Barren Mind
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Barren Mind is an improvisational comedy troupe that performs weekly at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. They perform alongside the Farce Side Comedy Hour, a separate troupe that performs sketch comedy. It is common for members to be cast in both troupes at any given time.
Created in 1994, the group recently celebrated their 10th Anniversary with a reunion show, in which current cast members and alumni alike shared the stage. Former cast members have gone on to join and/or create such troupes as Apollo 12, Insidious Behavior, The Remainders, and The Originals. In addition, the troupe regularly organizes the annual Sun Devil Comedy Festival, which showcases local college comedy.
Near the end of each semester, Barren Mind holds two special shows just before their final show of the semester, entitled the "Rest of..." show. One is a "Versus" show in which the Barren Mind cast splits into two groups to compete against each other. In each round, the team that gets the loudest audience reaction is declared the winner of that round. The other is an "Audience Choice" show. Throughout the show, the audience is presented with two or three games to choose from, and whichever game gets the loudest reaction is the game that will be played.
The group performs every Thursday at 12:15 at Union Stage in ASU's Memorial Union, while Farce Side performs at 12:30 every Friday in the same location.
[edit] History
By the time Barren Mind was created in 1994, Arizona State University already was home to the Farce Side Comedy Hour, an established sketch-comedy group that performed weekly inside of the Memorial Union. At the time, Farce Side was overseen by the Memorial Union Activities Board (MUAB) and received an annual budget (albeit a small one) from the university.
In 1991, ASU completed construction on Union Stage, a regular home for the troupe, as well as the current location of their performances. Through these performances (as well as growing audience support) Barren Mind Improv was created. It is worthwhile to note that during the existence of Barren Mind and Farce Side, both groups have existed without rivalry or competition.
Farce Side and Barren Mind remained part of the Memorial Union Activities Board(MUAB) until the fall of 1999 when the MUAB became the Student Programming Board. At the end of the spring 2000 semester, the Student Programming Board was dropped entirely in hopes of creating a new student-intensive center on campus. With all of the change, the existence and performing space of both comedy groups was threatened. Audience members voiced their opinions, and Farce Side and Barren Mind remained alive and active at Union Stage.
Additionally, the existence of the group was again threatened as a result of the infamous "Sock Incident" of 2004. As a result, the first shows of the season were pushed back a week in order for cast members to attend a risk-management seminar at the insistence of the university. Since then, the troupes have been forced to display prominent signs that read:
"Warning! This performance may contain one or more of the following: crude or indecent language, violence, reference to sexual sitations, and inappropriate use of controlled substances."
Currently, Barren Mind and Farce Side are their own organizations run through the Student Organization Resource Center (SORC). This comedy program remains one of the few student-run university troupes that perform on a weekly basis in a permanent location. Barren Mind Improv and the Farce Side Comedy Hour regularly draw audiences of 200+ people on both Thursdays and Fridays respectively.
