Love and improv comedy were in the air on the night of Feb. 12, as the Dimple Divers embarked on a quest to find the meaning of true love in their annual Valentine’s Day show in Emerson Dining Hall.
The Dimple Divers are known for being Wheaton’s best (and only) improv group. They hold a few shows every semester, each one guaranteed to leave audience members with sore stomachs from laughing so much. Even the flyers for their shows and online posts often amuse passersby.
In general, the group’s shows are set up similar to the show “Whose Line is it Anyway,” in that they consist of several improv games, often utilizing audience suggestions. Its current members include Chris Truini ’16, Jordan Wolfe ’15, Saba Mundlay ’17, Sam Hickson ’17, Linnea Wilhjelm ’15, Brooke Powers ’15, Audrey Dubois ’17, Michael Kristy ’18, Liam McCafferty ’17, Brendan Geiger ’18 and Ben Sarat ’18.
This particular show started out with a surprise for one lucky audience member who happened to sit in a seat with a paper heart under it. This lucky individual received a Wheatone’s Valogram courtesy of the Dimple Divers. After the Valogram “Hit Me Baby One More Time” was delivered in front of the audience, the show officially began.
Apart from the love in the air and the audience surprise, this performance was different from the normal fare for another reason; it consisted of brand new games that various audience members got to choose from a hat. This change, the group explained, was in preparation for its participation in an upcoming improv festival called the 2015 College Comedy Festival at ImprovBoston, which was first announced last semester. The festival brings together 18 of the top college improv troupes in New England for a weekend of competition, education and improvisational fun.
The group had been practicing these games in rehearsals but decided to take them to the stage for its Valentine’s Day show in order to shake things up. Some of the games resembled games the members have played in the past, but some were completely new.
In addition to being two days before Valentine’s Day, it also happened to be Dimple Diver Ben Sarat’s birthday, so naturally, a raucous singing of “Happy Birthday” by the Dimple Divers and the audience was in order, as well as a violent-looking hug. But the singing wasn’t over for the audience, as they were led in a round of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” as a sort of interactive intermission, which went about as well as one might expect.
All in all, the Dimple Divers’ show can be summed up as a night of love, hilarity and the occasional musical interlude, as any improv show should include.