Temple Students come together to make an hour-long variety show on Thursday, February 25
TV Studio 1 in Annenberg Hall buzzed with energy last Thursday, as the cast of Temple Smash chattered and cheered while preparing for its third show.
Temple Smash, which just received recognition as an official student organization, is an hour-long variety show that provides a place for students to practice their comedy and acting in a fun environment. Thursday’s show included a short film, four sketches, performances by the band Swift Technique and the dance team Phresh Selec and a standup act. This episode’s host was senior journalism major Monica Sellecchia.
“We decided to become an official organization this past February.” Scott McClennen, co-producer of Temple Smash, said in an e-mail interview. “Our project involves a large number of people, people that come and go each episode, as well as people that have been with us and will remain as a part of the production (like the coordinators and managers). We recognized that the show was growing and we decided we wanted the legitimacy of an actual Temple Student org. There are a lot of perks in being an organization. Primarily, we were attracted to the ability and support of an arranged sponsor through the office of student activities. There is a lot of money spent to put everything together and most of it was coming out of our pockets. Sponsorship would help fund the show. We would also be able to have a bank account set up through the school. [sic]”
Additionally, McClennen said they hoped to apply for office space.
McClennen, a junior film major who co-produces and writes sketches for the show, came up with the idea for Temple Smash. Kim Burnick, also a junior film major, is the other co-producer. Temple Smash had its first show in the Spring 2009 semester and its second during Fall 2009. The show has a habit of attracting a large crowd; this past fall, 150 people attended, but Thursday’s studio could only fit 70. This year, another room, which can fit 60 additional attendees who can look down into TV Studio 1, was opened above the studio.
McClennen was inspired by Saturday Night Live along with other late-night television shows. Temple Smash has a cast and crew of about 50 students.
“We needed something on campus to put a spotlight on the many good artists here at Temple,” McClennen said before the show, adding that putting on this performance and getting through all the hard work provides a lot of fun, an adrenaline rush and a good sense of teamwork in the end.
“There is a huge sense of achievement and accomplishment,” he added.
McClennen receives help from his classmates but also seeks help from students in all media-related majors. The faculty at Temple has been very cooperative with Temple Smash, especially Coordinator of Instructional Resources Frank Sauerwald, who provides great technical help, McClennen said.
Temple Smash’s cast and crew had three nights of rehearsal, a lot of pre-production preparation and the task of coordinating their schedules. McClennen also said following FCC regulations is difficult and that he hopes to make the show more topical in the future. To come up with the sketches, the cast and crew conducts an open-forum voting system to decide what topics they’ll cover.
The audience laughed throughout the entire show Thursday. At the end of the show, the cast danced on stage to the sounds of Swift Technique, celebrating its efforts. The show was streamed live on TempleSmash.com and is posted on the site for viewing. Temple Smash plans to hold its fourth show in April.
Mark Lauterbach can be reached at mark.lauterbach@temple.edu.
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