Saying, “FNL was a mixed bag this semester,” is about as shocking as saying, “I blinked today.” It’s expected.

It’s rare for the show to be extraordinary, and conversely, rare for it to be totally unfunny. However, it might be worth noting for posterity so here it goes: FNL was a mixed bag this semester.

Some of the skits had me with tears running down my face while others were painfully dull.

The hosts, Colin Urbanick (sr) and Lauren Melser (jr), were predictable. Urbanick has been something of an MVP of the FNL cast for the past few semesters, so his exceptionally comical performance was counted on. Melser fulfilled expectations as well, although her FNL history doesn’t set her apart as a classically “funny” actress as much as a solid supporting role.

Members of the house band did their job of providing enjoyable music between scenes, but the absence of saxophone player Peter Luttrull (sr), who led the band in past shows, was impossible to ignore.

Side note: nearly every time the lights went down between skits, the couple in front of me made sure to fit in enough “romance” to last them the next 10 minutes. In the Chapel? Seriously?

The first skit of the night, a follow-up of last semester’s “Pookie & Pookie,” was enjoyable.  Melser and Becca Ebenhoch (jr) played talk-show hosts on a hack TV show aired at 3 a.m. Caitlin Newell (jr) played a hilariously delusional cat-lady who cooks for her pet cats and watches them go on dates. Dietrich Hunter (jr) played a character obsessed with the zombie apocalypse and suggests cats as an alternative food source. It was random, enjoyable, and didn’t drag on too long, which made it one of the most enjoyable skits of the night.

Sadly, that can’t be said for all of the skits.

“Occupy Rome” was a skit that was essentially joke-less until Urbanick came out in a lion’s costume. (Why is he so funny in animal costumes, anyway?) Also, I’m not sure if it was an attempt at deadpan or not, but the exclamation, “In the name of Zeus!” would have no meaning to the Romans. Zeus was the god of the Greeks. Jupiter is the god of the Romans.

Along with the Roman gladiators skit, “Prayer Services” and “Hemlock Scones” were drug out too long. This seems to be a common plague among FNL skits. Instead of leaving the audience wanting more material, the audience is given skits that are too slowly-paced and become boring.

Alanna Story, the guest band, was easy to listen to. Members played songs that, upon hearing, were immediately gratifying. Unfortunately, the songs weren’t strong enough to be remembered even an hour after the show.

Highlights of the night consisted of the traditional “Facebook Poetry” delivered by Kyle Davidson (so) and “Slumber Party,” the last skit of the show. Both had the audience gasping for breath between laughing fits. Although “Sleepover” was long, it had several plot twists that kept everyone entertained.

Two videos produced by Steve Floro (sr), “iPrison” and “Free Drink,” were also home runs.  They were well-written and masterfully produced, not to mention specific to IWU.

Like I said earlier, this semester’s FNL had some high points and some low points. It won’t go down in history as the worst FNL ever, but also won’t be noted as one of the best. It will likely be remembered simply as “the first time FNL was in the new Chapel.”

This past Tuesday I watched a preview performance of The Glass Menagerie. Produced by the Indiana Wesleyan University’s Theatre Guild, the play is based in the life of Tennessee Williams.

I was required to attend the play for my senior project class. It is the showcase piece for two of my fellow communication scholars (good job, Ben and Phil!) And while I was required to be there, I still enjoyed the play.

In fact, I have pretty much enjoyed every play I’ve seen produced by the Theatre Guild, save “Little Women.” (Again, good acting, bad, bad script.)

“The Glass Menagerie” runs a little longer than most plays, and Williams isn’t my favorite playwright. Additionally, the performance I attended was a dress rehearsal. Still, IWU’s version of the play has great potential.

With only four actors, the play shows the perspective of Williams’ mother. Phil Herbruck (sr) is captivating as the narrator and main character, Tom. Kayley Herbruck (fr) was convincing as his manipulative mother. Julie Schaefer (fr) and Daniel Maloy (so) bring depth to their characters. Each character in “Glass” is deeply flawed, but the actors lend a sympathetic element to their characters to which the audience can relate to.

