Students left Reeves Theater in tears of laughter this past Saturday, Oct. 18 after a “Whose Line is it Anyway?” style performance by UT’s own Gluten-Free Improv group. Founded by junior Steven Card and junior Griffin Guinta, Gluten-Free Improv is an on-campus group for anyone interested in improvisational comedy. The group claims to be “A Healthy Alternative to Your Comedic Lifestyle,” and their performance last weekend did not disappoint.
The show began with an introductory sketch where an audience member was made to improvise the story of how the group was founded. The skits, all in a “Whose Line is it Anyway?” style included “Party Quirks” where senior Nolan Tashjian had to guess the strange quirks of his party guests, junior Luisamaria Hernandez (the worst firefighter ever), junior Roxxi Jaxx (thought everyone’s butt was a Magic 8 Ball) and junior Kelsey Rudder (a chicken with an attitude). Austin MacFarland, a junior, and John Millsap, a senior, received audience help with their attempt to cook a meal for the President in “Moving People,” a skit where the performers can only move their mouths.
Before the show, entrants were asked to write down a word or phrase on a slip of paper. Theses slips were later worked into the show during the skit “Written Fixation.” Junior Kelcy Owens and Card sat down for a meal served by Guinta where they had to randomly read from one of the audiences’ slips and manage to keep the performance going no matter what it said.
The final sketch of the show was “The News Station” and involved every performer. Card was a new anchor with his partner Owens. Hernandez was a sexy weather girl and Jaxx was an Arts & Entertainment reporter who couldn’t believe she just got dumped. Guinta was a hungover field reporter and news reporters Millsap and MacFarland, gave the audience a play by play of “midget bowlers” Rudder and Tashjian. Each performance had the audience wiping their eyes and slapping their legs, the greatest compliments a comedy show could ever hope for.
The evening ended with a “One-Word Story” exercise that included the entire audience and cast, and an Ellen Degeneres style selfie taken by Guinta to commemorate the event. Luckily for those who missed the show, most of the performance can be found on the group’s Youtube page, or you can attend the club’s meetings on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. in Reeves Theater. But remember, the next time you’re looking for some improvisational comedic action, go Gluten-Free.
Kara Delemeester can be reached at kara.delemeester@spartans.ut.edu