Arms flail in every direction and screams crescendo along the walls while Star Course members silently stand behind the stage, guarding the exits. It was these members who did all the work to get the excited responses from the audience for the band.

Star Course is a student-run concert production and performance organization that puts on three to four shows a semester at Foellinger Auditorium.

Aside from the senior managers, Shira Zisook, senior in communications, and Tessa Marusarz, senior in ACES, the rest of Star Course are volunteers, dedicating countless hours before and during the show to ensure it will be successful. Star Course wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for these individuals.

“Everyone loves it, or we wouldn’t be able to do it,” Zisook said.

As a senior manager, Zisook knows what hard work is.

“We research the bands, run budgets for shows, put together offers and talk to agents regarding artists we want to bring to campus. After a show has been confirmed, we put together and edit contractual agreements, and advance the show with the band’s management,” she said.

Zisook and Marusarz also oversee the 10 other sub-committees and 12 junior members of Star Course, which includes more than 200 members.

Active members of Star Course volunteer both non-day-of-show and day-of-show, from putting up fliers to loading stereo equipment. Steve Schenk, sophomore in LAS, is a member of Star Course but grew up in Champaign and has been seeing Star Course shows since he was 12 years old. He helps with publicity, stage and production.

“Before the show I put up fliers and make handbills and on the day of the show I help the band move in everything,” he said.

According to both Schenk and Zisook, Star Course tries to run shows as professionally as possible, but at the same time they know how to have fun.

“I’m actually part of a really cool group on campus; I never thought I would be,” Schenk said. “It’s great working with people who are as enthusiastic as I am about music.”

Marusarz agreed.

“It is really neat how Star Course is able to bring together so many people of diverse tastes and backgrounds through their common bond of loving music and concerts,” she said.

While putting on a diverse array of professionally run shows is one of the major goals of Star Course, Zisook also said catering to the students is very important. This is accomplished by student surveys of what bands students would like to see come to the University at the first Star Course meeting of more than 250 people.

After going through the surveys and determining the most popular choices, band histories and tour schedules are looked at to see if it is possible for the band to come.

“We try not to repeat bands unless they are enormous and the students want them to come,” Zisook said.

Even though Ben Folds came last year, Zisook said he is still one of the most desirable artists to have play at Foellinger based on the surveys and was chosen to play at the University last year because of high student interest.

Wilco, a band whose roots began in Chicago, also frequented the surveys.

Lead by Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Pat Sansone and Nels Cline, Wilco kicks off the start of their 2005 tour at Foellinger Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.

Tony Sorrentino, freshman in LAS, describes Wilco as an alt-country band that recently began incorporating electronic and alternative styles into their music.

Although Sorrentino has never seen Wilco perform live, he said he has high expectations for the show as well as for Star Course.

“I heard Wilco puts on a great live performance,” he said. “I’m sure Star Course will do a good job too since they work hard to bring well-known acts to our campus that might not otherwise come.”

Both Schenk and Zisook expect the tickets for the Wilco show to sell out, but Zisook said there would probably be some tickets available at the door.

As the Star Course members will be busy preparing for the show, Marusarz expects she will make some more fond memories.

“I don’t think any of my favorite Star Course memories involve the bands or shows themselves,” she said. “But rather the people I was working alongside during them.”