A crowd filled Ventura High School’s small theater on Friday and Saturday night. It might have been cold outside, but inside it was a place full of heated arguments, hilarious stories and witty improv.

The people gathered for the Winter Showcase put on by Ventura High School’s Drama Department and their “What?” improv troupe.

The Winter Showcase had very deep scenes that dealt with the sorrow of a troubled childhood, or the frustration and intensity of an unhappy marriage and life.

On the other hand, it also had some very comical scenes, one of them showed four old men talking among themselves about the poverty they had to overcome as children. As the scene progressed, the old men would comically get more and more radical with their stories.

They also performed some brilliant scenes from classic movies, like the “Battle of Wits” scene from “The Princess Bride” and another scene from “Silence of the Lambs.”

Matthew Goodkin-Gold, a junior at Ventura, said, “The hardest sketch for me to get down was “Silence of the Lambs,” I have never done something that dramatic. It was an interesting change.”

Ventura junior Zack Smith predicted it would be a good show, and he got what he expected.

“I heard it was a great show, and it turned out to be a pretty good show; and I just also wanted to see it for myself.”

Smith said his favorite part of the show was the improv, which featured lively games that all the actors participated in and made the audience burst out in laughter.

The Winter Showcase was a great event for everyone; it included a wide spectrum of emotions and made for a very nice night.

The VHS Drama Department’s next event will be “Bye Bye Birdie,” their spring musical, which will be performed on April 25.