By: Caitlin Shannon, Editor of Student Life and Arts Photographer: Zoe Camp
3, 2, 1, Hike! Most Drew students know this phrase not from the popular American sport but from Drew’s performing improv comedy troupe, the Football Team. This past Sunday this phrase once again filled The Space for the third annual Improvapella which brings together the Football Team with Drew’s a capella groups: On a Different Note, All of the Above and 36 Madison Avenue.
The night started as usual with different improv games where they created hilarious scenes that had the audience laughing the whole night. The twist was, the games brought together members from the Football Team and each of the three a cappella groups creating some unlikely pairings and lots of great laughs. One audience favorite was the game challenge, which brought one member from OADN, AOTA, Mad Ave and the Football Team up on stage and challenged each of them to talk about bananas for the longest without being interrupted. The players could shout “challenge!” to stop the current person from talking and try to persuade the moderator, Olivia Winters (’19), to allow them to speak.
Despite all the laughs to be had from the various improv games, the real highlight of the night was the singing competition at the end. The Football Team called up the three presidents of the a cappella groups and invited them to challenge each other to perform a song. OADN challenged Mad Ave to sing the Disney Channel Original classic, “Get Your Head in the Game” from High School Musical. Mad Ave, in turn, challenged AOTA to sing Lil Pump’s “Gucci Gang” which got a supportive reaction from the crowd. Finally, AOTA challenged OADN to sing the Evanescence song “Bring Me to Life.” The groups were then given 10 minutes to learn the songs before returning to perform them for the audience.
After some more entertainment from the Football Team, it was time for each of the a cappella groups to perform. Each of the groups was well received by the audience. AOTA’s performance of “Gucci Gang” was particularly favored among the crowd. Everyone was also very impressed by OADN’s rendition of “Bring Me to Life,” which had quite a cohesive and beautiful arrangement given that they had only 10 minutes to prepare.
As the competition was winding down, it was announced that there was a last minute entry from an a cappella group who had previously taken Improvapella by storm, 69 Madison Couture. The group swaggered on stage decked out with hats, scarves and sunglasses ready to steal the spotlight. They burst into a beautiful performance of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten,” the audience even clapped along. It was soon clear who had won Improvapella. Once again, 69 Madison Couture stole the show and made a clean sweep.
