Huntington News

Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: The Inside

Media Credit: Zach Virgilio Actors from Boston-based Improv Asylum looked for audience participation during their show Friday.

Sitting in the crowd at Blackman Auditorium Friday night, few audience members may have predicted what they were about to see. The same could be said for the performers, who leave the decision on what their skits are about up to the people who have come to watch the show.

The Boston-based improvisational comedy company from the Improv Asylum took the stage and said the audience would be dictating what was to be performed. Students took full advantage: llamas, gingivitis, acid and Boston University were some of the wide range of suggestions offered by the crowd, which led to over-the-top skits by the comedians.

The event was sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Interfraternity Council (IFC), in part to coincide with Rush Week. The fraternities were out in full force, with members wearing clothes representing their houses in the audience.

"Events like these are important because they promote organizations like IFC and SGA," said Matt Viccaro, IFC treasurer and vice president of Kappa Sigma. "But it also is a great way to provide entertainment in a positive manner."

The comedians said they love performing for college audiences.

"It's not like corporate shows, no one is forcing [us] to be here," said comedian Jeremy Brothers, who has been with the company for eight years. "At colleges, you chose to be there, you want to have a good time and that's what makes it so fun."

The one-hour show consisted of different skits, some of which included audience participation. Because the skits performed were based on suggestions from the crowd, the topics seemed relevant to the audience.

"What is something that you are looking forward to?" one of the performers yelled out.

"Turning 21!" a student shouted back.

One of the show's highlights was when a student from the audience was called up on stage and interviewed by one of the cast members about the details of her life: her housing situation, hobbies and academic interests. After the interview, the actors played out a visual interpretation of the student's life with each cast member playing different roles like roommates, professors and ballroom dancers.

Students who had never attended a comedy show before, like freshman accounting major Ya Yi, said the show was an eye-opening experience.

"It was my first time at a show like this. I never saw anything like this back home. It was fun," said Yi, who is from China.

Although it may have looked to audience members like the performers were just making things up off the top of their heads, Norm Laviolette, co-owner of the Improv Asylum and one of the night's comics, said it's much more than that.

"It's an art form. It's about using a skill set that you are taught," Laviolette said. "Eventually you are going to get better and better."

Students who were in attendance said they were happy they came out to watch the show.

"Outrageous. That's all I can say," said freshman art major Amanda Pratti. "It was a lot of fun."

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