statuary

Another particularly unique Gymkana act, Statuary was created by Dr. Leslie J. Judd, who is widely considered the father of exhibitional gymnastics in the United States. When David A. Field (a student of Dr. Hartley D. Price, who was a student of Dr. Judd) came to the University of Maryland and started his own troupe, he incorporated “Living Statuary,” often shortened to “Statuary,” into Gymkana’s shows. Until the early 2000s, Statuary was a commonly presented photogenic production in Gymkana shows, and was performed at both road shows and Home Shows.

Statuary involved male troupers painting themselves from head to toe in shiny silver and performing group poses, creating scenes such as a tug-of-war, a tower, or even the Maryland “M” logo. Troupers in the act only moved to create a new pose when the lights went out, or behind a black curtain, to give the impression that the audience was witnessing real statues.

Although the act was eye-catching and picturesque, troupers in the act (and even those who weren’t) couldn’t be afraid of getting more than a little messy. The troupe used canvases and sheets of plastic over everything to avoid getting shiny stains on valuable equipment. Coaches and extra troupers wore expendable clothing so they could bring props for each pose on and off the stage, and by the end of the performance, they were likely just as covered as the troupers in the act. Each pose was held for about thirty seconds— which feels a lot longer than it sounds!

The mixture used to create the metallic statue effect changed over the years, with motor oil and radiator paint being replaced by mineral oil, then glycerin and aluminum flux. Getting the mixture off required many bottles of dishwashing soap.

The act, with all its difficulties, did elicit some rather unfortunate mishaps. Paul and Margie (Jones) Simmers recall a show before a very large audience.

"The guys had been using the same rubber swim suits for quite some time and this particular time on WBAL-TV is when the mixture of oil and silver powder began to disintegrate the seams in their rubber suits. It seemed to be happening to most of the guys at the same time."

Jim Houck remembers one Statuary performance in the 50s.

"While on a USO type tour of Virginia army camps in the late fall, we did our final act, only to find that the showers did not work. We were driven in the back of an army truck to another area to shower and clean up. Talk about 'wind chill' indexes. That was a night we remembered."

Eventually, the troupe stopped performing the act at road shows due to its hassle. The last Statuary performance was at 2002’s Home Show, and it was unofficially retired after that because of the intense amount of preparation it requires.