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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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Trivial Pursuits

Trivial Pursuits
 
Students sketch out comedy show

Verlon Allen
Photo courtesy of Verlon Allen 
Junior Verlon Allen relaxes at a shoot for the Merz Society, a comedy troupe that creates skits aired on Beecon.

By Monique Bos
Published: Friday, June 2, 2006

Viewers of Beecon, the Savannah College of Art and Design student television station, which is online at www.beecon.tv, may have enjoyed humorous skits by the Merz Society. This group of students, under the leadership of film and television junior Verlon Allen, are gaining valuable experience while keeping themselves — and others — entertained.

The society, whose work is heavily influenced by Monty Python and the Dadaist idea of junk art, has completed six short comedy sketches that are online, and members are working to develop a longer, 17-minute episode that will probably air in late fall.

“It’s kind of like Monty Python, where every skit drips into another,” Allen said. “Everyone’s dispersing for the summer, so we’ll pick it back up in the fall.”

He said the group has six steady members, but interested students are always welcome to join.

“We’re more than happy to have anybody,” he said. “I see it as a big learning experience. If someone has a question, we slow down and explain why we’re doing something.”

Working with a group like the Merz Society on Beecon projects has a number of benefits, Allen said. For one thing, with no set deadlines, the students have time to focus on quality. In addition, participants can be involved with every aspect of the creation.

“Everyone who’s in the group plays a key role,” he explained. “We all write and produce, so it’s a collaborative thing.”

Some Beecon projects, such as “Tilted Windows,” have been submitted as class assignments, Allen said, but so far, the Merz Society has been an extracurricular labor of love.

“Everybody just does it when we can,” he said. The group held meetings every Thursday during spring quarter and shot footage every other weekend, but Allen understands constraints on students’ time.

“If we ask if you’re available for a certain time and you say yes, then all we ask is that you show,” he said. “People who are just available for meetings and never for set are going to stop getting called.”

In addition to enjoying the Merz Society, he speaks highly of his experience at the student station.

“Beecon really gives you what you need to get things done,” he said. “It’s really supportive and just getting better every quarter. Q [Manning, general manager] has done a really good job with that. Every Friday meeting is full — that room is jam-packed with people.”

All students are welcome to attend the station’s meetings, held each Friday at 1 p.m. during academic quarters in the ground-floor conference room at Keys Hall, 516 Abercorn St.

“One of the nicer things about it is pretty much anybody from any department can come in and help out on a set,” Allen said. “Things are constantly being shot.”

While many upperclass students don’t have time to be heavily involved in Beecon, Allen plans to continue working with the Merz Society even after he earns his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

“I’m probably going to come back here for grad school and keep it going,” he said. “I really enjoy it.”