Laughter is the best medicine, and nothing proves it like a performance by Sheer Idiocy, RPI’s improv comedy troupe. The group gave its first performance of the semester Saturday night in the McNeil Room of the Union.
Lines such as “I shall ketchup the thought of your death,” “Super Moose!” and “Who wants cholera? You want cholera!” caused the audience to explode into raucous laughter. The group played games such as half-life, in which the Idiots, as members of the troupe are known, must repeat a scene in progressively shorter amounts of time.
Also played was a game called Lines from a Hat, in which audience suggestions written down before the show were randomly drawn by Idiots and used as lines in a scene. For one game, Chain Murder, in which the habits of a pretend serial killer are communicated by pantomime, an audience member was brought onstage and took part in the game. The Idiots used suggestions shouted out by audience members throughout the show.
One particularly inventive game was Pan Left/Pan Right. Four Idiots participated in this game, and each one had a noun as the starting point of a scene. The four Idiots stood at the corners of a square so that two of them were always in front of the other two.
When a directing troupe member said “Pan left!” the Idiots rotated positions clockwise, and at the shout of “Pan right!” the Idiots rotated in the opposite direction. At each rotation, they would continue the scene started by the Idiots that had just moved into the front position. The rotations started out slowly, and progressed ever more frequently until the stage was a melee of comedy.
New this semester, Sheer Idiocy will begin weekly events, alternating between shows by troupe members and workshops. All RPI students are welcome to come to the workshops and improve their improvisational skills. The Idiots maintain an extensive list of exercises used to sharpen their skills, such as Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something, in which each line must be accompanied by a physical action.
Sheer Idiocy has become a staple of RPI entertainment since its inception in 1997, continuing to provide students and faculty alike with some darned funny improv comedy. With its new plans for weekly shows and workshops, its contribution to the RPI community can only improve.
