-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Scope and Scalpel Society is a group of fourth year students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine charged with writing, producing, and performing an annual musical show. Founded in 1955 by a group of students looking for a way to share their unique perspective on the challenges of medical school, the show brings out the hidden talents of our classmates, who make up the cast, crew, and orchestra. It is a fun, camaraderie building tradition that we value, and hope you will enjoy with us as well!
In 1955, a medical student was doing research in a lab run by Frank Dixon, M.D. During a “gripe session” at a local pub, the two began to discuss the challenges at Pitt’s School of Medicine. As the discussion progressed, they introduced the idea of a class play. The idea snowballed and was ultimately presented to the Dean of the medical school at the time, William S. McEllroy. Rather than stonewalling the idea, the Dean was excited and helped the growing group of over 50 medical thespians in their quest. On May 13, 1955, the premier Scope and Scalpel Society production, PMS IV, was performed to a sold out crowd at the Stephen Foster Memorial Theater. Since then, the show has grown in huge proportions. It has been the largest nonprofessional theatrical production in Pittsburgh and is the longest running annual theatrical production in this area. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the show, and our mission is to make this the best Scope and Scalpel ever.
Show times are on May 15th at 7 PM and May 17th at 2 PM and will be at Central Catholic High School on Fifth Avenue.
As medical students, much of our time is spent doing rotations or research, which sometimes makes it hard to find time to raise money for our production. All funds raised through this campaign will be used to cover production costs, including venue rental, costumes, props, set construction, program and playbill printing, etc. The breakdown of the numbers is shown below:
Our goal for this project is to raise $15,000 for the show.
Everyone who donates will get their name in this year's program. Any amount helps! We really appreciate your support, and hope to see you at our show on May 15th or May 17th!
Your donation will help us reach our goal!
Receive a handwritten Thank You note from the Scope and Scalpel Society
Receive a handwritten Thank You note from the Scope and Scalpel Society and a copy of this year's poster
Receive a handwritten Thank You note from the Scope and Scalpel Society and a Scope and Scalpel coffee mug
Get your choice of either two tickets to this year's show of your choice or a DVD from this year's show (DVD will ship several months after show)