NIU students who need a study break and are looking for a few good laughs should attend the Comedy Sportz show tonight.

The show is scheduled for 9 p.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center and sponsored by the business fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon.

The fraternity is based in marketing and sales and has made the show their big marketing project for the semester.

“Last semester, we had the auto show and Comedy Sportz. Both were very successful. This semester we decided to host the comedy show again,” said Vice President of Promotions Frank Genovese.

The fraternity hosts smaller projects such as blood drives and candy sales, but they consider the show the most fun. “Everyone in the fraternity is involved. There is a lot of advertising, marketing and planning. A lot of experience is gained from this sort of project,” Genovese said.

Comedy Sportz has gained popularity on college campuses across Illinois and has begun to spread to nearby states, he said.

The show features two teams of professional comedians who perform improvisational acts with the help of a referee and the audience. The members of the team ask for a word or situation from the audience to base their skit on. “It is a very funny show in the traditional Second City style,” Genovese said.

“Everyone has seen Second City, and Comedy Sportz is not as well known but it is just as much fun, if not more so. I haven’t heard from anyone who didn’t like the show,” he said. “Everyone had a great time last semester.”

Even though there also is an NIU basketball game tonight, Genovese feels tonight is the best night to host the show. “Everyone is still here for the weekend, and we held the show last semester on Thursday and had a great turnout. They (the students) can just come after the game.”

Last semester when the group came to NIU they sold 400 tickets. This year, Pi Sigma Epsilon hopes to raise that figure to 500.

The tickets will be sold at the door for $4 or can be purchased in advance by calling 758-0071.