On Friday, March 1, DU’s premier improv team, Skintight Outrage, performed their quarterly Late Night Show in Sturm Hall 281, also known as the Lindsay Auditorium, for a room of over 200 student spectators.
The show started around 10 p.m., with Skintight’s President Kevin Kappes introducing the whole team and ramping up the crowd.
“[The Late Night Shows] have been around for as long as I’ve been on the team. I got on my freshman year, which was Spring of 2021, so we were just coming out of COVID. My second show was a Late Night Show,” Kappes said.
The show this quarter included classic improv games that the team performs often at their weekly Wednesday shows, such as “Four Square” and “Freeze.” They also introduced some new games, named “Two Blind Mice” and “Water You Talkin Bout?”
“I just love that a lot of people who normally can’t make our Wednesday show will block out time in their schedule to come to the Late Night Show. There’s a guarantee with a Late Night Show that it’s gonna be wilder; it’s gonna be packed in that room,” he said.
The theme of the show was Black Ties and White Lies, giving the audience a fun chance to dress up and show their unique style.
“I dressed as Black Tie and I wore a black bow tie and the whole get-up,” sophomore Ethan Turner said. “Not quite a whole suit, because my suitemate Jack who is on the team stole my suit coat for the show, but almost.”
The team performs every Wednesday in Sturm Hall 281 at 8:30 p.m., a time and day they have agonized over for quite some time.
“We’ve played around with ‘is Wednesday the best night for the shows?’ but we really think Wednesday is the perfect time to de-stress during the week but also get to bed before 10 p.m. if you want to,” Kappes said.
There are also opportunities for interested students to join Skintight Outrage, with auditions usually held during the Fall and Spring Quarters. Kappes is open to any and all students, highlighting that improv is for everyone.
“Definitely come to our shows if it seems like something you’d want to do. We have crossover with theater and lots of big personalities on the team, but honestly the best improvisers are people who are willing to be vulnerable and be themselves [on stage],” he said.
Skintight Outrage hopes they can entertain people every week and encourage a relaxed, funny environment where people both watching and performing the improv can discover more about themselves.
“We have new people at the shows every week, and it’s pretty easy to pick up on—you won’t be left out. You get to participate, you get to give out suggestions, it’s a casual, fun environment and a good way to get connected to the DU community,” Kappes said.
For updates on weekly shows, Late Night Shows and auditions, follow Skintight Outrage on Instagram, @skintightoutrage.
