Clippings from local media:
Michigan Tech Lode -- late January, 1995
Michigan Tech Lode -- Friday, March 17th, 1995
Peninsula News -- Friday, April 7th, 1995
The Daily Bull -- Thursday, March 21st, 1996
Michigan Tech Lode -- Friday, May 2nd, 1997
- Michigan Tech Lode -- Friday, May 16th, 1997
Michigan Tech Lode, Friday, May 16th, 1997:
Sixth Annual Comedy Show Parody's Television
by Ben Clark, Feature Editor -- Michigan Tech Lode
- This is a story about laughter, humor, raillery, satire, comedy, and just plain good old fun; these are all tools used by MTU's comedic improv group, the Troupe, who performed in Walker Theatre this past weekend.
- The Troupe is a union of fifteen Tech students who enjoy acting and comedy, and excel at entertainment. They are led by Sue Stephens, of the Fine Arts Department, who directs the group. The groupe was formed from on eof Stephen's acting classes seven years ago.
- If you have never seen an improv groupe perform, you may be missing out on one of the funniest shows of your life. These guys will make you laugh at almost nothing... literally. They use no props, save a couple of stools and a spray bottle, and manage to portray two hours of pretty complex scenes. The group uses their bodies to create buildings, doors, almost any structure they need, big or small. People may be eggs in one scene and gargoyles in the next. The Troupe relies on physical humor as well as verbal comedy to bring off their skits. Pay attention, and you might catch some satire as well (<-insert understatement here).
- The three evening performances featured a number of skits depicting television situations. The downside of NOT buying a Stainmaster carpet was revealed, as was a Mentos moment in which "the freshmaker" costs an unfortunate applicant a job.
- In Teen Jeopardy Challenge, a young man who looked like a pet rodent, acted like a pet rodent (in his spare time, he enjoys running in his wheel) and always answered "what is string" or "what is yarn" to every question narrowly edged out Bimples the Mime during Final Jeopardy to claim the grand prize (The answer was "what is String Theory"). Though Alex had more than a few snide comments, the judges were astonishingly lenient.
- The group didn't stay solely with television though. Some scenes depicted every day activities in a humorous light. THings that may happen to you on a regular basis suddenly become hilariously ridiculous when performed by this group of comedians. A dissertation on the modern facilities of the physics lab in the basement of Fisher was my personal favorite.
- Don't think for a second, however, that this show was entirely scripted from beginning to end; they do call it an improv group you know. In fact, when it comes right down to it, you're never really sure what is written and what is ad-libbed. A few of the acts were obviously performed by the seat of the group's baggy pants. In one skit, an audience member was invited down to explain her day in detail to the actors. The group then re-enacted the day in nightmare form. I bet you little Janna had no idea that she would see her day pass before her eyes up on stage when she walked into that theatre.
- The group played games too. A hybrid improv skit crossed the two age old party games of Telephone and Charaddes. One actor/actress was given a "place," an "occupation," and a "weapon" drawn randomly from a jar. The actor/actress had to relay all three of the items to a fellow Troupe member (who had left the room when the items were told to the audience) without using any words. When the second individual believes he/she has got all the items down, they symbollically kill the original actor/actress with the weapon and try to convey the same three items to a third individual. When the third individual has smitten down the second with the weapon, the performers reveal what they believe was trying to be conveyed to them. They seemed to excel at this game. One set included a Honda Civic as the weapon. How, exactly would you convey to somebody that you were in the possesion of a deadly Honda Civic without words or props? Yet, they did.
- What shown through more than anything else during the performance was the group's chemistry. The fifteen individuals, in appearance, were not really putting on a complicated production, they were simply having a good time. At points, it seemed that they may have forgotten entirely that the audience was present. Thay all worked so well together that they appeared as though each of them had been doing this act for decades. Perhaps when Sue Stephens says that the Troupe is like her "second family," she is echoing the thoughts of the other members of the group as well.
- What is in store for the future performances? What new and zany ways will these students come up with to make us laugh? You'll just have to show up to find out that answer, as well as the answer to one of civilization's age old questions: Just exactly how long does it take to cook a medium sized Moose carcass in a standard rotisserie oven?
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