 "Photo: Ian Thomas")
As a component of Unity Week, the UGBC presented the first-ever Comedy Night to a sold-out Devlin 008 Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m.
Before the show commenced, the directors of the four groups (My Mother's Fleabag, CCE, Asinine, and Hello … Shovelhead!) gave a statement on their beliefs of the importance of unity on campus. They explained that comedy sheds light on cultural flaws, and performing allows for a means of expression and advancement. They expressed the need for more performance and rehearsal space on the Boston College campus in order to foster a better creative environment. Clara de Soto A&S '07 and Nijah Cunningham A&S '07 of Fleabag were also recognized as the first AHANA students to be co-directors of Fleabag.
Hosts Sean Mitchell CSOM '07 and Katherine Buck CSOM '09 opened up the show with a little dialogue on how they're not really allowed to talk about anything controversial because it was Unity Week. Then they introduced each of the groups in a roast-style, which basically meant that they put down all of the groups before they came out, which wasn't exactly funny but rather sad.
First up was My Mother's Fleabag whose specialty is improv comedy. The best part about Fleabag is the hilarious facial expressions and voices of all of the cast members, and they were really on their A-game with this performance. A crucial part to every improv game is audience participation, and as the Fleabaggers' energy grew throughout the performance, so too did the enthusiasm from audience participants. Most of the games were familiar favorites, such as alternating dialogue, movers and shakers, and 185. The best skit was "The Dating Game" because Nick Ackerman A&S '09 proved to be an amazing host who always had a clever retort for the strange bachelor and bachelorettes.
The second group was the CCE, whose performance was confusing at times because some of the improv games were not explained very well, which inhibited the comedy a bit when the audience didn't understand the point of the game. The game in which people were switched in and out according to whether they made the viewers laugh, however, proved to be funny. The absolute best part of the CCE performance was when one of the guys ripped his pants open doing a kung-fu kick!
Asinine was the third group to take the stage to perform some sketch comedy mixed in with a little improv. Despite some crude word choices, this group kept the audience laughing throughout the performance. The music during scene changes pumped up the crowd and had everyone singing along. The first and last skits were phenomenally funny: a stand-off between Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys and a scene with a party ref to regulate party fouls.
The last group was Hello … Shovelhead! This group definitely deserves that exclamation point at the end of its name because it did a marvelous job at working the crowd and keeping the laughs rolling by creating skits which most people could relate to and having a fabulous mastery of comedic timing. The topics of the secret society of Kairos, awkward conversations with people you hardly know in the Quad, and Middle-aged Mutant Ninja Turtles all acted as riotous inspiration for the Shovelhead sketches.
The crowd absolutely loved the comedy groups and no one was seen leaving early from this amazing collaborative show.
Look for the next performance by the CCE Nov. 16 to 18, Shovelhead Dec. 1 to 2, and Fleabag April 13 to 14.
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