In the spirit of such sketch comedies as “Saturday Night Live” and “Kids in the Hall,” the Union Programming Council will hosting its first-ever “Friday Night Live” today in the Union.
The entertainment is broken into two parts, both free to students. The first will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Crimson Underground, the Union’s basement. The second will be held in the Union Ballroom at 7 p.m., contrary to a mistake on some posters.
At both shows, students can pick up free raffle tickets for a chance to win two tickets and transportation to the upcoming BCS bowl football game, wherever that may be. The Student Alumni Association and the MUSS donated the bowl tickets.
Ben Holdaway, a council director who organized the event, said he believed the free cost will attract students.
“UPC does all their programming for free because we know that students don’t want to pay,” Holdaway said. “And not only that, but we know we can provide you a quality program without having to spend all the money.”
The lunchtime show will be an improv show similar to Quickwits, while the evening show will have more sketch comedies such as those featured on “Saturday Night Live.” The sketch comedies range from skits borrowed directly from the television show to originals written by Conor Bentley, with help from Holdaway and Sam Wessels, who both co-directed as well.
In addition to the sketches, the evening show will also feature a local band, Code Hero, much in the same way “Saturday Night Live” has a new musical guest every week.
The 10 FNL actors come exclusively from the U and were chosen from the pool of about 30 students who tried out a month ago, said Clayton Perkins, UPC marketing director.
Though the majority of the actors are theatre majors, “we actually have quite a few that are outside the major,” Holdaway said.
Perkins said he expected around 300 students will come see the shows.
“That’s a reasonable guesstimate to how many people will show up,” Perkins said. “As for what kind of people…who knows? Whoever likes comedy I guess. Hopefully the people who have been watching ‘Saturday Night Live’ on the sofa and the LoveSacs [will come].”
“There’s definitely a niche for it,” Holdaway said.
“I think it’s one of those programs that doesn’t have any, I don’t want to say competition, per se, because I don’t like to think of programming as competition,” Perkins said. “But I think there’s nothing like it.”