On Friday, April 1, 2005, “Not the GM Week Debates,” which was performed by Sheer Idiocy—an improvisational comedy troupe that is located on the RPI campus—took place in the McNeil Room of the Rensselaer Student Union. Having already attended a previous show, I went into Friday night a little more prepared than I was the first time in terms of being able to fully comprehend the act.
The initial thing I noticed when I stepped into the McNeil Room was the audience. The room was completely filled, and I had to search hard for a place to sit. In addition, there were individuals of all ages, and ethnic backgrounds, which further implanted the idea that Sheer Idiocy is not only for students of Rensselaer, but the entire Rensselaer community. At the time, this helped mold my mindset into thinking that the show would once again be spectacular. Once the show was actually underway, I noticed that some of the routines that were performed were quite similar in style to that of previous shows. Nevertheless, excitement was brought to the show by suggestions that the audience gave to the cast members.
For example, the more unique the suggestion, the more interesting time the cast members had trying to incorporate them into their acts. One of my personal favorites, as well as the audience’s, was Royal Expert Rumble—a three-headed expert and a two-headed expert participating in comical debate.
What made this act strange, but hilarious, was that each member had to directly rely on his or her counterparts and without the other, they would be lost. This further forced the troupe members to quickly and diligently brainstorm and give responses to questions that were stemmed from the audience.
Throughout the entire show, the audience and I were quite pleased with the job that Sheer Idiocy had done, and while exiting the McNeil Room, some audience members were reflecting upon their favorite moments of the show. The performance was exceptional; there was never a dull moment. In fact, near the conclusion of the night, the audience wanted an encore.
I truly believe that all members of Sheer Idiocy are quite talented and each individual provides a different flavor, style, and pizzazz. All the cast members have mastered their assigned traits, and as a result they have been able to come together as a cohesive team, building a rapport with one another. Because of this, the event had a brilliant sense of fluidity.
I would definitely recommend everyone to come and witness firsthand what a spectacular and talented group of individuals Sheer Idiocy possess. Come prepared to participate, to laugh, and most of all, to have a good time.
