The Clark University Peapod Squad took first place at the 2010 College Beanpot Improv Tournament, held Feb. 24-27 at ImprovBoston.
Peapod competed against eight other area college improv teams to win first place, the third Beanpot title for the squad.
Members of the Peapod Squad are Andrew Ninnemann ‘10, Kaylie Curran ‘10, Sarah Jette ‘10, Milo MacPhail ‘11, John Nolan ‘11, Danny Zeliger ‘11, Ian Michaels ‘11, Julian Kronick ‘12 (of Leominster), Laura Flynn ‘12, and Vicki Grogan ‘10. Individually, MacPhail won the Breakout Player award.
The tournament is conducted in a Theater Sports-style competition, with teams going head-to-head, being scored individually according to Story, Skill, and Entertainment. This year’s tournament featured a “Goon” judge, who was allotted 15 points per round to give out as they saw fit, according to things they liked about the scenes.
Peapod won the competition in the final round against Fairfield by playing a long-form version of a game (with the working title of “The Morality Game”) created by the Squad, in which the team went through the scenario of the way a character’s life would pan out if they made one moral decision over another. The team received a perfect score for this final game, bringing in the win.
Peapod was coached at this year’s tournament by Impro Boston cast member Jenna O’Brien of Flaming Awesome, an IB house team.
This year’s other contestants included Fairfield University; Northeastern University; MIT; WPI; Brandeis University; Boston University; Boston College; and Gordon College.