Mass communication students showcased their performing talents Thursday night in Stubbs Hall as part of the fall Yapalooza.

According to Dr. Steckline, associate professor of communication studies, the event gets its name from the speech and debate team known as the Yappers. The performances are never the same and usually last one to 10 minutes each in length.

“Professor Steckline was hosting and asked her class to come participate, put on performances and help set-up,” said Tim Russell, a mass communication senior from West Monroe. “It was nice to see people’s interpretation of other people’s work and how they performed it.”

Russell referenced the presentations of students DeRon Talley and Skylar Robinson. Both students brought Marnie Mueller’s “The Marathon, Strategy” to life, but had two different takes on it. Robinson interpreted the poem as an actual marathon while Talley viewed the poem as more of a campaign speech.

Not all of the performances were from literature. Others provided plenty of humor. Darius Prelow acted out an infomercial for an imaginary product known as the “Ab Pole” and showed how for $19.99 you could have the perfect abs and get the six pack you always wanted. A piece by James Willis called “The New Grandma” demonstrated how culture had changed and the new grandma “keeps it real.”

“I liked the whole Yapalooza,” said Donna Fields, a history grad from Monroe. “There was a lot of talent and information that everyone could relate to. My favorite was ‘Death by Scrabble.’ It was really funny and creative.”

“Death by Scrabble,” originally by Charlie Fish, was performed by Emily Plunkett as a short story depicting a married couple playing scrabble when the words come to life.

Other performances were more serious. Donald McNeil narrated “W’sup N*****,” which is based on the Def Poetry performance by Julius Curry explaining why the word is so offensive and should not be used as a positive