Collegio Online

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: After Hours

Media Credit: Doug Graham Jacob Metz, graduate student in communication, performs a one-man show in front of judges Mark Depping and Cynthia Allan, both professors in communication, during tryouts for the Lambda Pi Eta Talent Show, which will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom.

Media Credit: Shiho Itooka Hung Ming Yu in IEP from Taiwan dances for a audience of the talent show Tuesday night at the Crimson and Gold ballroom.

Joey Pogue says it's time for talented Gorillas to strut their stuff.

"There's a lot of talent on campus, and a lot of times students don't have an arena in which to share that talent," said Pogue, assistant professor in communication.

To help alleviate that problem, Pogue suggested that Lambda Pi Eta, the communication honor society, hold a talent competition to showcase gifted students and raise interest in the organization.

Jacob Metz, president of Lambda Pi Eta, liked the idea, so the group organized two nights of auditions. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, the performers who made it through auditions will face off in front of an audience and three judges for cash prizes. The night's theme is "Gorillas Go Hollywood."

"There's some very impressive talent - there's both local talent and international talent," Pogue said. "There is a student from Taiwan who was an actual runner-up in the Taiwan Idol contest."

Metz says the event, which is free to attend, will include a unique blend of talents.

"It's going to be a conglomeration of different types of music, different types of performances that (students) wouldn't be able to see every day, especially in one place," Metz said. "Where else do you see oral interpretation of literature and jazz bands and dance routines?"

Metz says he hopes the talent show will bring more attention to Lambda Pi Eta.
"Something we've historically had problems with is getting our name out there on campus in general, and it seems like we've had problems getting it out within our department," Metz said.

Pogue says he too saw the talent show as an opportunity to "kill two birds with one stone," giving students a venue to perform and raising awareness of Lambda Pi Eta.
"I want it to be a scholarly organization, but I also want it to be fun," Pogue said.
"I was thinking if it got big enough, we could actually raise some money to send communication scholars to conferences and stuff. I realize that we'd need a lot of money, but we need to start somewhere."
Pogue says he hopes to make the talent show an annual event.

"This year we threw it together in a hurry, and some great people have shown up," Pogue said.

In addition to the student performers, Don Viney, professor in philosophy, will play his classical guitar at the talent show, and local musicians Tim McGeorge and Jeff Simpson will play some Delta blues.
Pogue says that Lambda Pi Eta is mostly concentrated on building its membership, but in the future, he'd like to see the group review scholarly materials, be a "mentoring ground" for international students and even hold a conference.

"My real dream is to have a regional conference on campus, where we'd invite communication students from surrounding colleges to come and present research," Pogue said.
"I've even thought about inviting sociology and psychology to participate, but they don't know that yet."
Whether those plans come to fruition, both Pogue and Metz say they're happy to give students a venue for their talents - and quality entertainment for those in attendance.

"We're going to be asking for donations at the door, but admission is free otherwise," Metz said. "It's a good place to have some fun and do it cheap."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools