Actors from the drama club performed in an improv show, a performance in which they must improvise all of their lines and actions, Friday Nov. 8 during ac lab.
“Overall, I think it went Pretty well,” freshman Emily Kang said. “We got some good laughs and the audience really seemed to enjoy it.”
As a freshman this was Kang’s first year in improv although she recently performed in the school play, “Wait Until Dark.”
“It was a little nerve wracking at first because I never know what to expect and I had never done improv in front of a large audience, but as we got into the games the nerves went away,” Kang said.
The Show was composed of a series of games in which the actors had to improvise scenes, jokes, and their own lines. Scenarios for the scenes were prompted by the audience and Senior Matthew Greenbaum.
“The hardest part were the prompts, which I sometimes found hard to use with the jokes,” sophomore Nathan Dettlebach said.
Because improv requires the actors to think quickly on their feet without hesitation Dettlebach uses special tricks to help their performance go much smoother.
“For me, the idea is to kind of clear your head, so you aren’t distracted and can focus on the moment,” Dettlebach said.
Senior Ben Levine, who has been on the improv team since his freshman year, has gained experience and developed some of his own techniques to improv.
“To prepare I eat a powerful breakfast, write down dreams, drink enough water, and read poetry,” Levine said.
As a whole the improv team practices by focusing on the four areas of improv which includes character, objective, relationship, and environment.
“I love to act and improv is the raw form of acting and is great practice,” Dettlebach said. “Some of the lessons you learn from improv can help in real life.”