Awkward Silence Comedy filled the Georgian Room in the Indiana Memorial Union with about 60 students and Bloomington residents ready for a night of laughs through long-form improvisational comedy.
“Awkward Silence is a really true name because the unintentional silences can be the best part, even when they’re not necessarily trying to be funny,” said Nathalie Bone, a sophomore and Awkward Silence fan.
The group began the show with a pre-planned sketch on “slimy dads” at a barbecue, who challenged each other to a “slime-off,” slinging increasingly unsanitary habits, such as not showering after a run, back and forth at one another in a game of one-upmanship.
After the scripted scene, the night’s improv scenes included a fancy Applebee's secretly run by aliens, an a cappella prison group knocking cups against the bars and a teacher whose liberal arts degree from Wesleyan University inspired her to “put her own little spin” on teaching by inflicting emotional trauma on second graders.
“I like improv a little bit more than scripted,” sophomore Megan Beaver said. “Funny stuff can just happen by accident.”
Awkward Silence already held auditions for the fall semester, but new members won’t begin performing until mid-October.
Sophomore Julia Weinstock, a member of Awkward Silence, joined the group last year with a background in theater but limited experience in improv. She said that she doesn’t remember much from her first time on stage, but she thought she was going to pass out.
“I did a scene where I pushed a chair over, and nobody laughed,” Weinstock said.
After she got off stage, however, veteran group members assured her that she performed well and would only get better, she said.
Weinstock said the group likes to focus on positive comedy.
“We will do practices where we can only do positive scenes,” Weinstock said. “We also are really heavily relationship-based, so we try to instead of doing just quick witty jokes to get a laugh, we try to develop the relationship so the laughs will be more substantial.”
Right before the audience, interconnected storylines and characters are woven together to form these relationships every show.
Weinstock also said that Awkward Silence is a tight-knit club, and audience members can tell the performers are not afraid to get up close and personal with one another.
“Awkward Silence Comedy is a long-form improv group, but what it is to me is just like the most positive and loving place in my life,” Weinstock said. “When I say we are all best friends, to the point where we're co-dependent, I mean it.”
Two other comedy groups are still holding auditions. HoosOnFirst improv has auditions at 7:15 p.m. Monday, and Full Frontal Comedy has auditions Saturday.
“Anyone who has the slightest inkling of passion for this, we're like, do it," Weinstock said.
