Spreading laughter like a disease

February is the season for loosening up. Mid-terms and major exams have just ended, and the time has come to have some fun. For a particular group of students, the coming of February brings frilly outfits, makeup, rehearsals, and lots of dancing — and I’m not referring to high school students and their Junior-Senior proms.

Gutsier, and definitely more talented than your average high schooler, the students I’m talking about are members of the Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral sa Komunikasyon (SAMASKOM), a student organization from the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass Communication. For them, February is not just the month of love. It is also the month of laughter.

For 25 years, UP SAMASKOM has been spreading a disease of a show that leaves audiences gasping for air and grasping their aching stomachs. Live A.I.D.S., which is short for Live Ang Istoryang Dinebelop ng SAMASKOM, is a yearly comedy variety show that is produced and performed by the members and alumni of the communication organization.

Many of today’s entertainment industry greats are veterans of Live A.I.D.S. Comediennes Giselle Sanchez and Tuesday Vargas actually started their careers on the stage of this musical comedy show with their fellow SAMASKOMers. The infamous Ate Glow, recognized as the best President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo impersonator, is also a SAMASKOM alumna.

The organization has also bred a crop of television and movie producers, including Laurenti Dyogi, one of the minds behind Pinoy Big Brother and the ‘90s hit G-mik, and Jerry Lopez Sineneng, director of ABS-CBN’s telenovela Maria Flordeluna.

Kuya Kim Atienza (who was part of the cast of the very first Live A.I.D.S.!) started his work in the field of communication as a member of SAMASKOM.

Live A.I.D.S. 2010: Circusmaryosep is the 26th installment of the group’s well-known show and is a sure breeding ground and an exposition for future media personalities. Promising to be full of great ad-libs, improvisations, dances and songs (yes, that does spell A.I.D.S. — it’s another meaning SAMASKOM gives to the show’s name), Circusmaryosep is one of the most highly anticipated performances on the UP calendar.

Students and university graduates alike eagerly await this annual showcase. A high school teacher and graduate of the UP College of Home Economics commented that she and her friends have made it a tradition to catch Live A.I.D.S. every year, work and other commitments be damned.

“To think that students can come up with such witty sketches really impressed me about Live A.I.D.S. Their sketches aren’t just supposed to make everyone laugh. If you look at it closely, the show also has something to say about the things happening around us: our fascination with showbiz, our over-conservatism, and our politics,” said a UP student and avid fan of SAMASKOM’s distinguished production.

What keeps fans of this show coming back year after year is the dedication, sweat, blood and tears that the SAMASKOMers pour into it.

One of the newest members of the organization, Dhadi Adviento, is a first-time performer. He said that the nearer the performance dates get, the more excited he becomes. He wants to feel the pressure that showtime brings — not that he isn’t pressured enough as it is, what with juggling schoolwork with hours and hours of preparations for the event.

In the words of one of the performers, audiences can expect intelligent humor and bonggang (awesome) production numbers from an all-SAMASKOMer cast, from the producers and stagehands to the writers and performers.

Being named Circusmaryosep, this year’s Live A.I.D.S. is obviously based on a circus theme, but all the performers are mum on the subject of what to expect for specific skits, songs and dances. With a smile, one of the members said, “Para ‘di ma-spoil.” (So that there will be no spoilers.)

Directed by Ador Cantupay and VJ Santos, the show is sure to draw another standing-room-only crowd, as all the previous Live A.I.D.S. shows have done.

For 35 years, UP SAMASKOM has been a duly recognized academic organization boasting over a thousand alumni and resident members. The organization has been holding the Live A.I.D.S. show for 25 years, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the College of Mass Communication, UP SAMASKOM’s home.

Shows are scheduled on Feb. 19, 20 and 21, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium in the College of Music at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. For ticket inquiries, please contact Princess at 0915-9891506.

The event is sponsored by Robinsons Department Store, The Bar, Institute of Culinary Arts and Food Service, Abracadabra, Sound Design Manila, Sceniques Co., ANC, MAGIC 89.9, WAVE 89.1, 99.5 rt, 103.5 MAX FM, Jam 88.3, ClickTheCity.com, Jobsonline.com.ph, Business World, Computerworld Philippines, PC World Philippines, Gen G Magazine, and Media G8way Corporation.