The Sh#!t Show returns to the University Theatre on Oct. 22. The semi-annual student showcase offers Toros up to three minutes to strut their stuff before an audience of their peers.
Charlie Galvan, a junior theatre student, told The Bulletin the event offers students not majoring in the performing arts the opportunity to flex their creative muscles.
“This entire event, that’s their mission: to bring people together and give them a moment to shine,” Galvan said. “If you’re a biology major but you want to sing, and you actually pop it off, it’s like, wow, that’s a really good hidden talent.”
Galvan has never performed at the Sh#!t Show, but said they may give it a go this semester alongside a friend.
“We will possibly be performing this scene from a play called ‘La Tartuffe’ by Moliere,” Galvan said. “He was a French playwright. I’m hoping to do that…but we’ll see.”
Galvan recalled being “terrified” the first time they went on stage and saw people staring back at them. They said the chance to overcome that stage fright is what makes a production like the Sh#!t Show special.
“I think even for people who haven’t performed, who are theatre majors or are within the performing arts, this is a good stepping stone,” Galvan said.
The Sh#!t Show began at CSUDH in 2020, it was a space for traditionally marginalized voices in the arts. The showcase is organized by the Theatre Arts Department, Equality Task Force, and CSUDH Forensics Team as a celebration of inclusivity and self-expression.
Christopher Ajayi, a fifth-year performing arts major, told The Bulletin that the Sh#!t Show gives students an opportunity to network and find potential collaborators.
“You get to express your talents, passions and skills, and other students get to see that,” Ajayi explained. “You might meet someone who shares those same interests and say, ‘Hey, I really like what you did. I think we could do something together,’ and build something you both want to pursue in the long run.”
Ajayi is also considering a performance during this fall’s production.
“It would be lots of fun to do comedy or poetry,” Ajayi said. “I think I would do something with singing. Maybe I’d have a guitar player with me to play something acoustic, or maybe just a cappella.”
Norene Flowers watched the Sh#!t Show for the first time last year and was “very intrigued” by the concept. Flowers described the event as “really, really fun, because it really is exactly what the title says.”
“People have done crosswords, people have drawn, people have done impressions, sung and danced,” Flowers told The Bulletin. “This is my second one. I missed last year, but I’m actually really, really excited, especially because it’s going to be in our main theater this year.”
Flowers echoed Galvan, saying that the Sh#!t Show builds community on campus.
“Having a Sh#!t Show really makes you go up and meet other people just like you—people who might be scared, doing this for the first time or not doing it for the first time,” Flowers said. “I think it’s really important that we have a space where people can show their talents or just things they like to do.”
Whether the performers are first-timers or veterans of the stage, Flowers said participation in the Sh#!t Show takes real courage.
“I haven’t done it yet, and anybody who will go up in front of people and do something they love, you earn 100 points in my book.”
Audiences can expect “a lot of good acts,” added Galvan, “and some sh-t.”