Easily overlooked in the hub of students frenzying to grab a bite, The Texas Union houses a 300-person theater on the north end of the ground floor. However, stopping by on a Wednesday or Thursday night, this unassuming theater rings with cheers, laughter and sometimes singing from students gathered for weekly movie screenings in an atmosphere far from the strict auditoriums of traditional movie theaters.
UT Showtime, a student-run committee under the campus Events + Entertainment program, plans and hosts movie screenings and cinema-related events, creating a lively space for students to let loose and enjoy a flick.
Thien Nguyen, business sophomore and Showtime publicity officer, said the crowd’s engagement seems to come naturally in the theater filled with students. Showtime does its best to embrace this ambiance with special events.
“People really get into it, especially when we do cult classics like “Pitch Perfect” or singalongs, ” Nguyen said. “Last semester we did ‘Frozen,’ (and) we had mics for people to come up and sing. We encourage interactiveness for some of these movies (and) it just adds so much to it.”
For Romina Vazquez, radio-television-film freshman and Showtime regular, Showtime’s breaking away from traditional movie theater etiquette offers a connectedness between students that she prefers over her living room couch.
“It becomes like a sense of community,” Vazquez said. “Watching ‘Rocky Horror (Picture Show)’ with a bunch of people, even if you don’t know them — it’s a communal experience.”
According to their Instagram, Showtime’s schedule for the semester includes two series: blockbuster films showings Thursdays at 6 and 9 p.m. and late-night films every other Wednesday at 8 p.m. Both schedules contain special events, with the late-night film series ending with a singalong to Disney’s “Tangled” and the Blockbuster series holding the 15th annual Texas Union Film Festival on Feb. 22.
The committee meets every Monday at 5 p.m. in the Union’s Asian Culture Room and is free to join for UT students who can choose their level of participation. Unsurprisingly, movies serve as a common topic among members, but being a film enthusiast isn’t necessarily required, said Jacob Shanks, psychology sophomore and Showtime member.
“You don’t have to be a super big film nerd to join, but we do talk about movies and TV shows we watch or the ones we’re showing,” Shanks said. “Anyone who enjoys getting to be around different people (are welcome). We have a lot of types of people in the club, a lot of people in different majors, from all different places.”
For Shanks, camaraderie between group members and providing students with this space make Showtime something to look forward to during the week.
“Part of it is that we’re just happy to be there,” Shanks said. “We enjoy getting to put on something for other students, (giving them) an experience and getting to socialize with other members of the club.”
Liberty Wigington, a radio-television-film freshman, said on top of the occasional free merch, she and her friends attend showtime screenings because of their convenient schedule and for the space to further explore their interests on campus.
“It’s really important for us (as) (radio-television-film) majors to have a connection to cinema within our own school like this,” Wignington said. “What else are you going to do on a Wednesday night?”
