PhiSignificant Pageant from CMLifeVideo on Vimeo.

Fourteen fraternity members showcased their talents, charisma and body in an attempt to win the title of Mr. PhiSignificant.

About 110 people gathered to support the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority in their tenth annual Mr. PhiSignificant Pageant Tuesday night at Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St.

Contestants competed through three different rounds consisting of an introduction in toga attire, a talent portion and a question and answer session. They were judged by a panel as well as by audience members who voted by donating money to their favorite contestant’s jar.

Coordinator of Mr. PhiSignificant, Allison Pavloff, said the event went as planned and will know the total amount raised by Sunday.

“It went very smoothly,” the Rochester Hills junior said. “I had a great committee for my first planned event, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed the night. Plus, it goes toward a great cause.”

All proceeds will go to the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation, whose main philanthropy is the National Kidney Foundation. Pavloff said the Central Michigan chapter raises the most money every year out of any Phi Sigma Sigma chapter in the country.

There were a couple guest appearances during transitions in the show.

Central Michigan University Fish N Chips A Capella group performed three songs, including a remix to Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We do It.” 2009

Mr. PhiSignificant winner, Bad Axe senior Kyle Post, also performed a vocal piece.

The talent competition consisted of multiple singing and instrumental acts. There was also an interactive trumpet performance to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthemn,” a stand-up act and the display of cheer stunt.

Center Line junior Lael Johnson played two pieces on the piano and encouraged the audience to sing along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

“We’re just a bunch of guys here trying to support a good cause,” Johnson said.

Milford senior Chase Houfek took third place and Troy sophomore Adam Cable was runner-up.

Derek Bartley was given a crown, robe and basket of gift cards after being announced 2011 Mr. PhiSignificant.

Bartley performed a scene from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” as he lip synced “Twist and Shout” and danced through the isles. He said the attire is his Halloween costume and felt inspired to do it as his talent.

When asked what he would buy with a million dollars during the question and answer period, Barkley said “time.”

“This is all just really fun and exciting,” the Clawson sophomore said. “I’m glad I could come support the ladies of Phi Sigma Sigma and at the same time, represent my fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi.”

The concert at 216 E. Broadway St. raised more than $300 from the 40 attendees who witnessed kids of all ages perform songs such as “Drift Away,” “Smoke in the Water,” and “Beverly Hills” at 7 p.m.

Ross Howell, owner of the Mount Pleasant Studio, 2026 Independence Drive, created the tour as a way to give his students a feel for what it’s like to perform on stage.

“The program is my brain child,” Howell said. “What these guys are doing is they’re part of the School of Rock program, which is getting these kids to take lessons to get the full rock and roll experience by going on tour in the area.”

The School of Rock tour has been performing in several events since September, including the Farewell Labor Day festival. The four bands that performed in order of age were “Kings of Kanada,” “Spork of the Road,” “Juggernaut Jackson” and “BWT.”

“It was my intent to giving my students something to see what the end result was about,” Howell said. “Rather than just come into a lecture and work on a song and going home, this actually gives them a chance to be performing and be out in front of people.”

Howell said the Broadway Theatre is one of the biggest places the tour is playing at.

“The Broadway is really a full experience,” Howell said. “It’s a big theater, the town’s great and kids will get a sense of being on stage in a School of Rock production.”

Donna Ronan, official cinema photographer for the tour, had her two sons, George, 14, and Patrick, 12, perform in the tour.

“I have two kids who play the piano, and then George decided to play in the school band,” Ronan said. “I love watching them, and I’m proud of all of them.”

The Kings of Kanada band members agreed it is awesome every time they get to perform on stage in front of the crowd.

“You can feel the excitement,” said Nick Freeze, 11-year-old guitar player from Kings of Kanada. “It feels awesome.”

The Rogers City junior will be playing the role of Mark in the show and said when it comes to the portrayals of the characters, nothing is held back.

Idalski said Director John Saint Jones is a perfect fit for leading the production, scheduled to open in September.

“Our amazing director has designed some great staging,” he said. “(It) will make the audience feel like they are another cast member.”

Head of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Broadway, Phil Mikus is happy “Rent” was selected for the opening show.

“It gives the talent an opportunity to perform and share their talent,” he said.

