Making up a musical

Though many adjectives can be applied to musicals, “improvised” is rarely among them. But IU’s Awkward Silence Comedy troupe will be changing that Thursday through Saturday at the John Waldron Arts Center.\nPerformers Ryan Brown, Brian M. Frange, Grace Friedman, Sean Liston, Georgia Perry and Alex Young intend to wow audiences with the aid of Mike Raunick on piano during “Awkward Silence Comedy: The Improvised Musical.” \nThough all are experienced improv comedians, creating songs on the spot presents a new challenge to the performers.\n“It’s hard to make a meaningful musical,” said Frange, who’s also an IDS staff member.\nThe performers all agree that their songs should be meaningful, funny and, of course, sexy.\nSongs that have come out of recent rehearsals include cast favorites “I’m Big, I’m Tall and I’m Here,” “Monkeys on the Loose” and “Tick Tick Tock on the Clock.”\nIn these rehearsals, which have been going on since September, the comedic singers judge each other based on the content and sound structure of their songs, as well as voice projection.\nSongs may be sung solo or with fellow cast members. For duets and trios, cast members said they’ve been working on techniques like weaving – when one person in a duet begins his or her verse over the end of the other person’s verse – \nand counterpoints – when multiple people sing distinct songs at the same time, overlapping each other.\nThe six comedy troupe members aren’t the only ones making things up out of thin air – pianist Raunick said he doesn’t know what song he’ll play until he plays it.\n“I make them up every time,” he said.\nWith no costumes, no sets and only four folding chairs for props, the improvised musical is certainly a minimalist production, so attendees can expect a lot of pantomime and choreography.\nBecause the songs stem entirely from audience suggestions, the musical will be an interactive event.\n“It could be your own musical,” Raunick said. “If you need to propose, it could be ‘Will You Marry Me, Jeanine?’”\nNo two shows will be the same.\n“You could come every night and it would be a one-of-a-kind experience,” Raunick said. \nThe performers encourage people to bring friends, family and dates – though perhaps not all at once.\n“It’s a good Valentine’s Day date,” Frange said, explaining that the event is a “fun time,” a short walk from campus and, at $5 for students and $10 for non-students, a date that won’t break the bank.\nThe cast members all agreed on their highest priority.\n“It’s about putting on a good show,” Friedman said.\nAs an opening act, dance group Hip Hop ConnXion will also perform an eight-minute set before each show. \nPerformances will be at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with an additional 3 p.m. show on Saturday.