“We Think It’s Funny”

The ensemble of PSU’s “We Think It’s Funny”.

Robert Frost, Tickle Me Elmo, Julia Child, Sarah Jayne Steen, Saddest Person in the World, Inflatable Flailing Arm Man, and heaps of other colorful characters roam the streets of Plymouth this week in PSU’s first ever sketch comedy show.

“We Think It’s Funny” is the result of a semester-long class headed my Paul Mroczka, PSU’s chair of music, theater, and dance. The class was open to anyone who had a genuine interest in writing. All 23 members of the ensemble wrote and acted in sketches, and some directed as well.

The show milks the local humor for all it’s got. There are shout outs to Keith’s Pizza and Mandarin, a special dedication to the Theatrical Experience students, and a visit from former President Steen herself.

Jokes poke fun at politics, age, gender, theater, cooking shows, and the actors themselves. Some sketches have the audience thinking as well as laughing (lose weight with the “poor” diet), and others are just silly.

Tickle Me Elmo, Magic 8-Ball, and other rejected toys.

Mroczka came up with the idea for a sketch comedy show about three years ago. He was teaching stage management at the time, and he didn’t have the time to teach an extra class. Mroczka said that the emergence of strong writers and good, comedic actors, coupled with excitement from the students, led him to put on the show this year. “There’s nothing like knowing you’re going to a class and going to laugh, as a professor,” he said.

Writing the sketches was a collaborative effort, sometimes with eight writers working on one piece. The class wrote over 50 sketches, which was about 6-8 hours of material. They voted on their favorite pieces and added some additional material to create a show that’s about an hour and a half long.

“You’ve got to get a lot across in that short amount of time,” said Mroczka. The sketches average about four minutes each, so the audience has to be able to instantly connect with the piece. They can’t be too complex, said Mroczka. “You really have to get to it.”

 “It’s a good time to get some laughter as people are getting stressed out with finals,” he said.

“We Think It’s Funny” is playing for four shows. There is one at 7 p.m. and one at 9 p.m. on both Wednesday, April 20, and Thursday, April 21.