In the Thompson Hall rehearsal hall, a three-headed monster came to life March 13. The beast is known as Dr. Know-it-all and was created by the formation of three members of the Comedic Improvisational Alliance.
This comedic improvisation activity members of the organization participated in was geared to keep their minds sharp and ready for performances. Activities such as these aren’t uncommon during C.I.A. practices every Tuesday and Wednesday from 5-7PM.
In this particular activity, three members of the organizations sat side-by-side and answered questions from other club members. Answering questions with an answer made of one-word contributions from each “head,” Dr. Know-it-all’s answers led to some of the most absurd word groupings ever heard.
C.I.A. performances are similar. As with any improv act, nothing is planned ahead. There are no scripts and usually no props. While it may be counter-intuitive, many members find these performances and absurd exercises to be more natural than even traditional forms of human expression, such as theater.
“Comedic improv is a way of taking real life and putting it on stage and showing what we can derive from certain situations,” Ty Devries , a senior in mathematics and co-president of the C.I.A., said. “Theatrically it is a way of presenting everyday life in a comedic way, but it is what we do everyday. Everyday we’re improvising whether we know it or not.”
However, with prompts from the audience an essential part of improv acts, some of the most ridiculous situations can be played out on stage.
Michael Hubbard, a junior in computer science and member of C.I.A., believes even this scenario is something many can relate to because of the concept of ‘character.’
“Any good scene needs to have good characters because normally when you go to see a movie, there’s a plot… but with improv , you take away plot,” Hubbard said. “We don’t really have a stage with a set. All you have are characters. If you have characters that don’t act like real people, then the audience is not going to care what happens to them.”
James Austin, co-president of C.I.A. agrees, “[Although] sometimes [an improv performer] ends up in a scenario that is fantastical… a scene that’s a little bit unrealistic… the goal of improv is to get up there and be realistic in such a way that people will relate to it and then when funny things happen it’s like, ‘that’s hilarious because I can see that happening to me.'”
In fact, Hubbard finds the juxtaposition between realistic characters and absurd situations one of the most interesting aspects of improv .
Besides connecting with audiences, improv also has profound impacts on the performers.
According to Austin, some concepts like “Yes-And,” involving building upon given facts, are the building blocks to real-life relationships and not just improv concepts used to build scenes. Other concepts, like “being bold,” also have very applicable uses in real life.
For Hubbard, the concepts of being bold and being confidant have helped him and many other impov comedians in public speaking.
“[ Improv is] actually very helpful in things like public speaking as well, because once you’ve gone in front of an audience of a hundred people with no idea what you’re going to say or do then it’s really hard to be nervous about giving speeches or presentations,” Hubbard said.
“Improv is a way of life.” Devries said.
Like life, improv is very personal.
“Improv is for you to figure out yourself,” Dr. Know-it-all said.