Audience members got cozy Friday night as they piled into the Orange and Brew to see Theatre Strike Force’s first performance of the semester.
Theatre Strike Force performs improvisational games and shows similar to those seen on “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
Erik Voss, veteran member and former president of Theatre Strike Force, hosted the show and asked audience members to contribute topics, locations and characters for the actors to use during their performances.
In “Radio,” actors were the voices for stations like Jersey Shore radio, Amish radio and Homemaking for Men radio. In the game “Kick It,” actors had to bust into a freestyle rap on cue.
The audience roared with laughter during Kaylyn Brickey’s rap about potatoes.
Brickey has been in Theatre Strike Force for a year, but she said the experience of being on stage is still “like a trauma situation.”
“You’re thrust into it,” she said. “My mind is blank not only before but after.”
Despite the stress of performances, the zoology major uses Theatre Strike Force as her playtime when she needs a break from academics.
“I saw Theatre Strike Force once at my dorm, and I knew I wanted that — to blow off steam and have a fun time with funny people,” Brickey said.
For the game “Moving Bodies,” Voss brought two volunteers from the audience on stage to direct actors’ movements while they improvised.
Freshman Kelsey Kitts was one of the audience members chosen. She had to move actor April Dudash’s arms and legs while Dudash spoke lines matching her motions.
“It was hard not to laugh,” Kitts said. “It made me realize how hard it is up there.”
While the actors fought off smiles and chuckles to stay in character, the audience’s laughter was as constant as a sitcom laugh track.
Sophomore Jenna Hankins saw Theatre Strike Force for the first time.
“I was impressed,” Hankins said. “It exceeded my expectations.”
