Improv impresses students at Student Union

Improv is without a doubt the boldest form of comedy around.  It takes a lot of guts for people to go on stage and try to do something funny on the spot without any rehearsal of any kind whatsoever. As a member of the audience, you never know what to expect which makes attending each show a delight.   There are numerous groups of these special brand of comics here on campus and for the first time, multiple members of different groups performed onstage together.

This past Friday, three of UConn’s premier improv comedy troupes performed for an improv comedy showcase at the student union theater.

The 1st troupe to perform Scared Scriptless, the improv section of Dramatic Paws, the student funded dramatic arts organization, specialized in short form improve. Among the notable improv games played were a blind dating skit where various group members adopted a persona such as aging backwards or a caveman, while a separate member of the group attempted to deduce their identities.

The 2nd group to perform specialized in long form improve. Horse Lincoln had no pre-determined games in place for the show and their set featured constant improve of various situations for the duration of their set.

The 3rd and final group to perform was the Reckless Gents who are known to be a little dirtier with their brand of improv.  Like Horse Lincoln, the Gents also performed long form improv. 

The highlight of the night was when members from all three troupes appeared for an encore final set onstage after the three main troupes had completed their sets. In what was basically a test to see who could come up with the best one liner responses to words such as “If Samuel L Jackson narrated your life,” and “Cancelled NBC Shows.” Members from every troupe proceeded to belt out hilarious joke after joke.

Peter Larson, a 3rd semester Patho-Biology major agreed. When asked what really stood out for him during the show, Larson replied, “Definitely putting all the improve groups together at once.”

Cam Atzl a 3rd semester English major, and Anya Rozman a 3rd semester Anthropology major were each brought out to the show by a mutual friend.  They both said that a comedy bit by the Reckless Gents involving porn-innuendos stood out as highlights for them.

“I think we did really well … the groups gave it their all … I think it was a success,” said R.J. Yarrish member of Scared Scriptless, and CFO of Dramatic Paws.

 “It’s always great when the improv groups on campus can get together and have some fun. They all have something different to offer, whether it’s short form or long form, raunchy or G-rated humor--it’s always great!” said Brittnie Carrier, President of Horse Lincoln Improv.

“This is the first time that we really got all of the groups together and in a week we have another show that is going to be a more competitive improv format where rather than just showcasing what we can do people will actually be competing against each other for audience votes,” said Matt Magda,  a 7th semester molecular and cell biology major and the president of Dramatic Paws.

The next show will be this Friday at 5 p.m. in the SU Theater.