A man walks out in pink spandex and a pig nose, and the crowd bursts into laughter that is both stifled and uproarious. The dim, purple lights of The Rockwell cast him in both shadow and spotlight.

In Gasson Hall, on an otherwise quiet Thursday night, Asinine Sketch and Improv Comedy provided a lively respite from midterm stress with its Improv Cafè Show, creatively titled “Don’t Knock It Unless ...