By Noelle Lau
BYU”s “Divine Comedy” will make its fall 2001 debut Friday night in the N. Eldon Tanner Building.
Robert Marsh, 22, a junior from Lexington, S.C. majoring in chemical engineering, is the president of “Divine Comedy.”
This show consists of original skits written by the 11 members of the group, Marsh said.
In order to create the criteria for a show, the members of “Divine Comedy” come together and brainstorm ideas for possible scripts, he said.
The bad ideas are thrown out and the good ideas are kept, Marsh said.
The individuals who come up with the usable ideas are sent home to develop them and write a coinciding script, he said.
Marsh, who has been a member of “Divine Comedy” for one year, said the group performs three shows on campus a semester.
In order to prepare for the shows, the group practices twice a week in the Tanner building, Marsh said.
“Divine Comedy” has been invited to perform at other universities and single-adult functions throughout Utah, Idaho and California, he said.
Brandon Mull, a 2000 public relations graduate from BYU, is a fourth year member of “Divine Comedy” and a former president of the group.
Mull said he was asked to come back this year and act as a mentor to the young cast, which has five new members.
“Divine Comedy” is the performing group of the “Student Humor Union,” a BYUSA sponsored club, Mull said.
The “Student Humor Union” and “Divine Comedy” were started by a group of BYU students in 1994, Mull said.
“Divine Comedy” did not gain popularity until four years ago, he said.
The club sustains itself through ticket sales for its shows, Mull said.
“The purpose of ”Divine Comedy” is to provide clean, low cost humor for BYU students,” he said.
The shows usually consist of variety of skits done in the “Saturday Night Live” style, Mull said.
“We do a lot of mockery of the BYU environment,” Mull said. “The green jello kind of stuff, not anything relating to the sacred Bible stuff.”
Friday night”s show does not have a defined theme, but a few of the sketches have glimpses of Halloween mockery, Mull said.
The show contains 20 skits and is scheduled to run for two hours, Mull said.
Rachel Young, 21, a senior from Thousand Oaks, Calif. majoring in dietetics said she has been an avid “Divine Comedy” attendee for the last two years.
“I love Divine Comedy,” Young said. “I love how they take BYU quirks and make them funny.”
