Hopkins's improv group, the Buttered Niblets, have done it again! This past Friday's performance proved to be one of the most entertaining — and also most crowded — performances this academic year.
Upon reaching Arellano Theatre at five minutes to eight, the line was out the door. The group charged one dollar to see the performance and asked for suggestions to be written on slips and were pulled out during the show.
Modern music played as the audience took their seats. When the actors came on stage, they threw candy at the audience, which is always a crowd pleaser. Then they introduced their first game, "Space Time," for sophomore Ben Zucker and freshman Morris Kraicer.
Kraicer took on the role of a scared and tired boy walking around with his father, Ben, through the rain forest. They were looking for the rain boots store. Senior Danny Kaplan cameoed as the princess the son later married. This game had the complete attention of the audience and had a bunch of laughs.
One of the raunchiest was "Death of a Superhero," a game that involves a sidekick, a lover and a villain. The group asked the audience for a name of a superhero, and "Hershey Squirter" was suggested.
The game involved three players, sophomore Claire Rosen, freshman Matt Myers and Morris crying over their lost superhero, Kaplan. Each would then rise and discuss a particular interaction with Hershey Squirter, in which they would reenact. Of course with a name like Hershey Squirter, his sidekick had to be Chocolate Chip, who was his partner in toilet-humor-related charity.
Myers, appropriately, chose to be the lover of this superhero. Rosen took on the role of the villain, Grandma Tollhouse, and tried to convince the audience that Hershey Squirter was not actually an upstanding young man.
Another highlight was "Half Life" with Rosen and Myers. This game had a suggestion to be set in a horse carriage.
The first scene was 68 seconds and every scene was halved until it became two seconds. Rosen and Myers played up the physical humor, much to the crowd's delight, as Rosen tried to stretch out Matt's leg cramp.
Zucker and Kaplan followed up with "Double Life," which was a reversal of the previous game. Set at a Target, they played two employees that have to clean up the cereal aisle after some type of rodent, which they debate as the seconds pile on, causes a mess in the store.
Watching these two players slow down to try to make a cohesive scene in 68 seconds was very entertaining.
The Niblets chose an excellent game for the end because it involved help from the audience. Rosen was told to run out of the room because she was "Late for Work." They needed three reasons why she was late for work: she walked into a glass door, she was scuba diving in chocolate ng place in psychological experiment at the FFC. Rosen then had to talk to her boss, Zucker, who helped to give her some clues as to why she was late.
Kaplan, Kraicer and Myers stood behind Zucker and performed renditions of the excuses. Zucker, hilariously oblivious, would turn around and yell at them for making ridiculous gestures and not working.
The first two Rosen got fairly easily, and the last one needed help from one of the players not involved. Sophomore Jen Diamond had to call in as the supervisor, claiming that Rosen was tricky and that she would really "psych you out."
The audience would give her hints by telling her when she was getting hot or cold. This interaction really helped bring the show home.
Much to the Niblets' credit, they openly turned down suggestions from the members of their group and some of their friends who were in the audience. It is nice to know that they want to hear from other students.
It is also nice to know that their friends support and come to performances even if it is not their turn to perform in a show. They were able to take suggestions from different sections of the audience and create truly memorable and hysterical scenes.
Watching a performance by one of the groups on campus is always the most entertaining way to spend your Friday or Saturday night.
This is where students can see their friends on stage and appreciate the many diverse talents of students at Hopkins.
