By: Heath Anderson
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Each year, members of the Northwest Arkansas chapter for the Society of Professional Journalists put on a sketch comedy show to help fund scholarships for student journalists.
In the show, called “Gridiron”, the skits performed poke fun at political issues near and far.
Producer Britt Graves says she loves working with her team, and being part of the production.
“Just the opportunity to get on stage or behind a microphone, and just be silly, and make fun of everything that’s going on.” Graves said.
Usually, Gridiron is performed in front of a live audience, but last year’s show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flash forward to this summer, and the team began writing this year’s performance.
Writer and producer Katherine Shurlds believed they would do a show in front of a crowd this year.
“We started writing the show back during the minute and a half we thought the pandemic was over.” Shurlds said.
Then, the numbers went up again, so the team adapted.
Gridiron was eventually recorded as a podcast.
On October 3, cast members took to the UATV studio to record their performance.
While college students were not allowed to be in the show due to Covid concerns, two were a part of the recording process, while two others were in charge of editing.
In future installments, the Gridiron team hopes to bring students back as cast members.