Saint Jones said each cast member has a unique opportunity to pursue their ideas while performing in this musical.

“Each scene is collaborative,” he said. “The actors all have input and they all contribute their creative ideas in each scene.”

Idalski, who has been performing since fourth grade, said this is a once in a lifetime opportunity with an amazing cast.

“Each of us has found a bit of ourselves in our characters,” he said.

However, the theatre’s website cautioned the show may not be for every audience due to the adult subject matter.

“It’s just as risqué as the original — maybe even more risqué than it was written,” Saint Jones said.

To promote the show, the cast will be at Los Aztecas Tuesday to sing the title song “Rent” at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m..

Tickets for the show are $10 and can be purchased at Ric’s Food Center, Ace of Diamonds and online at http://friendsofthebroadway.org. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Shows will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 9, 10, 16 and 17 and at 2 p.m. on Sept. 11 and 18.

“Rent is one of the most popular musicals in the world right now,” Jones said. “It sends the message that all we have is here and now, and all we have is love.”

The Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St., saw about 150 attendees at the event. The audience watched contestant-submitted short films and were invited to buy raffle tickets to win various prizes.

Lansing junior Leah Farrell was one of five students who organized the Broadway Film Festival as part of RPL 430: Planning Recreation Programs and Events. Her role was to get in contact with the Broadway Theatre about the idea as well as supervising the volunteers in the lounge during the event.

“Our goal was to make over $500,” Farrell said. “I believe we were extremely successful in reaching that goal.”

The event raised about $1,000 through ticket sales, concessions, raffle tickets and change collected in voting jars.

“Community events like this are great for the Broadway Theatre because it brings new people to the Broadway,” Mikus said. “Individuals who have never been to this historic theater will come today, and they’ll fall in love with the building.”

Eight films were presented at the festival, many of which were provided by F1rst Post Entertainment, a registered student organization centered on filmmaking.

Each film had a change jar and the viewer votes were based on the total currency in each. Films were required to be in DVD format, up to 15 minutes long and appropriate for the general public.

All the money raised went toward renovating the theater.

“We’ll put the money toward the roof repair,” said Phil Mikus, chairman of Friends of the Broadway. “The Broadway Theatre was built in 1919, and we are in the process of continuing to maintain it. Repairing the roof is around a $50,000 project.”

Among the films were “Torpedo,” “From Flabby to Fantastic” and winner “Nightmare on East Illinios Street,” made by Dominic Sheahan-Stahl, a former Mount Pleasant resident who lives in New York City.

“Kribs,” a film by Grosse Ile junior Michael Jurecki, had the audience laughing throughout its run.

“I spent about four hours filming it as well as two hours editing it,” Jurecki said. “I watched a lot of the show ‘Cribs’ (on MTV) in the past, and I couldn’t think of anything else that great, so this is what I came up with.”

Jurecki said watching the other entries gave him good ideas for other films to make, so he will return to the festival next year.

The prospective cast giggled at the subject manner of “Love, Sex and the IRS” as director Cindy Kilmer explained the comedic play which will open April 1.

“We’re going to have a good time, or else it’s not worth doing,” Kilmer said.

Five women and two men auditioned for roles of varying personalities as Kilmer watched intently, pausing briefly to jot down a few notes.

Auditions were held at 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in the library, 301 S. University Ave.

Kilmer briefly stepped in when there were not enough actresses to run through some of the female roles. “Love, Sex and the IRS” is the third play she has directed.

“I can’t remember how I got a hold of it, but I read it and I just loved it,” Kilmer said.

One of the two males in attendance, Clare resident Kevin Gage, 26, said he has been involved in theater for 10 years. He was in the production of “Sweeney Todd” last fall at the Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St.

“I just love the whole three companies aspect (of the play),” Gage said.

In “Love, Sex and the IRS,” one of its central characters, John, finds himself in tax trouble, leading an IRS agent to believe he has a wife. His male roommate, Leslie, finds himself dressing in drag to convince the tax agent the two are married.

Kilmer said the production is a light-hearted comedy.

In addition to deadpan comedy, “Love, Sex and IRS” has romantic themes as a main component of the play.

Mount Pleasant resident Keri McArthur, 22, auditioned for the roles of Kate and Connie.