The set was beautiful and the lights set a dreamlike mood (again, good job, Ben Dobler [sr]). The acting never got dull. All-in-all, The Glass Menagerie is shaping up to be another quality production for IWU.

The Theatre Guild’s performance of “The Glass Menagerie” opens Thursday, Feb. 23 and runs through Feb. 29.

The Indiana Wesleyan University Theatre Guild collaborated with two art classes to design posters for the upcoming production of The Glass Menagerie.

Each student in this semester’s Computer Illustration class had the opportunity to design a poster for “The Glass Menagerie.” Dan Pocock, associate professor of art, said he saw the assignment as preparation for the students’ future careers.

“Every client is going to want something different,” said Pocock. “It was a good opportunity to practice in the field and get a taste of working with a client.”

Thirty art students were given a tour of the set, a detailed synopsis of the play’s plot line and time to talk to the director and the set designer to get ideas. Students then had to create a sample poster proof using any technique they wanted.

The director of “The Glass Menagerie,” Dr. Katie Wampler, said that the final drafts really needed to capture all the elements of the production.

“The colors were really important – do they accent each other well? Was it an image that would pop out?” said Wampler. “I also talked about my vision for the play. I always like to find a verse, my verse for this play actually comes from the love chapter: ‘Right now we see through a glass darkly.’”

The poster that was chosen was designed by Nathan Cloud (sr). Cloud, a graphics design major, said he wanted his design to capture the theme of “shattering” within the play.

“I wanted to give the viewer a clue as to what the play was about, but also to make them curious,” said Cloud. “My intention was to have the figure walking out of his familiar world as it shattered around him; he is walking out into the vast unknown. As I designed the ‘shattering’ of the environment, I wanted to make it in an unnatural destruction, so I used very geometric shapes.”

Wampler said the abstract look of Cloud’s poster was one of the things that drew her to his design.

“The story is about a man who’s remembering some of the choices he made when he was younger; he thinks about those choices and the illusions they had created,” said Wampler. “Similarly, the poster we chose was more abstract, but it still had a realistic feel.”

Both the Division of Art and the Theatre Guild said they hope to collaborate more in the future.

As part of Soul Fest, Intercultural Student Services will host a poetry reading and jazz concert called Spoken Word on Feb. 23.

The event will start with music from a jazz band, then readings of poetry, followed by more music at intermission.

The event is part of the ISS Tapestry, a series of events based around different cultures. ISS past events include a Chinese New Year Celebration. Spoken Word represents African American culture.

“The timing did have a bit to do with Black History Month,” said Rhoda Baker (so), one of the co-leaders of the Tapestry project.

The coordination between ISS and the jazz band was handled by staff facilitator Kyra Pappas (alumna ‘10).

“I reserved the Commons for Spoken Word and helped book the jazz band,” Pappas said. The jazz band will play a final set at the end of the reading.

“As far as the kind of music they’ll play, I’d hope for a bit of an Afro-Cuban feel,” Baker said. “I know they’ll be doing some jazz standards and some other hits with a kind of jazz swing.”

Students submitted the poetry that will be read at the event.

“A lot of students were excited to read something they wrote, or something they read and really liked,” Baker said. “We were really excited to do a poetry reading because it’s something IWU hasn’t really done before.”

Baker explained that Spoken Word is just another step in getting students more involved with the arts.

“We’ve done dances and concerts, but as far as getting more into the arts, I don’t think we’ve gone very far into that,” said Baker.

In addition to the poems being read by the participating students, YouTube videos of poetry readings will also be shown.

“We want to encourage people to pursue poetry outside the event,” said Baker. “We’re hoping YouTube will make that easier.”

Spoken Word will be held in the Barnes Student Center Commons at 8 p.m.