By Jeanine Budd

During Friday night’s “Beanpot of Comedy,” audience participation reflected the inner-contents of college students’ minds. While the most popular joke topics included genocide, gay sex and Britney Spears, the most prevalent theme of the night was vaginas.

The show was hosted by Northeastern’s improv comedy group, NU ‘ Improv’d, and featured performances from Clark University’s The Peapod Squad and Boston University’s Liquid Fun.

Before the show started, audience members were asked to write down ideas on pieces of paper for an improv game called, “Lines From a Pocket,” where performers from NU ‘ Improv’d randomly selected words or phrases and inserted them into a scene.

“I sorted the lines and counted how many times we got ‘vagina.’ We got that word 18 times,” said Samantha Solomon, a middler communication studies major and vice president of NU ‘ Improv’d. “That was surprising. I didn’t know that Northeastern students were such big fans of vaginas.”

Joseph Gels, a junior history education major and president of Liquid Fun, said he doesn’t blame them.

“Who isn’t a fan of vaginas?” he said.

In between jokes about sex and vulnerable celebrities came a segue piece mocking the commercials for the Wii remote that feature two Asian representatives interrupting daily life to give people a chance to play. The opening performance, which featured three members from NU ‘ Improv’d, had the interruption come in the middle of a serious talk between a wide-eyed son and his two parents, who are about to get divorced.

“Your mom’s a whore,” said the father before adding, “Oh and by the way, we’ve been meaning to tell you that you were born a girl.”

Following this performance, the members of NU ‘ Improv’d explained why they failed to provide the audience with two Asian males to form an accurate cast.

“We don’t go to the pool hall on the third floor of the Curry Student Center that much,” one performer said.

The joke received a mixed response from the audience, but was not nearly as controversial as jokes about Heath Ledger, which were met with cries of “too soon!” as well as boos. One such act included a scene where a performer impersonating Ledger emerged and said, “Dude, I haven’t slept in like four days. Where’s your medicine cabinet?” This prompted a mix of boos and laughter.

“The Heath Ledger jokes were definitely not that funny,” said Meredith Pineaw, a junior nursing major. “It’s definitely too soon, but other than that, there was nothing that I didn’t like. The entire thing was hilarious. Having all the groups together brought a mix of different kinds of humor, which I thought was great.”

This is the fourth year Northeastern has hosted the Beanpot of Comedy. They invite different schools to participate each year.

“Every school brought something different,” Solomon said. “The group from Clark was great. They brought such great energy to the table and we brought whatever it is that we bring. My favorite moment was when Jake thrust his hand into John’s vagina. Nothing says teamwork and group love like vagina hand-thrusting!”

“Vagina hand-thrusting” barely breaches the surface in terms of the number of vagina references that occurred throughout the night. From dying on “Mount Vagina” to pulling pennies out of vaginas, to being forced to mention the word “vagina” in the middle of a scene, it was clear what was prevalent in the audience’s mind.

Yet, the night wasn’t void of political and social commentary. During a game called “Freeze-Frame,” the Peapod Squad poked fun at presidential candidates, with the Clinton family receiving the brunt of most jokes. One scene featured senator Barack Obama laying on the floor in apparent agony as Chelsea Clinton stood over him.

“What would Bill say, Chelsea? What would Bill say?!” he shouted.

Another scene came during “Rant,” a game where members from NU ‘ Improv’d asked the audience for random objects, people and animals to get angry about.

One performer who received the suggestion to rant about Hillary Clinton shouted, “So, I’m in Hillary’s house, I have my hands tied behind my back

and-”

He was cut-off by a wall of ranting performers, which included one saying, “Penguins are going extinct for one reason: they suck!”

Each game showcased each improv troupe’s individual style, which gave the audience a chance to experience humor from the perspective of different schools.

“I think with anything in comedy, it would be a lie to say we’re doing this to make the world a better place. That’s not the truth,” Solomon said. “We’re doing it to share something we love.”

The most important element of shows like this, Gels said, is laughing.

“I enjoy laughing. You should enjoy laughing,” he said. “If you don’t like laughing, please leave now.”