Improvisational comedy enlivens a memory

Alumni+returned+to+the+university+to+present+the+5th+annual+Cubas%2FKay%2FJacob+Memorial+Comedy+Show+in+the+Vonnie+Borden+Theatre.+

Zachary Araki

Alumni returned to the university to present the 5th annual “Cubas/Kay/Jacob Memorial Comedy Show” in the Vonnie Borden Theatre.

Zachary Araki, A&E Editor

Alumni reunited for a tribute to three members of the university theatre community with the 5th annual “Cubas/Kay/Jacob Memorial Comedy Show.”

The cast performed in the Vonnie Borden Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 20. Brandon Cubas and Jacob Zeringue were students, and Kay Files joined the university’s theatre staff in 1993.

2006 Alumnus Casey Saba shared his experience paying tribute to Cubas, Zeringue and Files.

“Coming together like this, it’s kind of cathartic to be honest you know,” said Saba. “Coming into it, I was kind of anxious, and once you get here and you see all your old friends, you sink right back down and get comfortable again, and it’s fun. I hope everybody enjoyed it. I know we had a great time.”

2011 Alumnus Lucius Falick described the tribute as “a really fun way to celebrate something that sucks.”

“It was good,” said Falick. “I used to perform with all these guys, and I haven’t been able to make it to any of the prior shows, and I think that whenever we do this, in the spirit of what we’re doing, it’s always a lot of fun.”

The show was made up of improvisational theatre. Falick discussed the value he has found in improv.

Falick said, “Whether it’s on set or in whatever work I have to do to support myself whether in an office or in a bar, your improv skills, being able to change it up and roll with the punches, I think that really applies to all walks of life. The skills that I learned here at Southeastern with improv, I have taken them. Now, it’s been so many years, and I use it every single day.”

Besides a tribute, the performance also served to bring together old friends.

“We come together,” said Saba. “We share with each other. We laugh with each other. We cry with each other. We support each other. We catch up with each other. The sentiment I think about this is we try to reaffirm the importance of connection, especially nowadays. It’s easy to get too busy.”

A stream of the tribute performance can be found on the CaseySabaMusic Facebook page.