The Hysterics, a comedy group made up of BYU-Idaho students, made its debut performance at Westwood Theatre Nov. 17.

Commonly known as Comic Frenzy, The Hysterics go by the new name off-campus. The name came from J.D. Taylor, a senior from Calgary, Canada.

“We were all just sitting around and after about ten minutes I said the first thing that came to mind and it was ‘Hysterics,’” Taylor said.

The performance began with Hysterics member John Gagnon, a sophomore from Stillwater, Okla., asking the crowd, “Who’s here for the first time? Everybody!”

Gagnon asked three boys to come on the stage and help him with the song “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” as an icebreaker for the crowd and performers.

The Hysterics play a variety of games throughout their show with everything being improvised.

Audience participation is crucial to their show, whether through giving suggestions or actually interacting with the actors.

In a game called “Waiter,” a volunteer from the audience tells the waiter, the different members of the group, that there is something in her soup. The audience suggests the actual object in the soup and the members play off of it.

For instance, the audience member said, “Waiter, there’s a calculator in my soup,” and Christian Busath, a senior from Elkgrove, Calif., replied, “Oh no, that’s just pi.”

Jesse Spitz, from St. Anthony, Idaho and one of the boys that Gagnon invited on stage for “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,” asked at one point if they could be a part of an act.

The Hysterics invited him on stage again and sang to him with the chorus, “Jesse is cool.” The piano player, Adam Gedeborg, a freshman from Shoshone, Idaho, began the song with an upbeat rhythm as The Hysterics rocked back and forth, inviting the audience to clap along.

“I like that they are cool,” Spitz said. “After this, I feel like I’m going to be here a million times.”

The Hysterics performed on Nov. 17 in order to raise money for the city to remodel the Westwood Theatre located on Main Street.

“I think it’s a wonderful location. It’s large and . . . if the community will take advantage of it, it can be a beautiful place,” Taylor said.

The Hysterics plan to continue performing in the Westwood.

“I’m excited for the opportunity and I hope that support grows to the extent that we can turn [the Westwood Theatre] into a wonderful and effective place to perform,” said Brant Wadsworth, a senior from Sugar City, Idaho.

The Hysterics’ next performance will be Dec. 3 in the Westwood Theatre. All proceeds from this show will go toward Rexburg’s future splash park water slides to be located at Porter Park.