Skintight Outrage induces laughter and smiles

The cast members of Skintight Outrage during “Lorraine.” Photo taken by Marisa Haag.

Every Wednesday night, University of Denver improv comedy group Skintight Outrage delivers an hour of hilarity, talent and laughter. Formed in 2011, Skintight Outrage consists of a group of around 10 students per show and performs various improv skits, inducing laughter and smiles from the crowd. There are tryouts to join, and University of Denver sophomore and Skintight Outrage member Claire Whitnah stated that she “used to go to the shows and they always made me laugh, so then I decided to try out and I made the team.” Skintight Outrage also travels around Denver for off-campus performances.

Their latest performance on May 4, 2016 at 9:00 P.M. in Lindsay Auditorium was no different. By the time the show had started, around 35 people had gathered in the auditorium, scattered around the front towards the stage. The audience was filled with excited collegiate students, with some professors and older crowd members chatting amiably with colleagues in the farther rows. More people trickled in over the hour, quietly ushering themselves into the front.

Bohdi Cooper and Preston Evans performing “That Darn Bell.” Photo taken by Marisa Haag.

The show started off with Isaiah Thompson introducing himself and the group. He was dressed in a Star Wars shirt, Jedi robe and blue lightsaber. Making no end of May the Fourth puns, he warmed up the crowd with laughs and smiles. When asked why she went to improv shows, University of Denver sophomore Renee Facchini stated, “because I have friends in improv, and I really think improv is really funny.” A lot of the audience seemed to be familiar with the group, making for a comfortable and easy-going setting in the auditorium.

Soon after, the seven other Skintight Outrage members ran onto stage, each one doing their own silly dance on the way up. As the other members acted on stage or sat in a half-circle, Thompson served as the shows administrator, introducing each skit and asking the audience for suggestions on topics. The audience was excited and eager to participate, throwing out ideas for each question he asked.

The first skit performed was called “Objection.” It involved the audience suggesting a news topic and then a single improviser acting upon it, with other improvisers being able to “object” and start their own scene on the same topic. The topic chosen was Ted Cruz’s Zodiac Killer meme. This was a crowd pleaser, and performer Preston Evans memorably exclaimed, “it’s easy to kill people. It’s hard to find 12 people of each zodiac and murder them.” It continued on for about three minutes, each performer taking their own spin on the topic.

The following skit was “Soundproof,” which had four performers divide into two teams with one team leaving the auditorium. With the team on the outside watching, but not listening, the inside team performed a skit. When the outside team came back inside, they had to perform the skit to what they thought it was. It was another crowd pleaser.

“That Darn Bell,” the next skit, was obviously a crowd favorite. It involved Bohdi Cooper and Preston Evans, and the crowd got to pick the relationship between the two improvisers, which ended up being police partners. This skit made the crowd go wild with laughter, some people even ending up with tears streaming out of their eyes.

Skintight Outrage performing the skit “Try That On For Size.” Photo taken by Marisa Haag.

After the laughter had calmed down a little, a few more skits called “Try That On For Size,” “Bob Ross,” and “Numbers” were performed. It was easy to see the camaraderie and ease between the cast members, and it translated into the mood of the crowd. “I love the people that are on the team, it makes the shows awesome,” said cast member Claire Whitnah.

The final skit was called “Lorraine,” and it ended the performance on a wonderful note. In this skit, anyone could change anything, and the topic from the crowd was designer shoelaces. This skit was the most outrageous, and the crowd reacted as such. People were screaming with laughter, and so were the performers. The show ended at 9:50 P.M. to a resounding ovation. As people trickled out of the auditorium and left for the warm night afterwards, smiles could be seen on all of their faces.