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April 25, 2011 —
“We are the improv storm. And apparently a storm has to be outside,” said Katie Valley, music junior.
Valley was referring to last Thursday night when Work ‘n Progress braved the cold to put on a free improv show for students in the amphitheater.
With finals week looming, the RSO decided it would give students a break, relieving them from the stress of studying.
And Work ‘n Progress members went to great lengths to get audience members.
They sent out three parties of performers to gather audience members from the RFoC, village communities and the living centers.
“They came to my door and told us about the improv show,” said Ashley Grice, one of the recruited audience members. “We had to go because one of the guys was threatening to jump off the balcony if we didn’t. It was pretty funny.”
The night was filled with skits that were helped along with audience participation.
David Williams, a premed student, was chosen from the audience to participate in one such skit.
Williams had to act out a place, an occupation and an item, all without using words, while three Work ‘n Progress members tried to figure out what he was doing.
Finally, the Work ‘n Progress members had to eventually ‘kill’ David with the last item.
“I was nervous at first,” Williams said. “But it was a lot of fun.”
A popular game of the night was when Work ‘n Progress members improvised a self-help company.
An audience member “called in” and asked, “How do we get Grand Valley State University to blow up?”
The audience laughed and applauded at the question.
The cast members offered some innovative ideas. One such idea was to call up Al-Qaida.
The show was a great success despite the freezing temperature in the amphitheatre.
It was a great break for students to laugh at mimes, half-eaten sandwiches and a half-naked man streaking through a library.
“There will be a lot more shows next semester,” said Ray Deeren, president and history and creative writing major. “It’s been a great year and next year will be even better.”
Work ‘n Progress meets at 10 p.m. every Thursday. It welcomes new members or anyone who wants to have a good laugh.
Valley said it gives her a chance to be an actress as well as being involved on campus, all without having to be a theater major.
“The shows are my favorite thing to do,” Valley said. “It’s awesome when people come up to me and they recognize me because they’ve seen me on stage. It’s nice to know that people think I’m funny.”