Move over Pirates Pierogies, there’s a new savory mascot on the block. His name is Regi, and his goal is encouraging students to “regi-ster” to vote. 

The mascot is part of an initiative started by senior theater arts majors Mady Thetard and Iliana Sharp, to combine the arts with activism in order to connect with students. 

Thetard and Sharp first conceptualized the idea during a class project. 

“The assignment was to come up with something related to voter registration… Mady and I have always been talking about artistic activism and different things; we’ve been a part of many different conversations, not just about voter registration but other issues that we’re really passionate about, so we wanted to work together for a long time,” Sharp said. 

After pitching the idea to the class, Professor D.T. Burns offered to put the pair in touch with The Center for Artistic Activism, who awarded them a grant to get the initiative off the ground. 

Sharp said the initial concept of having their mascot be a pierogi was inspired by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also as a way to connect with Pittsburghers through the food’s long-standing tradition within the city. 

“We wanted to tie it in with Pittsburgh traditions and make sure that students in Pittsburgh are aware of their voter registration information, their ballot information, their deadlines, especially if they’re utilizing a mail-in ballot, and pierogies are [such] a Pittsburgh food, we wanted to kind of play off of that,” Thetard said. 

So far, Regi’s appearances have been in collaboration with other student organizations, such as his debut at the presidential debate watch party and his appearance at the Political Science Association’s voter registration tabling. 

“The Political Science Association of Point Park asked if we wanted to join their event [mostly to] get attention from, since it’s in Village Park, the passersby and students shuffling on their way to class,” Thetard said. “I think it’s successful [since] it’s very eye-catching, so people stop to take photos and they stop to chat with us.”

In the future, the team is interested in incorporating more dance and music into their mascot’s act. 

“Going forward, we’re interested in having it be a dancing pierogi, and organizing some either flash mob-y stuff, or utilizing music and fun and kind of like a ‘party with the pierogi’ atmosphere to get people engaged with the work we’re doing,” Thetard said. 

As they map the mascot’s future from an entertainment perspective, the initiative’s message remains at the forefront of the team’s plans. 

“Going into this, we were really trying to get the information out there to students because, both being university students and being so young there’s just so much…in the future, its ‘how do we get that information out or reminders of these dates?’” Sharp said. 

Utilizing social media outreach and collaborating with local Pittsburgh organizations are some of the ideas in the works for the initiative. 

The team wants to maintain the balance between art and activism in the hopes of better connecting with students and the Pittsburgh community. 

“We wanted to do something that would set us apart, and actually get people engaging with us, and also excited about voting and the democratic process, because I think once you realize that your vote does have power and you have stakes in this, it’s easier to get the energy up to research,” Thetard said. 

The team recently established an Instagram account for Regi, @pointparkpierogi, where they plan to post updates about their events, statistics and information about voter registration.