A Brief History of the First Act: The First Act owes its existence to one Larry Wooddell and his love for black squirrels. The story is as follows. Larry Wooddell was the superintendent of grounds at Kent State University in the early 1960's. A large school covering more than 500 acres across the lush rolling meadows of the Cuyahoga River Valley in Northeast Ohio, the campus offered many opportunities to lose oneself amongst its great oaks, conifers, and hallowed halls... perhaps too many. Wooddell became lonely. Tiresome days of mowing and trimming lead to lonesome nights of regret and longing. Wooddell knew there was something out there to cure his loneliness. The Encylopedia Britannica would be his tool. Every night for three months in the fall of 1960, Wooddell pooled his resources at the twelve-story Main Library and learned to read. Then on January 17th, 1961, he turned his attention to the Britannica's "A" volume. Frustrated by the abundance of words and lack of photographs and diagrams, Wooddell hurled the volume back at the stacks. The kinetic energy that transfered from the strong-handed gardener to the "A" rattled the shelves, causing additional volumes to fall to the floor. After returning the 28 books of Britannica (indexes included) to their proper place, Wooddell noticed a rogue World Book volume sprawled across the orange carpet of the second floor reference section. It was the "B." A beautiful, full-colored photograph graced the opened page. "The North American black squirrel," read the caption beneath. Wooddell was familiar with the North American red squirrel, the grey squirrel, and even the majestic flying squirrel, but never had he seen or heard of the black. He had to have them. Wooddell called upon Biff Staples, a rodent expert at the Davey Tree Expert Company. Following a series of phone calls, visits, and subsequent hang-ups and denials, Staples finally met with Wooddell. In February of 1961, to appease the ever-persistant Wooddell, Staples agreed to journey to Ontario, Canada to import 10 caged black squirrels. The squirrels were released onto the Kent State campus upon their return. Excited by the prospect of his new friends, Wooddell spent most of his days searching for the creatures, curious as to how they would fare. The Kent State grounds suffered as a result. Fields were left unmown. Shrubs went untrimmed. Weeds grew up through cracks in the sidewalks. University President Robert I. White had had enough. There was but one solution: acquire more black squirrels. So in March, Wooddell and Staples returned to Canada to obtain more squirrels. By 1964, more than 150 black squirrels populated the Kent State campus. Everywhere Larry Wooddell looked he had a friend. The Kent State University grounds never looked better. Today, the annual Black Squirrel Festival celebrates the overabundance of the dark-colored rodents that have become the school's unofficial mascot. On the morning of September 10th, 2004, Michael McKeon, Timothy Hollister, and Joe Drummer joined their talents (musical or otherwise) to rock the winds of time as the Festival's opening act. Heads were blown off. They were the First Act.