Alex "SOG" Semchuck
From Scratchpad
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Alex "SOG" Semchuck joined the Ship of Fools in February 2006. His early appearances at the Ship of Fools Weekly meetings were marked by his outrageous mane of hair (see picture below). It was from this hair he was appointed the nickname "SOG", or Son of God.
Ironically, SOG cut his locks off to their current state about a month BEFORE he was asked into the Ship of Fools, but he still received the "Son of God" title.
[edit] First Show
Alex's first show was the Science Olympiad Show on March 25, 2006. Fun fact: It was the largest Ship of Fools show ever, attended by over 1,000 people at Purdue's Elliott Hall of Music.
[edit] Car Troubles
During his time as a Fool, SOG has had notable trouble with automobiles. Despite logging over 3,000 miles between Lafayette and Hammond during 2005-2006, his 1994 Corolla was totaled in Lansing, IL - less than 10 miles from his house - in May, 2006. Most recently, during the 2006 Halloween Party, Alex parked his 2003 Corolla in the Wood Street Parking Garage. At around 9:30pm, a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a smoking engine pulled in and parked next to his empty car. The resultant explosion consumed his car in a gigantic fireball. Insurance replaced it with his current car, the Yaris. Alex will gladly boast of its gas mileage at any time.
Amazingly, SOG's Yaris has already had a near run-in with destruction. On the way back to West Lafayette after The Towle Theater Performance, John "Freshman/Tripod" Tubergen's soccer mom van nearly smashed into the Yaris while the two vehicles slipped and slid on one icy, snow-covered Northwest Indiana interstate exit. It is unknown how close the two vehicles came, but the object in SOG's mirror could not have been much closer than it had appeared without it actually ramming the car.
All in all, Alex has been involved in 6 car accidents in his life - 3 of which have resulted in totaled vehicles, and NONE of which have been his fault!
[edit] Physical Violence
Casting the first stone is one of SOG's trademarks. Frequently, following the loss of The Game or a comment about his beloved Cubs or Bears, Alex will not hesitate to walk over and sucker punch an offender. He mostly acts in defense of the Fools, but sometimes an errant nerd joke slips out and provokes the wrath of the allmighty.
[edit] Mysterious Halo
On numerous occasions, photographers have noticed a strange phenomenon at Ship of Fools performances. Whenever SOG plays Jesus Christ in an improv scene, photographs repeatedly and consistently revealed some strange effects. Initially dismissed as a trick of light or a smudged lens, repeated halos formed over SOG's head in photographs have prompted a rule in the Ship of Fools:
SOG is not allowed to be SOG in any scene until further notice.
Hopefully this will stem any divine retribution.
[edit] Officer Positions
Because of his skills, talents, and connections with advertising and media equipment, Alex was appointed to be the Communications Officer in Fall 2006 under Captain Ryan "T-Rex" Garwood.
[edit] Kelli Anne
On October 2, 2005 Alex met the girl of his dreams - in the choir loft of a Catholic Church. They finally began dating on April 14, 2006 and have been inseparable ever since.
Notably, there was a time when the Ship of Fools were not allowed to talk about her, due to possibilities of parents discovering their romance before it was desired to be made public knowledge. This situation has since been positively resolved, though Ryan still insists that it is more fun to not be allowed to talk about her.
Alex took the plunge on July 12, 2008 when he proposed to Kelli in an oddly-romantic setting in the center of Indianapolis. She said yes. They are planning to be wed in May 2010.
Kelli has made several appearances at Ship of Fools shows and Weekly meetings, including playing a game of Moving Boyfriends at the 2006 Halloween Party.
[edit] Accomplishments
- Thanks to his professional press releases, has gotten information for both Andy Ober Orchestra (AOO) Shows and The Towle Theater Performance published in The Lafayette Journal and Courier and The Northwest Indiana Times.
- Became first Fool to play an improv game via telephone when on January 19, 2007 he was a word bank for Hesitation while calling from Chicago, Illinois. This was also quite possibly the first ever interstate improv game in the history of mankind.
- Became first Fool to host improv via DVD. On April 6, 2007 he hosted 2 Person Story and played Hesitation by way of a pre-recorded DVD broadcast, with help from T-Rex, Cowboy, and Tripod. Once these were played, he walked in in the flesh and interacted with his DVD-self, narrowly avoiding a split in the Space-Time Continuum.
- Knows who Charles Guiteau and Leon Czolgosz are.
- Winner of the Most Valuable Fool Award (2007).
- Winner of the Best Impersonation Award (2007).
- Awarded the Do-Run Master of 2007.
- Graduating Senior Award: The Collective Soul Award (2007).
[edit] Improv Strengths and Weaknesses
- Favorite games: Swinging Pendulum, Stand Sit Bend, Freeze, Oxygen Deprivation, Sound Effects, 185, Dear Diary, Living Scenery
- Strengths: rhyming, impersonations, Do Run Run, 60 Second Alphabet
- Weaknesses: Sideline Sermon, anything related to engineering, geeky video games, video game theme music, Star Wars, or Star Trek.
[edit] Personal Life
Alex achieved his Bachelor's in Mass Communication from Purdue in August 2007. He is currently pursuing his Master's in Communication at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN. Among other things, he teaches two sections of Communication 101 for ISU's COMM Department. Alex hails from Hammond, IN, is noted for his lovely singing voice, love of the band Collective Soul, and the Chicago Cubs.
