By Elizabeth LeBlanc
If anyone was hoping to get to an NU ‘ Improv’d show this year – too bad. The improvisational comedy group’s last show of the semester was Tuesday night at afterHOURS. The shows will continue this fall following formal auditions, generally held the first week in September for those interested.
Elizabeth Dudek, a junior journalism major, said the shows are “always hilarious.”
“I’m always surprised at how much fun it is,” she said.
NU ‘ Improv’d was started in 2002 by students Chad Cooper, Liam Hales and Matt DiRienzo. Since then, the group has participated in the annual contests held at ImprovBoston in Cambridge, Caroline’s on Broadway, Improv Asylum in the North End and various colleges and universities in the New England area including UMass Amherst, Lesley College and Holy Cross.
The audience at Northeastern’s own nightclub was receptive of the brash humor, innuendos and puns throughout the performance.
“Objection! Madeline’s a woman, she cannot drive,” yelled Tushar Patel, a junior chemical engineering major, during the game “Objection.” In the game, one person, the “defendant,” got on stage and made a statement like, “I rode my bicycle.” Another group member, the “prosecutor,” yelled out an objection to the statement, wherein Samantha Solomon, president of the group and a junior communication studies major, “the Judge,” could “sustain,” or “overrule.”
“Objection! Tushar is an Indian. The only car he drives is a taxi,” John Cunha, a Northeastern alumnus, retaliated.
A later game called “New Choice” made allusions to Nascar rednecks and Nazi Germany.
Solomon said she thinks Clue is generally the audience’s favorite game. Similar to the board game Clue, there is a who, a where and a how: A ventriloquist, on the Internet, by a Jumanji. One group member began a game of pantomime-telephone to a string of three other members before finally an audience participant who had been brought out of the room was brought in to solve the mystery.
The diversity of the group brings a fun diversity to the show, said Erin Pacileo, a junior civil engineering major. The diversity of the audience members was also reflected in the options suggested by the crowd for the designated characters in role-playing games. In the game “Celeb High,” the characters ranged from Sean Connery and Knight Rider to Tigger.
“The finale was my favorite show,” said Rachel Esteban, a freshman English major.
Audience members flowed in throughout the performance, and the night ended with NU ‘ Improv’d group members mingling with their fans.
NU ‘ Improv’d holds two meetings every week for two hours. Being an improvisation show, there are not any lines to remember or acts to plan; however, the group has routine games they choose from for each show, which are held on the first Tuesday of every month. The games played on the night of a show are done by a group vote, just as the delegated positions in the group are chosen through elections.
“The meetings are more about teambuilding and trust,” Solomon said.
The shows can go either really well, or really badly, she said. Improv is about being able to brush things off. If a performer makes a mistake, he or she must be able to move onto the next thing.
“It’s two hours, twice a week, with really sweet people,” said Nicole Derosiers, a junior communication and cinema studies major. “Causing lots of trouble and having a good time doing it, and going home and not feeling guilty about it.”
The largest NU ‘ Improv’d group was the year before the founding members graduated in 2006, with 17 members. Today, the group boasts 10 members, from freshmen to juniors, some with experience in improvisation and some without.
“It’s easiest with less people,” Patel said. “There are less egos to deal with.”
