This past Saturday evening, Villanova University’s first performing improv comedy group performed its debut show titled “Word Vomit” in St. Mary’s Theater. The event was extremely popular, drawing a crowd that filled every seat in the theater and even space in the back where viewers stood to watch the show. Attendees were not disappointed. “Ridiculum” members executed the show perfectly, performing a host of original, off-the-cuff scenes that had the audience roaring with laughter.

The performers often asked the enthusiastic crowd to provide them with locations, objects, character relationships, and sometimes even lines for the scene. From there, the actors developed the ensuing hilarity using different ‘games’ that structured when and how scenes formed. For example, in the game “Bell Curve,” there were five actors and five different scenes. The first scene was audience-inspired and contained just one actor. This scene continued until the first performer was frozen by the second one, who then joined the first actor in an entirely new second scene. This continued until all five actors were on stage for the fifth new scene. After this point, each actor found a way to leave the scene that they started, reversing the order that they joined until the audience was left with only the first actor in the original scene again.

In another game, the audience selected various roles (i.e. Shrek or Jay Wright) for three actors to impersonate. After this, a fourth actor entered the room not knowing what characters each of the other three had been assigned. The fourth performer then acted as if he were on a dating show, using questions to find a potential mate from the three bachelors. However, the fourth performer also needed to pay attention to the answers of the questions, using them to figure out which character the other actors were interpreting. This difference in audience and actor information made for an intriguing, yet amusing show. Each game introduced a new, intuitive aspect to the performance, and the actors excelled in whichever situation they were placed.

When asked about her experience as a member of Ridiculum, freshman Holly Beske said, “My favorite part of the group is the relationships we’ve all developed with each other. We went from a dozen people with a wide range of acting experience to a close-knit family who can build off of one another to create clever, funny scenes. I think it’s such an amazing thing and I am lucky to be a part of it.” 

Beske is excited to continue performing in future shows, one of which may be coming in future weeks before the semester ends. For now, Ridiculum is encouraging anyone interested in being involved to reach out to [email protected] to become a part of the show.