Spit Take

The other fun thing I got to do for this last show was for a skit called Spit Take. Spit Take is an old skit from way back in the archives. I remember seeing it performed long before I was ever part of the group, so it was fun to hear that it was going to be in the show.

It starts with four people on stage, all sipping from water bottles. They start talking, and after everything someone says, the person they're talking to does a spit take. It starts off with "big news" sorts of things, but then moves to more and more blase statements which are still followed by spit takes. (See? It's funny!) When I originally saw this skit performed, before the show started, the cast members passed out garbage bags to the people in the front row of the audience and told them, "You'll probably need these," without telling them why. So, at the of the skit, when one of the guys ran in and said, "The house is on fire!" and all the cast members took huge gulps of water and ran to the front of the stage, everyone in the front row held their garbage bags over their heads and screamed. I asked if we were going to do that again, and no one else remembered that being part of the plan, but they loved the idea.

I took it one step further and made little "insurance forms" that said, "I, the undersigned, agree that I will not hold Divine Comedy, any of its members, or BYU responsible for any physical discomfort or damage to personal property, including but not limited to water damage, that may result from events during tonight's show." Before each show, I passed them out to the front row people, along with the garbage bags and said things like, "Just a precaution!" or, "You'll probably need this." Sometimes the people in the second row would reach for one, and I'd hesitate and say, "Eh...you'll probably be fine without it," then walk away, leaving them looking extremely worried. It was great fun!

I loved standing in the back and watching the end of the skit, because when the cast members run to the front of the stage with water in their mouths, invariably, the people in the front rows held up their garbage bags and screamed. However, the cast members simply swallow their gulps and say, "I'll get the fire extinguisher," "Someone call 911!" and my favorite, "I'll go find the cat!"

PSYCH!!