If you’re a fan of a cappella or musicals, then you’ve probably seen Steve Sunu ’08 sing his heart out in the New Group or Waiting in Line, or heard his beautiful lyrics in last semester’s “Orpheus.” But have you ever heard him improv a cappella songs about Pam Beesly or wondered what name he’d go by if his singing talents brought him to boy band stardom? I didn’t think so. Read on and you’ll get this same privilege that I had. Also, you’ll find out what really happens in the Alpha Delt grotto.
ANNALEE: So I’m new to this WesCeleb thing and the Argus told me I’m supposed to Facebook stalk you and your friends, and make them tell me interesting things about you. So I did, and what I found out is that you’re in two a cappella groups, you wrote and directed the musical “Orpheus” last semester, and you’re a member of Alpha Delt. But, by far what your friends mentioned most was your mysterious relationship with Pokemon. Please, tell me about this.
STEVE: [Laughs.] Um wow, I was actually not even expecting that question. Yeah, I’ve been playing the Gigamon video games since I was a little kid and I’ve just kind of followed the franchise all the way up to current levels of playing and I like it a lot, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a nice little distraction from any work that I should be doing. But no, it’s really interesting. I sometimes go to Pokemon events in different cities where you can get these special little monsters that are limited editions….so I’m a huge geek.
A: I’ve also been told that you “secretly” dance like a boy band member. So, you’re obviously a fan of that beautiful musical genre. So tell me, if you could make your own boy band, what would the name of it be and what would be the title of your first hit single?
S: Wow, that is a very good question. Um, well…I guess if I were to form a boy band….uh, I’ve never been really good at naming things so I’m gonna have to go with…uh…to be completely honest, I doubt that any boy band I would form would be completely serious. So it would probably be some ridiculous name, some adjective-noun type of thing like “Puppy Dog Eye Glasses.”
A: Ooh, I like that.
S: Or something ridiculous like that. Or maybe like “Hardy Book Cover” or something really abstract so that nobody would know what to expect…And I guess our first single would be something involving the word “love.”
A: So, a love ballad?
S: A ballad, it would have to be a love ballad, because that’s what boy bands do. I don’t know. The thing is that so many boy bands have forged all this territory already that it’s difficult to come up with something new.
A: I’ve also heard that you sing lots of a cappella and you love The Office, which reminds me of the episode when Andy sings office a cappella. So I wanted to ask you, if you could sing an a cappella song to anyone in the office, who would it be, what would be the name of the song, or alternately, make up the song right now and sing it to me as if I were that person (preferably the latter).
S: [Laughs.] Um, probably Pam, because Pam Beesly is just about the cutest person in the entire world. Like, if I had the chance to sing to Pam on The Office, just like a musicgram, that would probably be the best thing ever. But, um, I don’t know. I would probably just have to be like…like…let’s see…[Breaks into song]
Whoa, Pam Beesly,
You make such good drawings of the office, yeah…
Would you send this fax for me pronto? Ohhh…
And do you have a memo for the office meeting later?
It’ll be in the conference room in fifteen minutes.
Baby, ohhhh.
A: [Claps.] That was wonderful. So I also hear that you make a lot of “er” jokes.
S: Yes I do.
A: What the hell is an “er” joke? And tell me your best one.
S: An “er” joke is anything that ends in the letters “er,” like demeanor [well, it sounds like it ends in “er”]. I would say, “Demeanor? I barely even know ‘er!” So it’s really annoying because I do it a lot. I feel really bad that this is the impression you got from people and Facebook. [Laughs.] What’s the best one I’ve ever made? I’d have to say, it’s so hard, because there are so many good words for this. My favorite one, though, is when somebody was mentioning that their radiator was broken. I said, “Radiator? I barely even know ‘er!” That’s my favorite one.
A: Very nice. As I said before, you’re a member of Alpha Delt. So I have to ask you, since it’s been on my mind for many years and surely on the minds of many other students, what really goes on in the grotto? I want crazy stories here.
S: Whoa, whoa. I don’t know if I can actually answer that. That’s…no, I can totally answer that. The thing is, I’m not in the grotto that much. So, I don’t know how good my answer to this question is gonna be, but basically it’s just hanging out like in any other place, there’s just a name for it.
A: That’s it? I was ready for some crazy S&M stories!
S: Yeah, I’m not really into that actually. I actually don’t know.
A: So it’s a lot tamer than we all thought.
S: Well the activities I participate in are a lot tamer.
A: I see. Now for some random questions (if those weren’t random enough). What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the past year?
S: The craziest thing I’ve done in the past year would probably have to be….um…the thing is, over the summer I was an intern at an office. I did office work, I made copies.
A: That is crazy. Those paper shredders can get dangerous.
S: Yeah, paper cutters are fun. So over the summer I didn’t really do anything crazy. I guess the craziest thing I’ve done in the past year was put on an original musical at Wesleyan.
A: What was it like doing “Orpheus?” What was your most memorable moment?
S: “Orpheus” has got to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had since coming to Wesleyan. It was a dream come true for me to be able to put on a show that I wrote and, moreover, to work with all the incredibly talented people in the cast, crew and band that we were able to put together. My most memorable moment was probably the final performance—we had everything down to a science by that point, and the actors, band and crew put forth a phenomenal effort that really contributed to a performance that will be one of the greatest memories I’ll ever have at Wesleyan.
A: If you could do anything next year after graduation, what would you do?
S: We’ll start with the top three. Coming in at number three would be professionally playing poker, number two would be writing scripts for The Office, and the first one would be writing musicals for Broadway.
A: And finally, in seven words or less, what do you want your Wesleyan legacy to be? What do you want people to remember Steve Sunu by?
S: Like if I were to get a building dedicated to me? And there would be a plaque there?
A: Yeah. What would it say?
S: I would like it to say, “Steve Sunu, he was a fun guy to hang out with.”
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