The confining black theatre classroom instantly turned into a sauna last Friday, preparing the audience for Under the Bed’s first blazing performance of the term. The improvisation troop appeared on stage with their usual shenanigans and started the show with a twisted adventure. Set outside in the snow, the cast pretended to be a group of freshmen that could not resist their urge to build an igloo. Laughter filled the room when, one by one, the freshmen would make a hilarious “typical freshmen” remark, enter the igloo and immediately be killed by falling icicles. After their chilling deaths, the troop miraculously came back to life again, greeted by the enthusiastic applause from the audience. Without any hesitation, the group promptly proceeded to their first game, “Reverse.” Inspired by a word suggested by the audience, two members began to act out a scene based on that word. At the command of “reverse,” both actors had to perform their previous actions and dialogue backwards, like rewinding a movie. The results were undoubtedly funny, as the performers attempted to say each word backwards. Under the Bed introduced another game called “Pardon,” in which audience members inspired the scene with a word. This time, when “pardon” was called out, the character that spoke last had to repeat his or her line and tweak the last word to rhyme with the previous end word. At times, the lines came out as total nonsense, adding to the hilarity. Even with their non sequitur outbursts, members successfully propelled the scenes forward, creating an entertaining act for the audience. The troop started another game after seeing the audience’s enthusiastic response to the activity. Inspired by the word “superstition,” the first two members improvised a scene. One at a time, the remaining members would clap their ways into the scene, jumping in as new characters and changing the scenario. Eventually the entire troop joined the original two, acting out a highly entertaining story about a corrupt Irish priest, his clueless son, his bastard child, his cheating wife, and a mischievous bartender. After random encounters and amusing interactions between the characters, the final scene showed a confrontation between the priest and his bastard child. The bastard child teased the priest’s habit of speaking in euphemisms and allegories, and how immoral the priest was for drinking so much. Both characters retaliated back and forth passionately, matching the speed of the tennis balls they were bouncing against the church wall. Under the Bed decided to mix the show up a bit by inviting several people from the audience up on stage. The troop and the volunteers were asked to pose together as a photo while Andrew Schlager ’12, assuming the role as a stereotypical hipster, showcased his “photography.” The group of people would change their positions for each of Schlager’s art pieces and he would explain the “artistic meaning” behind each bizarre shot. The show ended with a final game, “Innuendo.” The members lined up, and at random one member would step up and make a sexual innuendo out of a word given by the audience. Patrick Brady ’11 was given the word “Bulfinch.” Without faltering, he said, “I like my men like I like my Bulfinch, like Jeffrey Domina.” On that note, the crowd erupted into roaring laughter and the show ended. Most of the audience members thoroughly enjoyed the show, proving it to be a success. Marga Kempner ’12 said, “This was my first time coming to Under the Bed and I definitely enjoyed it. I am certainly coming again.” Grateful for the good turnout, Brady said, “Sometimes it gets too hot and crowded in this place, but we actually got a good number of people. We were a little worried about the amount of people coming because of the DramaLabs right before and the dodge ball tournament that would start at eight.” However, it was clear that other weekend activities did not stop people from attending Under the Bed’s show. Audience members exited the theatre classroom chuckling to themselves, leaving the troop members in high spirits. After the show, Schlager said, “[I feel] a massive wave of relief. Like I’ve just taken off a backpack filled with dumbbells.” Schlager also expressed his delight for the newcomers to Under the Bed. “I feel particularly proud of the new members of the group. I love seeing other people approach and congratulate them on what was clearly a job well done,” said Schlager. The night was a job well done indeed.
