EMILY REID/ Arizona Daily Wildcat Pre-computer science junior Ryan Cowan-Malloy and acting freshman Nitya Kurtak perform Thursday night as part of the campus comedy group Mechanically Separated Chicken. The Mechanically Separated Chicken perform every Thursday night at 10:15 in Modern Languages, Room 350.

Laughter is the best medicine. The stress of term papers and exams can easily turn a regular week into a hellish journey through migraines and paperwork.

If you are looking for something to heal what ails you, a bit of escapism in the form of Mechanically Separated Chicken may just be what the doctor ordered.

MSC is one of four improv groups at the University of Arizona.

"We are one of the few campuses in the nation with four comedy groups," said Adam Pawlus, media arts senior and one of the group's co-founders. "Most campuses have only one or two."

The show MSC puts on can best be described as fast-paced, entertaining comedy with good timing on all performers' parts. Constant movement keeps the show fresh and quick.

"It doesn't matter if we have 14 or 37 skits, it usually runs a half hour," Pawlus said.

The sound of silence is the one thing an improv group works hard to avoid. MSC uses a mixture of "Saturday Night Live"-esque skits and more traditional improvisational scenes, giving the audience variety and a well-balanced show.

This technique seems to be working. Many times during Thursday night's performance, the audience was not only laughing, but cheering with applause.

A few of the beginning skits fell a bit flat in an otherwise smooth show. This could be attributed to early-in-the-show jitters. As the show progressed, the skits' humor did too.

The highlight of last week's performance was the skit "Fresh Prince of the Third Reich." It was well-acted and garnered some of the night's biggest laughs. It has potential to be a recurring sketch that would prove a sure-fire winner.

The process of deciding which skits should run or not can be a trying process, according to cast members. Some skits were added and some cut right before show time.

"We're very critical of each other," Pawlus said. "We are not afraid to say 'You suck' and 'That was the worst thing I've ever seen.'"

The consistently funny parts of the show were the improvisation scenes. Ironically, the improvisation was not originally even intended to be included as part of Thursday's show.

"Most of the improv filled gaps from bits that didn't come together at the last minute," Pawlus confessed.

The audience, however, received the scenes favorably, fully participating as requested and giving the comics a few challenging tasks to act out.

MSC started performing during the fall 2001 semester. The group consists of eight people, some of whom went through an audition process to become members and some who have been with MSC from the start. The group holds auditions before each semester that are open to everyone.

"If someone is really interested in joining the group, we are interested in seeing submissions of writing," Pawlus said. "If you are really excited about joining us, come out to the show and talk to us afterwards."

One of the group's newest members, theater sophomore April DeLuna, thoroughly enjoyed the experience of her first performance with the group.

"It was really fun," she said. "I just wanted to take the small roles to get into the swing of things."

The Mechanically Separated Chicken performs every Thursday night at 10:15 in Modern Languages, Room 350.

For more information about the Mechanically Separated Chicken, including cast bios, history, and other fun facts, visit their Web site at www.16bit.com/msc.