Improv night comedy draws a crowd at Blackbird

Sometimes people say random things that seem pretty stupid but make people laugh. Well, Improv Night promises that and much more.

The lights were dim, the stage was set, and people were standing along the walls, sitting on tables, in walkways and smooshed on couches with coffees in hand. Improv Night at Blackbird Coffee drew a heavy crowd. By the end of the night, there was standing room only.

The Armed Farces is a group of students who get together on Sunday nights to practice improv and stand-up comedy for their shows on Thursday nights. The nine cast members had worked hard at putting on the show. The cast consisted of Brian Rooney, Erin Williams, Steve Holbert, Drake Simons, Jeff Redwine, Sean Noah, Patrick Doran, Kat Lee and Drew Godsey.

Through the use of improv the Armed Farces put on a show that had plenty of laughter coming from the crowd. The show was set up in the style of the popular TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” with Hilary Williams acting in many ways like comedian Drew Carey.

The cast members were very excited that they were able to put on the show.

“I’m really excited all these people put this together so now we have an opportunity to do comedy,” Steve Holbert, a sophomore theater and creative writing major, said.

Holbert won the best performer award. This was only his third week with the Armed Farces. Holbert is not the only cast member that really enjoys performing.

“Erin loves to MC. … Drake likes to entertain,” Holbert said of other members of the group.

Erin Williams, a senior majoring in theater and English, started with the Armed Farces when one of her friends got her involved.

“One of my friends was in it, and I started hanging out with the people in it. They were like, ‘You should host,’ so I did!” Williams said. Williams is the current host for Improv Night.

Senior political science major Travis Parkman lives with two members of the cast, Alex Marshall and Daniel Robertson.

“They are really funny and creative. It’s loud, and there is never a dull moment,” Parkman said.

Parkman said that in previous years his roommates were not in the “center ring,” but this year there was opportunity for the spotlight.

“Last year, they were under the wings of the other guys, now it’s their turn to prove themselves,” Parkman said.

In addition to having new cast members, the cast members themselves are from a variety of different backgrounds.

“This year there is greater variety of students in the show. Last year they were almost all theater majors. It’s nice to see the creative side of other students,” Hilary Garrean, a sophomore biology major, said.

The Armed Farces performs Thursday nights with a pre-show at 7:30 p.m. and Improv starting at 8 p.m. in the basement of Blackbird Coffee.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 18 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry