Young the Giant and Rob Riggle cost $20,000 each
The bright, glossy calendars have circulated around campus, making their way from the second floor of Russell House to dorm rooms and apartments throughout Columbia.
Carolina Productions has released its Spring 2012 schedule of events, featuring the usually extensive list of entertainers slated to visit campus this semester.
Headlining the calendar are rock band Young the Giant and comedian/actor Rob Riggle; the two will visit campus on Jan. 30 and March 14, respectively, and each cost the student activity fee-funded organization $20,000 to book.
Other entertainment on the calendar:
— Joseph Simmons, aka Rev Run, from hip-hop group Run D.M.C., will speak in the Russell House Ballroom Feb. 9 and cost the university $16,000.
— February attractions Frank Abagnale (the inspiration for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “Catch Me if You Can”) and Campus Movie Fest (the self-proclaimed “world’s largest student film festival”) will each cost $15,000 for ballroom and theater appearances, respectively.
— ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen’s Feb. 1 ballroom speech will cost $12,000.
— Project Runway’s Mondo Guerra will visit the ballroom as well for USC’s annual Project Condom Feb. 28 for $8,100.
— “Death from the Skies” author Phil Plait will cost $6,000 for a March 29 speech in the Russell House Theater.
— America’s Next Top Model winner Whitney Thompson will speak in the ballroom Feb. 21 for $5,100.
— College Dating Coaches Dave and Ethan’s Jan. 25 theater visit will cost $3,300.
— The Birdcage drag show in the ballroom March 20 will cost $3,000.
— A March 28 comedy competition hosted by Pete Lee in the theater will cost $2,000.
— A Feb. 15 Spoken Word Wednesday in the theater with host Rudy Francisco will cost $1,600.
The price for Acrodunk, the “extreme dunker” basketball stuntsmen who will perform at the Colonial Life Arena during halftime of two men’s basketball games in February, was not immediately available, as the cost may be shared between CP and the athletics department.
CP’s new president Kallie Linsberg is enthusiastic about the semester’s lineup; she expects Riggle, Young the Giant and Rev Run especially to draw large crowds.
“Comedy always does well at USC,” Linsberg said about the organization’s decision to seek out Riggle. “Young the Giant should get a big crowd too, especially out on the intramural fields.”
Linsberg, formerly CP’s special programs coordinator, said her priorities for the semester are making fiscally sound decisions with student funds and ensuring CP’s programming reflects USC students’ varied interests.
“I want to continue being conscious of the way we spend our money,” Linsberg said. “We look at what other colleges spend to bring the acts and then figure out the price per head.”
To calculate the price per head, CP coordinators estimate how many students will attend each event, then divide that number by the amount CP is paying for the act. If their estimates are accurate, the price per head is roughly how much each attendee is paying for the ticket.
To brainstorm ideas for different acts, CP holds open forums and weekly Sunday night committee meetings. These have been notoriously sparsely attended, and Linsberg hopes to remedy that by increasing CP’s advertising of the events beforehand.
“We want to promote open forums and committee meetings — just get the word out,” Linsberg said. “Especially with the open forums, we want to let people know this is a way to have your voice heard without joining a committee.”
The organization will be holding two open forums over the course of the semester: one on Feb. 8 and one on March 29, both in the Omega Delta Kappa room in Russell House.