Note: Starting today the Gargoyle will present a series of diary entries by four members of this year's Big Show. The annual showcase of student-written and directed comedy skits is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the North Attic Playhouse. Senior Carl Zielinski gets things started today; look for other entries later this week by Andrea Park, Anna Cangellaris, and Anna Gooler.

IT'S HARD TO be funny while saying the same thing four times in a row. Unfortunately, during Big Show rehearsals I must do just that every day. It just takes some practice. Lots and lots of practice.

I initially auditioned for Big Show because it was my senior year and I had nothing better to do with my free time. Soon I realized that it was going to be just as much work as fun.

This year’s excellent directors, seniors Anna Cangellaris and Eunice How, got the ball rolling after auditions by holding brainstorming sessions where we developed ideas and began creating skits.

Soon thereafter we began rehearsing said skits, weeding out the ones that sounded good on paper but didn’t play out as well on stage. Videotaping soon followed, as our hilarious ideas were transferred (through the extraordinary Micah Berman) into digital form.

As of Monday, tech week has begun. While the practices are shorter (and slightly less intense) than spring play rehearsals, they are still hard. Focus is required, as is dedication.

Fortunately, so is a sense of humor. Never before at Uni has my success come down to whether or not I can be funny, and I must say that it is certainly a well-accepted break from normalcy.

As the week went on, I watched the show get progressively better and better, to the point where I am proud to say that I am a member of Big Show 2008.

The skits are faster and more precise, lines are now memorized, and improvisation is coming along nicely. While I have been forbidden under penalty of death from mentioning the plot of the skits, I can safely say that most, if not all, are excellent.

On Wednesday, practice went according to plan. Senior Grant Loos and I practiced a skit after school, and after a few takes we felt we had it down and went to Green Street to eat dinner. A few slices of Antonio’s Pizza later, we were back at Uni and ready to rehearse our numerous skits.

The show ran smoothly in under the time we were shooting for (about two hours) without videos, and those would soon be ready to show to the public.

As the end of the week approaches, I eagerly await my opportunity to entertain the Uni population at large. If I may be so bold as to attempt self-promotion, I would take the liberty to say that, in my humble opinion, Big Show ’08 will be pretty unbelievably excellent.

Big Show '08: Cast and Crew

• Directors
  Anna Cangellaris
  Eunice How
• Contributing Writers
  Paul Dampier
  Jake Seeley
• Cast Members
  Josh Chung, senior
  Will Erickson, subfreshman
  Anna Gooler, sophomore
  Julian Hartman, senior
  Hannah Leskosky, junior
  Alan Liang, junior
  Grant Loos, senior
  Andrea Park, senior
  Adam Tiouririne, junior
  Richard Weisbach, junior
  Carl Zielinski, senior
• Lights
  Natsuki Nakamura
• Tech Crew
  Sindha Agha
  Stephanie Overmier
  Aramael Pena-Alcantara
  Lauren Piester
• Live Music
  Josh Chung
  Julian Hartman
  Grant Loos
  Carl Zielinski

Big Show '08: Sketches

• Part I
  Deep Thought
  Pardon my French
  Burger Burger Burger
  This is Self-Referential
  FBI
  Montana
  Anyang Earbuds
  Distracted Job Interview
  Man vs. Wild
  Buy You Drink
  Condensed Harry Potter
  Shower
  The World According to Science: Mating the Grade
  TREATED
  Very Sad
  MTV Music Video World Premiere
  Elevator Safety
  Rock Band

10-minute intermission

• Part II
  Deep Thought
  Prom Narrator
  America’s Next Top Model
  Art Nouveau
  Phone Deletion
  Overused Phrases
  Platypus
  Everything Else
  Your Sister’s Hot
  E’Twaun
  The Great Debate
  The Fabulous Life
  Fitness
  Mary & Ed
  Rock Band II