by Seamus O'Connor / contributing writer

Evil prevailed in a comedic battle of Disney proportions that was waged in Grafton-Stovall Theatre Tuesday night, as the New & Improv'd comedy troupe put on its Fifth Annual Improv Bowl. The theme for this year's show was "Good vs. Evil," pitting one half of the theatre against the other in a laugh-'til-you-drop showdown.

The audience's applause determined the winning team for each round. After a total of four rounds, the teams were locked at two points each, and a rap battle resulted in the Improv Bowl crown going to the Evil team.

Team Evil consisted of sophomore Brett Bovio, freshman Bryan Bach, senior Dan Hodos and junior Lisa Aikman depicting such "sinful" institutions as North Korea and "Corporate America." Senior, sophomores Bill Howard and Guy Ridge and Selcuk Koruturk and junior Christina Boucher, representing virtuous individuals such as Mr. Rogers and the Pope, manned the Good Team. The two squads dueled in a series of improvisational games such as "Film and Theatre Styles," in which two comedians had to act out a scene in a variety of theatrical genres.

Other games required the competitors to take on new personae midscene and work oddball phrases such as "I was in the shower with the cat" into their dialogues. The performances drew plenty of laughs from the audience, which greatly was involved in the entire show. The scenes all were based on suggestions from audience members to give the event its improvisational component.

This was the first New & Improv'd showcase attended by freshman Lauren Grindle. The funniest parts of the night came from the interactions of New & Improv'd members who were not supposed to be in the skit, such as Hodos' brief cameo as a tumbleweed in a Western scene, Grindle said.

Sophomore Alice Shen is no stranger to the comedy club's shows, and enjoyed the Improv Bowl greatly, though she noted the performers are "sometimes funnier when they aren't in a competitive setting."

Sophomore Helen Curtis called the night's offering "as funny, if not funnier" than previous Improv Bowls.

At one point during a dating game-esque skit, senior Kristin Von Kundra was pulled onstage to participate, playing the part of the bachelorette. She said it was "interesting seeing [New and Improv'd] semi-prepared," as opposed to its usual spur-of-the-moment ad lib. She said she would have taken her farcical date selection out "in a heartbeat."

This was the first Improv Bowl appearance by New & Improv'd member Bovio. "It was more fun than I've had yet with New & Improv'd," he said. "I had a blast."

The first-ever Improv Bowl was in 1999, and only two members of the current group have participated in all five, making this the last hurrah for Howard and senior Doug Woodhouse, the emcee of the night's events. Both Woodhouse and Howard felt the show was a good one on which to go out, due to the large audience and performance of their teammates. About 100 friends and fans attended the event. Howard said his favorite moment was portraying Big Bird on drugs, explaining, "That's a character you dream about playing."

The crew is looking forward to its first trip to the Dirty South Improv Festival next month in North Carolina.