February 19, 2007 0348
Originally written 1/14/2007
Live Nude People (With Clothes On), or Live Nudes as it is commonly called, is an improv comedy troupe here at UCI. Live Nudes has shows on Friday nights of weeks three, five, seven, and nine. The locations of the shows vary from week to week, but lately they have been primarily in the Little Theater. Each quarter there are three teams of four people each.
Shows start at eleven PM, but guests start arriving around ten. Usually they form a line outside the door, but the lines never last too long. Standing around outside the show might not sound like fun, but it’s a major part of Live Nudes in my opinion. Each show has a different theme, such as “the letter B,” “Halloween,” “beauty pageant,” and “trilogies.” The theme is posted on the Live Nudes Facebook group. Many guests dress to fit the theme because by dressing up, they can get in earlier than other guests. However, many people dress up just for fun. Around eleven, people are allowed to come inside. When the doors open, a representative of Live Nudes comes out. This is when the line turns into a large, loud, group of die hard Live Nude fans. People on the guest list are allowed in first, followed by people who have dressed up. After those two groups are seated, the rest are allowed in. Here everyone rushes in, trying hard to get the seats they want.
The show itself begins with an introduction skit performed by the team that will not be competing that night. Then one person who is dressed for the theme is picked to be the “applause-o-meter.” Afterwards, each team that’s performing does their own introduction skit, complete with a song and dance. The teams then begin to play their games, some of which would be familiar by anyone who’s a fan of improv. The show ends by having the audience clap for the team they want to win, and the applause-o-meter decides which team was clapped for the most. Finally, a game is played with both teams to wrap up the night.
Since I found out about Live Nudes over two years ago, I have only missed one show. It’s a great way to spend a Friday night and lots of fun. Many of the fans love the show so much that they dress up every week and know all the rules by heart. It’s great to see people being so into something like this. If you are interested in attending, the Facebook group is located at http://uci.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2200277074.
