Marymount improv comedy troupe should start charging audience members for their performances

After trekking through the snow for 30 minutes trying to figure out the correct avenue of Marymount Manhattan College, my boyfriend and I finally spotted the indigo flags that pointed our way towards the Nutz & Boltz improv show.

We walked in to find an empty security desk, not something I'm used to, and a sign spelling out Nutz & Boltz accompanied by a right facing arrow sign and the words Eighth Floor. When we arrived on the correct floor, white-painted bricks and metal folding chairs that faced a podium greeted us along with eight wooden chairs and a dry erase board spelling out Nutz & Boltz in red marker (the t in Boltz was drawn to look like a bolt).

Standing behind the podium was the host dressed in a black shirt and pants. He asked us to find our seats but to make sure we saw the strips of paper upon them that read, "World's Worst" and "Give us any line of dialogue." He asked us to write down anything we wanted. I wrote "The world's worst crisis negotiator." After a few minutes he started introducing the cast members. Each one ran from the back of the room, and greeted us with a hello and a gratuitous "Thank you for coming."

The show started strong with a song called "Da-doo-rap-rap" where the four cast members rapped about a volunteering audience member. Once someone stops the rhyme they are out of the game until the players trickle down to one who has to do the rap by him or herself.

The show continued with more improv games performed without censors and without empathy or respect for abortion, anorexia and illiteracy. Taboo topics are not avoided, but made fun of and humanized by the cast. However, they showed the humor in a normally disturbing topic and did it without offending or upsetting anyone in the audience.

Another game included in the show was "Emotional Boundaries." There are three parts to the stage and three actors occupy each space. The audience picks the location and the actors start the scene. Each stage space represents an emotion-in the case of this performance it was rage, lust and depression. Once an actor exits his space and enters another he must encompass that emotion. The game turned from a regular bar scene to a sad and sexual moment between the three actors. The audience couldn't stop laughing. I was so impressed I asked David Rigano, the host, the name of the game. After he told me, he said, "If I knew a critic was coming I would have worn my good hair." The crowd laughed harder.

My favorite game was "60, 30, 15, 5." Four actors must create a scene in 60 seconds then repeat it in 30, 15 and five seconds. When the last time came around, the actors huffed and gave the audience every ounce of their funny bone for their five seconds.

The troupe ended the show by playing "World's Worst." The players stood in a line facing the audience while Rigano read out the options. "World's Worst priest" received a lot of laughs as the only female cast member walked forward and to the center exclaiming, "I am a woman." "World's Worst crisis negotiator" started the game with a cast member saying, "Well, you could blow up the building."

A great thing to see is the interaction the actors have with one another. Their silliness and confidence comes through in every line and every move. Also, the interaction they have with the audience frequently makes their viewers seem more at home and comfortable. Oh, and did I mention the physical comedy? It was exceedingly good. Nobody was afraid to move with each other or against each other to make their viewer laugh.

This may seem like a college version of "Whose Line Is It Anyways?" but it's better. The acting is better and the players are less afraid to raise the bar of topics and games. Nutz & Boltz don't need green screens or musical composition. All they need is a big enough space to hold their shows and an audience unafraid to laugh.

March 14th is the next Nutz & Boltz show at Marymount Manhattan College, 71st street between 2nd and 3rd avenue. This show is the best way to laugh without paying any money. Don't see another $12 movie you're going to forget in a few days. Nutz & Boltz is a free and amazing way to spend a night out in Manhattan.