Members of the improv team at Carlmont High School are preparing for their upcoming performance, which will consist of set games, and an audience who will be providing ideas.
Improv is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters, and dialogue of a game, scene, or story are made up in the moment, making it difficult for the actors to develop a script.
Zoe Chien, a senior at Carlmont, and secretary of the team said, “In improv, there is no theme or anything. We just come up here, and we do not know what is going to happen.”
Even though members of the improv team can not practice their performance, it is still important to them to rehearse every Sunday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to develop skills and gain practice.
However, rehearsals can be very entertaining and fun as it is an opportunity for students to interact with their teammates. Chien said, “Every time we rehearse, we’re usually in tears laughing…at ourselves.”
The improv team also needs an audience who is willing to provide suggestions such as plots, locations, or occupations.
Chien said, “We really need help from the audience because they are the ones that are going to give us suggestions guaranteeing that it is improv. If you rehearse it, that is illegal in improv.”
This year, the improv team only consists of juniors, and seniors, but they welcome and encourage incoming freshmen to join.
Chien said, “We encourage and want incoming freshmen on the team so that they can be on the team for four years, and keep the legacy going.”
Senior Sarah Burry, member of the improv team, said, “I just joined the improv team, and everyone is so welcoming and kind.”
For their first performance, the improv team seems very confident that it will turn out to be a successful one.
Chien said, “I think it is gonna be a great show. We rehearse once a week for a couple of hours, and I feel like everyone on the team is very strong, and we work really well together.”
The improv team hopes to receive an audience filled with ideas to make their made up in the moment performance challenging, and entertaining. They are performing Oct. 11 in the Studio Theater at 7:30pm.
