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| COURTESY PHOTO - Georgia Dodson
(Left to right) Sophomores Cothran, Dodson and Celona carve pumpkins in their dorm.
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7th Grade performance rules
'The David Spade Show' had neither David Spade nor demonic support, but it provided plenty of fun and laughs
By Lindsay Moroney and Josh Partington
The Flat Hat
You may have seen the flyers around campus with a shocked David Spade resenting the use of his "beautiful" face as a marketing tool or one with the simple sentence, "No longer sponsored by Hell: 7th Grade."
Despite losing both Satan's aid and the ability to possess souls, the 10-member sketch comedy group's "The David Spade Show" this past weekend was impressive. They used refreshing blends of both high- and low-brow humor as well as the occasional improvisation; in short there was something for everybody.
On the first night, technical difficulties prevented the projector from showing slides for a skit about the real, often unknown dangers sorority girls face (such as death by family bracelet or lockjaw). The members showed their improvisational skills and wit, however, by providing live reenactments of the slides behind the main characters. The fact that these improvised scenes may have been funnier than the slides themselves shows that not only can this group handle writing their own material, but that performing is another of their strengths.
Like this year's previous shows, "Spade" contained running gags as well as individual skits. The seamless inter-weaving of the two made the group's hard work evident. In addition to David Spade, several other zany characters, such as Lawrence the headless guy, made repeat appearances.
The best audience response may have come from a sketch written for people who had seen the Halloween show. It brought back an over-enthusiastic RA named Kate, played by sophomore Georgia Dodson, and two participants in her hall program. The Halloween version of this skit introduced Dan (sophomore Grant Cothran) and Mike (sophomore Pete Celona) carving pumpkins. Maintaining the personalities they had established in the other show, Dan and Mike prepared for Christmas in Kate's holiday hall program by making paper stockings.
Although the sketch was a complete re-hash of the old one with only a different setting, the audience's response was extremely positive. Celona's unique facial expressions blended well with the character's spastic attitude and were well-contrasted by Cothran's portrayal of the overly competitive straight man.
Another humorous moment came when two students, upon hearing of Spade's presence on campus, go looking for him, only to find his blond hair. In addition to the hair they find an ace of spades, but to their surprise the queen of spades runs out and takes it. Although those who like to think outside the box might appreciate this randomness most, it seemed to go over well with the audience.
The overall quality of acting and casting were notable. Each actor had the ability to transition from one personality to another almost seamlessly. The actors' accents were not forced and were never fake to the point of being distracting. All of the roles in the show were well cast and clearly well directed. The blocking was well done and the troupe members each displayed channeled enthusiasm and unique characters that kept the audience engaged. The weaknesses were mainly a few rough transitions from one sketch to the next, and a few minor lighting mistakes, but these didn't take away from the show.
The comic ability of the group was able to cover up most flaws, evidenced by their ability to cover forgotten lines or even work them into the act to good effect. The sketches also contained little things, like the container of the date rape drug rufies at a fraternity party or the professor Mr. Calvin, who teaches that Christianity begins with Martin Luther and dismisses Catholicism as a cult, that show a comic attention to detail.
7th Grade used to do their shows in the U.C., but beginning with their Halloween show, all of their performances have been in Ewell. This more intimate setting that encourages a relaxed atmosphere. The troupe members made fun of their own mistakes, such as the faulty projector or when Celona twice confused the name of Lawrence, the headless guy. Dodson directed this show and members of 7th Grade wrote the sketches.
The David Spade Show - ****
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