After numerous hours of planning over the summer, the Lab Rats, Mississippi State’s improvisational comedy troupe, will be performing their first performance of Cabaret. The performance of music and comedy will be held August 27th at 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at the McComas Theatre. Seats can be reserved on the Lab Rats website for the event, but arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the event to pay for the tickets at the ticket office.
Students of all majors are encouraged to audition next week. Auditions will be held on Tuesday August 31st and Wednesday September 1st during the time frame of 9:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. Throughout their time with the Lab Rats, numerous members have explored different forms of improvisation, which have broadened their experiences in the world of theatre. The Lab Rats have three different types of skits that consist of short term, long term, and sketch. A director supervises each type of skit.
“I have learned that the directors are willing to help me and anyone else improve our acting,” admits Haritha Nannapanei, the head of LabRats. The whole community of the Lab Rats is completely student run. At the end of the year, the Lab Rats are known to hold an annual benefit show where all proceeds will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Member Justin Glover claims, “Comedy is always fun to be apart of because, everyone loves to laugh and we love to make people laugh through comedy. Watching someone love what they do is very interesting.”
Lab Rats helps those thinking in a short time frame by acting with improv.
“We accomplish a lot of beneficial work in and outside of theatre by being able to think on our feet,” Glover adds. People who have an interest in theatre can get together and grow as individuals through the Lab Rats..
“It seemed as though theatre was a different world to me when I decided to change my major from pre-med to theatre,” Haritha Nannapaneni said. “We could pretend that possibly anything could happen. Being able to pretend to be different people in another world was something that we forgot when we were children.”
Lab Rats is a beneficial group to everyone due to practices that form tight bonds.
“We are well motivated and passionate towards theatre which makes us have a great attitude towards each other. It feels as though we are all family,” states Nannapaneni.
Through the Lab Rats’ passion for theatre, they want to help anyone whether it is a prominent member or an audience spectator through comedy. Many things are in store for the Lab Rats starting Friday night, so don’t forget the date.