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In high school, theater is an activity that most students are easily able to participate in. At UCLA, however, pursuing a love of performance at the college level can be more difficult if you’re not in the theater department.

Fortunately, several student groups on campus have attempted to provide an outlet for students’ artistic ambitions. This past winter quarter, HOOLIGAN, or the Honorable Order of Licentious Instigators of the General Artist Network, became the newest of the theater groups aimed directly at students of all backgrounds and majors. Despite being around for less than six months, HOOLIGAN already boasts a membership of around 200, including about 50 active members who participated in its spring musical production.

HOOLIGAN was created in February, when third-year communication studies student Tamara Williams and third-year undeclared student Elizabeth Fuller noticed the limited performing opportunities for non-theater students. Williams and Fuller are now HOOLIGAN’s president and vice president, respectively.

“It is really hard to get on stage and be in a production when you’re not in the theater department at UCLA. There (are) not that many opportunities at all for non-theater majors,” Williams said.

Other groups, such as the UCLA musical theater workshop and the improv troupe Bruins United Improvisational Comedy Kraze, hold selective audition processes students may find intimidating. HOOLIGAN, however, aims for diversity in its membership.

“The thing about HOOLIGAN is everyone is included, whether you dance, you sing, you act, you direct, you just want be on stage crew, you want to do costumes, you want to do hair, or you want to write,” Williams said.

The group also encourages students of all skill levels to join in.

“We have people who are just starting off, and we have people who have been performing since they were 3,” Williams said. “No matter what skill level they were at, everyone gets to participate.”

Monica DeLateur, a third-year psychology student, joined the group after hearing of it through Facebook. A longtime dancer and choreographer, DeLateur found HOOLIGAN to be a preferable alternative to other campus programs.

According to DeLateur, HOOLIGAN offers an entertainment-oriented style of musical theater dancing, compared to the more abstract dance featured in UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures dance program.

“(With the WAC program), it’s modern pieces that they’re choreographing, and that’s harder. Musical theater dancing goes with the lyrics, and it’s not quite as technically hard,” DeLateur said. “It’s more for entertainment value. So it’s a little bit more fun to do that rather than just improvising.”

This dance style was prominent in the HOOLIGAN’s first production, “Hollywood Heaven,” a 1940s musical comedy covering a crazy cast of characters during a Hollywood acting party. The group pulled the musical together from start to finish in only six weeks; it premiered on May 24 in Lenart Auditorium in the Fowler Museum.

Williams, who directed and produced the show, is proud that “Hollywood Heaven” was put on entirely by UCLA students.

“We wrote it, we composed all the music, we orchestrated all the music, we acted all the parts, directed. Everything was student-done,” she said.

The group has many plans for next year, including increased activities as more students discover the club.

In November, HOOLIGAN plans on hosting a pop culture show. The group will also be working on another spring production, with auditions to take place during the second week of fall quarter.

With such a broad canvas of people of various skill levels and interests, HOOLIGAN also provides a chance to connect with people of similar passions.

“It’s just been so great meeting people, and we’ve all come together sharing talents. Everyone’s just aching to perform,” DeLateur said. “I think for freshmen it would be a great way to meet people, because you really have to find a group that you want to hang out with since UCLA is so big. After this year with HOOLIGAN, these are the people I want to be with for the next two years.”