Founded eight years ago, Lab Rats is MSU’s only improvisational comedy group. Comprised of 18 students from different backgrounds, the group rehearses 3 to 4 times a week and performs shows once a month in the Lab Theater of McComas Hall. The shows are completely made up on the spot with suggestions for scenarios given by the audience. Lab Rats is completely student-run and has three directors, Matt Hoelter,  the short form director, Charlie Anderton, the long form director, and Matt Crane, who is the sketch director.
The Lab Rats practice short form and long form styles, as well as sketches that are student written and rehearsed beforehand. The TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway” is a good example of what short form is. The members play games, which are open scenes that have specific rules that are guided by audience suggestions. These games are usually performed in under  5 minutes.
Anderton, junior aerospace engineering major, describes long form as freer, in that there are few rules to limit the actors.
“Usually one suggestion is taken at the start and then anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes of improvised scenes are based on that one suggestion. It’s more like an art; at least, it has the potential to be,” Anderton said.
This past Friday, the Lab Rats had a performance titled “Lab Rats will Have a Show.”  Just as their show was so cleverly titled, the performance was extremely witty, smart and hilarious.
The troupe opened with a sketch mocking the song “Friday” by Rebecca Black, which received a lot of laughs. The troupe continued with games, which were guided by suggestions from the audience. Crowd participation is what drives the Lab Rats shows. For this performance, the group played a game titled “Beastie Boys” where the cast formed two teams and proceeded to have a rap battle between the two sides of the theater. This game was the most interactive because the performers had to get each side of the audience to guess the next rhyming word in the series. 
The directors also chose two volunteers from the audience to participate in a game called “sound effects.” The two audience members had to make sounds that Lab Rats players had to immediately act on, or provide sounds for the players’ actions.
Most Lab Rats shows are sold out, and this one was no exception. Many students were turned away because there were simply no more seats in the theater; this just shows how loyal the Lab Rats fan base is.
The next Lab Rats performance will be on the main stage of McComas Hall on April 8. This show, titled “Lab Rats Academy of Improvisational Sciences presents: The 42nd Annual Comedy Award’s” will showcase several sketches written by its members and a lot of short form games.  All the proceeds of this show benefit the St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis.
Amanda Bobo, a fourth-year member of Lab Rats, said Lab Rats’ shows are always interesting and the comedy is sponatneous.
“The shows are jam packed with fun, laughs, and good times. Expect to see a ton of people clamoring to get in and us frazzled trying to make sure as many people as possible can get in to see us. In the end, we put on a damn good show and make people laugh. It’s the best $5 you’ll spend in Starkville,” Bobo said.