“Oh my fucking god! It’s the Whistling Shrimp!”

When Mark Vignet ’11 pumped up the Shrimp for their performance “Paint By Numbers” Saturday night, he was just as excited as the first time he saw the comedy group during his freshmen orientation. Outside the dimly lit theater, audience members were waiting to take their seats at The Schwartz Center. It was show time.

But rewind a few weeks. My journey to find the Whistling Shrimp was not simple. Our alleged meeting location, as a cryptic text told me, was “upstairs.” So I climbed the treacherous slope all the way to Statler Hall from West campus. Instead of Shrimp, I was met with very fierce Taiko drums and highly energetic “Yas!”

Just when I had almost given up hope on ever finding the band of comedians, they appeared. They were tall. They were dashingly handsome. And they had no idea that I was stalking them from the balcony.

The Whistling Shrimp is an improv group that runs on audience suggestions. The entire ensemble consists of Nicholas Devito ’10, Alex Viola ’10, Tom O’Connell ’10, Johan Eisenstock ’10, Jon Delikat ’10, Mark Vignet ’11, Chris Smith MRP ’11, Megan Rossin ’12, Sam Dillavou ’12, Greg Haber ’12 and Austin Duenas ’13.

Their two-act performance at the Statler was only the appetizer for me. The next time I was to see the Whistling Shrimp was at their practice at their usual rehearsal space in room 128 at Rockerfeller Hall. When I arrived, I was met with a sign on the chalk board reading, “The Whistling Shrimp Welcome The Media.” I felt welcomed, although a free t-shirt would’ve been a nice welcoming present, but whatever.

Their rehearsals begin by going over their “Bizness.” This included who could put up posters and other ways to get more people to come to their show. “Quarter cards?” Greg suggested. After what seemed to be a consensus on not using quarter cards, the group then had to decide who was going to the show at Dickson. Chaos ensued. Everyone spoke over the other and trying to sort out their schedule. But in an instant, Shrimp member Amanda walked into the room and said she would do it. Crisis averted.

Then they all formed a circle and started to warm up. It was like a cult. To get their creative juices flowing, they play a series of games that has them shout of the first word they associate with the previous word said. I managed to catch on after a succession of words like “Maroon 5, Jam, Jim Caviezel.”

After they warm up, they move right into a mock show. Since it’s an improv group, they don’t have a script, only suggestions to work with. “Purple wigs! Cretaceous Period! Toothpaste!” Those were only some of the examples for ideas in sketches.

My favorite skit of the rehearsal, “Gripes,” came at the end. This involved all of the Shrimp complaining in a chorus. Greg was the “conductor” in a chorus of people who were complaining about whatever was suggested to them by the “audience.” While the entire sketch was funny, there was one interpretation that left the Shrimp in fits of laughter. It came with the suggestion of “fixed chairs,” after someone suggested “broken chairs.” Austin started moving his arms and body like a robot and claimed “I will be your chairman for the next 2,017 years. I am the fixed chair.” It was superb improvisation.

Once they finished their rehearsal, they went over each sketch and decided what they could do to improve their performance. The key to improv is knowing when to cut the scene and not letting it drag on, which seemed to be a main point that was brought up with each sketch. And with that, rehearsal was over — with one member running off to stripper class (I’m looking at you, Tom).

Jump back to Saturday night. Crammed into the first row of the Schwartz Theater, they were still critiquing the previous night’s performance. It was only 10 minutes before the doors open. In the final moments before the audience began to trickle in, their energy became collective and in sync. There’s nothing like seeing hard work and dedication paying off, especially after watching all the work that each member puts into the group.

But as much as they depend on each other, the Shrimp really are fantastic because of their audience. They get their best ideas by playing off of the crowd (with Nick even learning how to shimmy). By the end of the two evenings at the Schwartz — four performances in total — over 200 people saw the best comedy show at Cornell.

Next semester, the Shrimp will be celebrating their 25th anniversary at Cornell. Alumni will be returning to campus for a special performance that is sure to include all the talented, eclectic members of past and present. For the most up-to date information on the event and other up-coming shows, you can follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/whistlingshrimp.