Everyone can use a good LAUGH

At a recent Full Frontal Comedy show in the Indiana Memorial Union, the room breaks into laughter as audience members yell suggestions to the comedians on stage for an improvisational sketch. The performers are laughing right along with their crowd, and the room is full of energy. \nSean Ellis, a member of the improvisational group since 2000, loves showing his audience a good time. \n"You gotta give the audience what they want," Ellis says. "Otherwise, what's the point in you being there? But, at the same time, you try to deliver art as best as you can."\nJeffrey Schwab, who performs in Full Frontal with Ellis, agrees.\n"Sean carries a really good rapport with the audience," Schwab says. "He's really quick." \nFrom the minute you meet him, it's obvious that Ellis is a natural comedian. Over the years, he's been in a number of comedy and performance groups. "I've just got a tendency to be goofy with people I know," he says. \nIn fact, Ellis has been entertaining his friends since he was in grade school. Growing up in Jennings County, "the heel of Indiana," as he calls it, Ellis always considered himself a funny guy. He remembers spouting off one-liners and misquoting movies to get laughs, which he now realizes must have been pretty annoying. During high school, in fact, one of his older brother's friends told him, "You know, when you were a kid, you were a real pain in the ass, but now you're pretty cool," Ellis says, laughing at the memory. \n"Well, I thought I was funny," he says. "I was really obnoxious until I got over puberty." \nAfter his eighth grade year, Ellis' dad got a new job in Noblesville, and the family relocated. \n"It was horrible," he says. "Moving from the country to the suburbs, at the most impressionable age possible when you're just starting to realize that you're not completely likeable, and you're just some kid. You're 13, the world is scary, and that's right when I moved." \nBut there were a few bright spots in his high school experience. Noblesville High School is where he met his best friend, Ryan Williams. She became interested in Ellis when he did the video announcements for the school. The two met through a group of mutual friends and began dating. "He was always kind of the funny guy in our group of friends," Williams says.\nEllis was also in a few bands during high school including SPunkmeyer his freshman and sophomore years and The Fallopian Vultures his junior and senior years. \n"Those names were my ideas," he says. Ellis was not only the creative force behind the titles and lyrics but also provided the vocals. He particularly remembers one Vultures tune, "Duet With Drums and Tinkle," which is basically a drum solo with someone urinating in the background. \n"It's really potty humor," he says. "Because you're in high school, what are you gonna do?" \nAlthough the Vultures are no longer together, Ellis' interest in music continues. He's since been in a number of other musical groups. \n"I'm not musically inclined at all," he says, "but you know it's a common joke that all comedians wanna be rock stars. And it's true -- it's very true." \nThis maxim certainly holds up for the members of Full Frontal Comedy. The troupe has recently formed a band, One Heavy Grab Bag, and is collaborating to record an album under the tentative name, "Self-titled Album." \n"It'll be horribly offensive," he says with a smile. \nEllis has wanted to perform with Full Frontal since he first came to IU. He and his roommate even founded a club strictly for the purposes of rehearsing for Full Frontal auditions. After spending a "miserable" year at Ball State University, Ellis transferred to IU as a sophomore. His first year here, before he joined Full Frontal, Ellis felt frustrated because he hadn't found his niche. \n"I was following the troupe and watching them for about a year and a half before I auditioned," he says. "I was so desperate to get in… I still thought of myself as the funny guy." \nAlthough the auditions were fairly competitive, Ellis was accepted into Full Frontal as a junior and has enjoyed it ever since. \n"This Full Frontal thing is great because it's instantly rewarding in ways other than financial gain," he says. "I haven't made a penny in two and a half years, and I haven't missed a single show." \nEllis does hold a part-time job in the IMU's Tudor Room, but he doesn't like to focus on his work much. "I don't really work that much because I really don't like to work… I hate to really think about money, which is -- obviously -- why I'm going to fail," he says. \nEllis prefers to focus on his comedy. In addition to performing with Full Frontal, he has also been in a pilot television comedy at IU, "Dorm Life," which has now evolved into a comedy show called "Slow Children at Play," produced for the telecommunications department's T436 Advanced Production Workshop. He has played at radio broadcast comedy as well. He's been in both "The Double Hour of Ballyhoo Power" and "Alice Springs," which was an hour-long, improvised radio drama. \nBut Ellis doesn't just stick to improvisational comedy. Most of his major influences are stand-up comedians like Bill Cosby and Bob Hope. He even has a picture of Bob Hope's Hollywood Star on his daily planner. \n"I'm a huge Bob Hope fan," he says. \nEllis has started doing a little stand-up as well. This summer, he performed a few times at Crackers Comedy Club in Indianapolis. \n"I'm trying to determine what my comedy persona is right now," he says.\nWilliams sometimes takes notes on his performance for him during the shows. \n"He's definitely become more confident on stage," she says. \nThis past holiday break, Ellis finally proposed to Williams. "We've been dating since high school, so for about seven years. (Getting married is) just a natural progression of events," he says. \nEllis will graduate in May with a degree in General Studies and plans to move to Arizona with Williams, who will attend Western University Osteopathic Medicine School in Glendale, Ariz. Ellis' family lives in and around Indianapolis, and many of his friends live in L.A., but he's looking forward to moving to a new place and meeting new people. \n"We don't really know anyone out there," Williams says, "so it'll be really exciting to establish a life for ourselves." \n"When I move to Arizona, I'm going to be doing a lot of stand-up," Ellis says. He definitely plans to pursue a career in comedy. "I'm just going to try to find some kind of niche in comedy. If I could get paid 75 cents an hour writing fart jokes for Nickelodeon, I'd do it. I want to work in it somehow," Ellis explains.\n"Anything else, I just won't be happy"