As it started to get warmer, the Burpees put on a show to welcome students into the new season and also help reduce the stress of midterms week. On March 13, students gathered in the Nest at 6 p.m. to watch their “Spring hath Sprung” show, which featured a variety of exciting games that inspired laughter all across the room – a seemingly great way to transition into Spring Break.
Before the start of the show, the five new additions to the Burpees family were officially introduced to the public. Jordan Zelvin ‘21, Lily LeVanis ‘21, Sarah Hendricks ‘21, Anna Mae Murphy ‘21 and Quinn Lonergan ‘21 came up on stage and had to participate in a tradition which involved them acting out their deaths.
“This is just a little exercise we play with all our new members, we kill them in front of our audience so they can gain more confidence when performing later on,” explained Burpee Sara Hartsock ‘18.
After inputs from the audience, the next generation of Burpees had been successfully killed by bananas, trains, and even cats. It was then time for a series of spring-themed games, each of which had a different number of Burpees who partook in it.
One of the games they played was called “Hey spring’s here, time for jail.” In this game, two Burpees were busy interrogating a third Burpee who had been accused of committing an unorthodox crime. Everyone was entertained to see Sarah Hartsock ‘18 and Maggie Chamberlain ‘19 incarcerate Meg Odell ‘19 for eating too many Snickers.
Another game they played was “Spring-a-ling-a-ding,” where Cierra King ‘20 and Erin Stewart ‘20 acted out a scene while Meg Odell ‘19 would ring a bell at random intervals, making them freeze in their tracks and change their current action.
“I thought it was funny how they changed very aspect of the show into spring-themed, which was really creative. Two of my roommates, Erin and Sarah, are Burpees and I love coming to watch them perform,” said Kellsey Medsger ‘20, a psychology major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Burpees were constantly asking the audience for ideas, which helped make the show both interactive and humorous.
Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company is an improvisational comedy troupe founded in 1979 at Denison, and is widely known as the nation’s oldest collegiate improv group. The Burpees are famous for various events across campus, one of them being a 24-hour show held on Nov. 13, 2017, which raised funds to be donated for hurricane relief. They are also known for their iconic member and Denison alum, Steve Carell.
With confidence in their improvisational skills, there are sure to be many new surprises in the coming future.