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Comedyhouse: A Night Full of Laughs

By Timothy Rasmusson Jr.

One of the Campus Activities Board’s (CAB’s) newer events on campus is “Comedyhouse”, an alternative to the traditional Coffeehouse that, instead of singing, is filled with stand-up comedy.

Senior Joey Schunemann, the director of CAB, informed the STAR that his job is fun to have, but there are significant responsibilities he has, such as being “the voice of critique” and meeting Houghton’s expectations, because Comedyhouse involves a lot of creativity and students want to have a good time. 

Schunemann stated that he wanted to hold the Comedyhouse event specifically due to his “love of comedy.”          

Sophomore Hannah Sturdivant described Comedyhouse as a more comedic version of Coffeehouse that involves “stand-up” rather than just “playing music.” Sturdivant stated that one of the things she likes most about Comedyhouse is the “laughing,” as well as listening to students telling their stories. She also mentions what Comedyhouse was like last year, how successful it was at the time, and that it led to Junior, and CAB Coffeehouse Coordinator, Demetri Court recommending they do Comedyhouse again. 

With the event only being in its second year, Court stated that Comedyhouse is “a special occasion.” 

To sign up for a spot, students have to present an idea to him, and all of the students involved in planning Comedyhouse have to screen the comedy because, as Court said, “you never know who’s going to want to go up and say things.” 

If an insufficient number of students are signing up, he will reach out to those who enjoy writing comedy. ★

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14th Annual Film Fest on April 16th

On Friday, April 16th, the Houghton College Campus Activities Board will be hosting the 14th annual Film Festival. Guidelines for the festival state that this is “an evening” to “highlight and celebrate the best of student-made films” as well as for students to “show your hard work and to share your talent with your peers”. There are also several different categories that students can submit films to.

Sarah Phillips (’22), this year’s coordinator for the Film Festival, said that her first time attending a Film Festival was “a great experience”, also discussing that some of the elements that were involved in the festival included “a red carpet and a backdrop to take fun pictures with, and music playing in the background.” Phillips also added that “It was amazing seeing all of the creative videos that people sent in.” For the Film Festival this year, Phillips wants to “bring back some of that feeling”, while still keeping the event COVID-safe. 

Makena James (‘22), who is learning remotely this semester, is one of the entrants in this year’s Film Festival. She submitted “about three films.” Two of them were about Corg, her family’s Corgi, while the third one was “a compilation of photos set to organ music” that she “played and recorded.” 

James chose to submit a film about her family’s Corgi because “it has been a blast” to spend “a lot of time” with Corg, also adding that “everyone just seems to fall in love with her, and I really wanted to show love to my Houghton community by sharing and extending my experiences with Corg to them too.” In discussing her choice to submit the third film, James said “I love snow and the organ. Back in 2017, it snowed a ton down here in Western NC, and I took a lot of pictures. I found them again last Christmas and decided to put them to organ music.” 

Overall, while the festival may not be as “big” as previous years, Phillips is “looking forward to seeing people’s creativity and for there to be a time for others to come together and listen to music, take pictures, and have fun.” ★

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Campus News

SkyZone Outing Replaces NYC Bus Trip

This semester, Campus Activities Board (CAB) will not be sponsoring a bus trip to New York City. Instead, CAB will be hosting a trip to Skyzone, a trampoline park in Buffalo.

Image courtesy of CAB
Image courtesy of CAB

As part of its campus social programming, CAB has traditionally organized a bus trip to New York City each year during the month of November. According to Barbara Spaulding ‘17, CAB student director, arrangements with local bus services did not work out as anticipated. “A couple weeks ago, we decided to make the call to cancel the NYC trip and substitute it with something else,” she said.

Instead of cancelling the event entirely, CAB opted to relocate the outing to Skyzone in Buffalo. According to its website, Skyzone is a trampoline park that features a free jump zone, a foam pit, and ultimate dodgeball, along with a variety of other activity areas. The park has become a popular weekend destination in the Buffalo area and provides a great opportunity to enjoy a unique physical activity. As a result of Skyzone’s group pricing incentives, CAB was also able to secure tickets to the park at a significant discount.

Kasey Cannister ‘17 helped to organize the Skyzone trip and is excited to provide an opportunity for students to connect off-campus without needing to worry about transportation or high costs. “With popular activities like this typically far from campus, we have been wanted to provide transportation for a fun outing like this one,” she shared. “We are really looking forward to taking students off campus for a fun event as well as providing a space for a large group of Houghton students to hang out with one another in a popular facility where they would typically only know a few people there.”

The bus to Skyzone will leave from the Campus Center at 12:30 p.m.. and return around 5:00 p.m. Tickets to the event are $10 and can be purchased at the Welcome Desk. Participation is limited to 47 students, and CAB anticipates that tickets will sell out quickly, so Cannister recommended that students come and get tickets while they are still available.

