Annual 24-hour IMPROVathon “fun, but definitely tiring”
Photo credit: Nathan Sievert
By Nathan Sievert
The IMPROVables turned the Janzow Campus Center into their stage for 24 hours straight this weekend, drawing crowds for improv skits and games involving cast and audience members alike.
A series of performances by a nine-person cast kicked off the 24-Hour IMPROVathon at 7 p.m. on Friday. After the initial competition for the first few hours, the show then went on to include audience members with interactive prompts and acting games, spanning until 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Skits and scenarios within the competition included marriage counseling, a courtroom deciding the innocence of a man claiming the non-existence of Santa, and a robot gaining sentience. Prompts were created by the audience members, which added layers of unpredictability and uniqueness for participants.
Claire Horacek (left) and Joshua Nikodym (right). Photo: Nathan Sievert.
In past years, two teams of improv members competed in front of a panel of judges for the first part of the IMPROVathon. Junior improv member Claire Horacek said that, since improv is subjective and is supposed to be for fun, they did not crown a winning team this year but proclaimed that the audience members were the winners.
The rules of the annual 24-Hour IMPROVathon don’t require improv members to stay awake the full 24 hours, but several students take on the challenge anyway.
“It’s fun, but it’s definitely tiring,” said junior Marieka Kaufman, who was up for the full show. “You have these energy spikes that come and go like you could do it forever, then you would want to sit in the corner for a bit.”
Because the show was held in the middle of J-Top, passersby and studying students alike had plenty of opportunities to witness or participate in the hilarity.
One commonly played game at improv shows is called Change. At any point in a scene, an audience or cast member can call out the word “change,” and whoever is performing an action at the moment needs to alter some aspect of it. Horacek said a sudden change is fun for the audience and gets an actor’s “creativity flowing and the energy up.”
Photo: Nathan Sievert.
Participants and audience members noted the large crowd of students and a few staff members who showed up for the initial show. Junior audience member Nathan Sollberger said everyone seemed very engaged and had a lot of good energy.
“I am so thrilled that we got so many people,” said Horacek. “They gave great suggestions to us, and great feedback in their laughter and reactions. They really fed the energy and I was grateful for everyone who came.”
The IMPROVables’ 24-hour long shows and regular performances give both experienced stage-goers and non-actors the chance to play unfamiliar characters in unpredictable situations.
“I like to play characters that contrast my own personality,” said freshman Mason Lockwood. “I’m usually more introverted so it’s fun to play characters that are a bit more extroverted, or more out there.”
The IMPROVables show cast was freshman Mason Lockwood, freshman David Rodriguez, freshman Aydan Toth, junior Marieka Kaufman, junior Jason Church, junior Sarah Stepp, junior Joshua Nikodym, junior Claire Horacek, and freshman Mary Pieper.
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