For many students at Ball State University, an extracurricular activity might be participating in an intramural sport or perhaps being an active member in their hall council. For the cast and crew of Something Else TV, making their own television show is what they do for kicks.
Something Else TV is a new student-run sketch comedy show that resembles "Saturday Night Live" or Comedy Central's "The Kids in The Hall." The cast and crew meet every Tuesday at 10 p.m. in the Atrium to pitch ideas for the fledgling show.
The cast spent Spring semester putting together their first show.
"[When we started, there was] nobody with any real experience," Executive Producer and senior David Ward said. "There was a lot of wasted time at the beginning."
Since the show currently airs new episodes monthly, the writers have to develop material that is accordingly timely. Events and topics are chosen that will remain interesting.
At this fall's TCOM Super Party, for example, the cast of "Something Else" fooled many into believing that the university had its own break-dancing show.
A surprising side project has also developed for the "Something Else" crew. The show's official Web site, located at www.somethingelsetv.com, provides a forum where students can comment on the latest episodes of the show, Ball State or just about anything.
Associate Producer David Plough said that he spends about 20 hours per week on the forum pages. With about 500 different members, the forum is currently the main focus of Something Else TV.
Ward said that the 20-member cast meets on Tuesdays to discuss sketch ideas, and then the writers meet again on Thursdays where they compose the sketches and arrange for them to be filmed.
The cast writes and films an average of two skits per week, for an ultimate goal of about one episode per month, or about 12 episodes per year.
A typical Tuesday night meeting consists of mostly men. The cast currently has only two female members, something they all said they hope to change.
Cast member and junior Jessica Keffaber compared working with the cast to having a bunch of siblings.
"I don't think I'd have as much fun on any other show as this one," she said.
On a sad note, cast and crew member Joe Camp was killed in an automobile accident on U.S. 30 while he was returning from Thanksgiving Break. A message on the show's Web site reads, "He was a valuable part of the show, and will be deeply missed. We send our hope and prayers to Joe's family and friends as we all struggle through this hard time. 'He will live on.'"
Assembling and organizing a sketch comedy show is a not a new experience for either Ward or Associate Producer Kody Gibson. The pair worked together in high school and have been doing sketch comedy similar to "Something Else TV" since they were sophomores at Ball State. However, starting a new show was considered a challenge by all involved.
"Something Else TV" has relied on its Web site and word-of-mouth to attract new viewers. The crew expects to go public sometime soon, so viewers outside of Ball State can enjoy the show, Ward said.
Most cast members participate for the sheer pleasure of it, and to add something to their r+â-¬sum+â-¬. Head writer Jack Dreesen also mentioned that when he has a sketch idea and it turns into a finished sketch, it is like realizing his dream has come true.
Inspiration for sketches comes from the most unlikely places, Ward said. He said he came up with a recent idea for the show while watching the film "Van Helsing." Other inspiration for ideas come up from seeing labels on juice bottles, or something equally random.
Any student who enjoys good comedy will enjoy the show, Gibson said.
"If what you are watching sucks, you can always watch 'Something Else.'"
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