Emens is celebrating its 50th anniversary season and will finish this semester’s with these shows:
• “An Evening with Garrison Keillor”
7:30 tonight
• “Mamma Mia!”
7:30 p.m. Dec. 5
• Indiana Public Radio’s Hometown Family Christmas Show
6:30 p.m. Dec. 8
For six years, the director of John R. Emens Auditorium has tried to get comedian Jim Gaffigan to campus.
“[Gaffigan] has a limited tour schedule, he’s been too expensive or dates have not been available,” Robert Myers said. “It’s been many years in the making that I’ve been working to get Jim Gaffigan here.”
As a fan of the fellow Hoosier, Myers said it took until late August for his luck to turn around. Nitelite Promotions reached out to Emens to get Gaffigan to Muncie while he was on tour in Indiana.
“It just worked out this time,” Myers said. “I have to say, it was a certain amount of luck. And I believe that success happens when opportunity meets preparation.”
The act was rumored to be derailed early Friday evening with reports of a person with a gun in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The show still went on as planned since the auditorium was determined to be outside the secured area.
Dina Byrnes, the event manager for Emens, said Gaffigan’s show received normal attendance.
“Gaffigan graciously started the show 20 minutes late to allow others to arrive,” Byrnes said. “He also tweeted out to his fans that he would perform and would wait as long as he needed to in order to do so.”
Gaffigan attempted to lighten the mood on campus after the partial lockdown, joking that the gun that was spotted was candy.
“It was a chocolate gun,” he tweeted. “And it was delicious.”
Kristi Chambers, Emens marketing assistant was impressed by the smoothness of Gaffigan’s booking and ticket sales.
“We got him really quickly,” Chambers said. “He confirmed on Tuesday or Wednesday, and we had tickets on sale by Friday. It was an amazing turn around.”
Myers said the show helped Emens’ reputation.
“It goes on your venue’s résumé,” Myers said. “We’ve had many great performers at Ball State and adding someone like Jim Gaffigan to the list with George Carlin, Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Dave Chappelle is great for the venue.”
Myers said Gaffigan is a show the community was excited about, as well.
“Students purchased tickets, but he’s been more of a community draw,” he said. “I don’t know if that has to do with his comedic style, but price might have something to do with it.”
Chambers said an act like Gaffigan’s helps Emens get to the root of its purpose in the community.
“Our name is ‘[John R. Emens] College-Community Auditorium’ and we’ve really lost sight of that over the years,” Chambers said. “And then students on campus don’t realize that there are so many shows they get into for free and the discounts they get, so it’s hard to get everyone to understand in the students and the community that we have great shows here that are at much better prices than they would get in other cities.”
Olivia Germann, a freshman English literature major, said she was impressed with the show as a die-hard fan.
“It really means a lot to me [that Emens brought Gaffigan to campus],” Germann said. “I’m a huge Jim Gaffigan fan — I grew up watching him on Comedy Central — so seeing him here was like a dream come true. I love him. He’s one of my favorites, so it was really special for me to see him on stage for once.”
For Hannah Wiley, a freshman elementary education major, it was her first comedy show.
“Well, honestly, I didn’t know who Jim Gaffigan was before I came,” Wiley said. “I was actually brought to the show with friends, and I really enjoyed him. I’ve never been a stand-up show, so for him to be my first was really special.”
Read More
55-year old Delaware County cyclist killed in crash Friday morning
By Staff Reports / 15 hours agoThe Delaware County Police Department confirmed the victim was killed while biking on Walnut Street south of County Road 1000 North.
Muncie resident arrested for possession of child pornography
By Newslink Staff / 18 hours agoAndrew Schoettmer (31) was arrested April 1, following a three-month investigation involving possession of child pornography, conducted by the Indiana State Police.
Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Honors House embraces construction
By Payton Mucker / 19 hours agoThis year, the honors college took on a new challenge with 600 new freshmen, while roughly 4-5 years ago, they only brought in 300.
