The Performing Otters swept the audience with laughter during their final show of the academic year Friday, April 28. This was Director Jonah Bernstein’s last performance before graduation and he put on a show to remember as the host of the event.
The show had a lighthearted competitive spirit, as actors were split into teams and awarded points based on who the audience cheered loudest for. The audience was in on the fun and had the opportunity to give suggestions for the actors to play off of in various scenarios and improv games.
Bernstein was ecstatic to perform in the competition style for the first time. “It’s really bittersweet, this format has never been done before until now and I’m so excited for all of the talent that we have coming in.”
While the “spicy grandma” rule, which prevents the actors and audience from exploring topics that one “wouldn’t discuss with even their spiciest grandma” kept the jokes mild, the entire room was buzzing with creativity.
The show kicked off with a game called “town hall.” Actors stood among the audience and debated a topic of their recommendation in teams, which was toe socks. The green team was pro toe socks and one actor argued that their daughter Sally needed toe socks to keep her toes from chaffing from eczema. One member of the blue team rebutted with “I bet Sally has stank feet.” While both sides made compelling arguments, the blue team came out on top.
The blue team’s dating game was a fan favorite. One actor was sent outside while the audience chose roles for the other actors to take on from Troy Bolton, to an Easy Bake Oven and Napoleon Bonaparte. When she came back, she acted as a desperate single interviewing them to find a perfect match.
She asked the bachelors what activities they would be doing together in a relationship and Troy Bolton’s answers were a home run with the audience, from “I have a basketball hoop at my house we could play at” to “I would take you on a date at the roof of our high school.”
The bachelorette ended up guessing the roles of all three bachelors, and chose to date Napoleon to “help expand his empire” because “Troy Bolton seems to have an on and off again relationship with some girl named Gabriella.”
During intermission, the actors had a chance to catch their breath as the audience wrote suggestions for the final game called “seeds from a hat.”
The seed pulled suggested “things you can say to your barber and a hit man,” which inspired creative responses from both teams such as “I want a good clean cut” and “just take a little off the top.”
The final score was a close call, and the blue team came out on top. Everyone left the room smiling, from actors to members of the audience.
