Todd set off the fire alarm and killed the octopus.
That is just one of the things the audience learned at Kansas State’s improvisational acting troupe On The Spot’s first show of the year Tuesday night.
For just over an hour, the 10-member group performed eight games, as students yelled out the next suggestion and laughed along.
The first game of the evening was “Objection,” a game in which a member starts telling a story, but the other members yell the name of the game when they want to take a turn. For example, when one member started telling a story of visiting the mall with a friend, another yelled, “Objection! No one goes to the mall.”
Two audience members participated on stage during “Human Prop,” which is as involved as it sounds. Two of the group members went through a scene and whenever they needed a prop, they used one of the two audience members as a lobster, dog-cat hybrid and even a toilet and a toilet paper dispenser.
Another game the group played was, “Hitchhiker,” in which a member of the group has to guess the characters played by the three hitchhikers as they drive to their destination. This group included Harry Potter, Bugs Bunny and Alexander Hamilton.
Other games included “Comes From Pockets,” “Movie Review,” “Pan Left, Pan Right,” and a long-form story. The evening ended with “Sex With,” a game in which the audience yells out an object or activity, and the group members say how having intercourse with a select person would be like that object or activity.
“I love performing,” Casha Mills, senior in English literature and a fifth-year group member, said after the show. “I love the bond of the group. Initially, I didn’t like improv and was just looking for a way to get involved, but I ended up liking it and the bond.”
Other students who are interested in performance opportunities and making people laugh can audition to join the group. Students do not need to prepare anything beforehand. Even if a student is not selected this year, Mills said to not be too discouraged.
“Come see what it’s about,” Mills said. “Come back and audition again next year and come see our shows to get used to us.”
On The Spot hosts free shows every Tuesday in Forum Hall in the K-State Student Union at 8 p.m. The group also hosts other events such as sketch shows and workshops throughout the semester, as well as do philanthropy and private events.
Open auditions will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Little Theatre in the Union.
