Beatrice, a new long-form improv team, made its
debut at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on
November 22 with now-veteran group The Shoves.
Beatrice is a mix of UCB performers with experience
from various other teams there. The group has a
strong command of games of scenes, evident right
from the start, grasping the possibilities of scenes
and the humor in them immediately. Bob Acevedo stood
out as being particularly inventive, including his
reactions to being hit on by Lex Morales in a
recurring scene.
Jessie Spellmann, previously in Varsity, a group
born from UCB students who banded together, reaped a
lot of laughter as she was put in a position of
playing Santa, as various much-bigger physically
group members took turns playing children sitting on
her lap.
The Shoves have had a couple personnel changes,
welcoming new member Gavin Speiller (formerly of UCB
team Mailer Daemon), and their dynamic appears to
have changed a bit -- not as hyper-kinetic as it
once was, but still just as sharp as ever. The group
now seems to take its time and let the scenes
breathe more, while still working off the same sense
of humor and meanings of scenes as it had.
Erik Tanouye and Angeliki George, playing flirting
math nerds in a scene, explored the characters
longer, reaping gems like George’s “It’s hard to
meet someone I equate to.” Later, they revisited and
heightened these characters, having them imprisoned
as spies, George got in another laugh line, musing
that if she were pregnant, they would still have
nine months to escape.
Charlie Sanders hit a consistent riff,
well-supported by other Shoves members, posing as a
plastic surgeon and other sensitive occupations,
getting called out as the ‘real’ professional in
question would arrive in scenes.
Watching the Shoves in the midst of an apparent
shifting of gears promises new frontiers, and seeing
Beatrice jell from its mix of personalities holds
equal promise.