By Abril Ibarra
November 13, 2013
You enter Martin Recital Hall and see eight people awkwardly dancing on stage to Beyoncé’s “Naughty Girl” song.
What kind of show is this again?
Dominican University’s own Noise from the Basement comedy group left its audience with tears rolling down their cheeks at the end of its first improvisational show of the semester.
The cast consisted of eight undergraduates doing everything and anything possible to make their audience laugh. They start the show with a 20-minute long improv act and end it playing a couple of games with the audience.
They quickly encouraged the audience to participate in setting the scene.
“Can I get suggestions of a life-changing event from anyone in the audience? Just shout it out!”
“A woman in labor.”
The members scatter to each end of the stage and the scene begins with cast members Axel Vargas-Iralda and Rosa Terracciano standing side by side at center stage.
Rosa begins screaming at the top of her lungs: “AHHHHHHHH!! OOOOHHH MY GOD!!”
Axel acts confused and moves awkwardly around stage looking ever so incompetent. “Ahh okay! I got you honey. I got you, just feel better.”
Rosa: “How?!”
Axel: “I don’t know. I hear vomiting helps…maybe? Just try it.”
Rosa: “Ahh!! Just get the car!”
Axel looks around for the car keys but cant seem to find them. “Hmm…where are the keys? C’mon keys we need you right now!”
He continues to call for the keys as if they will actually speak to him. “Oohh yeah, I found them! Hi-five!”
Rosa looks angrily at him. “Just get the car!”
Axel: “All right all right! Wait, where’d you park the car?”
Rosa looks like she is going to kill Axel.
Throughout each scene, cast members eagerly made themselves look ridiculous – from exaggerated gender roles to racial caricatures, the cast holds nothing back.
Towards the end of the show, the audience is invited on stage to play a few games.
“Okay guys, can I have whoever wants to participate in freeze-tag to come on stage now.”
Cheerful music begins playing while audience members nervously look around to see who will stand up first. After a group of brave volunteers go up on stage, the rules of the game are explained.
“All right, the basis of the game is this. We’re going to have a two person scene. Each person has to do some pretty wacky arm and leg movements throughout the scene. When someone on stage sees something they yell, “Freeze” and take someone’s place.
Then you start a whole new scene. Okay let’s go! Someone yell out something you would find in your closet.”
“Narnia!”
“Okay we heard Narnia. Aaaaand SCENE!”
A cast member starts off scene walking around like the faun from Narnia, talking in a horrible British accent: “Oh, hello there Lucy, I’m Mr. Tumnus.”
Everyone in the audience begins squirming in their seats and lets out hyena-like laughs. It is safe to say everyone is having a great time.
The game ends with an audience member lying on the floor.
The audience bursts out into a roaring laughter and closing music starts playing.