Variety shows have may be a thing of the past, but according to one Columbia graduate student, they are still very much alive.

Columbia arts, entertainment and media management graduate student Brooke Blocki and junior television major Travis Tack have been putting together Mitzi’s Variety Hour, a show that combines stand-up, improv and music-all aimed to make people laugh.

Since September, the two have been coming up with new ways to revitalize variety, which Blocki said she feels is needed to fill a gap in Chicago entertainment. The show first ran in October, and they are now preparing for another set of shows for the holiday season.

The show consists of four acts-a comic act at the beginning and end and two improv, musical or variety acts in the middle with a different lineup every show. Tack said he likes zanier comics, but it doesn’t stop him from getting various types of comedians for the show at Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Tack said he has been doing stand-up comedy since he was 15 and has loved comedy since elementary school.

“I don’t think there can be too much comedy in the world,” he said.

Tack either performs or hosts. He usually gives one-liner jokes like, “I used to have a friend who was an albino, but then one day it snowed, and we lost him.” He also jokes about his friends’ stories and the CTA.

Blocki, who plays music and has produced various pieces of art, was the curator for a show in 2006 at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., which was an art exhibit for the blind. Her inspiration for producing shows comes from trying to create something that no one else is doing, she said.

“I’m all about innovation,” she said. “I’ve never done anything just like [Mitzi’s Variety Hour], but I have been involved in similar collaborations in the arts world.”

Each show consists of four to five new acts in an hour, but each maintains a similar format. The essence of the show, Blocki said, is to give variety.

“[We want] people to know what they’re going to see, as well as get a new show every time,” she said.

Every show has a different lineup, ranging from Columbia students to stand-up comedian Prescott Tolk, who has been on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend.”

“It’s sort of like the Reader’s Digest of the Chicago comedy and performance [scene],” Tack said.

The name of the show comes from singer/actor/dancer Mitzi Gaynor, whose style embodies the variety of the show.

“You can go to iO and see all improv,” Blocki said. “Or you can go to The Edge [Comedy Show] and see all stand-up. [But we want to serve the people who say] ‘I want to be able to see all this at once.'”

Blocki has been promoting the show anywhere she can. One good place the audience comes from is due in part to Jessica Smith, activities coordinator at Hostelling International, 24 E. Congress Parkway, who encourages travelers staying at the hostel to attend the show.

“I thought it was a cool concept-a comedy variety show,” she said. “We’ve never offered an event like that to our travelers [on the events schedule]. This is a change of pace.”

Tack said it is an interesting experience working with Gorilla Tango.

“It’s sort of like a Marxist, free-enterprise type thing,” he said. “They’re letting people produce their own shows and the demand for their own audience. Creating your own audience is the only thing that will keep your show running. It’s created by the people or canceled by the lack of people.”

Since Blocki and Tack, who are also dating, work together, Blocki said they have to maintain a professional attitude while creating and running the show.

“I think it’s just enriched [our relationship], being able to do something different and create together and just work that different part of our brain together where you might not come across that in a typical romantic partnership,” she said.

Upcoming shows of Mitzi’s Variety Hour will be on Nov. 19 at 9:30 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit GorillaTango.com.