D @ vA Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca ¢ ‘Cinderella Waltz’ play review ¢ Most heartwarming ‘The Simpsons’ episodes ¢ ‘Mowry Baden’ exhibition ..and more! Tune in and Dropout: Debating life's questions with hilarious results >» ‘The Rank Room’ TV show review Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager The jokesters over at CollegeHumor launched their own comedy streaming platform Dropout TV. I'm here to tell you if their exclusive content is worth the subscription fee. keen imilar to long-running sketch shows like Saturday Night Live or In Living Color, CollegeHumor’s cast has been a revolving door of comedians over the years. Some spent the larger part of a decade writing and starring in the website’s sketch videos, while others disappeared almost as suddenly as they’d arrived. Katie Marovitch’s rise at CH was gradual but well-earned. She first began popping up as a background character in 2014, and by the following year she was a prominent fixture in most of their sketches, even developing her own recurring subplot of having a pesky coke addiction (I swear, it’s funnier than it sounds on paper). Marovitch is one of the most senior cast members around, and it’s an absolute joy seeing her flex her hosting muscles in the new Dropout series The Rank Room. Back in 2018, CollegeHumor began debuting long-form videos, secretly measuring interest for the content ultimately offered on present-day Dropout. The Rank Room was one of said series released and it remains one of the funniest—even as it makes the jump from web series to full-on television show. In each episode, Marovitch is joined by three other cast members to debate life’s burning questions, such as “What is the best thing to find in a treasure chest?” or “What is the best invention not invented yet?” Each person comes prepared with two answers, and they take turns defending and critiquing each offering, At the end of the SB a & 9 3 ing x c i) oc uv x episode, one answer is chosen somewhat arbitrarily by Marovitch and emerges victorious. Every aspect of Rank Room works here, from the cast members donning formal dresswear to the dramatic music overplaying at different heated moments. The show could almost pass for a serious debate if it weren't for the absurd prompts and answers given, or the periodic fits of laughter. The cast members have an incredible amount of fun, which shines through in the final product. The increased budget for The Rank Room has also paid off wonderfully, with a war room-style set and added graphics to complement the show’s hijinks. Using the CollegeHumor office as the setting worked for the web series iteration, but the overall feel for The Rank Room has been punched up a notch—even though they’re still debating ridiculous things, like inventing a heated glovebox to keep your takeout food warm in between destinations. The show’s credits and outro for each episode also double down on the show’s concept, but I won't say anything more to keep it a pleasant surprise. When Dropout TV was in its beta stage last fall, most of its programs left me feeling indifferent. I kept my subscription because of its low cost, but also with the prior experience of knowing how funny CollegeHumor is when it’s firing on all comedic cylinders. The Rank Room is the third hit in a row (following up Total Forgiveness and WTF 101, which I both highly recommend) and if Dropout can maintain this momentum, there’s no telling what the streaming service is capable of. Full episodes of The Rank Room are only available on Dropout TV. If you want a sampling though, check out the four web episodes available on YouTube. (In particular, the debut episode on “What is the sexiest way to die?” is an absolute riot.) Interactive sound and movement artwork » ‘Mowry Baden’ exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor owry Baden is an artist who has works all over North America. On March 14, the Other Press attended a media tour at the Vancouver Art Gallery, hosted by Grant Arnold, Audain Curator of British Columbia Art, and Baden himself. The tour alternated in discussing the art pieces as well as Baden’s personal and artistic life. Arnold began the tour with a brief summary of Baden’s early career as an aspiring artist. Baden is an important West Coast figure. He has taught at UBC and UVic, and even has a public art piece displayed outside BC Place. Arnold noted that Baden wanted to bea writer but became an artist instead. He creates innovative sculptures that are heavily inspired by his own imagination. He is also influenced greatly by perceptual psychology, science, and architecture, which his son studies. Throughout the tour, Baden asked us to think deeply about each work at hand. He said, “When we see somebody doing something, we mentally do it ourselves.” He suggested that each interactive sculpture is not what it seems, and to know it, we must experience it for ourselves. The interactive displays were interesting enough to look at even before experiencing them. There is a metal rod protruding from the ground with a seatbelt attached at the end. You must put on the seatbelt, then walk around the centre of the display and feel how you walk. It is meant to give the user insight to how their physical body really moves. Cheap Sleeps Columbine (1994) is an exceptionally breathtaking piece. It is constructed with the cheapest mattresses (with the biggest flowers) that Baden could find. It is an enclosure meant to recreate a gazebo-type feeling. It isa “work that shields the viewer from the world,” Baden said, emphasizing the associations that come with a bed, suchas safety, healing, and passion. Ukulele (201) is another enclosure i Photo by Sonam Kolati of 'Trisctor' piece and the largest in the exhibition. You walk through a short tunnel into a dark, one-person room. In this room there are black walls covered in white dots representing stars, colourful flashing lights, and ping pong balls flying towards you. The physical composition of the work is meant to make the viewer feel as though they are in space, with stars and asteroids flying towards them. The ping pong balls give the viewer a bit of natural anxiety as well. Baden said that the piece is titled Ukulele because as a kid he had a ukulele and the sound of the ping pong balls reminded him of the instrument. A piece titled Trisector features a large steel sculpture with movable rods attached to mop buckets. Baden would like it to be a public work and told us that it is safe for kids to sit on and play with. He even went as far to say, “The mop bucket makes a great dance partner” Humour aside, Baden’s artwork is stunning, relatable, and interactive. The sounds and physical demands of the pieces bring back fond memories of childhood while connecting them to present adulthood. The Vancouver Art Gallery currently has the Mowry Baden exhibition on display from March 9 to June 9g.