Students behind THON livestream ready for opportunity to showcase special event

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The annual Penn State Dance Marathon (THON), a student-run philanthropic event that raises money to battle pediatric cancer, offers a 46-hour no sleeping, no sitting challenge for dancers inside the Bryce Jordan Center from Feb. 21-23.

It’s an even longer marathon for students producing the livestream of THON, which will be available to cancer patients and their families at the Penn State College of Medicine and the Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, and to viewers all over the world who visit THON.org online.

They’ll begin their live coverage at 4 p.m. on Feb. 21 and conclude around 4:45 p.m. on Feb. 23. So, nearly 49 hours of production time, not counting necessary setup and takedown, which will begin at 10 a.m. on Feb. 21 and end around 7 p.m. on Feb. 23.

THON itself runs from 6 p.m. on Feb. 21 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 23.

Student team

A team of students from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, members of the student organization 46 LIVE, drives the livestream effort.

About five dozen students are part of the 46 LIVE team, which exists almost exclusively to support THON-related events. That’s about 50 crew members, nine senior producers and three executive producers.

That trio of executive producers — seniors Ireland Jimmyer, a telecommunications major; Lucas DeLaney, a film production major; and Tyler McDonald, a telecommunications major — helps guide the whole enterprise, working closely with the group’s faculty adviser Bill Hallman, an assistant teaching professor in the Bellisario College.

DeLaney, who started his academic career at Penn State Berks, first participated in THON as a spectator in 2023. After seeing crew shirts on students working with the production, he asked his adviser about those people and was directed to Hallman. DeLaney’s curiosity led to a role with 46 LIVE last year, and even more responsibility this year.

“At this point, just a couple days away, it’s exciting,” DeLaney said. “We’re just hoping to make it as smooth a production as possible.”

Thousands of alumni and friends rely on the livestream for their access to THON, and viewership peaks at some predictable times — including the start of dancing, the pep rally featuring Penn State Athletics teams on the second night, and the final four hours of the event.

Staff support

Hallman and several faculty and staff members in the Bellisario College work to prepare students ahead of time and support the weekend-long effort. The livestream is exclusively in the hands of students once it begins, though.

“This is a poised group of students. Many have worked THON before and our goal mirrors that of THON,” Hallman said. “We want to connect people to the event, get them engaged and maybe they’ll be moved to donate as a result. From the Bellisario College perspective, we want to showcase what we’re capable of with a livestream production.”

Scott Myrick, a lecturer in the Bellisario College and director of operations for the Bellisario Media Center, played a vital role in building and updating 46 LIVE’s equipment. Thanks to his organization and planning, the livestream team will wheel its equipment into the Jordan Center and more easily and efficiently unload and setup than in years past.

The ease of use and a few more technological bells and whistles should enhance the quality of the production.

Hallman said the upgrades represent a “one-to-one with industry standard” and that the ease of use and those additional tools should allow students to focus more on storytelling than setup —— leading to a higher-quality livestream. The experience they’re gaining can provide a foundation for their careers, too.

Other on-campus support for the livestream comes from WPSU, which provides a jib camera as a production option and which ensures connectivity with Penn State Hershey and one of THON’s big media partners, WPVI-TV/Channel 6, the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia, which carries the livestream on its website.