The Intern Project Takes 'Improv' Comedy to New Heights With Real Randomness 10/1-4

What happens when you cross high school interns and the impulsive world of sketch comedy? The answer is a "ReAl Randomness" that shouldn't be missed. October 1, 3 and 4, 2009, awestruck audiences will witness the seven Rose Theater interns as they devise a vaudevillian collection of sketches much like The Second City or Saturday Night Live.

Under the direction of Michael Harrelson and Fran Sillau, The Rose's 2009/2010 high school interns and ReAl Randomness stars are Stephanie Galvin, Dan Kelly, Hailey Konnath, Michaela Odens,Sara Pawlowski, Dionne Riley, Daniel Sukup, Nik Whitcomb and Meredith Whye."I love their creativity and just this sense that they want to be there, working together on a project, and that they allow themselves to be free of the stereotypical teenage inhibitions of ‘oh that's so stupid',"said Harrelson. "We have really stressed the importance of saying ‘yes' and going with an idea no matter how ridiculous it may seem at first. I think the audience will be impressed by their work."

The cast is rehearsing three hours a night, four nights per week, for five weeks leading up to its stage-run. They are creating their own show from the writing and dialogue, to the movement. Each cast member is expected to create a few short sketches that will be incorporated into a random assortment of running gags and rapid-fire jokes.

Inspiration for this Intern Project came from Michael Harrelson's study with The Second City-arenowned improvisational theatre born in Chicago in 1959 which has been a premier source of Saturday Night Live comedians since the 1970s. Harrelson learned techniques and styles of comedic revue that he felt inspired to pass along to teens with a "fabulous sense of humor."

"I think the cast will enjoy the ensemble-working together to come up with funny ideas and scenarios and seeing them through production-and will come away having a great appreciation for eachperson's unique humor," he said. Needless to say, audiences, too, will be entertained watching teens'comedy collectively realized.

The Intern Project: ReAl Randomness will be on stage in the intimate Hitchcock Theater on thefourth floor of The Rose, 2001 Farnam Street, at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 1, 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 4.

Tickets are $6 each and are available at the door orby calling The Rose Box Office at (402) 345-4849. The Rose's 2009/2010 Teens ‘N' Theater season is sponsored by the Mammel Foundation and the Nebraska Arts Council