The Shaun Cassidy Improvisation Club is one of the many clubs that Oswego State offers and hosts a show at 8 p.m. every Saturday.

“It was very different than what I expected,” senior Natalie Peña said. “I honestly thought it was going to be people throwing out topics for them to act out, but they actually had different categories.”

The show started with the audience writing up a phrase or a scene that the actors needed to act out. The club then took cellphones from the audience called “Unlocked Texts,” in which the actors could only respond to questions with answers from the text messages of the cellphones from the audience.

Other acts included guessing jobs that the audience had chosen for the actors and a group activity where the audience shouted out syllables and the actors made up a definition to the word they made.

“I’ve been wanting to come since my sophomore year,” Peña said. “I think I’ll come, not every week, but as much as I can.”

Junior Frank Heagle, a member since fall 2016, added that the audience has definitely gotten bigger over the years. However, he said, the attendance goes down when hockey is in season.

Heagle said that their attendance and numbers have grown. The audience has gotten larger since they he joined, and the club has gone from two regular members to 15.

Heagle and Andrew Sommers, a junior and member since fall 2016, took about a year to become full-time actors. Any major is welcome and all are encouraged to join.

The club has practice at 6 p.m. on Sundays in the Marano Campus Center auditorium. They have a sign-up at the activities fair every semester, but people can show up to the practice as they please. To become a regular actor, regular attendance at practices is required.

During the show, the audience cheered and clapped along. It was not hard to see who had attended more often than others, with various levels of interactions between the crowd and the audience.

In between acts, they would play popular, throwback songs, including “All Star,” by Smash Mouth, “See How Far We’ve Come,” by Matchbox Twenty, and others.

The audience got involved, singing along even past when the lights went up to signal the start of the new bit. Throughout the show, the audience was engaged, shouting out suggestions and answers as they were asked.

In late April, the Shaun Cassidy Improvisation club will join improv clubs from other schools and perform in Sheldon Hall.

“It’s on campus, it’s safe, [and] it’s free for everyone,” Heagle said. He added that it was a great alternative to drinking.

Photo provided by Shaun Cassidy Fan Club via Facebook