Company is ushering comedic camaraderie to Spring Sing.

The 10-member comedy troupe emcees the annual Spring Sing event, providing comedic relief between each performing act. Company fosters unity through the universal language of laughter by encapsulating the humor that resides among the UCLA community. Bri Yi,a fourth-year theater student and returning Company member, said the ensemble writes, directs and produces all of the sketches performed over the course of a few months.

“Company is like ‘SNL’ (Saturday Night Live) if it were 10 college kids who don’t actually really have any professional backgrounds in comedy,” Yi said. “And instead, having them come up with 10 sketches. They have two quarters, and they write, and they do everything. They wear all the hats.”

Fourth-year global jazz studies student and returning Company member Ellie Rice said Friday’s performance will consist of a lighthearted introduction video followed by the sketches – half pre-filmed and half live – and a closing song to wrap the event.

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Throughout winter quarter, members draft and compose two potential sketches each week, Yi said. UCLA’s rich and diverse culture provides numerous opportunities for niche jokes to be created, Rice added. The Notes app is often used for compiling lists of ideas and jokes ready to be presented at the laughter-filled weekly meetings, said Rice.

“I can say with full confidence that going to meetings for Company is one of the biggest highlights of my week,” Rice said. “I’ve never had an environment or I’ve never been part of a club where basically what you’re doing in all of your meetings is laughing.”

Yet, the composition of sketches poses its own challenges because comedy is subjective to various audiences, Yi said. After being involved in Company for three years, Yi said she has learned that the comedy space requires thick skin and a keen intellect to present something as effortless and carefree. She added that the ability to take one’s own bias out of comedy can be difficult at times.

As a first-time Company member, fourth-year computational and systems biology student Sawyer Findley said the constructive criticism provided to him by other members has been helpful in his first compositions of sketches and performances. Findley said the humor of a performance will not translate if he is not having fun himself. Likewise, Rice said the camaraderie within the ensemble has made the difficulties easier to manage.

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Furthermore, Rice said the first time being on stage as a part of Company was different from anything she had ever done before. Sharing this excitement, Findley said he is full of anticipation and eagerness amid the build up to the performance. Regarding her Company experience, Yi said joining the group was initially stressful, as she had to navigate the vulnerability of comedy. However, she said the reception to her first performance changed her perception.

“I was the only person of color on Company my first year, and I was a woman – and I just didn’t really know anyone,” Yi said. “I just always felt really irrelevant in that group for the preparation. … I always just felt really small that whole time, and then to get up on that stage and feel really big and be understood and having the audience eat me up was so rewarding.”

Additionally, Company members draw large inspiration from SNL in their approach to their own performances, Rice said. One of her fondest memories over the course of production was on a team retreat when Rice said the members gathered around the television of the Airbnb rental to watch Timothée Chalamet host the NBC series. Rice said the moment served as a reminder of why she, and the rest of the cast, are a part of Company – for their love of sketch comedy.

Findley said he wants the audience to take away from the performance the same sense of community he felt when watching Spring Sing for the first time. Furthermore, the lineup of sketches intertwined with the addition of new members reveals a performance Yi said she has never been more thrilled to be a part of. Rice said she hopes the humor of Company will act as a unifying force for the UCLA community – even if it is for just one evening.

“We want to share the love through difficult times,” Rice said. “Things are really difficult right now. Everything is hard. Things are stressful at UCLA, the world, everywhere. But if we can take just one night and everyone gets together and we laugh and we are happy, … you have to appreciate it.”