By: Thomas Bell ~Guest Writer~

Xavier Players’ “Toolbox: Take 2” once again delighted audiences with a show that not even the ac­tors knew was coming.

Billed as “a new show every night,” seniors Brandon Martin and Will Clemens directed a cast of seven Xavier students in the improvisational comedy show that has become a Players fixture over the years.

This incarnation of “Toolbox” was a bit different, however, as the cast strayed from traditional, short improv games to a long-form show with one central plot.

Although the difficult perfor­mance style made a few scenes appear unnatural and forced, the actors were able to bring in laughs throughout the night.

After the doors opened, early-arriving audience members were treated to open warm ups.

These warm-ups were not only beneficial to the perform­ers, but also allowed the audience a glimpse of “Toolbox’s” greatest strength: hilarious short scenes accompanied by brilliant physical humor.

After a brief introduction by the student directors, an audience member named the soon-to-be play “Milk of Mother’s Kindness,” the cast’s sole prompt for the en­tire show that night.

By introducing other characters throughout the show, the actors developed the performance into the story of cruise ship murder plots, ghosts and a mother’s love.

Although the material sounds dark, the cast brilliantly used their wit to draw swells of laughter from the audience.

However, as the show con­tinued, many scenes fell flat. The actors were often confused when one scene began and an­other ended.

This long-form production caused many actors to seem more worried about filling time rather than ending a scene strongly.

Although not every scene was a hit, “Toolbox” was filled with bellows of audience laughter that deemed the production a success and left audiences excited for the next installment of this great Xavier production.