Coming off last year’s win, this year’s Purple Side leaders, Josh Giles and Abby Sledd, are eager to secure another Purple Victory. Their journey as leaders has been a major learning experience so far, 在紧张的时候，两人得到了彼此和Purple Side的鼓励, 这些年来，他们都在那里找到了一种强烈的归属感.
Giles, a Tuscaloosa native majoring in vocal performance, 在澳门在线赌城娱乐上大一的时候，他就知道《澳门在线赌城娱乐》很适合他. After spending time with the Purples, he realized he’d found a group of people that shared his interests, values and life experiences.
“《澳门在线赌城娱乐》有一种力量一直存在，在我还是大一新生的时候就引起了我的共鸣,” Giles said. “与我交谈的人都是那种我可以联系起来，谈论我生活中发生的事情的人，因为他们能理解我的出身.”
Since his freshman year, Giles has been in the Purple Side cast every year except for 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic altered the College Night landscape. 他最终想竞选领导人，以帮助该党从动荡时期造成的挫折中恢复过来.
贾尔斯说:“在新冠疫情爆发的那一年，我们需要进行一些改造。. “I wanted to make sure that not only were roles being filled, 但这些地方都是由能够继承传统的人填补的. We’re trying to get back into the swing of things, 让我们的校友重新参与进来，确保每个人都知道我们仍然拥有它.”
紫色面是斯莱德的自然选择，因为紫色是她从小到大最喜欢的颜色. 这位来自亨茨维尔的音乐剧专业的学生在大二的时候一头扎进了“大学之夜”，完全不知道自己要面对的是什么, and says it was the best decision she ever made.
“Purple Side乐队的人身上有一种神奇的火花，让我产生了共鸣,” Sledd said. “There was a lot of creativity and a lot of individuality. You could look around and see so many different people, 事实上，他们都朝着一个共同的目标努力，这对我来说真的很鼓舞人心.”
Sledd served in multiple roles in 2023’s winning production, “Cryptid Conspiracy: The Lost Episode,” having written the original script, 在《澳门在线赌城娱乐》中扮演主角，并担任首席服装设计师和助理作词人. She debated running for leader for a while, 但在看到观众对这部剧的好评后，她下定了决心，她参与了这部剧的制作.
“有很多Vintage Purple的校友来找我，和我谈论这个节目，”斯莱德说. “我不认识的人都拥抱我，告诉我他们为我感到骄傲, and a lot of them were asking if I was going to run for leader. 得到其他人的支持让我下定决心，我一定要做这件事.”
In the months leading up to the start of the College Night season, 紫方的领导们同意处理前期制作和制作的所有方面有时是忙碌的, but it has ultimately taught them a lot of lessons.
“弄清楚如何管理创意人物和管理整个制作过程是一件很有趣的事情,” Giles said. “我们想穿上一些不仅是校友们，还有在这里的紫色们都可以引以为傲的衣服. We want to give them moments that they can cherish and carry on, 真正表达了《澳门在线赌城娱乐》的美，以及我们有多开心.”
As for the event that they look forward to the most, 贾尔斯和斯莱德都认为升牌是赛季的基石.
“那是我大二的时候第一次来Side Space，我帮他们把牌子拆了下来,” Sledd said. “It was so cool to get to see it the night before. It feels like a secret mission. And then it’s so fun to see people’s reactions to the reveal. The energy is high and everybody’s excited.”
贾尔斯补充说，他从演出的首演之夜和观众看到双方的辛勤工作取得成果中得到了最宣泄的感觉.
“我喜欢看到每个人都在一起努力工作，看到每个人都将在舞台上展示什么,” Giles said.
一旦大学之夜结束，领导们希望这将是另一个紫色胜利, 今年3月，我们可以在戏剧系的《澳门在线赌城娱乐》中看到斯莱德的身影. 她计划攻读硕士学位，并正在申请剧本创作和创意写作课程.
“I do a lot of performing as a musical theater major, 但在加入Purple Side之前，我没有机会做很多其他我感兴趣的戏剧工作，比如写作和剧本编辑,” Sledd said. “在这样一个环境中做这件事很有趣，你可以在舞台上看到你的作品，这不仅仅是假设.”
贾尔斯将于今年4月在歌剧《澳门在线赌城娱乐》中饰演白马王子，他计划在毕业后继续深造，进一步精通声乐研究和声乐教学.
“你必须对所有的东西都有所了解，才能在当前的娱乐行业——歌剧中取得成功, musical theatre, 教会工作——所以我在找一所研究生院，它能给我提供那种指导，让我全面发展,” Giles said. “I’m just proud of Abby and myself. 我觉得我们已经从容地接受了领袖的角色，我们已经准备好结束这个赛季了, graduate and get through the end.”