From robot opera to the history of the pickle, Without A Box makes a habit of thinking...
Outside
the Box
You want robot opera? How about the history of the pickle? Just ask Without A Box, the five colleges' improvisational comedy group. For over a decade, Without A Box has been entertaining students with a little absurdity, a little randomness, and a great deal of intelligent humor.
Current member Dana DuBois '00 had never tried improvisational comedy until entering Pomona. She participated in theatre in high school, where she was often cast in comedic roles and found they came naturally to her. "After our first auditions, before callbacks, I left and I thought 'oh, there's no way I got it, there's no way they're going to call me back.' I don't know why they did," she adds. Probably her infectious enthusiasm and engaging stage presence played a part in making her stand out from the crowd.
Typically 30 to 40 people audition for Without A Box every year. As in a real performance, the prospective member is given a noun or location, and asked to improvise a scene or possibly a poem. DuBois' audition included the Box standard "Household Olympics" in which the participant elevates a mundane chore into an Olympic event.
"I think auditions were probably the most nerve-racking thing that I have ever been through," she says. "But at the same time it's exciting to have those nerves and you get a rush by doing it."
Prospective members must congeal with the group as well as exhibit confidence on stage. "If they say something they have to believe in what they're saying, and make us believe it," says DuBois.
That confidence plays an important role in performance. It's difficult to be humorous on command, but good comedians can convince the audience they're funny even if their latest joke is still writhing in agony on the floor. "There are so many times when you say something that makes absolutely no sense, and you just have to pretend that that's what you meant to say and goddammit, it's funny," says DuBois.
Contrary to popular belief, even improvisational comedians need rehearsals. "People always ask, 'Why do you rehearse? It's improv,'" notes DuBois, "but there's still so much that you have to learn before you actually perform. We always get rusty after a summer."
A typical Box show includes one or two sketches and several 'bits.' A bit is a short routine in which suggestions from the audience provide the details for a general framework. During a show in Little Bridges, the group did a bit called "Mothers." Three audience members described their mothers' most frustrating habits, then the Box improvised a scene based on those characteristics. Without A Box often uses bits they've picked up from watching other improv groups such as the LA Groundlings.
Without A Box began 12 years ago, when a small group of Pitzer students who had been doing sketch comedy decided to turn the group into a five-college organization dedicated to improvisational humor. Since then, the group has been wandering around the five campuses "from theatre to theatre, auditorium to auditorium, lounge to lounge," says DuBois. In fact, that's the origin of their name. "We're without a black box, without a home."
Though the nomadic tendencies of Without A Box are its trademark, in recent years the Box's homelessness has been frustrating. An upsurge in the number of people attending Box shows has increased the length of pre-show lines, the amount of time spent waiting to get in, and the number of people turned away at the door.
DuBois attributes increased attendance to the popularity of television improv shows such as Whose Line is it Anyway? In addition, the Box's humor has changed over the past few years. "The comedy in the group in previous years was mostly, 'What's the wackiest thing you can do to make people laugh?'" she says. "Now it's based more on real life. We do more scene work, more coherent scenes, instead of just crazy voices and stuff that's wacky."
Several remedies have been tried to alleviate the overcrowding problem, including two shows in one night and use of larger locations such as Pomona's Bridges Hall of Music. "Some campuses don't have performance spaces that we love," says DuBois. "We're used to having really close contact with the audience. It seemed like we were really separated [at Little Bridges] and the energy was really spread out."
Yet the greater amount of space allowed approximately 500 fans to attend, with a corresponding increase in proceeds. Money earned from the shows helps support art students from the five colleges. At the end of every Box show, the group's director (this year, Pitzer's Steve Harwood) makes a plea for project proposals which will be reviewed by the group and possibly funded. Approximately 15 students received support from Without A Box this past spring semester.
"Because we're becoming more popular and getting a larger audience" says DuBois "we're making more money and are able to really make a difference in our community on campus."
--Carrie Wasinger '99
--Illustration by Randall Enos
