Laughter is the Ultimate Cure for Stress

          I think almost everybody can agree that laughter is a great way to relieve stress. Every Thursday at 9 PM, after the busy part of my week is over, my friends and I go to the TCU student comedy show called Senseless Acts of Comedy or “SAC” for short. There are nine improvisation comedians and two hosts. SAC is especially funny because most of the time they relate to the humorous things that go on at TCU. For example, they made a spoof of the Super Bowl commercial called “God Made a Farmer” and turned it into “God Made a Horned Frog”. The video pokes fun at an array of TCU student problems including high tuition, construction, parking issues, and more that I am sure most of us can easily relate to.

            One of their main techniques is playing improvisational games similar to the way the show “Whose Line is it Anyway” does. One game they play often is where a few of the comedians are given specific roles and must portray those roles at a “party”. Another comedian, who is unaware of the roles the others are given, must guess based on their behavior that person’s role. For example, one week they had three “partygoers”, and one “host” that was in charge of guessing the roles. The first partygoer was assigned the role of behaving like a Pokemon master. He would do things such as sneezing and saying “Pikachu” instead of “achoo”. The second partygoer was assigned the role of being a person obsessed with licking his hands. This person would constantly be licking his hands during the entirety of the skit (which was disgusting!). The third partygoer was given the role of being a KU basketball player. This person acted depressed through the whole skit and when one of the partygoers exclaimed they had recently had a death in their family, the KU player exclaimed, “I am sorry for your loss…but not as sorry as I am about mine!” This was extremely funny to the crowd because KU had recently lost to TCU in a big way.

            Another thing they do a lot of the time is harmlessly make fun of each other on stage. For example, they are always making fun of Grant Moore because of his beard and Kelly Ryan because of her “awkwardness”. They also enjoy putting each other in uncomfortable situations on stage. One example was during their Valentine’s Day special where they had two of the improvisational comedians kiss and stay frozen in that position for a long time while the crowd laughed and teasingly made fun of their awkward frozen position. I think a lot of what makes this group so hilarious is their ability to carelessly act ridiculous for the pure joy of the crowd. Also, everyone in the room is consciously in “play mode” where they know that everything that happens is for the sake of laughter and enjoyment. The laughter in the room is highly contagious and it also helps cheer on the performers when they are on stage.

            As Acquinas said, “humor and play are words and deeds in which nothing is sought beyond the soul’s pleasure.” Comedy shows, such as SAC, are performances that have the sole purpose of enjoyment and laughter. Everything that happens on stage is done is playful manner and everyone is aware that the comedians are “only joking”. I personally think SAC is a great way to reduce weekly stress and relax in a healthy way. I encourage everybody who has never been to attend and add a little more laughter to his or her lives!