Published: November 2018 Issue of The Bradford, available online here.
The four emcees introduced each a cappella group with comedic introductions, helping to transition between the many displays of the students' vocal talent. Photo courtesy of Sydney Braunstein.
Annually in mid-October, the Performing Arts department puts on Acatober, a show that many fans look forward to, not only for the impressive singing but also for the comedic intros by which emcees transition between a cappella groups. This year’s intros were performed by the four emcees: Charlie Berger ’20, Kevin Mahoney ’19, Liliana Sydorenko ’19, and Lydia Tusler ’19.
INTRO 1:
After the emcees introduced themselves, they launched their first bit with slam poetry: “a true form of a cappella”, as Mahoney said. Tusler provided a beat, while Mahoney and Sydorenko performed the slam poetry:
Mahoney: “Comin’ at you faster than a hand grenade.” Sydorenko: “Sweeter than lemonade.” Mahoney: “Cuter than a mermaid.” Mahoney and Sydorenko: “Here comes Renegade.”
A solid way to begin the a cappella groups’ portion of the show, the rhythm of the slam poetry engaged the audience and was short enough to capture the audience’s attention. This intro also used simple rhyming to clearly indicate which a cappella group came next.
INTRO 2:
On the first night of Acatober, October 19, Berger pretended to trip over a chord and Sydorenko replied in confusion to why he tripped because all the “Chordz” were backstage, using the nickname that a cappella students use to refer to members of Inchordination. Many people outside of the a cappella community are not aware of this nickname, and thus, the audience did not react much to this intro.
Responding to the first-night audience’s lack of enthusiasm for this joke, the emcees changed this bit for the second night of Acatober, October 20.
Berger and Sydorenko entered the stage while attempting to tango, but their legs became tangled and they struggled until Tusler sarcastically said, “You guys look really coordinated” and then announced Inchordination.
Although the emcees tried a new bit for the second night, it was still not as funny or engaging as some others. However, I admire how the emcees noticed that their initial bit did not get a good reaction and took the effort to create a new bit that the audience would enjoy more.
INTRO 3:
Sydorenko and Tusler walked onstage and called for a round of applause for the two a cappella groups that had already performed, which was then interrupted by Mahoney and Berger running down the aisles of the auditorium and jumping on stage, fighting over who was first, to which Sydorenko and Tusler replied, “Ladies First,” and thus introduced the next group.
I admire the dedication of this bit because when Mahoney and Berger jumped on the stage, they didn’t hold back; they committed and jumped onto the stage hard. The dramatic aspect of this bit brought it to life and kept the audience engaged, while also making it clear which group came next.
INTRO 4:
Berger and Mahoney got the crowd to chant “ey, ey” repeatedly. Mahoney then played the beginning of “Yeah” by Usher, and he and Berger each did a short dance while the crowd chanted. Mahoney then announced that A Cappella Anonymous was up next.
The emcees did a good job of engaging the audience at this point in the show when it can sometimes begin to feel sort of long. However, the connection to A Cappella Anonymous was not clear to everyone.
The emcees intended for the crowd to chant a sound similar to “A-A” to represent ‘AA’, the nickname for A Cappella Anonymous. Although I and some other audience members did not understand this, the dancing and audience engagement made up for it by livening up the crowd.
INTRO 5:
For the last intro, Berger, Sydorenko, and Tusler stood onstage while Mahoney yelled from the back of the auditorium, near the sound booth, that his mic wasn’t working. The three other emcees responded with confused guesses as to what he could have said and the conversation went:
Mahoney: “Hey guys, the mics don’t work. The sound’s off.” Sydorenko: “What?” Mahoney: “So, your mics work, but my sound is off.” Berger, Sydorenko, Tusler: “What?” Mahoney: “My sound is off.” Tusler: “Pats kickoff?” Mahoney: “No, that’s not till tomorrow. My sound is off.” Sydorenko: “Beef stroganoff?” Mahoney: “No, my sound is off.” Berger: “You want to get married?” Mahoney: “Sound off.” Berger, Sydorenko, Tusler: “Oh, sound off. Sound Off a cappella.”
This intro spanned the whole auditorium, physically engaging more of the audience. The comedic guesses by Tusler, Sydorenko, and Berger made it even more amusing. Berger’s guess, although not the most logical, received the loudest reaction from the audience of the three guesses and was funnier because of its lack of relevance. However, I noticed that some members of the audience were a little confused and appeared to think that Mahoney’s mic was actually off, likely because the group Sound Off a cappella was a guest group so it was not obvious to what group the bit pertained.