. Since 1947, troupers in the chairs act have found ways to challenge themselves by climbing ever higher and incorporating new pieces of equipment. In its history, the act has balanced chairs on tables, glass bottles, springs, ladders, platforms, and even people.

Much like in many Gymkana acts, gender stereotypes within the chairs act were broken throughout the years. The role of women in the chairs acts of the early years was often to sit on the chairs and look pretty, ultimately further highlighting the men’s strength and boldness. However, women occasionally performed skills just as terrifying and dangerous as the men, with Janelle Boisvert in particular trailblazing the way for women on chairs, performing thrilling handstands and poses in the 1972-73 chairs best act. In the 1990s, it became common for women to perform in the chairs act, but Gymkana has yet to see a year in which the women in the act outnumber the men. We all look forward to the day that history is made.

Troupers who train chairs have been known to break out handstands on random pieces of equipment around campus during Gymkana social events or even on their own time— on benches, classroom desks, folding chairs, and even potholes.