“Zoinks! Ruhroh!”

Scooby Doo’s scruffy dog personality jumped into your mind, didn’t he?

To ring in the Halloween season, a parody performance of the famous mystery gang sparked chills and laughter in the audience at Kjer Theatre this past weekend.

“Spooky Dog and the Teenage Gang Mysteries” was live on campus. Cloth sheets hung from walls, giving the room a ghostly feel as audience members filed into seats close to the stage.

The show was put on by UWEC Players, a student organization that provides unique opportunities for students to write, direct, design and perform productions outside of mainstage productions, according to their mission statement.

“With the UWEC Players, it’s a smaller group of people helping everyone out and doing a lot more,” said Ben Qualley, a sophomore who has been in charge of public relations for the group. “A lot of us did double duty like hanging lights.”

Qualley said a wide range of students have attended their weekly meetings and workshops. From theater to geology students, he said everyone has always been welcomed.

Vice President McKenzie Currie said their mission is to create opportunities for creative outlets for students in the most welcoming atmosphere possible. They want people to have the chance to work at something they might not be the best at, whether that’s writing, directing or acting.

The performance

“Spooky Dog and the Teenage Gang Mysteries” was interactive, inviting audience members to engage by choosing who the mystery gang was saving.

As part of the interactive element of the show, Friday night’s audience chose to save pop singer Katy Perry. This choice inspired puns about the artist throughout the show that won laughs among the crowd.

Although the performance is a spoof of the hit cartoon, it still holds its mystery component.

The gang goes on the hunt at the “Creepola County County Fair” to find the audience’s Katy Perry, and at the end they find and expose the phantom’s identity.

This mystery had more to it than the search.

“I wasn’t expecting as much adult humor as there was. It was really funny; I laughed a lot,” Michaela Beal, a sophomore, said. “I know the actress who played Tiffany … she’s amazing and she continues to amaze me.”

Qualley described the show as something similar to a Saturday morning cartoon. They put in all of the dirty jokes that people assume are happening during Scooby Doo but you don’t actually see, Qualley said.

The three-time show went out with a twist on Saturday night, an uncensored show having no limits with the jokes they told. This was a chance for the cast to add the “raunchy jokes we’ve come up with in rehearsal,” Qualley said.

UWEC Players have more shows to put on this year, and members said they are excited to see the group continue to grow in numbers — both members and fans.

“A few years ago it was fewer than 20 people, and now we’ve expanded a lot,” Qualley said about the Players. “It’s been a blessing to of be a part of. We’re drawing a lot of people in and it’s really exciting, I’m excited to see where the group goes.”