Alpha Psi livens up 'Saturday'

By Jenn Tuohy

About six weeks ago, sophomore Mike Hollinshead walked through the doors of the Spitz Theater for an audition with cigarette in hand and a beret on his head. He introduced himself as Jean-Luc and began a ridiculous rendition of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” entirely in French.

“I knew how to sing that song in French, and my friend thought it would be ridiculous if I turned it into a character,” Hollinshead said.

The directors loved it. His antics earned him a place in the cast of Live With Alpha Psi, It’s Saturday Night, Alpha Psi Omega’s annual sketch comedy show. This is something Hollinshead has wanted to do since his freshman year.

“I wanted to be a part of it because last year’s show was so funny,” he said.

The show, now in its fifth year, has some new surprises up its sleeve. Residence Life Area Director Jamiyl Mosley is hosting, and two brand new directors are at the helm. Co-director Jessica Presuto, a senior, has been involved with Live since her freshman year.

The idea for a sketch comedy show came from the minds of Rider alumni Matt Cook and Gina Cicchino, who wanted to play off the popularity of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The show became a quick success and has been running annually ever since. Filling the shoes of the previous directors was no easy task, Presuto said.

“Just being a director and an actor at the same time is difficult, but it’s a great time,” she said.

Every year, the show is built from scratch and slowly takes its shape with the efforts of both the cast members and writers, said junior Colleen Kelly, who is also co-directing. To her, good sketch comedy has to start “from the ground up.”

“We started about a month and a half ago from the middle of September,” she said. “It’s very demanding, and you need a lot of patience, but it was a lot of fun and a pleasure to work with the cast and crew.”

The beauty of this show is expecting the unexpected, Presuto said. Rider’s version of Live will be filled with surprises, as the programs will not tell the audience what will be coming next.

“There will be some video clips and music clips, not just action onstage,” she said.

The past few weeks have been spent perfecting each skit to make sure the audience members will enjoy it, and, most importantly, make them laugh.

“You want them to have a great time and want to come back to see the show,” said junior Mike Scuilli. “I think the best part of the show is when someone from the audience says, ‘I want to do that!’”

Anyone in need of a break this weekend can check out the show on Saturday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. in the Spitz Theater for $5. And what can the audience expect when the lights finally go down? That is still a mystery.

“You’ll just have to see to find out,” Kelly said.