The Observer, September 29, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 5
Sex Signals deciphered in educational improv show of sex and dating scenarios
Can sex education be fun and informative? Well it can definitely be the latter, but what about fun and enjoyable? Yes, or for at least one Thursday night it was. Last Thursday, Sept. 21, Case's Center for Women hosted a comedy improv show called Sex Signals. This improv show was a collection of many real-life sex and/or dating scenarios that college students might encounter. But why was this sex education lecture more interesting than those we all had back in middle school?
Well, for starters, this was not a lecture but rather an interactive comedy improv show that involved the audience. Periodically throughout the show the two actors, John Mallory and Amber Kelly, would act out certain scenarios and would have the audience tell them what should happen or what one or both of the characters did wrong. This allowed the audience to think about the issue without having to be directly lectured; after all, we get enough of that in class.
Mallory and Kelly are two very talented performers, but how did they get into this type of acting? Mallory was always an activist for safe sexual practices. Prior to joining Sex Signals, Mallory created and operated a sexual assault peer education group called "One in Four" while attending the College of Willam and Mary. He continued this program until he saw a performance of Sex Signals and auditioned for the role of the male figure. Kelly, on the other hand, had a different start. She began as a community educator for the Rape Crisis and Victim Services branch of the Women's Center of Tarrant County in Texas. There, she instructed people on how to react and deal with those traumatized by rape. She then decided to try a new style of education and joined Sex Signals; she has been with the program for the last three years.
The longevity of the performers' careers with Sex Signals speaks volumes about their belief in its effectiveness. One powerful example of the program's effectiveness was apparent during a scenario in which a young man was accused of rape. The skit involved Mallory playing the accused young man and Kelly playing a TV talk show hostess. They progressed into the show with Mallory describing what went wrong and why the girl accused him of such an act. After hearing the story, the hostess asked the audience what they thought. The majority of the people thought that the sex was consensual but were later shocked to learn that what had been described was the exact definition of rape. The power of this skit was a combination of audience participation, situational gravity, and a seemingly innocuous beginning: two people studying.
But this was not the most shocking skit to be performed that evening. Mallory and Kelly communicated facts about sex throughout the evening; some fwere common knowledge, but many more were new, often contradicting urban legends. I can speak for myself, at least, when I say that I left knowing much more about the definitions of rape and sexual assault. The performers continued with this and other topics such as awkward moments, dating, consent, and gender roles.
Mallory and Kelly did a particularly good job illustrating the definitions of consent. The two started the skit with things heating up, drinking beer, lightly undressing, and then full-on making out. Mallory and Kelly were about to go at it when Mallory stopped to ask "Do you want to have sex?" Kelly, clearly irate, responded "Oh my God, I can't believe you asked that. Where are my pants?" This was a hilarious scene that taught the audience that it is always better to get a verbal consent before proceeding.
So why would the Center for Women put on a humorous show about such a serious subject, possibly risking undermining the message through comedy? The Flora Stone Mather Center for Women wishes to educate students about safe sexual relations by relating to them in a medium that they will understand, but will still enjoy. If anything was learned that night, it was that sex is not always a laughing matter, even in an improv show.
