The extravaganza took place from 8 to 11 pm on Saturday night in the Playhouse, which was packed by 7:40 pm despite it being only the third annual showing. The audience was in for a treat, as members were chosen at random to come up on the stage and “Spin that wheel!” which determined the next skit or song that would be performed by the two groups.

Sheer Idiocy and the Rensselyrics entertained the audience with many separate performances, but several times they appeared together onstage for skits, most noticeably at the opening of Improvcappella, right before intermission was to begin, and during the “Lightning Round.” Throughout the show, the audience clapped along, joined together in making suggestions for skits, and could be heard laughing merrily. If the audience’s response was any indicator of how the show went, it could be considered a huge hit.

Going into the show, the Rensselyrics were hoping for the best, despite challenges presented to the group this semester. Recently, several members quit the group, leaving the soprano section weakened. Brian Waite, one of the few upperclassmen still in the Rensselyrics and the student director of the group since the beginning of the year, said, “I was anxious to see just how much the Rensselyrics could accomplish in one semester. We had more new members, more new music, and, because the concert came so early, we had fewer weeks than we usually do to put on our show.”

But with only ten members to boast, the singing brigade lit up the stage with their dedication and filled the air with their sweet sounds. Waite, who was visibly thrilled to be commanding the stage, thought Rensselyrics did a great job. “Not only did we exceed my expectations; we put on a show that was both of high quality and creative, keeping people entertained but in a different way. That’s like the fourth dimension of the accomplishment—that it was such a neat show!”

And showcase their creative talent the Rensselyrics did, receiving a standing ovation with the final song, “River of Dreams,” performed by none other than Waite himself. His performance was enhanced with a PowerPoint created especially by Sheer Idiocy, who took it upon themselves to analyze the meaning behind the famous Billy Joel song. Other songs performed included “Hands Down,” “Airplane,” “Kyrie,” “The River,” and “Such Great Heights.”

Aside from extensive applause, Sheer Idiocy received just what they were looking for: laughter, and plenty of it. Skit after skit, they had the most people in the audience crippled by fits of laughter. The plethora of sketches included such titles as “Sit, Stand, Kneel,” “Ode,” “Half-Life,” “Subtitles,” “Character Circle,” “Three-Way Dub,” and “Pop-Up Video,” among many others.

Of their performance, Idiot Joey Faust thought “the show went very well considering the sheer amount of technical wizardry that we had going.” He also added, “As far as the improv, it was definitely high quality, like a steak that’s been marinating all day.”

Audience members who spun “that wheel” were sometimes given the opportunity to participate onstage in a skit, some of which involved sack-racing, being sung to, or supplying words to end the sentences of one of the idiots during a skit. The audience interaction enhanced the experience for the selected people, and a raffle for a sixteen-piece set of yellow dishware ended the night of fun.

Sheer Idiocy is the only improv comedy group on campus and they can often be found hosting their own shows, free of charge for students, on campus or performing with improv groups from other colleges. All students are invited to attend the workshops hosted by the Idiots, which occur every few weeks.

Anyone interested in learning more about Sheer Idiocy and the Rensselyrics can check out their websites at