Ending the semester on a light note, this semester’s student body program will take a humorous look at the work done on the BJU campus after dark.

“There’s so much that goes on campus at night: custodial is working; public safety is patrolling; people are working on Collegian and Vintage,” Jared Poe, student body president and a senior business administration major, said. “We thought it would be fun to take a humorous look at that.”

Taking an aspect of student life and re-examining it in a humorous way isn’t unfamiliar territory for a student body program. For instance, last semester’s program humorized life in the residence halls, and a previous performance parodied the time right after the beginning of Christmas break. But whereas the stories of past student body programs were a bit more random, the upcoming program will have more of a central theme and storyline.

The performance will center on a brand new Public Safety officer working his first shift of night watch on campus. For his first assignment, the rookie officer has been commissioned with guarding Museum and Gallery’s latest addition to its art collection. The security guard, played by Loren Crisp, a senior communication disorders major, starts off having a normal first night of work, but things quickly take a turn for the unusual. While the rest of the story centers mostly on the officer trying to apprehend a mysterious intruder, other aspects of campus life are also tied into the story.

Crisp said he enjoys the humor written into the script, but also how the script has allowed the cast to improvise humor.

“The story is really strong. The script is really funny, but also through rehearsal, they’ve let us improvise some of our own humor into the story.”

Both Crisp and Poe were excited also for the video aspect of the program, which will parody the “Life at BJU” documentary.

Poe envisioned the idea for the student body during the summer. The Student Leadership Council considered several other ideas, including a Christmas-themed performance, but Poe said the SLC ultimately decided to go with the current version.

The size of the cast will also be smaller compared to previous student bodies, containing only nine speaking roles.

Besides a unique storyline and a smaller cast, Poe says this student body will feature additional surprises, which he was reluctant to share.

“I don’t want to say too much. But there will definitely be some things students haven’t seen in a student body before,” Poe said.