“I have been acting since I was very little,” McArthur said. “I did my first play when I was 4 and loved it.”

McArthur said she loves being on stage and playing someone else to experience different people. She attended business school at CMU.

Lapeer resident Shannon Cline, 20, said she wanted to find some positive things to do. Cline auditioned for all of the female roles, maximizing her potential for landing a part.

“I’m trying to find good things to do with my time,” Cline said. “I read a lot about this play and liked it.”

But Fish N Chips made the pop song and many others its own Friday night at the Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St. in front of a crowd of about 300.

“We have a lot of fun singing everything,” said Troy junior Josh Lee, a group member. “I love singing Katy Perry, I think it’s fun to put a different spin on her.”

Fish N Chips is a 14-member male acappella group that has existed at Central Michigan University for about 10 years, said Kevin Troshak, a Howell senior and group member.

Troshak said the group has performed all around campus and usually performs one big concert per semester.

The group will perform at 6 p.m. Dec. 5 for “Sounds of the Season” in Moore Hall’s Townsend Kiva. The event will be the first time all of CMU’s a cappella groups will perform on the same stage.

In addition to Fish N Chips, the Mountain Town Singers, Central Harmony, On the Rox, Ebb N Flow, Northern Rhapsody and the CMU Brass Quintet are all planning on performing.

Fish N Chips performed a number of different songs including “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi.

The group also performed a three-way combination of Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” and “Teenage Dream.”

Harrison senior Nathan Heath uses his vocals to provide the beat to the group’s music.

“My freshman year, I went to a Fish N Chips concert and saw the beatboxer and thought, ‘you know that’s really cool,” Heath said.

He said he frequently makes beats in elevators, or at Walmart and gets strange looks. People have asked him how he does it and whether or not he is even human, he said.

Marysville freshman Chelsea Witherspoon and Port Huron sophomore Annjanette Kohl said they loved Fish N Chips’ Friday performance.

“They have a lot of fun with it, so it’s entertaining,” Witherspoon said.

She said she saw the group practice at Sweeney Hall and the towers and was impressed.

Kohl said the group flows well from song to song.

“I liked how the beatboxing wasn’t evident, but was crucial in the background,” Kohl said. “It was really good, I enjoyed it.”

The show started off with a Beatles medley performed by the Accafellas, a guest male a cappela group from Michigan State University.

The ladies of On The Rox took the stage and sang several radio favorites including, “King of Anything” and “Only Exception” as well as older songs including “Hit Me” and “It’s Raining Men.”

“‘It’s Raining Men’ is probably my favorite” said Dearborn senior Stephanie Turner, a member of On the Rox. “ It’s one of our more crazy, ridiculous songs.”

The Accafellas joined the On the Rox ladies during their performance of ‘It’s Raining Men’ and entertained the crowd by dancing up and down the isles.

The show had several different events including a beat-boxing competition, a raffle drawing and numerous popular performances.

“The crowd seemed to enjoy the show, they were clapping along. It’s always fun to get energy back from the crowd.” said Turner.

Marne freshman Aleasha Bergman was one of the competitors in the on-stage beat-boxing competition.

“It was really scary, I was shaking” said Bergman. “It turned out bad for me because I ended up going against two really good people.”

On the Rox consists of twelve girls ranging from freshmen to seniors. The songs are all original arrangements,  Turner said.

“Performing songs can be challenging when you’re not using instruments” said Megan Sitko, Virginia Beach sophomore and On the Rox member. “ All us girls have really great personalities and we all love to sing, so we make it work.”

Sitko said “’Something to Talk About’ is probably her favorite song to perform, and she enjoys giving it her all and getting to be goofy on stage.

“We hold auditions at the beginning of the semester” said Turner. “All the girls are awesome, we’ve gotten really close, it’s really fun to be up there performing with your friends.”

The Holt junior took this year’s crown after being the runner-up in 2009.

“My advice for future contestants would be to just have fun,” Collins said.

Mr. Phisignificant is a pageant fundraiser hosted by Phi Sigma Sigma to raise money for its philanthropy, the National Kidney Foundation. The group raised $450.

