For their first production of the semester, Theatre MSU and Lab Rats Comedy performed “Pants on Fire: An Improvisational Children’s Musical.”
Opening night for the public was Sept. 27 at 6 p.m., followed by two more performances on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.
“Pants on Fire” has only been performed prior in Creede, Colorado, where the musical originated. Jesse Wade, technical director for Theatre MSU, said there is a structure to the show despite it being completely improvised.
“They go in, they get suggestions from the audience, mainly children, about who the hero is, what their name is, what they want, what objects are really special to them, where they live, stuff like that,” Wade said. “Every single show is going to be completely different because every single show is only thought of in the moment based on the input that they’re getting from the children.”
David Hintz, a senior communication major, was one of the student directors for “Pants on Fire.” According to Hintz, a lot went into the production from start to finish with this musical and finding the right improvisers.
“We held auditions and during auditions looked for certain traits that we would want to see out of these improvers. How quickly do they think on their feet? How capable are they to improvise lyrics on the spot? Can they carry a tune and their general performance capability? Are they big and loud and energetic? So we looked for those types of things,” Hintz said.
Before the start of the performance, the cast went around the audience asking for suggestions for names, objects, monsters and more. The hero was chosen to be Makayla, played by junior Sam Phyfer. Alongside Makayla was the hero’s sidekick Sarah, played by senior Duncan Stanley. The villain, Rodney, and the villain’s sidekick, Cindy, were played by senior Barnes Locke and sophomore Brooklin Gall, respectively.
The cast took the suggestions and came up with a plot. Makayla loved cars and wanted to be a racecar driver in the big city but was scared of going fast. Makayla and Sarah were tricked by Rodney, who hated oud noises, and the two ended up in a maze that they had to escape. The pair faced a series of monsters including a three headed chihuahua played by senior David Brown. After escaping, Makayla redeems Rodney, and the show ends with everyone singing an improvised song about winning the race.
Wade said there was a reason Theatre MSU decided to do “Pants on Fire” this semester and perform the show with both Mississippi State University and the local community in mind.
“We’re just trying to expand our audience’s horizons and say you’re used to seeing a script from us, but what happens when you take that script away entirely? How creative can a person really be just right there in front of you,” Wade said.
The show lasted for roughly an hour and including several improvised songs as promised by the title. Several of the performers took on and embodied their role well. They did not miss a beat in coming up with lines on the spot. However, other cast members fell short as they struggled to add to the lines and made mistakes while trying to join in on songs.
Despite this, the audience received it well and joined in whenever the performers asked for them to take part in helping the show. Madison Gunter, a senior interior design major from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, attended with several of her friends and participated with the audience suggestions.
“I thought it was really cute and also really funny,” Gunter said.
Based on audience reaction, Theatre MSU had a successful opening night for their first production of the semester, “Pants on Fire.”

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Bralynn Newell | The Reflector

The actors of 'Pants on Fire' improvised the songs in their show.