Shenanigans improv troupe has a second act

RB’s new improv troupe The Shenanigans will be hosting their second show ever on Friday and Saturday, the 28^th and 29^th. The Shenanigans’s first show in January, “It Tastes Like Paint” turned out to be a huge success, selling out entirely and leaving the audience asking for more.

The new show, “Orange You Glad We Didn’t Say Paint,” will be performed in the same manner as the first, except with new twists and ideas. Improv Troupe President Zeyne Guzelderli said, “We do improv, but we also write loose sketches that are improvised on. We have a set scene to start with, but it is different every time.”

The new concepts and ideas for the show aren’t being released in detail, but Guzelderli did say, “We are trying a bunch of new games that we’ve never done before, and we are starting with a scene unlike any other scene we’ve performed before. Were giving it a fresh feel, but bringing back the elements that people loved.”

The Shenanigans are an improvised comedy troupe started this year by Guzelderli and senior Olivia Tortiumi and sponsored by drama teacher Melissa Briskman. They practice every Wednesday after school and after improv club, (many of the troupe memebers participate in both). During their practices, they work on acting skills and improvising techniques by playing theater games, designed to improve on improvisation skills and reflexes.

Discussing his decision to join the troupe, junior Paul Landahl said, “Mrs. Briskman suggested the troupe to me, and I decided to try it, it’s helped me as an actor.” Landahl said one of his favorite memories since joining the Shenanigans was when fellow Troupe member Jacob Palkam, “walked in the classroom in a pink dress, high heels, and a wig, and yelled what are you all looking at!”

“You’re not a person if you’re not acting,” said Landahl.

The Troupe is enthusiastic about this month’s upcoming show. “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from teachers. We sold out last time, and we are hoping to do the same this time,” said Guzelderli.

The Shenanigans have much reason to be enthusastic. In their first show, they proved to be quite successful. Though it is too soon to be making assumptions, it is likely this month’s show will be as popular as the first one, if not more so.

Briskman said, “It’s the first year.  It’s definitely been kind of a trial run, but it has been very successful and its let us know what we need to be more successful next year”.  Briskman confirmed plans for next year by saying, “We are hoping to have at least two shows at RB next year, and hopefully some shows outside of the building.” Coffee shop performances are a possibility. Briskman also added that an election would be held in the future to elect new leaders for next year’s troupe and that auditions would be held for new troupe members.

Briskman noted that the shows are improvised, and will be similar but different at both showings. The shows will be running both the 28^th and the 29^th at 7:00P.M., and admission will be three dollars.

Murder Room, a killer performance

The scene starts off dark.  It’s late at night when Mrs. Hollister arrives home to find her husband sitting at the living room table, pouring himself a drink.  As Mrs. Hollister struggles to explain why she didn’t come home from her canceled church meeting, tensions rise and lies start to unravel.  Before the audience can even begin to figure out the truth, she fires three gunshots and Mr. Hollister lies dead on the floor.

RB’s presentation of The Murder Room may sound dark and mysterious, but its clueless, wacky characters made it just the opposite.  The performance kept the audience on the edge of their seats and laughing the entire time.

The small cast of six allowed the audience to connect with the characters and get a sense of who they really were.  Senior Zeyne Guzeldereli played the role of Mr. Edgar Hollister as well as police constable, Abel Howard.

“I’ve done original comedy before and that requires me to be 5 or 6 different characters,” said Guzeldereli, “so this was a piece of cake.”

His favorite role of the two was Edgar Hollister because he was crazy and eccentric.  Other characters in the show included Edgar’s ditsy daughter Susan (Stephanie Duve) and her laid back American fiancé (Dovas Lietuvninkas), Lottie Molloy, the Hollister’s sassy older housekeeper (Olivia Toriumi), the inquisitive inspector Crandall (Nathan Smith), and the devious Mavis Templeton Hollister, Edgar’s recent bride (Olivia Landa).

As the police and Mr. Hollister’s loved ones attempt to discover the truth behind his disappearance, secret identities are revealed and one discovery leads to another.  The suspicion of murder flies around and ironically the Hollister home has a secret room nicknamed “The Murder Room.”

The Murder Room’s twisted plot and quick, witty dialogue kept audience members entertained and often as confused as the characters, which seemed to be the point.  If it wasn’t the humorous dialogue keeping viewers amused, it was the secret contraptions and props used for the show.

Some of the clever contraptions on set included a drawer that flew open when the top of the desk was pounded, a window seat that led to “The Murder Room” and could only be opened by a very specific procedure involving the coat stand, and a picture frame on hinges that took the whole cast to operate.

A bicycle was another surprising prop that made a quick appearance in the show. Susan’s fiancé Barry rode in housekeeper Lottie Molloy on the handlebars, carefully maneuvering around furniture on the set.

“We had to practice the bike scene a lot to get it down,” said Toriumi .

With a plot that never slowed down and characters with secret identities and hidden agendas, the cast of The Murder Room put on a killer performance to say the least.