Khaki pants, Craigslist, jailbreaks, Sarah Palin, Sesame Street. No subject is safe from the shenanigans of Sheer Idiocy. The 10 members of Sheer Idiocy bounce off each other and between subjects, with ease and humor that leaves the audience in stitches. Their skits are simple—no props except for a couple of chairs, no costumes, no makeup. All they need is their facial expressions, their humor, and a little help from each other to make anyone laugh.
Ten minutes before the show was supposed to start, all the seats were taken. Five minutes before the show was supposed to start, the back wall was lined with people. Five minutes after the show was supposed to start, people were sitting on the floor in front of the first row so they could see the performance. And no one was disappointed.
The Idiots performed 11 different skits, ranging from a charades-type game to a pick-your-own-ending skit. They played off the audience well, asking for suggestions for plots, characters, settings, and changes. Everyone was allowed to participate; as Garrett McCutcheon ’09 said, “It’s a democracy!” The audience gave some crazy suggestions, but the Idiots managed to smoothly pull off every twist and turn and make the audience laugh in the process.
As they don’t use any props, the Idiots have to use their expressions and voices to make their characters come to life. In one of the skits, four members were telling a story, each in a different style of writing. The story started off like any good fairy tale: “Once upon a time …” There were non-human lovers, Dr. Seuss rhymes, and instructions to “be careful with women.” Kara Chesal ’09 provided a fantasy background, Kevin Deraney ’11 spoke as an instruction manual, Nick Sosin ’11 busted out Dr. Seuss rhymes until the plot got too risqué, and Bobby Wood ’09 provided the romantic over- and under-tones. Before Wood could even speak, his facial expressions had the audience roaring with laughter because we all knew his next line was going to be taken inappropriately.
They played a game similar to charades: The audience gave the phrases “malicious bacon” and “amorous lawnmowers” for the Idiots to act out to a partner as the other tried to sell the product on a home shopping channel. The charades led to make-out sessions, delicious male ballerinas, and syllable slice-and-dice. The two pairs would switch rapidly at the clap of someone’s hands. Rohit Kumar ’10 spent several frustrating turns trying to get McCutcheon to say “amorous.” Kumar would visually slice words apart and throw letters away in an attempt to put the right sounds together, only to end up throwing up his hands and making faces of frustration. Becky Dash ’09 had just as much success getting Mike Davey ’11 to say “malicious,” leading to the delicious ballerina comment.
All of the skits proved to be hilarious and well worth the $0 and two hours that they took up. Sheer Idiocy will be performing on October 17 during the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center opening events with The Rensselyrics, a campus a cappella group, in a performance titled Improvcappella. It promises to be hilarious and acoustically amazing.
