Fraternities and sororities on campus are pairing up this weekend and producing musical acts in their annual Humorology event, designed to raise money for two nonprofit organizations.

The show, which began Thursday and runs until May 1, is both a competition in the Greek system and a philanthropic effort to raise money for the Chris Farley Foundation and One Heartland. One Heartland, a camping and care program, tries to improve the lives of children living with HIV/AIDS. The Chris Farley Foundation is also a nonprofit national organization that tries to educate young adults about the dangers of drugs, according to Humorology Executive Director Torrie Rinehart.

Rinehart said the cast attempted to make the non-profit organizations the focus of the event by requiring each cast to raise $500 for the organizations.

“So far, we’ve uped our raisings by 20 percent from last year,” Rinehart said. “We have $30,000 or more that we’ve raised so far.”

She said for the opening night of Humorology, which can be the most difficult, the production went well.

The musical numbers, which were composed and choreographed completely by students, each selected a theme that remained a secret between the groups until Thursday. The themes varied from airport scenes, to cereal aisles, to game shows.

Each show poked fun at current pop culture in a unique way, mocking TV shows, artists and celebrities. Each show also featured short dance and singing numbers.

A new part of the event this year is short video snippets featuring the team directors which introduced the audience to the team’s theme and cast. Rinehart said these videos were her favorite part of the show Thursday night.

“It was a great feeling to be able to see so many people step out of their shell,” Rinehart said. “Everyone has that in them, and it gives you confidence in the future to do anything.”

Delta Tau Delta Team Director Omar Arreola, whose fraternity was paired with Alpha Gamma Rho and Kappa Alpha Theta, said the directors began working on the musical this past summer. He added his fraternity has won the competition for the past three years and had high expectations for his chances of winning this year.

“I think we’ve done an amazing job,” Arreola said. “Every one of our cast members has an amazing amount of talent, and they’ve put in so much work.”

According to Rinehart, most of the casts practiced three times per week and dedicated about 12 hours per week to the show throughout the year.

Arreola added the event is a good outlet for Greek members who have a talent in singing or dancing, while simultaneously raising money for a good cause and meeting new people.

“It gives you the extra push to put on a really good show,” Arreola said. “And to raise money.”

Rinehart said she expected the following two nights to get even better.

“I’m most excited to see the casts who have started off a little rocky but who have then made an amazing performance,” Rinehart said. “That’s most amazing: People on stage improving and doing the most amazing performance.”