Turns out they can do more than open shells while floating on their backs.
Whether you had the chance to catch one of their sold-out shows this weekend, or you’ve just seen their characteristic hand-drawn posters up around proctor, it’s hard not to notice that Otter Nonsense is making a big splash. Coming up on it’s 20th anniversary, The Otter Nonsense Players, or just “the Otters,” are the longest standing improvisation group on campus and an essential part of the Middlebury arts scene. Made up of nine members all from different backgrounds (Will Bellaimey ’10.5 John Glouchevitch ’10.5, Ken Grinde ’11, Ben Orbison ’12.5, Cecily Glouchevitch ’12.5, Greg Dorris ’13, Chris De La Cruz ’13, Adam Benay ’13.5 and Alexandera Kennedy ’13.5) the group brings a dynamic kind of funny to the stage. Unscripted and impulsive, the Otters somehow manage to consistently produce scenes that keep audiences laughing because of the ridiculousness, yet blatant pertinence, of their imagined situations. An Otters performance has the wittiness of a Lil’ Wayne freestyle and the presence of a John Wayne character. It’s like real life, except funnier.
“We really look for truth in comedy,” said Bellaimey, who’s been with the Otters since his third week on campus his first semester. “The laughs come from people having some recognition of the characters”
So while shows with titles like “Vincent A. Jones Promotes Old Spice” and “The Decision: Lebron James Reads Sophie’s Choice” may seem outlandish (and maybe are), the Otters can make you say, “Wow, I‘ve never been a court jester during a plague in Athens, but if I had been it definitely would have been like that.” The on-stage fluidity of the characters makes it easy to buy into this twisted version of reality. So how do they do it?
“[You need to] trust your subconscious” Bellaimey explains. “Ideas come from stopping thinking.”
But it’s not just being able to trust yourself. Because of the inherent nature of improv, there’s always going to be an element of surprise between actors off script. Bellaimey attributes the ability of the Otters to go beyond this to the trust between the members of the group.
“Improv is all about trust,” Bellaimey says. “You have to know that when you say something the person on stage with you will have your back.”
Creating a convincing and funny scene is not just about acting. In fact, even though there are members of the group with strong theater backgrounds, some had never tried any sort of acting before being in Otters. Dorris, who joined the group last year, is one of them. To him it’s not a question of technical experience, but about how you approach the situation.
“[I] just play to my strengths,” Dorris said, adding that it helps when there’s inspiration all around him on stage. “Everyday I see someone bring something hilarious to a scene that I file away somewhere in my head for future reference.”
No matter your background though, being able to put on a 40-minute show still takes a lot of practice. The Otters keep themselves in top improv shape by doing what they do on stage two times a week and sometimes specific scenes take more prep than others. For the one act Shakespeare pieces they did the past weekend, the group not only read up on a bit of Will himself, but also devoted time to just making up plays from scratch to “get a feel for what it’s like to be doing a Shakespeare play.”
Moreover, because it draws so much from the everyday, improv for the Otters is not necessarily something that’s just left on stage. In fact, for Bellaimey at least, the skills he works on in practice have had lasting impressions.
“Always saying yes, jumping into things and trying and being willing to fail,” Bellaimey said. “Those are things [taken from improv] that are so valuable to me in my regular life”
The end result is not only refreshingly raw comedy, but a tight-knit group of people that can really turn impromptu banter into something worth watching.
Who gets the last laugh? Backstage with Middlebury Improv: Otter Nonsense
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