AEM students to host lip-sync battle on campus
Carlo Javier // Editor-in-Chief
For two hours, Capilano University’s Maple Building will be the epicentre of what promises to be the most heated clash outside of the Sportsplex. On Thursday, Nov. 23, students from the Arts and Entertainment Management (AEM) program are hosting Cap Live Presents: Lip-Sync Battle 2017, an initiative that goes far beyond a simple class project.
As part of their curriculum, AEM students are tasked with organizing entertainment-based events both on and off-campus. For first-year students Giovanna Monastero, Noah Cardoso, Westley Schulz and Yanna Zeng, their initial semester requirement is to organize one within the CapU grounds. While the whole first-year class will be putting together the Lip-Sync Battle, the four students, who are the designated venue operations team, are taking the lead in the project.
“I wanted to get an event that would involve everyone on campus,” said Schulz, who came up with the idea of putting together a lip-sync battle for the University after enjoying the popular LL Cool J and Chrissy Tiegen-hosted show on Spike, Lip Sync Battle. “I just kind of thought that was pretty fun and would be something cool to bring to campus.”
Running from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the organizers know that time will be a serious constraint for their event, and are therefore planning on capping the performances at 12 participants. To up the ante, each performer will be competing for three awards: the Doppelganger, the Mojo and the Fandom. The Doppelganger is reserved for the individual who best captures the look of their respective artist, the Mojo will be handed to the performer who best reflects the essence and charisma of their chosen artist and the Fandom will be for the crowd favourite.
The event will be an all-ages licensed function and prizes for the winners will include gift baskets donated by Deep Cove Brewery.
Although enhancing campus life is among the chief purposes of the Lip-Sync Battle, the organizers are also tackling a greater issue with their event – and no, the greater issue is not simply a high mark. All proceeds generated through concession will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association and a donation box will also be present. “For us, the mental health issue is that people don’t want to talk about it,” said Monastero. She further added that the concept of dressing up, playing a character and not feeling the slightest bit of embarrassment could be a sound way to combat the stigma that surrounds mental health conversations in Canada. “It’s not embarrassing to talk about mental health,” she continued.
As deadlines for school projects loom, CapU students may notice that student-led, campus-wide events are also starting to increase. Whether it be through class work or extracurricular responsibilities, much of the events that the campus community experience are put together by students. Despite having a program that is quite literally about generating interest and engagement for gatherings, acts and the like, some AEM students feel overlooked by the rest of the school.
“When I found it [AEM], it was like finding a needle in a haystack,” said Schulz. “It’s like the management and business side of performing arts and the scope of it is pretty broad, covering things like vending management, artist management, festivals and promotions, there’s a lot it covers.”
Although AEM students may feel isolated in the Dogwood Building, the hands-on approach of the program provides its students and eventual graduates with an envious head start in the industry. Their second years in the program is very much dedicated to practicum working, most of which are done with established figures in the arts and entertainment industry.
Cap Live Presents: Lip Sync Battle will take place on Thursday, Nov. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Maple Building lounge. Any student interested in performing are encouraged to email caplivelipsync2017@ gmail.com by Friday, Nov. 17 with their song of choice and props required.