MASQUE

If you asked me, "What was the favorite play you attended all four years at Northland?" I'd stop and think, and then open my mouth to give an answer, and then I'd shake my head because, no, how can I say Twelfth Night was more amazing than Pride and Prejudice?  And, come on, who's to say The Matchmaker was any more epic than Much Ado About Nothing?  I mean, even the chick flick-style play Thy Morn Shall Rise had it's redeeming quality--namely, the people who played the two main characters got married in real life.

However, you ask me what the best thing that ever happened in my drama people-filled world in those four years, and I will answer you with one word:

MASQUE!

Masque is like finding out that the dining hall is serving both Cherry Yum Yum and that chocolate pudding-cakey stuff on the same night.  And it's taco night in the front.  With wing bar in the back.  And you got a fifteen point curve on that killer Systematic Theology III test over soteriology.  And you reached the "Free" hole on your Daily Grind card (Guam Bomb Frappe time!).  And you found out your project's due date is a week later than you thought.  If you take all the happiness of those events and combine them, you will come close to understanding how astounding MASQUE is.  Quite possibly the only things better are someone getting saved, the Rapture, Dr. Bennett's history classes, and getting engaged/married.  And putting Dr. Bennett's history classes above engaged/married is probably either a testament to how much of a history nerd I am or the fact that neither of those events have happened to me.

"So, what is MASQUE?  And why do you keep capitalizing it?"

Whistle=important

MASQUE, my dear reader, is only the best--no, awesomest (which my computer claims isn't a word, but I'm choosing to ignore that fact)--improv comedy group on the face of planet earth.  And I keep putting it in all caps because that's what they do, and who am I to argue with those people.  They'll probably just blow the whistle and deem it "inappropriate."

"So...what's improv comedy?"

Well, improv is short for "improvised" and comedy means you get to laugh.  Hysterically so.  I mean, if you go to MASQUE and don't laugh, you probably should go ask your parents if you're part Vulcan.  Because that is the only excuse I can think of for why someone would not enjoy this.

What?  Were you expecting a picture of Kirk in this post for some reason?

"So, what specifically is it that makes MASQUE amazing?"

I could type for two hours and still not sufficiently cover all I need to.  MASQUE is amazing because you have no idea what could happen.

Okay, for example, there's this one game that I can't remember what it's actually called because most of us just called it "Zub Zub" after the one word the actors were allowed to say.

Okay, so in this game, someone's committed a murder, and usually three people or so are asked to leave the room/building while the audience yells out suggestions for the LOCATION of the murder, the OCCUPATION of the murderer, and the WEAPON used.  Oh, and the only word you can use in the entire game is "ZUB!", although you do get to use all the actions you want and some sound effects.  So, we call in our first investigation person by yelling, "HELP HELP! THERE'S BEEN A HORRIBLE MURDER!" (If you don't have a good set of lungs, I suggest you invest in one before your first MASQUE.).  Our guy who actually knows stuff then first acts out the location until the guesser indicates he's understood.  They then move on to the occupation and finally the weapon before the guesser "kills" his predecessor and attempts to communicate what he has learned to the next person until everyone's had their turn.  Basically, it's Charades meets Telephone Meets Clue.

Confused?  Trust me, it makes sense when you watch it.  Actually, it doesn't.  Because the audience has more than likely suggest the location be a "ski lift" and the occupation be a "kangaroo tamer" and the weapon a "canoe paddle."

Actually, by simply saying "kangaroo tamer," any person who has attended MASQUE is now imagining how in the world that would be acted out.  I know I did when it popped into my head.  What's crazier is the fact that they'd actually be able to do it.  And actually communicate the concept of a "kangaroo tamer," which I think I invented.

So, yeah, if you can imagine utter craziness like the above mentioned game going on for a couple hours one or two evenings a semester, that is the awesomeness of MASQUE.  And I haven't even gotten started on the other games:  Substitution, Director, Shatner, Stop-Reverse, Hoo-Uh (I probably spelled that wrong) etc., etc., etc.

So, I guess I should get down to it and give my Top Five MASQUE Moments.  Now, sadly, I did not attend every single moment of every single MASQUE.  I had student teaching and work and spending time with visiting high schoolers that sadly occasionally took time away from MASQUE, so if I have left out your personal favorite, please type it in on the comments section below and submit it.  More than likely, my brain forgot something.

5.  The Time Schofie Had the Audience Simulate a Rainstorm using our hands and feet and some flashing lights.  That was just cool, and I wish we had a recording of it, especially since I had to close my eyes during the flashing lights so I wouldn't get a headache.  Still, being there, knowing I was helping make a cool sound was awesome.

4.  Smashing. Mailboxes. By. Nick. And. Bobby. During. A. Game. Of. Shatner. Which. Is. When. One. Person. Says. A. Word. And. Then. The. Next. Person. Says. The. Next. Word. And. If. You. Say. Two. Words. In. A. Row. You. Lose.  It. Is. Named. After. The. Way. William. Shatner. Talks. And. It. Basically. Ends. Up. Sounding. Like. The. Way. You. Are. Reading. This. Because. I. Took. All. The. Time. To. Put. A. Period. After. Each. Word. Which. Is. Very. Difficult. To. Remember. To. Do.  This. Game. Was. Particularly. Hilarious. Because. It. Was. So. Perfectly. Coordinated.

3.  AMERICA! during a game of Director, which is a game in which the actors do a scene, and then the Director stops them and has them do it again, but, instead of normally, they have to do it like they're ninjas or vacuum salesmen, or in the case above, rednecks.  I think they were originally acting out something to do with some sort of animal, like pigs or horses or something.  I really don't remember, but all I remember is that eventually, no matter what they were supposed to be doing, they just kept saying, "AMERICA!" after every sentence.  And I was dying laughing.

2.  Barney Kids in the BJU Fountain as performed by, I believe, Clayton and Joel, although if I got that wrong, feel free to correct me, and I'll change it.  This was another game of Director.  Josh let the audience choose the scene, and when someone yelled, "The BJU fountain!" it was an opportunity we couldn't let them miss.  So, they did it like normal BJU students, and then at one point, they were told to do it like they were Barney kids, which if you know these guys, they are the complete opposite of the kids on Barney.  And so, once again, I was dying laughing.

1.  "You put your left leg BACK!" by Nick and Riley in a game of Stop-Reverse.  Yep, I had to go classic for my top one.  Stop-Reverse is a game in which the actors act out a scene, but at random times, the director will blow his whistle and say "Stop.  Reverse!" or "Stop.  Forward!" (or was it "Stop.  Play!"?) and they'd have to act it all over again but backwards if he'd said "Reverse."  I think the situation they had to act out was "Drill Sergeant," and Nick was teaching Riley how to do push-ups, and the one line that Schofie made them do over and over was, "You put your left leg BACK!"  And there, on my very first night of MASQUE, I became convinced that this thing I was watching was the epitome of comedy, of humor, of everything acting-related I had ever seen in my life.

Basically, thanks guys, for the laughs.  You're awesome.