By Jonathan Edmondson
Arts & Entertainment Editor
With wild cheers and contagious energy, the Mixed Signals rushed into the Library Auditorium on Sunday, Oct. 19, to prepare for their second show of the semester.
Only this time, there were a few new faces among the troupe during their introduction.
Last weekend, the group held auditions, as they do every fall. This year, they added five new members — junior Alyssa Hess, freshmen Nolan DeVoe and Emma Young and sophomores Ian Cooley and Emily Mullin. These newbies will go through training with the returning members before taking the stage with them later this year.
“Being on the other side of auditions this year was both strange and amazing,” said junior computer science and interactive multimedia double major Matthew Steurer, who was added as a member just last year. “I got to watch a lot of talented people come out.”
After the five new members sat down to watch the performance, the troupe kicked off a hilarious set led by president Steven Munoz. The show, which included all of the performers dressed up like a different musical genre in honor of Halloween, featured and engaging setlist filled with games new and old.
One particularly popular skit involved lines that audience members wrote out before the show. The three actors had these lines in their pockets and pulled them out at random times during the scene and said them aloud, which led to hilarious incidents.
The troupe meets twice a week to work on group chemistry and practice games for their next show. To keep a true improvisational spirit, they build scenes around audience suggestions during an actual performance. It is a testament to their theatrical talents and creative minds. They, of course, could not do it without each other.
“I am most excited to help the new members become more acquainted with the troupe as a whole,” Steurer said. “Improv can largely be influenced by the dynamics between the performers.”
The Mixed Signals’ close-knit dynamic could be seen toward the end of their set when they played a game involving all of the members. The scene began on the day of prom and transitioned into the event itself, showcasing all of the actors in original and fun ways.
The audience consistently reacted to watching friends laughing on stage. The spirit was contagious, and it was clear that the troupe had strong chemistry.
“Being a Signal has influenced my life in ways that I cannot begin to describe,” Steurer said. “It has brought me so much happiness, laughter and a tight knit camaraderie into my life that I can never repay in full.”
