It was everyone’s line this weekend when improvisation stars Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood came to the Events Center.
The two comedians performed during Family Weekend, and delivered a truly interactive experience.
Proops and Sherwood have been in the comedy business for decades, both of them starring on the hit comedy show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” The show featured guest stars who played various improvisational games with the cast members.
Despite the fact that their presence on the show was years ago, audience members said they still felt the show was relevant.
“I thought it was a really good show,” said Sofia Haikin, a sophomore majoring in business administration. “With improv, you never know where it can go, so I was really happy with how it went. Personally, I loved the first part of it, and I couldn’t stop laughing. Even though I know them from ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ they still had original content.”
Much like the popular show, their Saturday night performance featured improv games, as well as audience participation.
One game required that people sitting in the front write spoken phrases on index cards. Then, Proops and Sherwood performed a scene where they needed to respond with what was written on the cards.
Another game involved inviting a married couple of 33 years onstage. The duo asked them to tell the story of their first date. Later, the two comedians reenacted this scene, but allowed the couple to interrupt them if they thought something was correct or incorrect.
Opening the show were Binghamton University students and members of Bing Stand Up Helen Frazer, a senior majoring in anthropology, and Seth Owitz, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience.
Owitz described the situation as a peak moment in his life.
“The main thought running through my head throughout most of the evening was that pudgy, shy, dorky, little 12-year-old Seth, who stayed up until midnight to watch half an hour of ‘Whose Line’ on ABC Family, would never dream of opening for two of those comedians in front of a crowd of hundreds of people,” he said. “So, needless to say, it was an incredible experience.”
During the show, Proops and Sherwood worked BU references into their performance, doing an infomercial for the “Bearcat Shamwow,” an item they described as being made with the hair of a thousand bearcats.
This was a part of a larger game, in which the two performed a movie scene while an audience member continuously changed the genre of it.
Another game involved calling two people to the stage and allowing them to move the performers around while they improvised a scene.
Students were pleased with the originality of the two comedians.
“It was a very funny show, and a great time,” said Ben Mistretta, a senior majoring in economics. “Their comedy is unique, creative and engaging, and I am happy I was able to experience it live.”