Relay for Life campaign featuring ‘Night of Improv’

Improvisation was the inspiration Monday night in Moore Hall 105.

Modern Rock 91.5 WMHW held cast auditions for “Who’s Line: A Night
of Improv,” a show the station is presenting as part of its annual
Relay for Life campaign.

Six of the 23 who auditioned made the final cut, said John Mullin,
Almont senior and station manager. Four of the finalists will perform
and the other two are back-ups.

The candidates were judged largely on their aptitude for teamwork,
he said.

Troy senior Brian Sterling, Macomb senior Dave Seger, Plymouth
senior Dan Nikolitz, Muskegon senior Tom Kauffman, Brooklyn junior Beth
Schwab, and West Olive graduate student Dan Empson were the six chosen
to perform in “Who’s Line.”

“You had to be funny, and first and foremost you had to be funny in
a group,” Mullin said. “People who tried to steal the show actually had
a strike against them.”

Students auditioning entered the room in groups of four, while the
rest waited in the hallway.

Following a warm-up exercise, contestants played three games that
simulated what they would be expected of during the performance.

Wales senior Eileen Letarte, the station’s music director, was one
of three judges evaluating the more than 20 contestants.

“We chose the ones that stood out in our minds,” she said. “If we
could remember their performance, we saw that as a really good sign
they could do this kind of thing well.”

There were other important factors during the two-and-a-half hour
audition, Letarte said, including stage presence and the ability to
stay in character.

The audience will be the emphasis of the Feb. 23 show, Mullin said,
and members should expect to be involved in the performance.

Tickets for “Who’s Line” are $3 apiece, and all proceeds go to Relay
for Life.

Mullin said this is the third year Modern Rock 91.5 has campaigned
with Relay for Life. However, this is the first year the station will
host an improvisation show.

The show’s intended running time will be about an hour-and-a-half,
Letarte said.

“Who’s Line” will begin at 8 p.m. Feb. 23 in Moore Hall’s Townsend
Kiva. Doors open at 7:30.