Students and Isla Vista residents looking for a Friday night alternative to a night of drunken antics will soon have something new to turn to: the variety show.

A new university-sponsored variety show called “I.V. Live” will debut this Friday at 9 p.m. in Embarcadero Hall. The series, which will run until the end of the academic year, will feature different creative pieces performed by members of the university community. Jason Davids Scott, a grad student in the Dramatic Art Dept. and one of the program’s executive producers, said the lack of selection in weekend activities in I.V. will bring people to the program.

“There are no theaters or dance clubs in I.V.,” he said. “There’s a real lack of culture, and I know students want more selection.”

Catherine Cole, a dramatic art professor and vice chair of the Academic Senate, said the program came into existence when she learned from students that there was not enough to do in Isla Vista, right around the time the university began to draw negative media attention.

“In the fall there was a lot of press attention to the porn [parties] and Halloween, which drew the attention of higher university officials,” Cole said. “The arts are at the vanguard of social change – I wanted to bring the arts to community transformation in Isla Vista.”

Scott said this Friday’s opening will feature a diverse range of artistic talent, including Naked Voices, an a cappella group; Whole Cloth, a new improvisational troupe; the tap dancing club; two short student films; a yet-unnamed musical group and possibly more.

“There are a lot of clubs on campus doing one night things, and wouldn’t it be neat to put them all together,” Scott said. “We’re looking for anything people have a talent for: juggling, musicians, magic, creative things by the community, students, faculty, anyone.”

The series is being produced in conjunction with Dramatic Art 194A, Group Studies in Acting and Directing. The class, which is run like an internship, gives students the opportunity to learn about theater production.

, Second-year dramatic art and film studies major Elli Resvanis is involved in the art direction of the I.V. Live program. His duties include coming up with posters and drawings that will serve as a form of publicity.

“It’s a really great opportunity to learn about what happens backstage, and how to put a show together because there’s so much that we just don’t know and never learned about,” he said.

Along with helping students learn aspects of production, the show’s producers said they are making it easier for people who have creative pieces to perform for an audience, Cole said.

“I also know that it’s really hard as an artist to have your work produced,” Cole said. “I.V. Live is a student equivalent to Arts & Lectures that will get artists’ feet wet or gain greater exposure without necessarily dealing with the production aspects of it, because Jason and the class can do that.”

The College of Letters and Science, the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts, the Division of Student Affairs, the Academic Senate, the Dramatic Art Dept. and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor sponsor the I.V. Live program. They providing a budget of approximately $7,000 each quarter for the program.

Tickets are available, starting every Monday for that Friday’s show, for $4 at the Associated Students Ticket Office or at the door for the same price.