About Team 31 Productions
Team 31 is a student group at Washington University in St. Louis. We produce W.I.L.D., an all-day concert and festival commemorating the start and end of the school year.
History:
In 1972, freshman Andy Friedenberg was faced with the task of writing a "persuasion" paper for his English Composition 100 class. "He had to write on how to get someone to do something unbelievable. Friedenberg, concerned that the quadrangle was not utilized enough for outdoor events and that there were not enough free events on campus, decided to utilize these facts in his persuasion paper. He wrote specifically about how to put on a free, outdoor film festival in the quadrangle. Freidenberg turned the paper in, and later, the class critiqued it. They felt that the idea was a good one, but that it could not be done. Andy Friedenberg disagreed. To help, Friedenberg engaged his whole suite, which happened to be suite 31 in Rutledge Dorm. Thus, the name Team 31 came into being."
-Excerpt from Student Life, April 28 1978
The following year, a band was paid to play the event. Later, Team 31, now with more booking power, brought national acts including R.E.M., Chuck Berry, and the Gregg Allman Band. In the Spring of 1992 a survey was taken, and students stated that they preferred more music to the movie. In addition, that same fall saw the first special activities for the event-a suspended Gyro platform and Velcro Wall. Today, the festival features nationally renowned bands, second stage acoustic music acts, special activities, student group performances, and food from around the St. Louis area-all of which remains free for the 12,000+ members of Washington University community.