Behind the Scenes: Improv

Behind the Scenes: Improv

The Improv Team is one of Mansfield’s closest and funniest clubs, although quite a few people do not actually know much about the team and practices.

Improv, during the shows, goes through a series of games that either include everyone or only certain members, and the same goes for the practices. Who performs what during the show is determined by how well someone performs during practice, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have fun, too.

“When it comes to actually practicing, it’s about 80 percent practice and 20 percent goofing off,” sophomore Austin Arriola said. “We’ve got some traditional warmups that have apparently been done for quite a while through improv; we beat up a chair in one. We all get in a big circle and either insult it or beat it up. It’s lots of fun.”

The members of improv have to be a little peculiar, but a family, to truly make a good show.

“You’re not on improv to be boring, so you’re going to have fun,” junior David Hood said. “We’re one big happy family; no one puts you down. The captains are very strict about that.”

The improv family feels the loss of their graduated seniors, but they do reunite for a show once a year.

“Every year, we have the Past, Present, Future show, so the seniors that graduated come back and you get to see them. It’s so amazing,” sophomore Dorian Hinds said. “Improv feels different from last year because it was mostly seniors, and it feels like a part of you is gone, in a way. But they’re all gonna come back.”

Any one can be on improv, as long as they wear their referee shirts on show days, as to serve for a quick promo, since no one wears a referee shirt to school on a regular basis. And everyone is more than welcome to come to the shows, as Arriola made clear.

“The best part of improv, to me, is putting a laughing smile on people’s faces. I just genuinely love that,” Arriola said. “If someone’s not having a good day, and there’s an improv show that day, I would love for them to come to the show. And if they don’t have the money to go to the show, I wouldn’t mind pulling money out of my pocket for them. I think improv is a wonderful thing that brings everyone together for a good time.”

The next show is Tuesday, October 18th, at 7 p.m. at the MHS PAC. Tickets are three dollars.