Students were treated to an entertaining and free break from studying Thursday evening in the form of a performance put on by the fairly new student organization MUsketch.
The Paul Blartigang and War N’ Moon, the two groups that now make up MUsketch, have not always been separated.
When junior Dillon Cassidy started MUsketch in the Fall 2011 semester, the groups were combined to form Cardigang, a name derived from the group’s affinity for cardigans. As more people joined, though, the Cardigang divided in half.
Each group performed an original sketch for the evening.
The Paul Blartigang chose to follow a Valentine’s Day theme, despite the fact that holiday passed two months ago. The Paul Blartigang’s “Valentine’s Extravaganza (Because We Weren’t Ready in February)” featured scenes from various romantic settings.
Amidst the chaos of scene changes, viewers watched as a woman was introduced to her boyfriend’s family for the first time, newlyweds (including a delightfully stupid couple from Lawrence, Kan.) participated in a game show, and a directionally challenged young man ended up in a political debate instead of his crush’s birthday party.
The Blartigang ended its sketch with a folksy rendition of Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Ni**as in Paris.”
After a brief intermission, it was War N’ Moon’s turn to take the stage. Inspired by member Schuyler Weinberg’s upcoming graduation and emergence into the “real” world, the group chose to center its sketch around an office setting. With side-splitting musical renditions scattered throughout and a horrendous yet entertaining IT department, “Angels in the Office” portrayed a work setting straight from the dreams of slacker college students everywhere.
One of the actors, junior Christa Penning, got her start in MU’s comedy scene during her freshman year when she showed up by herself at an MU Improv meeting.
“I wanted to get involved so I went to the MU orgs page,” Penning said. “I enjoyed acting and improv so I just kind of showed up at an MU Improv meeting.”
Penning said MUsketch spawned from MU Improv as a separate entity.
Dillon Cassidy is accredited for the emergence of MUsketch and plays a vital role in brainstorming the sketches.
“It’s a two- to three-week process,” Cassidy said. “We improvise ideas and write down our favorites, and then we tweak those into something worthwhile.”
Cassidy thinks MUsketch has the potential to become a popular organization, both because of its student participation and its originality.
“There’s not anything happening in Columbia like this,” he said.