2008 Woodie Awards
LU gets mixed (sex) signals
Regina Siefert
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The signs were everywhere: "SEX SIGNALS 8 P.M. RIVERVIEW LOUNGE." On a lot of the signs, that's all that was written. Naturally, upon first glance at the word "SEX," the reader's interest was immediately piqued. "Sex?" we thought. "This ought to be good!"
This, perhaps, is why Riverview Lounge was so packed for the Oct. 6th show. Latecomers had to put up their own chairs where space was available. Some students sat in each other's laps; some stood out in the hallway and looked in from afar.
"Sex Signals," a traveling program put on by Chicago-based Catharsis Productions, had a simple premise: a two-person act, part scripted, part improvisation with audience participation. The message, at first, wasn't as clear.
It started off humorously; the two actors, one male and one female, set up a scene in which the male actor tried to entice the female, using pickup lines yelled out from the audience. This, of course, made for a pathetically comical attempt. The woman was appalled by the man's crude and weird behavior, while the man was certain the girl was falling for him. The actors then stopped the show to discuss how girls and guys often have very different perceptions of these situations. They discussed some stereotypes of men and women, also yelled out from the audience. "We're supposed to be virgins every time," the actress facetiously pointed out.
The next scene had the same idea: the male attempts to entice the female, only this time along with the pick-up lines, both actors had to behave according to the different stereotypes suggested from the audience. Again, the situation was downright pathetic. It was creepy, even, when the male started inappropriately touching the girl, and continued even when she was clearly uncomfortable. The actors again stopped the scene to discuss the differing fantasies men and women have for each other. The woman claimed that a man's fantasy of the perfect woman is severely simple-minded, while the man countered that women don't even know what they want. "You women don't want a man," he accused. "You want a cross between Brad Pitt and Oprah. And a porn star, too."
This, perhaps, is why Riverview Lounge was so packed for the Oct. 6th show. Latecomers had to put up their own chairs where space was available. Some students sat in each other's laps; some stood out in the hallway and looked in from afar.
"Sex Signals," a traveling program put on by Chicago-based Catharsis Productions, had a simple premise: a two-person act, part scripted, part improvisation with audience participation. The message, at first, wasn't as clear.
It started off humorously; the two actors, one male and one female, set up a scene in which the male actor tried to entice the female, using pickup lines yelled out from the audience. This, of course, made for a pathetically comical attempt. The woman was appalled by the man's crude and weird behavior, while the man was certain the girl was falling for him. The actors then stopped the show to discuss how girls and guys often have very different perceptions of these situations. They discussed some stereotypes of men and women, also yelled out from the audience. "We're supposed to be virgins every time," the actress facetiously pointed out.
The next scene had the same idea: the male attempts to entice the female, only this time along with the pick-up lines, both actors had to behave according to the different stereotypes suggested from the audience. Again, the situation was downright pathetic. It was creepy, even, when the male started inappropriately touching the girl, and continued even when she was clearly uncomfortable. The actors again stopped the scene to discuss the differing fantasies men and women have for each other. The woman claimed that a man's fantasy of the perfect woman is severely simple-minded, while the man countered that women don't even know what they want. "You women don't want a man," he accused. "You want a cross between Brad Pitt and Oprah. And a porn star, too."