Black Box Improv comedy troupe visited Founders last Wednesday, and it was a night of hilariously ridiculous scenarios and Wittenberg-inspired jokes.
The group consisted of one female and five male improv performers, as well as a male pianist to add melodies to situations for comedic purposes, as well as for musical numbers.
The evening started with a roughly 15-minute interview with Associate Dean of Students Jon Duraj, asking him about his previous jobs, his time at Wittenberg as a student, things he handles with his current job, etc.
After the interview, the improv team took some of his funniest stories and heightened them, creating scenarios loosely based on Duraj’s life to outlandish proportions with new characters and worse situations than intended.
The first skit was based on Duraj’s time as an RA in college, when he hosted a videogame boxing tournament. The comedy gang started out at this tournament before taking the scene to a confused time with one of the participants only being there to visit his girlfriend, which led to a fiasco of “fornication forms” to be signed, before the guy ultimately leaves his “girl” (played by one of the male performers) for “her” roommate.
The next skit was a play on Greek life, with two groups attempting to create a new fraternity and sorority. The fraternity coaxed a new member with the promise of free food, who then dubs himself in an officer position as “Chancellor of Pizza.” The new sorority struggled to recruit, as one male continually insists he is part of the sorority. The troupe made light jokes on the process of rush week and feminism, as the sorority leader struggled to open a jar of pickles.
The following skit was based on Duraj’s previous job as Risk Manager of the University of Dayton. The comedy troupe created fictional scenarios for risk managers in training, including preventing students from texting their ex. The trainees failed horribly, trying to convince the student that they could do better and attempting to distract him with Beyoncé, before convincing the heartbroken student to join an occult.
A musical skit followed, based on Duraj telling the troupe he has gotten calls from parents about teaching their children how to do laundry. The musical started with parents asking for help from a history professor (as the administration kept ignoring their persistent calls). They asked the professor to teach their son the ways of “laundry, women and cursive,” as he never learned as a child.
The sketchy professor’s ethics are questionable, and he taught the son inappropriate ways to get through college.
The second to last skit was based on Duraj’s travels to China. The comedians created a scenario of a man scamming tourists to sled down a treacherous sand dune from which not many people survive, selling them thin cafeteria trays and pamphlets with nothing but pictures.
The final skit was the best, a true ode to the Wittenberg experience: an addicted to streaking support group. One of the actors told the group his tragic story of being prompted to streak through the Hollow just to be abandoned by his group when his naked figure got stuck in a frisbee golf stand. While another actor stood to the side and others had to convince him to keep his clothing on, the group leader soothed the victim, with encouraging words such as “It’s okay. You have pants on now.”
