Laughter and spontaneity are a staple every Friday night when cast members of Friday Night
Live take over Warren Enters Theater in Upton Hall.
Friday Night Live is a comedy improvisation show that goes from 10:30 p.m. to midnight.
The show is free and open to students, faculty and the general public. No ID is needed.
Lee Becker, coordinator of Friday Night Live, compares the show to “Whose Line is it
Anyway.”
Neither show is scripted and the humor comes from the on-the-spot decisions made by the
performers Becker said.
“We’re not derogatory. We’re just not afraid,” said Jeremy Melendez, a member of the cast.
The entire show is based on audience suggestion. Cast members try to get the audience as
involved as possible, which makes the show interactive and more lively, Becker said.
From cast perspective, cast members said they hope that their work will cause the audience to
laugh with them, and not at them.
The teamwork of the audience and the cast helps to blur the line between the two, highlighting
their similarities instead.
“If you’re not offended, you’re not listening,” Becker said.
The Friday Night Live cast promoted this week’s show with the “Follow the Arrows” campaign.
This consisted of arrows being drawn in various places on campus, leading students to places
where they could receive more information about the show on Friday.
Friday Night Live started off in Flexible Theater in Donald Savage with a much smaller
audience, which consisted of thirty people on a good night, said cast member Cindy Delaney.
Since then, the performance has been moved to Warren Enters Theater to accommodate the
average 200 audience members.
The show is in its fifth year, having premiered in 2007. The current cast is the biggest it has ever
been, containing fifteen members.
“The group goes beyond performing and making people laugh. I’ve realized that this is
something bigger than myself. I’m trying to create a legacy,” Becker said.
Members of the cast do not need to be Theater majors.
“When choosing members, hopefuls are assessed on their comfort in front of an audience, their
willingness to take risks, and trust of their own instincts,” Delaney said.
Auditions are held during the spring semester and if chosen, new members serve out the rest of
the semester on a trial basis. They are considered “FNL Interns,” Becker said.
“The show gives students who maybe couldn’t get involved in larger productions the opportunity
to perform. We look for potential and help people grow,” Melendez said.
Friday Night Live is made possible by Casting Hall Productions, a United Students Government
funded organization.
The productions and shows offered throughout the theater season come from the combined
efforts of the theater department faculty and Casting Hall Productions.
“Being involved in FNL is giving people purpose. We’re trying to make sure that it is still
around for when other people need it later on,” Becker said.