Rolling on the Floorax

Oliver Boch
Tue, 27 Aug 2019 01:01:24 +0000
Arts & Life, Comedy, Entertainment, backburner, backburner sketch comedy, comedy, dr. suess, floorax, ohio union, sketch, sketch comedy, US Bank Conference theatre

Backburner Sketch Comedy group after their rehearsal on Feb. 19. Their first show of the semester will be Aug. 30. Credit: Ashley Kimmel | Assistant Arts & Life Editor

Backburner Sketch Comedy is taking a trip down memory lane this week, featuring an old character for the club’s first show of the semester.

Floorax, a character originally introduced in the club’s previous holiday performance, is now the subject of Friday’s presentation of “The Floorax Show,” held in the Ohio Union.

The character is a parody of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax.” He “speaks for the floor,” just as the Lorax speaks for the trees, Adam Goecke, the club’s vice president of acting and a fourth-year in chemical engineering, said. Pieces featuring the cast’s favorite floor fanatic will dot the organization’s lineup of 20 original sketches throughout the night.

Backburner writes for Ohio State students, but anyone is welcome to attend the performances for free.

“We produce all sorts of content for whatever people want to write about,” Bradford Douglas, vice president of writing for the club and a fourth-year in film studies, said.?

Backburner performs regular shows every two or three weeks on Fridays or Saturdays at the US Bank Conference Theater, and often collaborates with other student organizations dedicated to sketch comedy and improv.

Some of the group’s past shows have had content that they describe as “rated R,” but all of the performances vary because each sketch is written by a different member.

“We do take a lot of care to make sure that our content is responsible,” Goecke said.

Backburner was officially started in fall 2016 by a group of friends and has since grown to include approximately 30 members who contribute a combination of writing and performing.

“It’s worth coming to see a lot of really fun characters and absurd jokes and some great student content. Backburner is a really creative group of comedians,” Goecke said.

“The Floorax Show” is Friday at the US Bank Conference Theater in the Union at no cost. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.