'Almost Funny' troupe amazes U-Club audience with improvisational comedy

Shannon O'Sullivan

Daily Arts Writer

Ha-ha-ha! Laughter rang from the walls of the U-Club this past Friday night, as comedy troupe Almost Funny performed for their sold-out crowd. With a simple black back drop and minimal costumes, this 16 member comedy group stunned their audience with a professional comedian like appearance. The night took off with skit and sketch performances which incorporated everyday college issues. From politics to Carson Daly, Almost Funny started off performing rehearsed skits. Not only is the group filled with outstanding comedians, there are some aspiring singers and dancers among the group, notably, Marc Hoffman and BLANK, in their impromptu of LFO's summer girl.

Comedy Company has been bringing laughter and smiles to the university for the past 21 years. With six returning comedians and ten new members, the group definitely holds some real potential. The groups' amazing skits come from the hands of its own members, as four of the members write all of their works. Three days a week this group can be found practicing these comedic skits. For the members, it is a fun time to let loose and make jokes and funny scenarios of campus and world events.

Impromptu time! Time for things to get really amusing. This part of the evening required audience participation, which was already in abundance after the first events of the evening. Members of the group took turns coming out on stage, calling out several cast members and explaining the games that they were about to partake in. One of the games truly illustrated the groups' great skills. One of the members exited the room, while the audience choose several characteristics for the remaining characters. So on stage there was a two-syllable man, a compulsive liar, and a retired super hero. Within a matter of a few minutes all of the characteristics were guessed correctly, leaving the audience amazed.

Then, there were some love tunes. Picture this: two guys walk out on the stage, the audience suggests a movie that ordinarily would not have a love song, in this case "Next Friday," and the guys are told to make up a love song applying to the movie. Within 30 seconds, in a serenading tune, the love song begins.

And then there was butter. How much can people say about butter? Well, Almost Funny can go on for about twenty-five minutes. The audience had to suggest a word for the group to centralize a skit around, and butter was the selected word for the evening. The group pulled it off as though it was rehearsed, with scenes from cowhands to classes. Their amazingly funny impromptu seemed so up to par, it was almost hard to believe they were performing off the top of their heads.