The Spingold auditorium was filled Friday night with alumni, parents and students coming to see Brandeis talent in action. After a welcome by Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer the hosts for the night, Joshua Segal '03 and Aziz Nekoukar '03, took the stage. Throughout the program, they kept up the high level of energy between acts. It seemed as if they were trying too hard, however, and their jokes did not provoke much laughter from the crowd.The Lion Dance Troupe, a traditional Lion and Dragon dance group, performed first. The y carried a long dragon puppet, manipulating it to simulate dancing to the beat of a drum, while the dancers performed their own choreographed martial arts moves.

The Late Night Players class of 2002 alumni were the next attraction to take the stage. One of the most clever skits was a parody of Abbot and Costello's famous "Who's on First" dialogue, centered around the '80s Nickelodeon TV show "You Can't Do That on Television." It succeeded in tying together generation gaps, using jokes in a context familiar to parents in the crowd while being a subject known to students.

The popular all-male a cappella group, Voicemale wowed the audience and kept them laughing with their barbershop-style "Dream Lover," which finished with the group kneeling on the edge of the stage, serenading the front row. The most impressive song was "Walking in Memphis," which could almost be mistaken for the original version.

False Advertising provided some interesting comedy games including a segment they called "Last Action Joke," in which they came up with corny sayings in the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The crowd suggested items for the performers to use as their inspiration, like "gourd," from the dcor of the stage. One comedian threw the gourd like a grenade and exclaimed, "Look at all the blood and gourd!"

The funniest moments of their performance was when one of the actors would blank out and just start laughing at their sudden lack of comedy.

Brandeis' dance company, Adagio, performed next. They began with ballet-style choreography to orchestral classical music, and it gradually changed tempo to a more upbeat jazz played by a piano.

The cast of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" performed the first scene of their play, scheduled to open Nov. 8. The song was very complex, and it was surprising that the group had worked it out in time for Talent Fest, after only about a month of prior preparation. It will clearly be an impressive show by opening night.

The second a cappella group to perform that night was Brandeis' only R&B ensemble, Voices of Soul. The 11-person group harmonized to songs such as Lauryn Hill's "That Thing." The percussion was very precise and the group overflowed with energy. The lead singers of each song had extremely strong, smooth voices.

Hold Thy Peace, the Shakespeare club, performed a scene from "Taming of the Shrew" with a twist; it was set in the Wild West. Their acting was very expressive, allowing the audience to get the full effect of the scene, which was short and sweet. Although there were times when the actors spoke a bit too fast or too quietly, their creative setting and costumes demonstrated the versatility of Shakespeare's writing.

The Late Night Players closed the show with several witty segments, including a hilarious scene with a dramatic paleontologist who envisioned dinosaurs to have worn clothes. The over-exaggerated expressions made the idea funny, and the audience roared with laughter.

Talent Fest 2002 allowed the diverse abilities of Brandeis University's students to shine brightly that night. In the words of the Late Night Players, "At Brandeis, not only can your kids become lawyers and doctors but they can also be suffering comedians."

Or singers, or dancers, or actors, or .