FARMINGTON — Calling themselves the best — and only — improv group at the University of Maine at Farmington, The Lawn Chair Pirates are on a quest to raise awareness of and funds for Alzheimer’s research.
As part of Hilarity for Charity U, a college-level fundraiser started by actor/ comedian Seth Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen, the local group is among the top 10 college fundraising groups, Zack Peercy, co-leader of the improv group, said.
The top 10 were named by the Rogens in a video on the Hilarity for Charity Facebook page, Peercy said.
“We just beat Michigan State to take sixth place,” he said Friday. “Online donations from friends and family boosted our amount to $1,435.”
The University of Vermont is in first place with $10,000, he said.
A fan of Rogen’s, Peercy was aware of the university challenge that started last September and ends April 10. The winning university receives a visit from Rogen.
But that’s not the reason the UMF improv group decided to get behind it in January.
“Awareness of the disease indicated a potential for people our age to face it or the future care of parents,” said Aaron Verrill, who co-leads the improv group with Peercy. Besides, it is for a good cause, he said.
“After a surge in audience this year, we realized that we have a voice on this campus that we would prefer to use for the better,” Peercy said. “This charity seemed like a perfect fit for us as aspiring comedians.”
At its January show, the group talked to the audience about what the Alzheimer’s Association is doing, he said.
The group accepted donations. Members are also looking to social media for help and intend to contact local businesses and hold raffles, he said.
“We’re really trying. We want to put Maine on the map with this,” said Peercy, a junior from Scranton, Pa.
UMF is the only college in Maine participating in Hilarity Charity U., he said.
Donations can be made online in their name at crowdrise.com/thelawnchairpiratesc.
The “c” on the end of the online address stands for the word cure, which is the goal of research for the disease.
The improv group started in 2000 when some theater students wanted to bring more comedy to campus, said Verrill, a senior from Belgrade.
And, the campus has responded over the past 15 years.
Shows in Lincoln Auditorium this year drew 250 to 300 people. The nearly dozen members try to perform once a month for up to two hours.
Although Verrill is president and Peercy vice president of Student Theatre at UMF, neither had any experience with improv.
“It’s scary,” Peercy said. “You never know what is coming out of people’s mouths. You just roll with it.”
The shows are similar to “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” he said. Over the years, the group developed a games list and votes on what to perform. Members practice for a week prior to a show but respond to what the audience suggests.
Members audition for The Lawn Chair Pirates. They look for a physical persona, good character work, good vocal abilities and a strong stage presence or the ability to command an audience, Verrill said.
“You also have to be willing to look like an idiot,” he said.
The group will perform two more shows: March 11 and April 8. Both start at 8 p.m. and are open to the public, and early arrival is advised, he said.
abryant@sunmediagroup.net
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