Slow Kids Reunion
Student Comedy Troupe Slow Children at Play Reunites in NYC
By Dan "Bumpers" Bocchino (CAS'99)
Some of the Slow Children at Play performing at the New York reunion. Seated, from left, Michael Ochs (CAS'97), James Comtois (CAS'99), and Michael Coleman (CAS'97); standing, Adam Schrader (CAS'01).
The Workshop Theater in New York City was the setting for a reunion of comedic proportions - and one steeped in Boston University tradition - on August 12. The four founding members of BU's sketch comedy troupe Slow Children at Play, along with three more original members, reconvened for a tenth anniversary reunion show.
Slow Kids officially began - at least on paper - in May 1996. After a failed audition for a campus improv comedy group, friends James "Tao" Comtois (CAS'99), Michael "Freak" Coleman (CAS'97), Michael "International Pimp" Ochs (CAS'97), and I decided to take matters into our own hands. We filed the appropriate paperwork with the Student Activities Office, and shortly after Slow Children at Play was born. After holding auditions the following September, the group quickly grew to eight core members, performing countless shows both on and off campus. The 2006 version of the troupe still survives on campus today, as does the tradition of replacing members' real names with pseudonyms.
It had been six years since our first reunion show in Seattle, Washington, so we decided it was time to bring our unique brand of humor to the Big Apple, performing to a capacity crowd mere blocks from Times Square. Joining the four founding members were Brian "Sparkles" Proctor (CAS'00), Adam "Styles" Schrader (CAS'01), and Mark "Genghis" Lessne (CAS'01, MED'05). We performed some twenty sketches and kept the energy level high all night bantering with the crowd.
"When push comes to shove and it's show time, we still know each other's timing and comic sensibilities . . . and don't step on each other's toes," says Comtois.
We're looking forward to another reunion show, perhaps in our hometown of Boston. We hope it won't be another ten years.