AMANDA DEDIE
Staff Writer
Applause for Paws is an annual fundraising event held by the Interactive Theatre Society. It was held on Saturday, March 7, in the Multipurpose Room from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The sole purpose of the fundraiser was to raise money for the Lakeshore Humane Society, a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter located in Dunkirk, New York.
The fundraiser — free and open to the public — featured carnival-style games, such as a fishing game, tic-tac-toe toss, a nerf-shooting game, face painting and more. The Fredonia State Improv Society provided entertainment, and raffle tickets were sold for attendees to win gift baskets, with themes such as Movie Night (which had movies, popcorn, snacks and drinks), the “Green Thumb” basket (which had gardening supplies), the “I Frickin’ Love Coloring Basket” (with coloring books and crayons), mystery baskets and more. Near the end, a mini-daschund named Georgia crashed the party, causing a conga-line of followers to trail her around the MPR in the wake of her undeniable cuteness.
Kris Notar, a junior majoring in French adolescence education and member of Interactive Theatre Society, said that a few members volunteer at the Humane Society. That is just one reason the group holds this event.
“The Lakeshore Humane Society is very close to several of our members’ hearts. Some members of my sorority introduced me to them and got me into going to the shelter itself,” said Notar. “For the last several years, our fall event, Terror in the Trees, donated a portion of its proceeds to the Lakeshore Humane Society, and we decided we wanted an event solely for the purpose of raising money for them. So we decided, as a way to supplement our spring shows, we could kind of add in our improv comedy show and try to raise a little more money for them.”
The improv show brought in lots of laughs, drawing upon the sense of humor usually found in the average college student, and playing upon suggestions from the audience for skits such as “I like my women like I like my ‘blank,’” a skit called “Pillars,” in which the two performers could pick an audience members to fill in the blank for them when they were stuck, and a marshmallow game, where every time a performer made someone laugh, they had to put another marshmallow in their mouth.
“It’s a fun thing for the entire club to do and for people walking around the MPR to join in and see what we’re all about,” said Charlotte Giese, a sophomore majoring in music education and a member of the Interactive Theatre Society and the Fredonia State Improv Society. “I’m a huge animal person, and I know a lot of people in the Interactive Theatre Society are, as well. To have a no-kill shelter so close to us is really great, for people to be able to adopt dogs who haven’t had the best of lives. It’s so great for them.”
The Interactive Theatre Society raised around $400 last year to donate to the Lakeshore Humane Society, and hope to raise more in future years while increasing awareness and participation in the event and for the cause.
“It kind of came about last year. We made so much money and we were like, ‘We should probably do something with this money,’” said Elizabeth Roman, an audio/radio and music industry major and the public relations director of the Interactive Theatre Society. “We were like ‘Oh, the Lakeshore Humane Society is a no-kill shelter right in Dunkirk. We could probably donate here.’ So it’s going for a good cause.”
This year, the event raised just over $200. To learn more, go to http://www.lakeshorehumanesociety.org.