The lights were dim and empty seats were scarce as costume-clad students made their way into BU Central Saturday night, where Stage Troupe performers were scattered around rehearsing lines they learned in less than a day.
Twice a year Boston University students participate in Combat Theater, an event in which performers generate and perform skits based on a particular theme.
But what Vice President of Special Events Dan Cotting said sets this event aside from typical theater productions is that all the writing, directing and performing of the skits occurs within in a 24-hour period.
“Along with the Stage Troupe’s monthly main stage productions, we have this special Combat Theater event,” Cotting, a School of Hospitality Administration junior, said. “However, this is the first time we have had a Halloween-themed event.”
At 8 p.m. Friday night the theme was announced to six writers and six directors who were members of the Troupe. Without any information except for the number of people in their group, they had to write 15-minute skits about Halloween, which would be performed at 8:00 p.m. the following evening.
“The writing part can get very stressful,” said Stage Troupe President Alana Steinhardt. “We didn’t even finish writing the script until 4:30 in the morning.” Steinhardt, a College of Communication junior, co-wrote one of the skits titled “Blasteroids.”
The writers were not the only ones who were under duress, according to COM sophomore and Stage Troupe member Ben Caro.
“I didn’t really have much faith in the skit,” Caro, a Stage Troupe performer, said. “And I wasn’t sure how it was all going to come together. I didn’t learn all of the lines right. If something went wrong, I just had to go with it.”
Going with the flow is one aspect of Combat Theater that draws students to the performances, COM freshman Saara Untracht-Oakner said.
“This was the first Stage Troupe performance I have ever seen,” she said. “I love improv and I’ve heard from friends that the Combat Theater performances are always entertaining. It’s really cool to see kids do something so creative in such a short amount of time.”
Another thing that students enjoy is the political humor and pop culture references within the skits, according to College of General Studies freshman Kelly Hall.
“Since students are writing the skits, they know what we can relate to,” Hall said. “I love the jokes about George Bush and Osama bin Laden and also the jokes about iPods or Facebook. It’s humor that our generation can associate with.”
Participants agree that the laid-back mood and spontaneity of Combat Theater made it entertaining.
“Besides the stress, you accomplish a lot in a short amount of time,” Caro said. “But in the end, it’s all fun.”
Participants in the Combat Theater performances varied from show to show. Involvement is also open to any BU student, provided they join Stage Troupe beforehand.
“We attract a lot of creative students,” University Professors Program senior and Stage Troupe Vice President Dan DeBonis said. “But anyone can sign up to join Stage Troupe. … As long as you can be there in the 24 hours, you can be a part of the shows.”
As the year continues, more and more Stage Troupe performances will continue to grace the stage, Cotting said.
“We have one other Combat Theater performance, as well as many other different themed Stage Troupe performances,” he said. “We have shows where the actors and tech crews switch places, as well as children’s benefit shows and our regular main stage performances.”
Hall said he plans to attend the next Combat Theater performance.
“The emcee said at the beginning that if something feels like it’s out of place, just to go with it,” she said. “I like that atmosphere. You never know what’s going to happen next.”
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