Arts

Under the Bed Crafts Commercials, Struggles with Illness and Injury

Bringing their hilarious theatrical improvisational talents, Under the Bed (UTB) entertained the audience with witty skits parodying popular infomercials, early morning rush hour scene and more. In the first game, “Commercials,” Pearson Goodman, Co-Head of UTB selected a subject for a live improv commercial based on audience suggestions. The commercials pushed UTB group members to bring to life the story of a senior year sleepover turned “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ Public Service Announcement,” a 27-year-old Chuck-E-Cheese fanatic who endorsed ShamWow, a towel-sponge product, and Febreeze, the popular room freshener. “One of my favorite moments was when Miles Neumann [’15] and Andrew Vallejos [’14] were doing the ‘Commercials’ skit together, and they tried to get high off ZzzQuil. It was absolutely hilarious,” said Armaan Singh ’14. The next game, “Day in the Life,” began with an interview with a audience member, Meghan Tucker ’16, who was selected by Hemang Kaul ’13, Co-Head of UTB. UTB members then proceeded to construct a skit around Tucker’s interests in building Legos and playing squash, as well as her family life with her younger brother and her mother. The skit followed Tucker, played by Vincent Mocco ’15, through a day riddled with constant arguments with her brother and a struggle about deciding between her burning passion for building Legos and her natural gift for squash. The skit included several impressions of squash matches between Mocco and Corbin Lee ’13, and a few fisticuffs between Tucker and other characters. The UTB members’ improvisational skills and knack for quick wit and slapstick comedy made Tucker’s normal day into an adeptly entertaining sketch. Mocco’s entertaining portrayal of Tucker as a flesh-eater who once consumed her brother’s arm was well-received by the audience. “[Mocco] was so hilarious as [Tucker.] The newest member of the group surprised us again, he is such a comedy genius,” said Lily Zildjian ’14. The final sketch of the night followed a character, played by Goodman, who was apparently late for work. Before the sketch, Goodman left the theatre and left the remaining members of UTB to design the story behind his lateness. When Goodman returned, the UTB members silently acted out Goodman’s falling out of bed onto a pile of Legos, prompting to a trip to the hospital for a surgical procedure, which instead turned into an accidental vasectomy and finally a case of explosive diarrhea at Taco Bell. As Kaul, playing Goodman’s boss, accosted Goodman about his lateness, Goodman guessed what the cast was trying to tell him. Occasionally, Kaul would stand up to scold the actors behind him for being too loud, while also dropping a slight hint to Goodman about a turn in the story he had missed. “I thought the show was extremely funny. All the skits were really innovative and well-performed,” said Mihika Sridhar ’16, a member from the audience. However, while she found no faults in the show itself, she thought the choice of venue could have been better. “They could have had a better theater–a lot of people couldn’t see [the stage] very well,” said Sridhar.