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Campus News

Palooza To Feature Student And Faculty Talent

Saturday April 30 will mark another consecutive year of the Houghton Palooza, the annual festival for students to celebrate the year. The event is hosted by the townhouses, but is open to all of Houghton’s students and the surrounding community as well. Townhouse resident assistant (RA) Kerianne Shaw ‘17 noted efforts to make it “family friendly” and “exciting,” encouraging Houghton’s students and families to attend. The usual planning committee of RAs and faculty adviser JL Miller have partnered with the campus activities board (CAB) this year. According to CAB representative, Kasey Cannister ‘17, this has allowed access to CAB materials and “improved the efficiency of planning it.”

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 9.38.49 PMThe Palooza offers a variety of activities, but Miller and Cannister expressed particular enthusiasm for this year’s lineup of student and faculty bands. “Last year we had a harder time booking bands,” Miller explained. “This year we started really early communications with bands across campus to get quality bands who wanted to perform.” Cannister notes that the Palooza was originally “created to be a Houghton music festival,” and looks forward to the bands being “a big presence in the whole Palooza.” The featured bands include “The Burdo and the Bee,” “The Sorrow Estate,” “Marc LeGrand and Friends,” “True Cliche,” Mitch Beattie and the Heartbreakers,” as well as talented students and faculty without official band names. “We’ve been joking at meetings about things we can call them,” Kasey Cannister noted.

In addition to the bands Miller noted that while music is a big part of the event, it’s not the only aspect of the Palooza. Shaw said the planning committee has “called on clubs to help with manning stations,” including crafts, henna, face painting, snacks, and yard games such as corn hole and spike ball. Cannister expressed particular excitement for badminton. Cotton candy and popcorn will be offered throughout the event, with hot dogs available at lunch time. “If the weather holds,” Miller mentioned a 40 foot inflatable obstacle course has been reserved. “I’m really hoping for good weather,” he sids.

In addition to good weather, Miller is hoping for “a return to the original momentum of Houghton Palooza.” Now planning his fifth Palooza, he emphasized it as a time for students to “celebrate and reflect on how the year has been.” He is excited by this year’s increased band involvement, and noted last year “we made music less central, but from my perspective we lost something.” He hopes  students will “at least stop by.”

With both students and the Houghton community attending, the planners express their appreciation of the time of fun and fellowship. “I’m excited to see everyone out and together,” Shaw said. Miller echoes this and stated, “What excites me most is just people showing up and having fun.”

 

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Houghton’s Got Talent Cancelled

Despite initial hype, Houghton’s Got Talent will no longer be premiering as planned.

CAB was hosting HGT as an opportunity for students to exhibit their passions, expose hidden abilities, and get involved by competing for the title of being Houghton’s most talented through various acts.  CAB member Josh Duttweiler says “due to the show’s previous success a few years ago, it made sense to give students a platform for their interests again.”

PrintYet, due to a lack of student commitment through act sign-ups, CAB was forced to cancel the event.  This proved to be surprising, says Duttweiler, especially due to the excitement HGT had brought in the past.  Possible reasons for the shortage of performers could be the lack of preparation time available and the event being scheduled so close to the beginning of the semester.

The show was intended to be different from other student entertainment, such as SPOT, in that it would promote all types of performance without a basis in comedy.  Instead, the show was anticipated to be an engaging set of acts that displayed the variety and diversity within the Houghton campus.  It was also an attempt to provide a way to showcase talent that may otherwise be overlooked.

In remaining true to American’s Got Talent, HGT was to also offer entertainment through a select group of faculty and student judges.  Featured judges included students Simba Kamuriwo and Alyssa Figueroa, admissions counselor Zina Teague, Professor Ryann Cooley, and Dr. Doug Gaerte.

As seen in CAB’s “Meet the Judges” promotional video, the panel came together to create a humorous spin on each judge’s reveal of what they were interested in seeing during the show.  Figueroa says she “looked forward to the chemistry” between herself and the other judges as well as the chance to play off their various personalities.

Having participated as an act in a previous Houghton’s Got Talent, Zina Teague remembers the “buzz” that was created over the various contestants.  Previously HGT was divided to extend over two weekends with acts either advancing or being cut between.  Teague and her partner “stepped” their way to the second round before being eliminated.  Teague views this show as a way in which students can “come together and share a piece of who they are.”

This year’s show was set to run similarly, with commentary by the panel of judges and concluding with an audience vote.  Votes would be placed through text message as experienced before in this past fall SPOT.  Besides students being able to showcase their range of skills, they were also competing to win cash prizes.

Teague commented that this event was a way for students to “break out of boxes.”  She makes the point that there is not just one type of person who can show off talent.  Whether it is a biology major or athlete on the stage, they are equal.

According to Ryann Cooley, it made sense that Houghton in particular would find interest in holding such an event.  With the Music Department as an obvious hub for talent, Cooley expected it to be a driving force behind various acts.

Cooley also points to the excitement of the unknown and the unique quality that Houghton has as being a “safe area to have fun taking a chance with the support of genuine and encouraging students.”

Despite Houghton’s Got Talent’s cancellation, CAB encourages students to come to the Chapel at 8 pm on Saturday, January 25th for the showing of Star Trek Into Darkness.