IGP: Comedy Unthunk

Saturday night I went to the semester's first production at the Loeb Ex: IGP: Comedy Unthunk. Unfortunately, it was a bit too unthunk for my taste, though still entertaining.

The show was an improv mystery story, with the audience choosing which stock characters each of four actors would play. Of course, the guy with the mustache ended up in the purple ball gown. The woman with her hair up became the detective, the woman with her hair down became the mob boss (a rather girly mob boss, but still), and the other guy was the homeless hobo type. There were supporting cast members, and a pianist in the corner, who did an excellent job. Other than that, the set was bare.

It was a ridiculous plot about a missing bowling ball, but that was fine. There were a couple of musical numbers, and the group was obviously ad-libbing, since there were enough moments when they weren't sure what to say next. I think a lot of what redeemed it for me was how much the actors were enjoying themselves, cracking each other up. Still, it was far from the best improv I've seen.

An adventure, of sorts

Sunday morning I set out to take pictures of some local murals. I've been working on a project that may or may not come to fruition, but at least I'll end up with photos of some lovely art.

I was walking along Cambridge St. when a kid on a bike passed me, asking if I knew the time. No, sorry. I started taking pictures of the tree mosaics on a building nearby. The next thing I know, the kid is sitting on a nearby bench, waiting for me to finish taking pictures. He asked if I'd be showing the pictures somewhere, and I said no. He asked if he could walk with me a bit, and I couldn't see any harm in it, so said ok.

He went slowly on his bike, keeping pace with my walking, and at intervals we talked a bit. He's in high school, in a special program of some sort or another, learning to be a mechanic. He introduced himself, A****. I told him my first name, and we continued on to the next mural on my list (the one I think of as the vegetarian one, since it's against animals being killed. It's an odd composition, too, which makes it more interesting to me). I take pictures, he waits, then we head to the next mural on my list. And the conversation continues, but I start to get a bit more concerned. He asks if we can go walking sometime. He asks for my number. He asks what I like to do, then suggests I teach him to cook. Or we could play board games. Or talk. He said we had a lot in common (!). He asked where I live. I answered, but vaguely. He asks if he could come visit me sometime. It wasn't all at once, but over the course of the hour or so he spent walking with me. Still, it started to set off warning bells. Originally, I'd just thought he was a bored kid, out on a Sunday morning, just looking for something to distract himself with. But this was getting definitely creepy. I wasn't particularly worried that he'd do something to me just then (and if he tried, I felt confident I could beat him up, if it came to that), but I didn't want some random teenaged kid in my house, nor was I going to give him my phone number. No stalkers for me, thanks. He said he needed a bathroom, and first tried to get me to hold his bike while he went down a driveway. Er, no, thanks. Later, he asked if he could use my bathroom. No to that, too. He'd already said his grandmother lived nearby, but when I suggested using her bathroom, he said she slept late. OK.

At least there was plenty of time in between conversation snippets to figure out how I could ditch him. I was planning to go to Walgreen's at some point anyway, and now was as good a time as any. He asked how long I'd be inside. I said I didn't know. Then he asked again for my number (and if I had a pen). No. A hug before leaving? No, I don't think so. I went into Walgreen's to get film, and hoped he'd not wait around until I came out. I looked around, and he wasn't there, which was good.

So I'm left wondering: was this a kid trying to pick me up, or a kid looking for a friend (what about kids from school, or in his neighborhood, or something)? I don't know.