How would you describe the society to a new-comer?
A passionate comedic community. Because LUCI is centred around trying to make funny stuff, whether that be live on radio or just in the meeting, we naturally have a good time. Everyone is there for the same reason, we support each other and have a fun time doing it!
What would the average timetable for a member of the society consist of?
I’d say LUCI is a pretty busy society, as we have different things that you can get involved with every day – and you can attend as many or as few as you like. It also depends which of the three “disciplines” prefer, because we have stand-up, sketch and improvised comedy meetings, as well as two radio shows.
We have two stand-up meetings a week, with our fortnightly stand-up (and sometimes improv) show on the Thursday of even numbered weeks.
Then, we have a sketch meeting on Tuesdays, but if you want to perform in the show, the number of meetings will increase with rehearsals.
And then for improv, we have the highlight of every LUCI member’s week: the Friday general meeting. We also have an award-winning Improv Hour on Bailrigg FM on Saturdays, and the panel show Talk of the Devil on Sundays, which are definitely worth tuning in to!
Describe a typical meeting…
It’s difficult to describe an average meeting, as I’ve mentioned before, we have a lot of stuff going on every week! I wouldn’t say that there’s an average meeting, or an average number of meetings to attend.
But if we’re talking more generally, a meeting tends to consist of us discussing ideas, testing out material that we’ve been working on, and giving feedback. We support people’s ideas and try to make them better, which as someone writing and/or performing comedy, is a good position to be in. It can often be hard to tell what an audience might find funny, and going to a meeting where you’re getting the full support of LUCI is always helpful.
The general meetings where we do improv are often just fun, organised chaos.
What has been your favourite moment as a part of the society so far?
There’s been far too many good moments for me. However, I’d probably say working on the sketch shows each term are genuinely my favourite thing about LUCI. At the end of each term, we host a sketch show which we do entirely from scratch: writing, reviewing and editing sketches; doing rehearsals, promoting the show and then the performance itself. It’s so rewarding to watch a few ideas that you all laugh at together in the meetings at the start of term grow into something that real audiences enjoy. The great thing is, you can get involved at whichever stage you like. You can just submit sketches, or just perform, or do what I always end up doing which is a bit of both!
How would someone new go about getting involved?
The best way to get involved with LUCI is to just come and get stuck in! A lot of people may think that for a society like us, you need to come prepared or have experience. That isn’t the case. The best thing to do is to check the LUCI Facebook page and see the timetable for this term and just attend whichever meeting sounds the most interesting to you, then come on by. Alternatively, watch what we do at one of our shows and if you like what you see, come and try us out. We’re always welcoming new people, so don’t be put off!
