A student-produced comedy show turned UCLA’s everyday absurdities into Friday evening entertainment.
Undergraduate Students Association Council President Jayha Buhs Jackson took the stage at Westwood Night Live’s second production.
The student-led comedy show – inspired by Saturday Night Live – returned to Ackerman Grand Ballroom on Friday.
“We are so thrilled to bring to you a little bit of UCLA’s own politics onto the stage tonight,” said Jiya Singh, the show’s creator and executive producer, as she introduced the evening’s host.
[Related: Westwood Night Live brings laughter to UCLA in student-led production]
The biggest difference between the inaugural UCLA Radio production in April, hosted by Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and Friday’s show was its host, she said. Singh said Buhs Jackson understood the student experience, describing her as the “epitome of UCLA.”
Singh referenced the midterm elections and student midterm exams while hinting at the musical guest Sumting Blue, whose performance would round out the production’s first act. After expressing her excitement for both the end of midterm exams and Nithya Raman’s victory in the mayoral race, Singh welcomed Buhs Jackson to the Ackerman Grand Ballroom stage.
Buhs Jackson began her monologue by describing her role in USAC before attempting to address misconceptions about student government.
“There’s a lot of discourse that USAC members are playing Candy Crush during the public comment period,” Buhs Jackson said. “While that may or may not be true, at least it’s confirmed we do pay our taxes and aren’t convicted felons like some other government officials we know.”
Before Westwood Night Live, the USAC president said she had not acted in front of an audience before. Buhs Jackson added that she saw the production as a chance to connect with students – especially those from theater backgrounds – and support a student-run initiative.
Around 70 people were involved in the production, Singh said. With around 20 cast members, the fourth-year cognitive science and communication student added that it involved writers, directors and photographers – both from within UCLA Radio and outside the organization.
After an SNL-inspired video that introduced the cast and the host monologue, the first sketch of the evening – “Westwood Night Live Mockumentary” – referenced the initial Westwood Night Live production and joked about the cast’s experience with “fame.” Filmed at Rolfe Hall, the video starred 11 cast members and opened up a show that blended live performance and pre-taped sketches shot in popular campus locations.
Like the inaugural production, Friday’s show poked fun at UCLA traditions such as the Undie Run. The show included sketches about Bird scooters, competitive clubs and the many struggles of loft beds. The first act wrapped with a sketch entitled “Yik Yak or Fake?” where cast members Hayden Longwell and Brian Hobmann stood in front of the stage and asked audience members whether they thought the social media posts the duo showed them were true.
Longwell, who starred in and wrote one of the sketches, said the production overall moved more smoothly than the inaugural iteration and the bigger crowd showed how the show had established itself with the student body. The “Yik Yak or Fake?” co-host and fourth-year English student said the show’s staff prioritized being relatable to students.
“We’re coming into more of a rhythm since a lot of us have done this before,” Longwell said. “There’s something to expect.”
The first act wrapped with a performance from student band Sumting Blue, which performed songs such as “Smooth Operator.” The show readied for intermission as attendees swayed to saxophone melodies.
A weekend update-style sketch opened the latter half of the production. Hosted by Jonas Williams and Singh, the sketch featured students who put on satirical impressions of an “AI-tech bro” and a polyamorous Josie Bruin.
The sketches that followed played with campus culture and the students’ love for Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Masala. In “Discussion Section,” Buhs Jackson portrayed a teaching assistant in an anthropology class with an extraterrestrial student.
The evening wrapped with closing remarks from Buhs Jackson, who thanked the crowd for coming out and seeing her acting debut.
Singh said she hopes to put on the show quarterly.
“My only goal in life is to make people laugh,” Singh said. “If they can do that for an hour and a half on a Friday, that’s all I can ask for, really.”
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