By Angelica Niedermeyer & Niamh Delargy, Staff Writers
Manhattan College’s improv troupe, Scatterbomb, hosted their Valentine’s themed show called “Open Heart Surgery Show” on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. On Friday, Hayden 100 was packed with a diverse group of parents, classmates and friends who came together to support and laugh with the comedians.
The troupe started off the night by asking the audience to share any embarrassing or funny Valentine’s Day stories which they then based their opening improv sketch around. One audience member was brave enough to disclose a time where they had basketball game tickets on Valentine’s Day, but no one to go with. The performers took this opportunity to make basketball a major theme in which they kept referring back to throughout the duration of the show.
Scatterbomb continued to include the romance of the season by incorporating the holiday into their sketches. A particularly memorable scene was when they used the famous pick up line, “Do you have a map? Because I am getting lost in your eyes.”
This was enthusiastically received by the audience who found themselves lost too in their laughter. The group expertly combined the awkwardness of love and comedy which many members of the audience were all too familiar with. This was witnessed from the response of an avid member of the audience who took the time to share her feedback with the cast, “You guys were great. You guys were hysterical!”
Following the show, The Quadrangle was lucky enough to speak with a number of the stars of the night to get their take on being members of Scatterbomb.
When asked what the most rewarding part of the show was, Scatterbomb member, senior Erin Clinton said, “The unpredictability is just so much fun.”
Clinton further elaborated on this, explaining why she finds this element of performing so fulfilling.
“I think it’s really fun to work off each other … being friends with everybody, it’s really fun to be able to work with each other and kind of see how other people’s sense of humor are and where you can possibly go,” Clinton said.
“I’d say the most difficult part for me is not being in the show, like when you’re standing on the sidelines you want to get in so badly because it distracts you and it takes you away from the awkward feeling,” said sophomore Aidan Mackenzie, who has been a member for 2 years.
“You just want to jump in,” added sophomore Anthony Cantirino.
Cantirino shared the experience of preparing for a show, “It really does not take a lot of preparation because it’s improv. So, a lot of it is on the spot. But I usually need like a week or two to get ready for it,” said Cantirino, who joined earlier this year.
Just like the impulsive decisions required for improvising lines on stage, Cantirino’s choice to join Scatterbomb was the same.
“I got bored, so I decided I needed something to keep myself occupied. So, I just joined this,” said Cantirino.
The Quadrangle discovered how the audience’s engagement inspires passion within the performers and encourages them during their shows.
Mackenzie shared his favorite thing about being in Scatterbomb is when he hears the audience laugh. He added to this saying he enjoys when their shows have a theme, such as that of Valentine’s Day, as it rouses audience participation and provides new comedic ideas.
“It gets the audience involved, and we don’t have to think too much,” Mackenzie said.
When asked how the group decides on a theme and name for the show, Cantirino said it is based on “whatever holiday is the closest.”
“Obviously if there’s a holiday, it creates a conversation, brings the audience in,” said Mackenzie.
Themes provide a great benefit for the cast as improvising an entire sketch in the moment can prove difficult.
Cantirino said, “In practice it’s a lot easier to come up with stuff, in front of everyone else it’s a little bit more difficult to come up with stuff on the spot.”
Cantirino informed The Quadrangle of additional obstacles Scatterbomb faces regarding the content of their shows.
“There’s some material that we can’t cover,” said Cantirino, who stressed the importance of having an awareness of boundaries whilst performing.
The members of Scatterbomb wanted to clarify that no hearts were really broken in this performance.For the next Scatterbomb show, look for posters around campus and you can keep up-to-date with the group on Instagram @scatterbombmc.