Contestants strutted their stuff at the Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St., first in togas, then in a talent competition. Performances ranged from “Evolution of Dance” to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”

“My favorite part of the whole pageant was the talent part. It was just a lot of fun for people to see,” said Garden City sophomore Laura Stark. “The talent act I enjoyed best was the Borat impersonator. I’ve never seen those movies, but it was really funny seeing him dance around.”

The all-male acapella group Fish N’ Chips also belted out a few tunes, including “Chariot” by Gavin Degraw, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley and “Beautiful Girl” by Bruno Mars.

Mr. Phisignificant 2009, Bad Axe senior Kyle Post, played the piano and sang a cover of “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga before giving up his crown to this year’s winner.

Attendees voted for contestants by putting money in jars at the front of the theatre.

The sisters were happy with the amount of money collected during the evening and it is going to a good cause, said Kelsey Sinke.

“Not many people know, but there is a surprising amount of kidney illnesses,” the West Olive senior said, “and it’s important to donate and help out a cause we believe in.”

From the scantly-clad to the obscure, the crowd jostled and chatted in their seats before the opening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“It’s always a great time,” Aimee Wilson said. “This is the second year in a row I’ve brought my roommate here to experience this.”

Wilson and her roommate, Tressa Van Ark, both traveled from Saginaw Valley State University to see the Rocky Horror production Halloween weekend.

“(SVSU) started showing the movie at midnight last year,” Wilson said. “But I knew coming to Mount Pleasant would be the right decision.”

As the sound track played in the background, the two occasionally busted into song, “Let’s do the Time Warp again!” while watching the many costumes around them.

“Wow there’s a unicorn over there,” Van Ark said.

Many scantily clad dressed women and men took pictures in the aisles of the old theatre, 217 E. Broadway St., as they waited for the film to start.

The lights dimmed and a brief moment of excitement erupted. A few minutes later a spot light was shone on the wall and the audience cheered loudly. Katy Perry and Lady Gaga impersonators took the stage, starting the show with costume contests.

“The Fifth Element” won sexiest female and “Creepy Janitor” Isaac Bannasch won sexiest male.

The Highland junior said the costume, was sitting in his car when he got to the theatre.

His winning tactics, unzipping his janitorial costume, were rewarded with screams from the crowd.

“It was a last minute thing, I surveyed the audience and decided that they wouldn’t be too offended,” he said.

Bannasch played Rocky Friday night in the production.

“I come here a lot” he said.

Creative costumes ranged from the Spice Girls to the cast of Scott Pilgrim. The couple whose costume was modeled after Wall-E and Eve won the most creative costume.

“We’ve been planning this since September,” said Howell junior Katie Mikula, who played Eve.

Wall-e, Isaac Wineman prepared a soundtrack to be played on-stage during the contest.

At last, the Rocky Horror virgins pledged their allegiance to the lips and the movie began.

“It was really great this year, but not quite as out of control as last year,” Van Ark said.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will open tonight at the Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St. Shows are  at 8 p.m. and midnight today and Saturday.

Depending on the night, different actors from Alpha Psi Omega, the National Honorary Theatre Society, will mirror different roles on the stage beneath the projector screen.

“This is not your common movie experience,” said Grand Haven senior Chelsea Konarska. “The audience yells and throws things at the screen.”

These objects come from prop bags, which are $1 at the theatre.

Konarska said the bags have “rice to throw during the opening wedding scene, toast for making the toast at dinner, confetti to throw during a scene with Frank and Rocky, a newspaper for when they get caught in the rain, a glove for when Frank presents Rocky and noisemakers.”

As rehearsal started, Konarska and the other actors sang along to the opening credits.

The cast was very excited and enthusiastic to be at the theatre at such a late hour, said Cadillac senior Aaron Fent, an actor in the play.

Fent and Konarska are the co-heads of the event.

Konarska is helping manage the production. During rehearsal she sat off to the side, with a notebook and pen in hand, looking for last minute things needed for this weekend’s showings.

“Rocky Horror has a big cult following,” she said.

During the movie, audience members yell quotes and miss-quotes, something the performers enjoy.

“You feel like a rock star when you get up on stage because they’re screaming for you, well your character,” said Barryton senior Katarina Behrmann.

The movie is rated “R.” Tickets will be $5 at the door, on a first-come first-serve basis. Tickets can be purchased in advance online and held at the theatre for a $1 processing fee or from a member of Alpha Psi Omega.