As of late, most of us have needed a heaping dose of humor.
Capital students need a one-stop-shop to have some good laughs every now and again, and to help with this, there is a group on campus specializing in improv comedy with online Zoom shows happening regularly.
Improv is a form of comedy that is performed without a script, which means that the actors are taking what the audience is telling them to do and running with it. It is completely done by the seat of their pants.
This improv group is different from most groups on campus because it is not actually a student organization. It is a pre-professional class taken through the theatre program.
Haven Hubble, a third-year Film and Media Production major, said that it works the same way that Capital’s WXCU radio, in that it counts as a sort of taster to a legitimate job experience.
“It works like an organization in that you can just come to a practice, and if you come to enough practices you can even perform in a show with us,” Hubble said.
This class holds a light load since it can be taken in the form of either one or zero credit-hours. Additionally, just because a student takes the class, that does not mean that they have to participate in the live shows, but standard class participation is required.
“We usually start with an all-play, so that means that everybody in the class has to participate in the game,” Hubble said. “Verbal Freeze is one of those, it is like a warm-up.”
The next thing they do is try out new games and practice old ones, which takes up the majority of the class time. Then at the end of the session, they wrap up with another all-play.
Preparing for shows essentially is the class, so much of the time is spent practicing games so they know what to do once they take the stage.
The improv group has changed since its birth in 1995, primarily because it is 100% on Zoom now. However, Dr. Dan Heaton, professor of communication and the head of the improv group, elaborates on this idea.
Heaton said, “Certain games and styles come and go depending on the interests and talents of the people involved and senses of humor.”
Those in improv groups currently are aware of how to have a good time over Zoom, as they have managed to get some of the fundamentals of comedy down.
For example, the audience’s reaction plays a huge part in the success of the show, a game, and individual jokes. As a result, the group members and the audience all connect with each other through the chat.
However, they have taken into consideration the issues that having over two dozen laughing people in a zoom meeting would present. They are using a Zoom feature in their shows which only allows one microphone to be active at a time. This means that the audience is not overpowering the performers while crying-laughing at the jokes being said.
So, no need to worry about the flow and logistics of the show then.
The Improv group tries to have three shows a semester and meets every Tuesday at 5 p.m. Their next show is Oct. 27.
