ABOUT OUR PRODUCTION

Who We Are

We are Pitt Med's Class of 2021, often jokingly referred to as the "class of the solar eclipse." We can't believe we're finally in our last year at Pitt Med; it seems like just yesterday we were receiving our white coats and starting our first-year orientation festivities!

We have a talented, hard-working, and passionate class and we can't wait to show you our creative side. From singers and dancers to orchestra members and artists, our cast and crew are excited to share our Pitt Med experience with our mentors, families, and friends. We've had a difficult year being separated by clerkships, the virtual interview trail, and of course, the pandemic. Coming back together to produce this year's Scope and Scalpel has been a wonderful way to spend time together as a class before graduation.

What is Scope and Scalpel?

Scope and Scalpel is a unique Pitt Med tradition in which graduating students produce a full-length musical production parodying their medical school experience. Traditionally uncensored, but always good natured, the show is the longest running annual theatrical production in Western Pennsylvania, with the first show performed on May 13, 1955. Its founders were a few students who worked in a lab run by Dr. Frank Dixon. One day while out at a local pub discussing the challenges of attending Pitt Med, the idea to produce a class play was born. That spring, over 50 fourth-year medical students came together to write, produce, act, and sing in a show entitled "PMS IV" for a sold-out crowd at the Stephen Foster Memorial Theater.

Students strive to represent the medical world they've come to know so well through their years at Pitt Med, and the result is always a candid and comedic take on the medical school experience. Historically, students draw inspiration from pop culture and famous storylines, with titles ranging from "Scar Trek" in 1975 to "Back to the Suture" in 1990 to "Beauty and the Yeast Infection" in 2018. Check out the playbill for the full list of themes over the years! This year marks the 67th annual production of Scope and Scalpel, and the Class of 2021 hopes to make our show the best one yet!