By Alexandria Baker
The Dead Parrots Society will take flight this fall with their annual Squacktoberfest run of shows. The troupe will be performing for free every Friday and Saturday this month, starting September 30 in the Old Main Theater.
It is hard to explain to students exactly what they can hope to experience at the shows, given that the Dead Parrots Society is a purely improvisational group. Because of this, every show is unique, and this makes it easy for audiences to attend multiple times throughout the month.
However, the troupe does have some standard tricks up their collective sleeve. Following a similar format to the famous Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the group will often take suggestions from audience members, as a way to keep the actors on their toes and encourage active participation from the crowd. The suggestions they ask for can range from a simple time and place, to an object, to occasionally having the audience suggest actions for the actors to take.
Additionally, the Dead Parrots Society is well-known for their prowess in longform improvisation. The actors are able to construct the show as they are acting in it, a balancing act that few can follow.
The Dead Parrots Society has been a staple club on campus since they were founded in 1988, according to their website. Just last year the troupe won the College Improv Tournament’s Pacific Northwest Regionals—a competition the group typically performs in every year.
For some, simply watching the hilarity onstage is enough, but the Dead Parrots Society is a club just like so many others on campus. For those brave souls wanting to join the troupe, there is an open rehearsal every Tuesday in HU 110 from 8 – 10 p.m. And don’t be nervous—all experience levels are welcomed at these rehearsals.
Just remember to think fast if you find yourself among the Parrots. After all, you never know what they’ll do next.
