There’s a bear in the theater. We want to warn people about the bear,” Communication senior Martha Marion shrieked, bouncing up from her seat on the McCormick auditorium stairs Monday night. “We haven’t seen it and we don’t know anyone who has seen it, but it’s here and apparently it’s loose.”
Thus is the premise of the Mee-Ow Show 2003, “There’s a Bear in the Theater!”
“It’s the scariest show I’ve ever been part of,” said Marion’s co-director, Communication junior Kate Mulligan.
Besides the bear, the Mee-Ow Show features eight actors, eight original sketches and a whole lot of improvisation. According to Mulligan, the bear is the “through line” that weaves the whole show together.
Mee-Ow member Alex Marlin said someone in the cast suggested the theme idea during the planning process.
“It just sounded absurd at first,” said the Education senior, “but we thought it would be really funny.”
Marion said a majority of the show revolves around absurdity.
“Offbeat stuff is the most unexpected,” Marion said. “With the absurd you can’t really have any expectations so everything is a surprise, and sometimes a brilliant surprise.”
The end of each Mee-Ow show is a surprise to both the audience and the cast members themselves, because a majority of the show is improvised. Cast members rely on off-the-cuff suggestions from the audience to start off their scenes.
Marion said they try not to take ideas that are inevitably offensive or vulgar. She joked that they also have a person placed in the audience to give them suggestions.
“‘Doug McGowsky’ has been the Mee-Ow suggestion-er for years,” Marion said, using a made-up name.
Because the scenes are unplanned, the members of Mee-Ow, who practice about 20 hours a week, spend a lot of time rehearsing games and doing exercises to help build character, scene and technique. In one relationship-building exercise, the actors interact with each other in silence for one minute before they are allowed to talk.
“We do these exercises so we don’t have scenes where we are just talking heads,” Marion said. “We create worlds for them.”
Marlin said that, in addition to knowing the basic rules of the games, the key to creating good improv is being comfortable with fellow actors.
“We rehearse together, we spend our free time together and we eat tacos together,” Marlin said. “Improvisation all boils down to being comfortable with the people and having a great love of tacos. We all love tacos.”
Stage manager and lighting designer Tom McGrath, who “likes tacos as much as the next guy,” said he also has to be comfortable with the flow of the improv scene. He decides when a scene is over by going to blackout.
“You just have to find the closure,” said the Communication senior. “If you’re thinking with the performers, you can anticipate it a little bit.”
McGrath said he has to have good reflexes to funny moments so he can “jump on the blackout button.”
“Realistically the cast decide when the end of the scene is. I just let the audience know,” McGrath said.
McGrath, Mulligan and Marion all agreed that the secret to being funny is playing things honestly.
“Real life is funny,” said McGrath. “The most humorous things have the most truth to them.”
Mulligan said she thinks every Mee-Ow show is funny.
“I can feel different levels of how I feel about myself, but I never left a Mee-Ow show feeling bad about it,” Mulligan said. “We’re eight strong. If I’m a weak link, there are seven other strong links to cover up for me.”
And a bear.
“Please come, but don’t get upset if you get attacked by the bear,” Marion said.
“You can tell it’s a great show when we’re ready to risk our lives to make you laugh,” Mulligan chimed in.
“You know, if ‘Doug McGowsky’ gets attacked we’re fucked.” Marion interrupted.
The two directors looked at each other.
And — scene. nyou
There’s a Bear in the Theater!
Who: Mee-Ow
Where: McCormick Auditorium
When: Thursday, 8 pm; Friday and Sat. at 8 pm and 11 pm
How much: $5
Medill sophomore Jordana Mishory is the theater editor for nyou. She can be reached at j-mishory@north -western.edu.
