David Baker spent his two-hour drive back to Ball State University reflecting on his time at the college. In 1991, when Baker was student at Ball State, he cofounded Absolunacy, the university's comedy troupe, with Chris Raleigh.
At that time, the two had no idea it would last 15 years, and the duo certainly did not expect to go to the 15th anniversary of the first performance season of the group.
"It's weird to me that it's still going on," Raleigh said. "It's almost a totally different animal from what it was when we started it."
Raleigh and Baker started the group and had problems the first year. But, the second year, the group got a more definite start, Raleigh said.
"I always said when I started the troupe that our goal was to, one day, come back to campus and see no one we knew on stage," Baker said.
And his goal is here. For 15 years, Absolunacy, which changed its name to Abso, has served campus with several comedic performances similar to those featured on Saturday Night Live and the Second City.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first group, Absolunacy will perform at Pruis Hall on Saturday night. The show, which starts at 8 p.m., will feature alumni and this year's cast.
"Some of us old guys still have a little fight left in us," Baker said.
In 1991, Baker and Raleigh casted all of the people who auditioned for the performances, Raleigh said. But, as the group grew, they could choose who they thought would contribute the most.
"We tried to pick people funnier than us," he said.
This policy would help the group improv and expand.
"[The cast members] keep getting better," Raleigh said. "These kids, they're amazing. They'll join the Second City. They'll fit right in because they're that good."
Baker, who now teaches speech and theater at Seeger High School in Williamsport, Indiana, teaches the improvisation skills he learned through Absolunacy and other experiences to his students.
"The first section that we cover in my theater class is improv, and we also have a student comedy troupe that I started two-and-a-half, three years ago," he said. "I think improv is the best foundation that an actor can have, so that's why I stress it in my classes."
John King, Absolunacy alum and faculty adviser for the troupe, was in the group from 1998 to 1999. But, two semesters was enough to hook him.
"It is hard because it's not my troupe anymore, it's theirs," King said. "And so, I have to trust them to make the same decisions that we had to make."
For the 10-year reunion, between 30 and 40 alumni showed up for dinner and a performance. King said he is expecting about 20 to show up for the 15th anniversary.
"We hope that alums can come to town and have it be a good experience for the people who have just been cast recently," he said.
But, King said, the group would not have been successful without its audience members.
"We woudln't have lasted 15 years if people didn't come out to see the shows," he said.
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