Anthony Landahl stands alone on the stage of the Little Theatre pantomiming preparations for a party when there is a sudden knocking sound from offstage. Landahl walks stage left and opens an imaginary door, eager to meet his first party guest only to be confronted by Colin Hughes positioned like a dinosaur gnashing his teeth. Landahl proceeds to welcome eight other outlandish guests including Elmo and a girl who only speaks in text language. The only way for him to get these crazy characters out of his way, and his party, is to guess who/what they are, as they are not allowed to explicitly tell him.

This insanity is an improv game known as Party Quirks.

Normally, there are two outlets for improv at RB: Shenanigans, an audition based improv group, and Improv Club, which is open to anyone who wants to participate. This year however, Improv Club has ended early. Shenanigans auditions were on September 10 and the club will no longer run. The reason for this is the school board only allowed one of the two organizations to run at a time according to Tom Dignan, Shenanigans Sponsor.

There is a method to having Improv Club, even though it only ran for three weeks.

“The purpose is to give kids a chance to play improv games and see if they like it,” said current member of Shenanigans Veronica Sanchez.

The club is run by splitting up the club members into two rooms and having a few current Shenanigans members leading each group.

“The reason is to give kids a chance to play more games,” said Colin Hughes, current Shenanigan regarding splitting the club. According to Sanchez, Shenanigans discuss sketches, play games and have a lot of fun during club meetings.

Shenanigans recently held auditions in search of new members.

“We are looking for people who have good stage presence, work well with others, and are funny,” said Hughes.

After auditions, Shenanigans will be up and running with new members joining the veterans. The cast for the group this year is Colin Hughes, Andy Volpe, Patrick Landa, Veronica Sanchez, Vanessa Sanchez, Tent Katchmark, Matthew Patton, Anthony Landahl, Adam Nie, Rosie Nolan, Casey Whisler, and Claire Jacobs.

“I am looking forward to having shows, being involved in the talent show, and making people laugh,” said Sanchez.

Shenanigans will be hosting the Talent show this year on September 18 as well as having their own shows, which are wildly popular. These shows are a combination of clever, pre rehearsed sketches and on the spot improvisation in the form of games, such as Party Quirks. You really never know what the group will come up with. That’s the beauty of improvisation, especially when performed by the talented actors here at RB.

To most people, standing on a stage in front of an audience being mock attacked by a classmate playing a cannibal sounds like a nightmare, but for Landahl it’s just another part of doing what he loves. Many students like him have come to call the stage home while brining smiles to the faces of the student body and the community.