Binghamton Night Live, a comedy skit show performed by the Hinman Production Company, left many audience members laughing so hard they were gasping for air. This year, BNL was co-directed by Skyler Sharpe, a senior double-majoring in anthropology and psychology, and Rachel Doyle, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience.

The camaraderie between Sharpe and Doyle was evident, especially during the “weekend update” portion of the show, in which the two of them performed together. They clearly had a blast while mocking recent news stories on stage together.

Sharpe’s hands were full — both figuratively and literally. While telling actors where to go and what to do to prepare for a dress rehearsal, they were also crocheting their costume, a vibrant rainbow dress, at an impressively rapid pace.

The chaotically exciting energy during these first few minutes of dress rehearsal was no different from the whole process of BNL. Just like Saturday Night Live, things are often chaotic, hilarious and done last minute.

From the set to the script, HPC is entirely student-run, and according to the playbill, was established in 1979. Hinman Production Company puts on a few shows a semester, and this is their 17th production of BNL. Between three outlandish dog-themed scenes, a murder mystery, an investigative case of Ms. Frizzle and more, audience members could barely breathe from laughing.

The show consisted of two acts culminating in 15 total skits. While every skit was uniquely funny, some highlights were “Murder of Baxter,” a dramatic murder mystery centering Baxter the Bearcat, “Brain Rot Zombies,” which involved a social media-addicted zombie apocalypse, and “Baking Bad,” a play on the show “Breaking Bad.”

“Murder of Baxter” began with a blood-curdling scream before the stage lights were turned on. The murder mystery included three suspects — a peer, a roommate and a professor of Baxter, all of whom revealed a steamy romance with the school mascot. The skit even included audience participation, as one was brought on stage to help the actors solve the murder mystery.

“Brain Rot Zombies” began with a few actors running away from terrifyingly realistically depicted zombies, who said things popular on social media like, “this is so mindful, so demure” and “so brat.” The skit ended with everyone on stage becoming brain-rot zombies and performing Charli XCX’s “Apple” dance.

Sharpe explained that, similar to SNL, there is a quick turnaround for BNL writers.

“We all sit in a room together — sometimes we’re just quietly typing away and other times we’re just quoting the most random things you could ever think of,” Sharpe said. “It’s really a collaborative process. Like we say all the time if we credited everyone who helped even a little bit on every sketch, every writer would be credited for every sketch and it’s awesome.”

When asked about their favorite parts of being a part of the production, many actors seemed to have a common answer — making people laugh.

The show itself ended in classic BNL fashion — chaotic in the best way possible. The closing skit, which was called “Clown College Frat Party” and was written by Doyle and Sharpe, included cast members dressed as clowns head-to-toe, partying as if at a frat.

“I want to tell audience members to have fun,” Sharpe wrote in an email. “[Their] role is the easiest in the production, I want them to sit down, relax and forget about their worries for an hour or [two]. At BNL nothing matters as long as they laugh loud and enjoy the show. They should know that this show was made [entirely] by and for students who wanted them to have a good time.”