Cocktail tables with rotary phones cluster around a central, intimate stage. The lights go down and the Emcee enters, playing to the audience, while the male ensemble, adorned with sequined suspenders, serve drinks to the audience at the tables.  

Over the past semester, the immense talent shown in the department of theatre and dance and the department of music's “Parade” and Veg S.O.U.P.'s “Romeo and Juliet” impressed audiences.With winter break approaching, students have started prepping shows for the spring 2013 semester.

The student improvisational comedy troupe Currently Known As: performed its show titled “Pope Zero” to an enthusiastic audience in Wadsworth Auditorium room 21 on Nov. 30.

When she arrived at Geneseo, junior Kim Olsen came in wanting to perform on stage.

Silver Linings Playbook may feature the likes of Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper, but it’s The Hunger Games’ Jennifer Lawrence that steals the movie and rightly deserves the Oscar buzz she’s been garnering.

For aspiring writers, it’s an amazing opportunity to meet published authors and listen to them read from their books. On Nov. 12, Geneseo Literary Forum brought New York City native Erika Dreifus to Geneseo to read from her debut short story collection Quiet Americans.

“[It’s] feeling like a little Irish pub in here,” fiddler Eileen Ivers said to an eager Wadsworth Auditorium audience midway through her performance on Nov. 10. Ivers played entertaining sets alongside backing band Immigrant Soul as part of the Limelight & Accents Performing Arts Series.

Watching professor of English Tom Greenfield strum on a neon-pink acoustic guitar and play a cover of Bob Dylan's “You Ain't Goin' Nowhere” was a highlight from the Student Advocate Response Team Benefit Concert on Saturday Nov. 3 at the Central Presbyterian Church.

Writing poetry is, and has always been, an outlet for expressing emotions and opinions; it takes creativity to mold a poem and bravery to put those words to a page. The act of taking that poetry and performing it on stage as slam poetry brings another element to the poet’s writing. Poet Brian “Omni” Dillon’s performance on Thursday Oct. 25, with help from Geneseo Poets’ Society, certainly didn’t disappoint.

To finance this spring’s Livingston CARES Alternative Spring Break Trip to Disney World, David Parfitt, director of Geneseo’s Teaching and Learning Center, organized a benefit show on Saturday Oct. 20 in the KnightSpot featuring comedic pianist “Yehaa” Bob Jackson.

For the last seven years, Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede said he has felt an affinity for Geneseo that has kept him coming back and speaking about Zen Buddhism.

Upon entering the KnightSpot with an audience of over 100 people, Brazilian contemporary poet Salgado Maranhão said, “I feel like a pop star … [I’m so] overwhelmed, I may pass out.”

Founded in 2003 and based in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Dušan Tynek Dance Theatre has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. The New York Times recently named it one of the top five New York City dance performances of the year.

It’s appropriate that the Twitter hashtag for House at the End of the Street is #HATES because the only redeeming thing about this movie is Jennifer Lawrence’s singing voice.

When the position of a visiting assistant professor opened up in Geneseo’s department of theatre and dance, Mark Broomfield said he couldn’t think of a better place to work than at his alma mater.

Geneseo’s four a cappella groups – Southside Boys, Between the Lines, Exit 8 and Hips ‘n’ Harmony – have worked to produce albums that represent their groups as a whole and showcase their amazing talent.

I blame the Twilight franchise for giving vampires a bad rap. Initially, “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW appeared fairly reminiscent of Twilight: A human girl falls for a brooding vampire and drama ensues. Now, however, the only similarities between the two are the bloodsucking creatures and a ridiculously good-looking cast.

Let the battle of the Snow White movies begin with Tarsem Singh’s adaptation, Mirror Mirror.

Jennifer Westfeldt’s new movie Friends with Kids could be called Bridesmaids 2 since half of the main cast also had starring roles in last summer’s blockbuster. In addition to the returning actors, the story of Friends with Kids takes the next step after marriage: