Josh Rittberg
Arts & Culture Editor

There is a new monthly student series coming to Millersville that is ready to bring a new voice and vitality to the Millersville campus. The monthly series was created by Zacc Bang, the student producer of the group, with guidance by Millersville professor, Adam Boyer. Through Entertain 42, the aim is to create a show for the Millersville audience by Millersville students. It gives students practical experiences in various fields such as writing, directing and performing in ways not quite seen yet on the Millersville campus.

The shows in this series are at the end of the month with a different show on Friday, Saturday’s and Sunday’s in Dutcher Hall’s Studio Theatre. The first show which premiered this past month, Nox Iam Vox is a late night variety show in the style of popular television programs such as “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” There will be two student hosts for each performance guiding the evening along. Although the hosts will be the same, there will be different talent every night. Bang feels that it is important to have consistent student hosts as “audience members can have recognition and so they can feel grounded.”

For the show, “Game On” premiering next month there will be a new game introduced called “Marauder Conquest.” It is a capture the flag type of game with Millersville University locations. For this game there will be a Pirate Ship set built for this show and sets built for each night. The game will be the same for each show, but with different contestants. Bang hopes to bring special guest contestants in from student groups like Student Government Association. Having these special guests brings a freshness to the show that brings in recognizable faces and fun for students. The show “Often Unheard” has a narrative focus of “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” using motion and music and dance to tell that particular story.

Auditions will begin in October for “Game On” and any talent will be open and accepted. There is a wide variety of talent and backgrounds which even extends to the writing room. In the writers’ room, Bang described that as a producer, he has had to work with scheduling and getting people together, along with mentoring others to communicate a vision.

This series is meant to give students real world experience and that extends to the pre-production, where the actors and crew don’t load the set and their material into the theatre until six days before the show. In the real world, the load in process for a production can be very quick and by introducing students to this intense process of opening a show in college, it will give them a chance and the freedom to learn and take risks with not as many consequences. Bang says “Because it’s so fast paced, it has definitely been an on edge kind of thing.” The team was chosen carefully by auditions and continues to flourish and grow.

Through Entertain 42, it is the hope to bring a new student voice into the Millersville Theatre season. This will be a theatre year of great change and innovation, and Entertain 42 just follows in that footstep. With hands on student programming and one of a kind showcases, Entertain 42 is sure to be an exciting and innovative new part of the local arts community.