A comedian joked about stealing psychedelic mushrooms from college students and a singer performed songs about positivity at Eclectic Eccentric, a variety show organized by Columbia students at Reggies on Thursday, Nov. 12.
The show was organized by students in Columbia’s “Venue Management: Practicum” and “Club Management: Practicum” courses in the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, taught by associate professor Joseph Bogdan.
The 21-and-older event, held at 2105 S. State St., featured seven acts ranging from stand-up comedy and Latin dance to rap, live music and DJ performances.
“I had wanted it to be more of a showcase of the different acts that people here at school can bring to the table and put together,” said Coco Junge, the event’s manager and a sophomore arts and entertainment management major.
Eclectic Eccentric followed the classes’ previous productions of the semester, Sweater Weather and Haus of Hex, giving students another opportunity to gain hands-on experience organizing live entertainment.
Quinny Duff, a junior music business major who helped oversee production, said the event was the third show organized by the class, and each show they’ve hosted featured a different entertainment style.
Sweater Weather was for singer-songwriters, Haus of Hex was an afterparty for Wicked Week’s drag show “Werk It, Witch!” and Eclectic Eccentric gave a place for Chicago talent to perform in a variety of mediums.
“We’re trying to do something different everytime,” Duff said.
The lineup included comedians Sonal Aggarwal and Sonny Bhatt, Latin dance performer Sirène De Paradis, power-pop band The Blonde Actors, DJ Ichabod and comedy duo All Rocky, No Rollie, featuring Brenda Beck and Robert Bershadsky.
Several Columbia students were among the performers, including senior film and television major Jack Chapman, one of the members of The Blonde Actors; senior music business major Sasha Scales, who performs under the name Stasia; and Katelyn Boynes, a senior music business major who performs under the name Boyneski.
Boynes, who grew up in a musical household, began studying music at the Old Town School of Folk Music when she was approximately six years old. She later began producing her own music during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During her performance, Boynes brought out Scales as a guest performer.
Boynes’ music “is really focused on mental health and expressing that in a way that’s not always seen as perfect,” she said.
Boynes said events like Eclectic Eccentric allow artists to share different forms of creativity while introducing audiences to performances they may not ordinarily experience.
“It’s important to have mixed media because it allows people to feel fulfilled in different areas in their life instead of just one specific,” Boynes said.
The two classes originally hoped to hold auditions for the event, but were unable to because of time constraints. Instead, students relied on personal and professional connections to recruit performers.
“We reached out to the people we knew, and saw who was available, and who had the time and who felt like they were capable of doing it,” Junge said.
Junge said coordinating students with different working styles taught her to rely on her classmates’ strengths.
“The biggest thing that I learned is to be sure to lean on people around you more,” Junge said.
The event attracted Columbia students who came to support friends and experience a variety of performances.
Brandon Lee, a sophomore animation and computer graphics major, said he learned about the event through a friend who helped organize it. Although he was interested in seeing the performers, Lee was surprised by the lack of rock music in the lineup.
“I was surprised that there’s like no rock,” Lee said. “So I think it would be cool if there’s, like, rock artists, but I know there’s guitarists, I think.”
Junge said she hoped the attendees would leave with a new appreciation for an art form they might not have experienced before.
“I just hope somebody gets to be exposed to something different,” she said.
Copy edited by Isaac Russo
