Owl Stretching Time

***Owl Stretching Time*** was a sketch comedy radio show that aired weekly on WJMU from September 22, 2017 to May 10, 2019. Created, produced, and hosted by Frank Macaluso, the series was performed and written primarily by students of Millikin University.

## Background

Series creator Frank Macaluso had begun working for WJMU in January 2017, starting out, as most new student-producers for the station do, as the host of a prerecorded late night show. Titled *Owl Stretching Time*, after an episode of *Monty Python's Flying Circus* (and, indeed, one of the names the Monty Python troupe had considered for their own series), Macaluso initially co-hosted the show alongside fellow student-producer Charles Rada. After Rada began failing to show up for recording sessions, Macaluso continued on with the show by himself. During this time, he began to experiment with the show's format, performing odd comedic bits during the breaks. One episode featured Macaluso hosting an entire section of the show in character as Dick Pickford, an Alex Jones parody, before Macaluso (as himself) arrived and chased Pickford away.

In August 2017, Macaluso approached station general manager Sam Meister with a proposal for a sketch comedy series. Meister gave his approval and Macaluso began casting and production on the new series. Feeling that a good title ought not to go to waste, Macaluso titled this new show *Owl Stretching Time* as well, presuming that most listeners would be unfamiliar with the previous series given that it aired so late at night.

## Cast History

The main cast of the first season originally consisted of Frank Macaluso, Brian Barker, Forrest Boes, Jacyline Olvera, and Michael Santos, with Isaac Wieser serving as announcer. Ariya Hawkins joined the main cast starting with Episode 5. The recurring cast consisted of Erica Caruso, Lane Caspar, Anais Morgan, Meghan Pender, and Antonio Verdera, with Mel Kumrow and Garrett Mayberry joining later in the second half of the season. Sean Garfias also joined the cast, but was featured in only one episode; he failed to show up for the recording sessions of the two other episodes he was scheduled to appear in. Garfias was subsequently not asked back for future seasons. Lane Caspar and Garrett Mayberry also left the show after the first season. Mayberry was originally signed on to return, but academic commitments prevented this.

In the second season, Erica Caruso, Mel Kumrow, and Antonio Verdera were promoted to the main cast, while Anais Morgan and Meghan Pender remained as featured players. Joining Morgan and Pender in the featured cast were Mackenzie Barnett, Kailani Bartley, Mat Jester, and Joey Vargas. Caruso, Kumrow, Morgan, Pender, Barnett, Jester, and Vargas all left at the end of the season, as did Ariya Hawkins and Isaac Wieser; Jester and Pender, in particular, had signed on to a study-abroad program, while Caruso had transferred to another college.

To fill the voids left by the departing cast members, Frank Macaluso slowly rebuilt the cast during the third season, adding recurring players Rain Banda, Crystal Claros, Ariane Evans, Jordyn Garrison, Mo Moellering, Daniel Nieves, Geovanny Tapia, Sawyer Wolter, and Ben Woodcock, along with new announcer Jordan Comish. Banda, Claros, Evans, Nieves, and Tapia all left after the third season, as did founding cast member Brian Barker and veteran featured cast member Kailani Bartley.

To fill the void left by Barker, Wil Barden was recruited and added to the main cast. More new cast members were also added, with Emilio Canals, Hannah Haedike, and Josie Hand joining as featured cast members. In addition, former featured cast members Mackenzie Barnett and Mat Jester rejoined the show. Jacyline Olvera missed the first three episodes of this season due to having been cast as a swing in a production of *The Wolves*, and missed a fourth episode later in the season.

## Cast

*Main article: List of Owl Stretching Time cast members*
### Main Cast

* Frank Macaluso
* Wil Barden (Season 4)
* Brian Barker (Seasons 1-3)
* Forrest Boes
* Erica Caruso (Season 2; featured Season 1)
* Ariya Hawkins (Seasons 1-2)
* Mel Kumrow (Season 2; featured Season 1)
* Jacyline Olvera
* Michael Santos
* Antonio Verdera (Seasons 2-4; featured Season 1)

### Featured Cast

* Rain Banda (Season 3)
* Mackenzie Barnett (Seasons 2 and 4)
* Kailani Bartley (Seasons 2-3)
* Emilio Canals (Season 4)
* Lane Caspar (Season 1)
* Crystal Claros (Season 3)
* Ariane Evans (Season 3)
* Sean Garfias (Season 1)
* Jordyn Garrison (Seasons 3-4)
* Hannah Haedike (Season 4)
* Josie Hand (Season 4)
* Mat Jester (Seasons 2 and 4)
* Garrett Mayberry (Season 1)
* Mo Moellering (Seasons 3-4)
* Anais Morgan (Seasons 1-2)
* Daniel Nieves (Season 3)
* Meghan Pender (Seasons 1-2)
* Geovanny Tapia (Season 3)
* Joey Vargas (Season 2)
* Sawyer Wolter (Seasons 3-4)
* Ben Woodcock (Seasons 3-4)

### Announcers

* Isaac Wieser (Seasons 1-2)
* Jordan Comish (Seasons 3-4)

## Writers

Frank Macaluso served as the series' primary writer throughout its two-year, four-season run. Mat Jester co-wrote the cold open for Episode 9 in Season 1, and subsequently joined the series as a staff writer beginning in Season 2, frequently co-writing sketches with Macaluso in addition to his duties as a cast member. Erin Ryan, a friend of Macaluso's from his high school days, also began contributing scripts to the series starting in Season 2. While Jester was studying abroad during Season 3, Ryan replaced him as Macaluso's primary writing partner, with Jester taking on the mantle again when he returned for Season 4. Late in Season 3, Sawyer Wolter was added to the writing staff and the cast.

Aside from Jester and Wolter, other cast members often contributed to the writing of the series, including Mackenzie Barnett (Episode 38), Forrest Boes (Episodes 21 and 40), Erica Caruso (Episode 19), Crystal Claros (Episodes 22 and 30), Ariane Evans (Episode 22), Jordyn Garrison (Episode 22), Josie Hand (Episode 37), Geovanny Tapia (Episodes 22 and 25), Antonio Verdera (Episodes 25 and 31), and Ben Woodcock (Episode 29). In addition, Ariya Hawkins co-wrote an Owl Stretching Short released during the summer between Seasons 2 and 3.

Other writers who contributed to the series include Heather Bilecki, Hannah Geisz, Mary Hildebrand, Kamil Lungu, Jordan Luty, Michellina McNaughton, Mike O'Mara, Kiara Rivera, and Benny Zielke.

## Accolades

During its run on WJMU, *Owl Stretching Time* has been submitted three times to the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System for award consideration. Ultimately, *Owl Stretching Time* has won finalist awards for "Most Creative Show" in 2018, and for "Best Comedy Show" in 2020.