Funny people, funny place

Now I love a good laugh as much as the next person, and it isn't too often that you get to experience the inner workings of a comedy group and catch a great show, much less do both in the same week. This past Wednesday, Aug. 23, The Idiot Box, a local improv group, held auditions on campus for funny new people to 'fast track' to joining the troupe. The 20 or so participants ranged in age and experience level, although they were, by and large, theater majors.

The audition seemed more like a series of games than an evaluation, with the relaxed atmosphere and the laughter that broke out many a time during the tryouts. All of the participants stood in a circle and shook, zipped and zapped, passed claps, sang songs (albeit awkwardly), told stories, made up colorful characters, and made noises that might remind one of rabid monkeys.

While everyone had their own reasons for attending the auditions, there was a common thread in students' attraction to improv - its spontaneity. Allishia Knotts, a freshman Drama major likes the fact that "it's random and… there are moments that will never happen again, usually." These thoughts were echoed by Molly Malone, a sophomore Theater and Education major and Dylaney Edinger, a junior Acting major, who enjoy the freedom and impulsiveness of improv.

Once everyone had left the auditions, I had the chance to speak with Steve Lesser, one of the owners of The Idiot Box, who actually left the field of Neurobiology in order to make people laugh. Lesser always wanted to do comedy and after trying his hand at improv found it to be tremendous fun and loved the way it allowed him to put the world behind him while working with a team to create totally different characters in a split second. His favorite thing about owning and being a part of The Idiot Box? "The people in the club, easily. Second to that, making people laugh each week… I've probably gotten 1,000,000 laughs." He's done the math.

Having laughed so hard at the auditions, I decided I would have to attend the 'late' show on Saturday night at The Idiot Box, and if the auditions were amusing, the show was downright uproarious.

The host comes out first and begins to 'warm up' the audience by explaining how improv works and asking them to make suggestions for practice. Once everyone seems to have caught on, audience members are given the chance to bid on 'commercials', which will air between games. The bidding starts at a quarter, and the winner, who bid $2.50 in this case, gets to name a person, place, or thing that the announcer will create commercials for during the show.

The four actors are then introduced, and the games start straight away. With a short introduction from the announcer followed by a period of suggestions taken by the host, hilarity ensues. Personally, my favorite game involved sending one of the actors out of the room and taking suggestions from the audience about actions or sports. These were then skewed and changed from traditional activities in normal locations with standard equipment or supplies, to something that seemed completely random. For example, one suggestion was boxing, and it ended up as boxing in an aquarium with a squid for one glove and Michael Jackson for the other. The real catch, though, is that once the actor is brought back into the room the other three actors cannot tell him the scenario, they have to mime. These actors-in-the-know can speak, but only gibberish, which leads to some funny interactions between the cast members.

The show lasted for an hour and a half with a short 5-minute intermission after the first hour, providing just enough time to get up and stretch and grab another drink or something to munch on.

After the show, I had the opportunity to speak with Brian O'Sullivan, a senior Acting major, who has been a member of The Idiot Box troupe for about two and a half years and is looking forward to pursuing his career further in Los Angeles or Chicago when he graduates. He has been attracted to acting since he was in second grade, and loves the fact that in improv there are no limits to what can be said and what can be made up and that every night is different.

I will definitely be returning to The Idiot Box for more laughs, and hopefully it will be soon. Don't just take my word for it, though -- if you want to laugh so hard that you cry, that your sides hurt, and you smile the whole way home, you hit up the Idiot Box. And if you don't show up? Well, it will be your loss.

The basics:

If you get to the theater too early there is a chance that the previous show will still be going, so you don't really need to get there until about 15 minutes before the show begins. Also, don't be shy about having something to eat or drink - they have a snack bar with popcorn, candy, pizza and other munchies, as well as a great selection of water, sodas, malt beverages, and beer. The Idiot Box runs $2 beer specials on Fridays and $3 Smirnoff specials on Saturdays. Oh, did I mention that you don't even have to be quiet - the host encourages audience participation. And its even better if you bring a friend to whisper insane suggestions to or who will help embarrass you in front of everyone - don't be shy.

The Idiot Box has shows four times a week, at 8p.m. on Fridays and at 5, 8, and 10p.m. on Saturdays, and are plan-ing on adding at least one more show soon. Make sure to stay tuned to theirwebsite, www.idiotboxers.com, to find out the most recent details. Tickets are $8 general admission, but students always get $1 off with their ID.

The Idiot Box, on top of providing weekend entertainment, rents out space for community and personal events. The comedy club hosts "i-Learning seminars," an interesting twist to corporate training. If you're interested in getting into the troupe, don't worry - even though you missed the auditions, you can still get in. The Idiot Box runs improv workshops that anyone can sign up for, and college students get a great discount. This semester's class has already begun, but they will have another beginning soon. And take some advice from a pro - Brian O'Sullivan gives this tip: "Be yourself. You can't hide who you really are on the stage. The goal is not to be funny. The goal is to just have fun. If you're not having fun, the people watching you won't be having fun. Enjoy it, and the people watching you will enjoy it."

Directions from the school: Head towards downtown on Spring Garden Street, and make a right onto Smothers Place. You will need to make a u-turn around a median to make this turn. Make a left onto South Elm St. and follow it to downtown and the Triad Stage area. The address for The Idiot Box is 203 South Elm Street, it is in the Empire Building basically across the street from Triad Stage- keep a lookout for the sign.