Whose line is it anyway? I don’t know. But you can certainly ask any member of the Whistling Shrimp. The men and women of Cornell’s only all-improv comedy group always know what line comes next, even if they decided on it two seconds ago. As a part of my quest to join every single student organization on campus for at least a day (I’m almost there … kinda) I whistled with the Shrimp during one of their practices this past Monday.
The first order of business was a warm up session. The first exercise focused on word association. Participants used two hands to throw an imaginary ball to each other. As each person caught the ball and threw it to someone else, he or she would repeat the last person’s word and then say a word they associated with it (I was creative enough to follow Robo Cop with Terminator, and Mighty Mouse with Mickey Mouse). Next was a warm up that I still don’t understand, but there is a method to the madness, and I am not one to argue with a winning recipe.
Whatever the Whistling Shrimp are doing, they’re doing something right. According to John Schemitsch ’09, The Shrimp have been around for 23 years. More than two decades ago, Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev declared that supporters of capitalism would have to “wait until a shrimp learns to whistle” for it to work. Soon after, when an emerging, yet-to-be named comedy group was looking for support from the theater department, the director of the department adapted the Kruschev quote for his own purposes and said that the department would help the group “when a shrimp learns to whistle.” With that, the Whistling Shrimp emerged from the ocean and have sent waves of laughter rolling about the Hill ever since.
Next up after warm ups — rehearsal time. Rehearse … improvisation? Yes! The only way to be ready for anything is to practice everything. The Shrimp have short-form and long-form games that they play at shows. The games are loosely structured improvisational launch pads, from which the group kicks off their performance. For instance, “World’s Worst” is a short-form game where the Shrimp take one-word prompts from the audience — places, occupations, etc. — and act out the world’s worst of that particular thing. I witnessed portrayals of the world’s worst person to be with in Ithaca, the world’s worst pharmacist and the world’s worst TV. Long-form games tend to have less structure and are usually a series of tangentially related scenes based on another audience recommended prompt-word. The Whistling Shrimp get some of their game ideas from other groups they see in action. A good number, however, are conceived from scratch by the Shrimp. One member will have the basic outline of a game, and it develops from there.
Director Jonah Eisenstock ’10 remembered the growth of a particular Shrimp original. “As a group, we started to shape the game.” He explained that the game changed a bit as they started to play it more.
After playing each game, the members sit down to discuss how each scene in the game went. They discuss whether the setting was established, if the characters were funny, whether the relationships were developed and what conflicts were present, among other things. Members don’t hesitate to throw in their two cents and give advice to fellow Shrimp that may benefit the individual and the group.
“It’s great we’re such an adaptable group,” said Tom O’Connell ’10.
The Shrimp generally perform two shows during one weekend each semester. They also perform at charity events, team building workshops and comedic gatherings such as the National College Comedy Festival, which will take place at Skidmore College this weekend.
The Shrimp have an endless list of reasons why being a member is advantageous. “It’s an important life skill — being able to think on your feet,” asserted Jon Delikat ’10.
The rest of the group concurred, citing public speaking and acting experiences they have had that were enhanced by their work in improv comedy. Another highlight in the life of a Whistling Shrimp is connecting with the organization’s roots.
Nick DeVito ’10 described the group as “pretty steeped in tradition.” He lists group dinners, new member customs and interaction with alumni as some of the more rewarding elements of the group’s traditions.
The Whistling Shrimp consider themselves a close-knit group and spend time with each other outside practice as well. As an honorary Shimp on Monday night, I got an inside look at what the Shrimp are all about and what goes into each gig they perform. So, am I going to miss the group’s next show in early April? Maybe when a shrimp learns to whistle.