Students flock to Comedy Wars on Wednesday nights

Comedy Wars attracts crowds Wednesday nights in Memorial Union.

By Jess Camp

Published Aug. 29, 2008

Nothing packs Memorial Union like a little improvisational comedy. On Wednesday night, as with all Wednesday nights, students were everywhere - perched on trashcans, sitting on the floor, huddling in corners and clumped together in chairs. And they all seemed to be waiting for something exciting to happen.

As the clock ticked closer and closer to 9:30 p.m., the anticipation in the room was ready to burst. And when the five comedians who caused the stir took the stage, the crowd let out a roar of approval.

Comedy Wars, an act put on by a troupe of MU students, hits the stage every Wednesday in the Bengal Lair of Memorial Union to perform a completely improvised show for those who want to watch. Luckily for those bored on Hump Day, the show is completely free. Seniors Lauren Zima, Jon Wiele and Chris Nester and juniors Kyle Ayers and Brian Hamilton are the brains behind the show.

"It's the funniest show in the world," said sophomore Cassie Nelson, a regular Comedy Wars attendee. "It's better than 'Whose Line.'"

The best way to describe Comedy Wars is this: It's a comedy performance completely made up on the spot by taking suggestions from the audience and turning them into comedy gold. It's much like the television show "Whose Line is it Anyway?," except this group of comedians rarely censor themselves.

Although each performance is totally unique, the nights always begin the same way, with Nester prepping the audience to what they'll be seeing and reminds them that audience participation has to be big.

"We do improv comedy," he said, "We make it up on the spot."

Wednesday's show began with a game called "Anger," during which the troupe animatedly makes up stories describing why they hate seemingly normal, innocent objects. To get things started, one of the cast members asked the audience to shout out some nouns. This triggered the crowd into action, yelling "beehives" and "clouds."

But not every suggestion is created equal.

"I was told we weren't allowed to make fun of Alzheimer's," Ayers said.

Nester said the group often tries to steer away from making fun of ailments that people can't prevent themselves from having.

But that rule often goes out the window when it comes down to making fun of their cast. Hamilton, who is the only black person in the group, hears his fair share of race jokes. But Hamilton insists it's all in the name of comedy.

And at Wednesday's show, it was his turn to make the jokes. During "Yo' Momma," a game where audience members shout adjectives for the performers to turn into insults about each other's moms, he got to retaliate.

The suggestion was "salty" and Hamilton stepped up to center stage and said "Yo momma's so salty that she's a cracker." The predominantly white crowd laughed with approval.

Many times the jokes also take on a sexual twist. When prompted with the seemingly wholesome word 'spiritual,' Wiele said: "Your mothers are so spiritual they talked Ghandi and Mother Theresa into a threesome."

Jokes like these and the frequent use of certain four-letter words remind audience members that they're not in high school anymore.

"It was a wake-up college experience," sophomore Liz Criswell said. "I said to myself, 'Damn, we're in college now."

And the collegiate atmosphere only fuels the inhibition.

"I figure we're in college and everyone laughs at inappropriate jokes because we're young," said junior Mattie Neff, a first time Comedy Wars attendee.

Although some of the jokes can be seen as sexist or racist, the cast assures that it's all in good fun.

"We're all unisex," Zima said. "We're all one sex, race and gender. It's just comedy."

Despite making fun of each other, it's easy to see that all of them are good friends. It's even more obvious if you watch them interact with each other after the show. They sit at a table together, laugh about the crazy jokes they did earlier in the evening and brainstorm ways they can improve for next week's performance.

The idea of getting on a stage in front of hundreds of people without having any idea of what you'll be doing for more than an hour would probably intimidate most. But not these guys. They thrive on it.

"I'm not nervous during it," Wiele said. "I get nervous before the show, though, which is a good thing because it keeps you on your toes."

One thing that helps soothe their nerves are the many regulars.

"It feels like they're our personal friends, so I don't get nervous," Ayers said.

That friendship reflects even after the show. After every performance, they invite the audience along as they head to the Heidelberg.

And people just keep coming back.

Ben Wenger, a fifth-year senior, has been coming to the shows since his sophomore year.

"I think improv is the best form of comedy," he said.