It blows me away that Onward State has been around for a year. I have had some of my most memorable experiences (with two of them highlighted in this list) at Penn State thanks to my involvement with the blog. Thank goodness they weren’t scared off by the fact that I showed up to my first meeting unshaven and reeking of chlorine. I generally don’t swim laps right before meeting people now.
Sometimes we’ll improvise a scene in rehearsal that I wish we hadn’t. Not because it’s bad - actually, quite the opposite. The ethereal nature of improv comedy makes sure that scenes disappear as quickly as they’re concocted - that’s a rule that applies to both genius scenes and the god-awful ones that leave you scratching your head.
Last night in rehearsal, Brendan, Victoria, and DJ were in a scene about a prisoner that was up for parole. For some reason, when asked for his name, Brendan replied “Marvis Bickford.” And there was the scene. We couldn’t get over the ridiculousness of the name. So when it came to naming this week’s show, I assumed this mangled moniker was some bizarre offshoot of Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle. Whether that’s what led Brendan to name himself ‘Marvis’ or not, now he has an antihero alter-ego.
I usually don’t post things I write for Onward State, mostly because I write for the blog so often. But this piece is different. This past Saturday, I got to go into the Press Box for the game - an opportunity I honestly did not think I would get during my time here. It was a really cool experience, and I think I wrote about it in a way that is at least somewhat entertaining.
Full Ammo shows can be fun to name because there’s really nothing to consider in the process. Ryan always discouraged using a low-brow name because he felt might send the message that our comedy was nothing but dick and poop jokes. For this one, I photoshopped a Lionshead beer bottle cap as sort of a loophole to that rule.
My brother and a friend of his at University of Pittsburgh took it upon themselves to dedicate a wall of their dorm hallway to the lovely Kristen Bell. I had no problem admitting that this was cooler than anything I had done during my freshman year. Now if only I could teach him not to pose that way in pictures.
New football column for Onward State. Hell, it’s about time.