Last Tuesday marked historical firsts, not only nationally, but locally as well. Yes, the inauguration of our first African-American president happened on that day. But there was something else. It was the debut of the Ouachita’s new variety show, “Live @ 9.”
Click here to watch the first episode
The show’s creator, junior Rance Collins, came up with the idea more than a year ago. He said his biggest obstacle was getting others involved, but junior Emma Smith was happy to get involved.
“Rance told me about his idea for a school talk show that would be kind of a cross between SNL and Conan O’Brien,” Smith said. “I was really excited to be a part of it. I guess I didn’t really know what I would be doing until we started planning the first show, and Rance and I were pretty much organizing the whole thing.”
The show is entirely student-run, with many students involved in the writing process. They currently have two student cameramen, with two more students being added to that roster. It also has some key help from faculty.
“Mitch Bettis is helping us start up on the Internet, Dr. [Dave] Ozmun is letting us use the studio and Dr. [Jeff] Root is being supportive,” Collins said.
The show’s first hosts were Jake Sligh and Sam Bushey, both senior business majors.
“Emma contacted Sam and me last December about the idea for the show and it sounded like a fun thing,” Sligh said. “One of the things I try to focus on in life is making memories — am I going to make memories inside the library all night every night? Well, there was this one time, but that is beside the point. Will I remember the time I hosted a live television show? Definitely.”
Sligh and Bushey come up with a lot of their own material, with some help from the writers for the show.
“Sam and I scrounged around at the last minute and tried to find things of which we can make some fun,” Sligh said. “Luckily for us, it was Inauguration Day and the beginning of Rush Week, which were wide open for jokes. Unfortunately we did not write down any of the jokes we created in the closing moments before the show, so what you see on the Web site is pretty much a guessing game.”
Bushey enjoyed pairing with Sligh as host.
“Luckily, my co-host and I have an uncanny ability to play off each other’s jokes — much akin to a two tennis players volleying for serve,” Bushey said. “Like it or not, comedy today is all about mockery in some form or fashion. Jake and I simply decided on the jokes that were offensive enough to be funny, but didn’t hurt anyone individually.”
Collins thinks that the first show came together well.
“We had some rough patches, but I can see it coming all together into one, slick package in the near future,” Collins said.
Feedback from students has already been positive.
“I’ve seen a lot of feedback throughout campus and those who’ve seen it seem to always have something nice to say about it,” Collins said. “One person I talked to hadn’t even seen it yet, but knew a couple of the jokes already … presumably because people had been talking about the show. That must be good.”
Smith has also heard great reviews from students.
“It’s really exciting to be part of this show that so many people across campus have been watching,” Smith said. “Everybody is telling us how much they loved it and how funny it was. It’s really rewarding.”
Sligh said that he hopes the show can provide “a cool thing for the Ouachita community to watch in their spare time to make light of everyday occurrences.”
Collins wants the show to be entertaining for everyone.
“The ultimate goal would be a live band and musical guests, but as far as the foreseeable future goes, I’d like to see us incorporate more people and more skits,” Collins said. “The skits seemed to be the most popular part(s) the first time around.”
Bushey also voiced his desire for musical guests.
“It’s no secret that “Live @ 9” needs musical guests,” Bushey said. “Off the top of my head, I’d love to see bands like Sidewalk Chalk, The Klayton Seyler Band and even The Running Back at some point this semester.”
Collins has high hopes for the show’s future.
“My goal is for it to continue after Emma and I have moved on,” Collins said.
“Live @ 9” can be seen every other Tuesday at 9 p.m. at www.obusignal.com. The next air date is Feb. 3.
