Wheaton's synchro team makes appearance in Mona Lisa Smile

December 13, 2003

-Rachel Bowie '04

The holidays are upon us and arriving in theatres just in time for Christmas is Mona Lisa Smile, the long awaited Julia Roberts movie with an appearance by Wheaton's very own synchronized swimming team. At this time last year, the team was traveling to New York City to the Bronx Community College to film a scene that is already being shown in trailers nation-wide.

Directed by Mike Newell, the film takes place at Wellesley College and is the story of a free-spirited art history professor (Roberts) who moves to New England from California to teach at an all girls' college. There, she challenges the thoughts and ideas of her female students and is, in turn, challenged by them. The Wheaton synchronized swimming team plays the part of the Wellesley College synchronized swimming team back in the 1950s.

The team's day on the set began early with filming starting at 7 a.m. and ending just in time for dinner. "We got up around 5 a.m. and took a bus over to the pool," Aimee Sears '04 remembers. "The pool was filled with lots of people, big bright lights and cameras. They took us to the dressing rooms where we put on our 1950s blue suits, white caps, robes and sandals. Then we got into the pool and swam the routine many times. There were cameras above the water, in the water and right in our faces. It was a really new experience swimming in that kind of situation."

The synchronized team helps to set the scene for Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal as both actresses are supposed to be members of the Wellesley College team. While the specifics of the scene were unknown at the time, the team was able to get a general idea about what was going on. "Our team swam through the routine while four of the actresses were chit-chatting and smoking a cigarette by a ladder in the shallow end," Beth Percy '04 explains. "I think that one of the girls finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her or something."

Sears adds, "For some reason, [Stiles and Gyllenhaal] are forced to do laps in the shallow end as we swim 'practice' with our coach. I think it took something close to 23 takes of the routine."

As for getting a peek at star treatment, there were a few fringe benefits that the team experienced. "We were definitely treated like royalty!" Percy comments. "The production company got each of us our own private room at the elegant Rockefeller Hotel and paid for us to have dinner at an upscale Italian restaurant. They also paid Wheaton Athletics a lump sum for our help. The day of filming we were given bathrobes to stay warm in. Every time that we had to get out of the pool, two women would be waiting with a pile of warm towels for us to dry off with."

The one disappointment of the day was that Julia Roberts was not on the set as she was not in the scene that was being filmed. However, the team was able to meet a few of the actresses starring in the film. "We did take a picture with Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal," Percy recalls. "[Our coach] asked the actresses if they would come over and take a picture with us. Julia Stiles came over and said hi to all of us and then proceeded to ask, 'So do you guys do this stuff for real?' It became a joke on the team that she said that."

Now that the film is about to hit theatres, the team is getting more and more anxious for the film's release, especially after seeing the shot of the team in the previews. "It is really exciting!" Sears says. "After the end of our long day of shooting, we all had to sign contracts saying that we understand that there might be a chance that our scene would not even be in the movie. All of us were just glad to make it past the cutting room floor. But don't blink or you will miss us!"

With Dec. 19 approaching quickly, the team is ready to be the first in line at the theatres. "I have a date with my family to go see it once I get home for winter break," Percy says. "When the team gets back for January pre-season, we are all going to have a team-bonding night and go watch the movie all together. Anna [our coach] wanted to have us all wait until we got back to watch it for the first time, but that is not going to happen! We are all too anxious to see it!"

Sears comments, "When we first came back from shooting our scene, no one had ever heard of the movie and it all seemed like it didn't really happen. Now that the release date is so close and the previews are not only in the theaters, but also on TV, so many people are coming up to me and saying that they saw us and I am getting excited all over again. I cannot wait to go see it on opening day!"

Wheaton Makes a Big-Screen Splash

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