The MTHS Improv Team, Koalaty, hosted a comedy and improv show on Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. The show lasted for about two hours and also included 5 unique talent show acts, with the audience deciding which two performers will compete in the upcoming District Talent Show on May 17.
Opening up with introductions from members of the improv team, the show followed with a improv game that included lots of interchanging scenarios and scenes, with suggestions from the audience to help out the members get started. Scenarios had range from a McDonald’s setting to one of the cast members playing an eccentric circus master.
Other improv games included “Pop Up Storybook,” where three members of the improv team are pop up characters in a book controlled by a storyteller, and “Late For Auditions,” a suggestion was taken from the audience as to why a cast member was late to an audition to test the improv team’s skills in coming up with ideas on the spot.
Suggestions from the audience varied, with one of the suggestions being based off the idea of an improv skit going wrong, known as “Improv Gone Wrong.” In this scenario, junior Flynn Thomas, a member of the improv team, was the storyteller behind this and came up with funny dialogues such as “contracting an STD” in one scenario and other actions that the cast members had to do in a humorous way.
The show then moved on to its talent acts portion, with freshman Ashlee Putrick starting it out with an energetic performance of the song “Fireflies” by Owl City.
Senior and band student Nathan Reeber follows with a unique performance consisting of Mongolian throat singing, Korean drumming and a bo staff demo. The audience were supportive and Reeber received lots of cheers and shouts.
Senior Lilliana Reid performed “Love On The Brain” by Rihanna with a powerful, strong voice, being able to reach clear, high notes.
Junior Abigail Apana, part of the improv team, and with her piano accompanist, junior Rio Neri, performed a smooth, elegant piece of the song “Misty” by Ella Fitzgerald.
The talent show portion ended with the fifth act, 2016 Terrace Idol Judge’s Choice Winner Maddy Caiola, singing “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele, complementing with her unique voice.
After the talent show portion, the second half of the show included the team having its own improv version of the talent show, introducing it in a chaotic, comical musical. Members of the improv team busted out in spontaneous dancing and singing, having random instruments around during the dance number.
Sophomore Michael Wollan and junior Paul Pratt members of the team, performed a comical, singing version of “Agony” from the movie, “Into The Woods.” In this version, split into two parts, they sing about their maidens leaving them, referencing Disney princesses such as Rapunzel and Snow White.
One improv game that was the highlight of the show was called “Story of My Life,” a game where someone from the audiences suggests a bad moment in their life for the improv team to act out. For this suggestion, the scenario was an MTHS band concert that went terribly wrong from people not showing up to messing up on a song, only having a couple of the band performers showing up. Thomas hilariously played band director Darin Faul, with juniors David Hill and James Gisle playing the unfortunate band students who went through the experience.
Many other improv games included “Freeze Tag: Improv Style,” where the improv team acts out scenarios and when someone calls out freeze, another person has to tag them out and replace them, choosing to continue the scene or change it. Another game was a spin off to a dating game, audience getting to choose weird talents for three members while one of them steps out, then through a series of questions asked by that one member, having to guess out the other members talents. Michael played this role, having guessed their talents with success.
Near the ending of the talent show, Thomas showcased his talent of being able to draw images out of scribbles, having three people from the audience come up on stage to make scribbles onto a sheet of paper. While drawing, he talks about his experience coming up with the talent and using it to win the District Talent Show last year.
The show concludes with the talent show awards, Putrick and Caiola receiving honorable mentions, Reid placing third, Reeber placing second and Apana placing first overall in the talent show. Reeber and Apana will move on to perform at the Edmonds School District Talent Show.
