As seen on the chalked sideways of MSU’s campus earlier this week, the widely popular comedy and improv group Runnin’ With Scissors will perform tonight at the McComas Hall Main Stage Theater at 7:30. The show will cost $5 and is intended for mature audiences only.
Runnin’ With Scissors started in the spring of 2003 and since then has become a widely popular comedy group in Mississippi. In January 2005 the group joined with the Blackfriars, MSU’s theater society, so they could perform at McComas Hall and be more accessible to students at MSU.
According to senior communication major and Runnin’ With Scissors founding member Brandon Morris, RWS has performed all over Starkville and are a staple for a good comedy show.
“We’ve played a few shows at the Hunt Club, Polliwog’s, Rick’s Caf, even a few at Big Daddy’s Coffee Shop, but our favorite place to perform by far is at MSU theater,” Morris said. “The shows are very interesting and a lot of fun; I think everybody will really enjoy it.”
The art of improvisational comedy was made famous by shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and other groups such as ImprovOlympics and the Second City, which performed at the McComas Theater last spring. Nearly every writer and comedian on “Saturday Night Live” has come from these types of groups, including Chris Farley and John Belushi who, like most of the comedians, started out doing improv in college. There are also other improv groups at Ole Miss and the University of Southern Mississippi, but according to RWS director Alston Avritt, neither are as popular as RWS.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we are better than Ole Miss’ and USM’s groups,” Alston Avritt said. “In fact, I would go as far to say that we are one of the best in the Southeast from what I’ve witnessed. I may be biased, but we have a quality pool of talent that produces amazing results.”
Most people are afraid to give a speech, let alone a comedy routine that’s acted out solely off the tops of their heads. Alston adds that that is the appeal of improv; it’s all made up and when it works, the results are hilarious.
“Improv is stepping out under the lights and seeing what happens,” Avritt said. “Nine times out of 10 things work out really well for us. Sometimes there’s that pure moment of genius that even makes those of us who have been doing this for years say “Wow. That was amazing.”
As far as what events RWS pull from to come up with their comedy, a main stay with their improv is taking real-life scenarios from The Reflector’s “Bad Dawgs” section, which as we all know, guarantees laughs in every issue.
“One of the first things I look at for material is “Bad Dawgs,” Avritt said. “You really can’t beat some of the outrageous things that happen in there every day. I suppose that’s part of comedy, taking the everyday life that we all live, and then stepping back and looking at it with a different perspective.”
MSU instructor Jo Durst said the range of material for Runnin’ With Scissors is limited to the imagination of the audience.
“They will cover issues from current events to areas of MSU interest, scenes based on societal observations, suggestions from the audience and everything in between,” Durst said.
Alston also pointed out that what makes RWS so great is that college students can relate to it because they are the main audience and our everyday experiences are what are used most often in the skits.
“Our target audience is college students,” Avritt said. “Our material comes directly from what we experience as college students, whether it be the presidential election or the campus parking ticket policy. There is nothing that is sacred when it comes to comedy.”
“We have a large following, and that is evident because our last three shows were all sold out,” Avritt said. “Sadly, we’ve had to turn people away. In fact, we have turned away people that have traveled anywhere from two to five hours just to see a show.”
“I guarantee you will not go more than two minutes without having a good laugh,” Avritt said.
For more information or if you have any questions, contact RWS at [email protected] or www.runninwithscissors.org.