Lap dances and live music galore, Mee-Ow Comedy kicked off their first show of the quarter — Mee-owgic Mike’s Last Dance — with a bang. Opening with a performance from the Mee-Ow band to get the crowd pumped up, the group smashed its first two-hour long show of the weekend.

Communication senior and Mee-Ow co-director Liv Drury said she immediately felt that Friday night’s shows were going to be successful because of the crowd’s energy early on.

“It’s just a ball, it’s so fun,” Drury said. “It was just very nice to hear your friends get a warm welcome and to hear the first laughs of the show.”

Mee-Ow Comedy is a short-form comedy group that combines sketch comedy, improv and live music. Sketches range from roughly five-minute scenes to one-minute jokes called “blackouts.” The show also includes different short improv games where group members take suggestions from the crowd to create a sketch on the spot.

Communication sophomore Ferdinand Moscat joined the comedy group at the beginning of this school year. They meet almost every weekday, with each member bringing in around two sketches per session.

“Mee-Ow is just such a party,” Moscat said. “You do some improv, you do some sketches and then you dance for like 20 straight minutes in the middle of the show. I felt very grateful to be able to do something that brings me so much joy, and it’s just such a blast.”

Moscat said many of his sketches stem from everyday experiences that might be a little awkward or silly. One of the sketches in the show was inspired by his fear of being kicked out of a reserved library room.

Anelga Hajjar, Communication senior and Mee-Ow’s co-director, said one of her favorite parts of the show was being able to work with Drury and do a short improv piece together. She said the shows’ sketches are a part of a collaborative effort between the cast members.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Madison Bratley/Daily Senior Staffer

Photos from Mee-Ow Comedy’s final performance of “Mee-owgic Mike’s Last Dance” on Saturday.

“All these sketches are constantly evolving,” Hajjar said. “We’re always making like last minute tweaks based on how performances go and the improvising that a performer might do.”

She said the process of creating the show is a quick one as cast members do not get the script with the sketches that will be performed until the Sunday before tech week.

The cast members constantly play off of each other during improv and sketch scenes, according to Hajjar. She said one of the most important aspects of the show is improvising parts of sketches or games according to how receptive the audience is.

“We just get to act and have fun and improvise and do this performing fun thing,” Hajjar said. “I felt surprisingly calm this week. I was just like, ‘Is this all I have to do? Just go on stage for an hour and a half and tell sex jokes?’ It’s just so fun.”

The Mee-Ow band is one of the most important aspects of the show when it comes to pumping up the energy in the crowd and between cast members, according to Drury. The band’s guitarist, Communication sophomore Sam Marshall, said the improvised nature of the show influences the band as well, allowing band members to work with one another on the spot.

“It’s constantly changing,” Marshall said. “It’s never the same show twice. We all have to be on our toes because at any moment we could have to jump into a sketch or add something to a scene. It’s been one of the most fun things I’ve experienced at Northwestern. ”

The band performs throughout the show between sketches and improv scenes, as well as during a short intermission where students are encouraged to head up to the stage and dance.

Mee-Ow hosts two shows in Winter Quarter ― one during the weekend of week four and another during the weekend of week eight. Drury said the audience brings the sketches to life through their engagement and laughter.

“I think for the greater Northwestern community, it’s like a little beacon of joy in the harsh, sad winter,” Drury said. “I think people really enjoy coming and just laughing for two hours and dancing.”

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