The Friday Night Live (FNL) comedy improv group kicked off their first show this semester at the Flexible Theater in the Donald Savage building.

Male members of the cast sported dresses to celebrate ladies’ night.

Approximately one hundred people attended the hour-long event, where the cast played nine games, all encouraging audience involvement. Audience members were more than eager to participate through out the spectacles.

In the great debate game, the audience picked random topics and cast members humorously debated over it.

In a game called whose line, the audience chose the worst place to have a date, which landed the actors in an imaginary dumpster. For this skit the actors used lines from the audience, written down on paper before the start of the show.

Two FNL cast members agreed to an interview for The Record, after the show, Kayla Bennett, and Sandra Roberts, both Theater majors of SUNY Buffalo State.

Q: How did you guys enjoy this show?

KAYLA BENNETT: It was fun because when we have shows that have themes behind it, because it gives you so much incentive on what to do and the possibilities are endless.

SANDRA ROBERTS: It was super fun because it was our first show after winter break and since it was ladies’ night it was highlighting fine ladies. I also feel like it was the perfect time to do it right after valentine day.

Q: What made you want to join the FNL cast?

BENNETT: I never really thought about joining FNL, until one day I saw posters to audition and decided to go. I had so much fun at the audition and enjoyed the experience, that if I did not make it I would do it again next year. When I got in I was very surprised.

ROBERTS: One of the first events I attended on Buff State campus was FNL and this was before my freshman year. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to do it, so I tried out my freshman year. I somehow got in and I have been doing it my whole college career.

Q: What experience did you have with “improv” and theater work before joining FNL?

ROBERTS: I never did any “improv” but I did theater in high school. I feel like “improv” with FNL had helped immensely with my major.

BENNETT: I did Shakespeare in high school with an after-school program and that led into a summer program that touched on the basis of “improv”. I have been acting for a while, and coming to school for theater was something I always wanted to do.

Q: Does FNL as a group try to mirror what Saturday Night Live does?

BENNETT: Personally, not me, since I do not watch Saturday Night Live a lot. However, I do try to get inspiration from everyday life with my friends, boyfriend, and being at the dining hall. I get inspiration from everybody around me so that is huge part of what I put into my work.

Q: How do you deal with offensive and vulgar jokes during your shows?

ROBERTS: We definitely try to keep it clean because we are a college campus and we do not want anything negative affiliated with FNL or Buff State. However, it is a late show on a Friday night and today was ladies’ night so things were a “little steamier”. We try to keep it clean and would like parents to come to the show as mine did tonight, and I said a lot of things. Thankfully no one has ever contacted me about my jokes but I would rather say vulgar jokes than offensive.

Q: What made you guys want to make the male cast members wear dresses?

ROBERTS: I think we have very open minded and fun men in this group that are willing to put on dresses. It was pretty much all them and I feel like that is what it takes to be in FNL, to make a fool of yourself and have fun since we do not judge.

BENNETT: We do not literally sit down and decide what we are going to do for ladies’ night, the topic comes and we just sort of spin ball of each other, It is more of a fun game of hot potato with our ideas where it keeps bouncing off of each other until it keeps growing.

Friday Night Live will be performing in the Assembly Hall on Friday, February 23^rd.