Live from Athens, it’s Friday night: From performance to media production to comedy writing, Fridays Live offers students a chance to develop their production skills in an environment of laughter and comradery.
“We’re the university’s longest-running student comedy show, so we’re a live production with live sketches that we write,” Olivia Freeland, a senior studying media arts production, said. “We have some recurring bits, we have some digital content. We function sort of like an episode of SNL but (with) our little twist on it.”
The show is co-produced by Freeland and Max Kornblut, a senior studying history and media arts production. Both joined the organization their sophomore year, Freeland, after hearing about it from a club member and Kornblut after committing to join as many media organizations as he could find at the Involvement Fair.
“It’s funny because of all the orgs I joined from (the Involvement) Fair, it’s the only one I stuck with,” Kornblut said. “It’s not because the other ones were bad, it’s just Fridays Live ended up being a community that I connected with the best.”
As co-producers, the two are responsible for planning the organization’s year, which is divided into one season per semester, as well as overseeing the day-to-day production operations.
“Being that person that’s always on call and always trying to step in and help out is challenging, but I love it,” Freeland said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Some positions in Fridays Live are established from the beginning of the year, such as the cast and executive board. Other roles are delegated every week, including camera operator, tech director, script supervisor and a myriad of others. Each show also features a host and musical guest, selected based on recommendations from the cast and crew.
“We try to get people (who) are involved in (other) things so they have a platform they can promote their work on,” Freeland said.
On Oct. 4, Jalen Tolbert, a senior studying communications, served as both host and musical guest under his musician moniker, J-Tolb. As a former member of the Ohio University Speech and Debate Team, performance was nothing new to Tolbert, but hosting came with a different set of responsibilities.
“Acting in front of a camera and reading what’s going on on the cue prompter at the same time was a little bit challenging, but it was also really cool to act in a way that I haven’t necessarily done before,” Tolbert said.
Tolbert enjoyed the opportunity to bring his music and persona to a different crowd and interact with fans and creators of the Fridays Live content.
“Something I enjoyed the most was just being around the cast, it was really easy to get integrated with everybody in the organization,” Tolbert said.
This sentiment is echoed by Emma Anderson, a sophomore studying media social change. Anderson began her time with the show by helping out with crew responsibilities and is now the organization’s media coordinator.
“There’s good outlets for everybody to learn new things and try new things, and I feel the open environment of being funny, being silly and having fun is what makes people want to join us and stay with us,” Anderson said.
A favorite aspect of the organization shared by Kornblut and Anderson is the emphasis on helping new and returning members learn new skills. Kornblut recalled showing up to his first practice shoot with no idea how to operate a camera and leaving with step-by-step instructions and first-hand experience.
“(Fridays Live) really encourages learning and teamwork,” Anderson said. “Especially as a freshman, you don’t really learn all those things in your classes until later on. First semester … I learned a lot more than I would have if I hadn’t been in Fridays.”
Fridays Live shows are live-streamed on YouTube approximately every other week. A complete schedule of the season can be found on the group’s Instagram for those interested in tuning into the passion of the show’s company. Kornblut hopes this passion permeates his future.
“If I could even feel a fraction of the passion I do when I’m working with Fridays people and (while) we’re filming a short about someone who hates PB&J and it’s just the weirdest thing ever, I want to do that,” Kornblut said. “Even if it’s not that if I can work with people who care just as much about something like that as I would, that’s all I can ask for.”
