Studio 4109’s ninth season will premiere on Nov. 2 at 8:32 p.m. The campus sketch show will be taking a different approach to comedy this year, according to director Angelica Rodriguez, who said that the style of humor will be cleaner.
“[We’re] taking Studio in a different direction by not making it so crude as what it once was before,” Rodriguez said. “We used to have a lot of people who would bash Southern for what it was…We’re trying to make it more of just a comedy show….You can be funny without being crude.”
Previously, Studio 4109 has either been temporarily shut down or gotten in trouble because of the jokes they have made, including some against student groups. Jared Mathias, Studio 4109 executive producer, said that they are trying to produce “clean comedy that you can’t really poke at,” adding that they didn’t want to give administration nor donors a reason “to point at us and say that we are giving Southern a bad name.”
Junior mass communication major Aubri Dancek recalls some experiences from watching Studio 4109, saying, “I know that comedy is supposed to [hit close] but I know sometimes they’ve called out certain departments and it hasn’t gone over very well.”
“I personally want people to sit down, have a really good laugh, and leave with a skip in their step,” Rodriguez said. “Life isn’t as serious as we make it out to be. Let’s enjoy the moments that we have together.”
Additionally, Studio 4109 has begun initiatives to help out around campus. They have already provided stagehand services for LAC night and will continue to do so for other club nights. Besides this, Studio 4109 plans to create video advertisements for other departments, such as Campus Safety and Counseling.