The Hinman Production Company (HPC) performed their 15th Binghamton Night Live (BNL) show this past weekend entitled “15 Minutes of Fame.”

The show, which was approximately two hours, consisted of several original comedy sketches entirely created, performed and run by members of HPC. For a small fee of $1, Binghamton University students could visit the Hinman Commons from Oct. 12 to Oct. 15 to watch a total of 14 different sketches, divided by a brief intermission.

First created in 2016, BNL 15 is the result of dedicated cast and crew members coming together and rehearsing for hours for just over a month — many of whom did not know each other before working on the production. This year’s BNL was directed by Alexa Camillery, a junior majoring in mathematical sciences, and stage-managed by Becca Ploski, a freshman majoring in history. Although neither had taken on a project of this caliber before, they both learned from the process and thoroughly enjoyed working with the rest of HPC.

There were a total of 12 writers and 12 actors involved in this year’s show, and Julia Heller, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, worked on lights and sounds. The team was even smaller than in previous years as Camillery was one of the first people to direct BNL without a co-director.

Alessandra Antonacci, treasurer for HPC, previous director of HPC’s “Noises Off!” and a senior majoring in English, praised Camillery’s contributions to this year’s show.

“[Camillery] did a wonderful job,” Antonacci wrote in an email. “She was assisted by our E-Board, which consists of nine members. I mentored this production.”

In her Director’s Note, Camillery acknowledged the support and guidance she has received from members of HPC.

“There is (at minimum) a [six] page long list of people who got me this point and gave me the courage and confidence to do it even though this is probably the most challenging and terrifying thing I have ever done,” Camillery wrote.

Much of BNL’s comedy is inherently designed for theatre kids, by theatre kids. There is even a sketch mocking the cult-esque nature of theatre, where upperclassmen perform ritualistic sacrifices and threaten their newer members to do improv. Despite this established demographic, BNL still tries to incorporate a diverse range of sketches to appeal to a wide range of humor.

Similar to previous years, there were a few jokes tailored specifically to the BU community, such as a lighthearted caricature of professors of the BU Mathematics Department and references to Jimmy’s, a bar located in Downtown Binghamton and a staple of local nightlife. This niche genre of jokes consistently generated laughter from the audience, who personally identified with these shared experiences.

Beyond college-themed comedy, skits in this year’s BNL explored a variety of topics. “Brostache” joked about the male fascination with facial hair where a group of men fawn at and fondle each other’s ridiculous fake beards. “Diamond Voyage” was a parody of travel agencies, where actors deadpanned “accommodations” clients could receive from booking with the fictitious agency Diamond Voyage, such as airplane middle seats and indefinitely lost luggage.

In “Weekend Update,” Camillery and Ploski discussed recent pop culture trends, directly inspired by Saturday Night Live’s recurring sketch of the same name where news anchors satirically report on current events. They discussed singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end, Travis Kelce’s speculated relationship and the overwhelming amount of Barbie costumes this Halloween. And Ken too.

Jack Harkins, a senior majoring in cinema, was both an actor and writer for this year’s BNL. He explains that the audience’s reaction to his work was the most satisfying part for him.

“It’s definitely just having people laugh at something that you created, you know because I wrote and I acted,” Harkins said. “So it’s rewarding in both ways because I created a sketch or two, and I helped create the sketch in person by acting. It’s very rewarding to see that final product and have people enjoy it. It’s like seeing your baby up on stage, you know?”

Kate Martellock, a senior majoring in computer engineering, was an actress in this year’s BNL.

“I think [my favorite part is] the energy and the creative freedom you get when you ultimately bounce off different people,” Martellock said. “And the audience really becomes unique the night you’re doing it.”

Martellock also stated that her favorite sketch was “The Groovyness,” which stars an eccentric European pop star named Sir Jobert Kingsley — a character Harkins wrote himself.

The cast members described the community built behind the scenes and the family fostered as they spent more time rehearsing together over the past couple of weeks.

“We tend to come up with inside jokes all the time,” Harkins said. “Since we’re a bunch of comedy people, I’d say we push it to the limit of inside jokes. We’re always doing things. Tonight, we were doing Mad Libs, just for fun, before the show.”

Brooke Smith, a senior majoring in biology and an actor in BNL 15, described why she loves the HPC community.

“[My favorite part] is laughing and enjoying the collaboration between people you’ve grown to become really close with,” Smith said.

The cast and crew of BNL are passionate about their craft and the people, both on and offstage. Their primary intention is to put on an entertaining show by doing what they know best — create.

“It’s great to hear the audience laugh and know that the hard work we put in,” Smith said. “Like yeah, here it is. This is what we all came for.”

HPC will organize two more productions this semester — “Much Ado About Nothing” from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4 and “Head Over Heels!” from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 — and they encourage any students to audition and attend if interested.

Editor’s Note (10/16): This article has been updated with the correct number of actors.