Have you always longed for a chance in the spotlight? UNI Student Theatre Association has an event for you! Friday, September 17, UNISTA is hosting a Late Night Lip Sync Battle at the Strayer-Wood Theatre. The event will start at 10 p.m. and is open to all students looking to perform or enjoy an evening of free entertainment.

The night will present a variety of both individual and group performances. Each act will perform a roughly 90 second cut of their song of choice, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to dancing and costumes!

This is the first lip sync battle UNISTA has hosted in their years as a student organization. This group hosts events all year long that aim to provide opportunities for students from all majors and minors to perform, to enjoy performances from the comfort of the audience, and to create campus-wide connections.

Lip syncing has become a trend in entertainment over the past few years, being featured on television programs and making up a significant portion of content on TikTok. Carson Uthe is the marketing director for UNISTA, and he thinks the appeal of watching lip syncing comes from how accessible it is. “It just comes natural to everyone. If you’re just listening to music in your car, most of the time you’re lip syncing or singing along,” he says. He believes that taking this activity that people usually do in private and putting it on a stage creates an exciting atmosphere. “It takes a lot of guts,” Uthe says, “but it’s fun and silly.”

While the event is a bit experimental for UNISTA, Uthe encourages anyone who wants to perform to sign up either as an individual or with a group. “They don’t have to be a good singer. They don’t have to be a good dancer. It’s just something fun to watch that we all have the ability to do.”

Uthe also recommends that students keep their eyes out for all of UNISTA’s upcoming events this year. “We’re really excited for this first event as well as the rest of our season,” he says. “We have some really cool stuff coming up.”

Students interested in performing in the lip sync battle can find posters around campus with a QR code linking to the sign up form. Additionally, the link can be found on UNISTA’s social media accounts : @unista_board.