It was a typical Saturday night and Phillip Hart was enjoying a performance by his school’s improv group “The Hackey Sack Brigade.” However, something was different about this week’s show. “The Hackey Sack Brigade” decided that they would pull an audience member out of the crowd and use them for an improv game. Tragically, poor Phillip was chosen, and the shy freshman was forced to talk about his day in front of the sixteen-person improv team and seven audience members.
After the show, a shaken Phillip managed to collect himself long enough to contact local authorities and report his harrowing experience.
“I felt really uncomfortable being picked out of the audience during that show. I go to these performances to enjoy comedy, not to interact with real people.” Phillip told police.
Law enforcement was heart warmed by the young man’s story, but, unfortunately, could do little to help him from a legal standpoint. However, Phillip’s best friend decided that he could help out the old fashioned way, and so a Change.org petition was started in his name. “Enforce Phillip’s Law! Ban audience participation in comedy shows!” has reached ten signatures in only two days, and the hashtag #MakePhillipComfortable has been posted over twenty times on Phillip’s twitter account.
“It is great to see people getting worked up over such an important issue,” Phillip said on his Facebook page. “We need to realize that in 2016 there is no room for forcing people into situations that might cause them mild distress.”
–Eli Gardner, Contributor