~Improv~

Pardon me for sounding dramatic, but making people giggle changed my life. 

Exhibit A? My college admissions essay.

“Now let’s bring out our cast!” echoes through the 84-seat theater. In the few seconds between hearing these words and planting our feet onstage, my cast mates and I are equally nervous as we are excited, a million thoughts running through our minds.

I hope we don’t mess up. Is there a decent audience? Let’s do this.

I run through the games we’re set to play one last time. I try to rhyme as many words to “cat”, “shoe”, and “Joe” as I can, because they always seem to be suggested by the audience.  I share hugs of encouragement with everyone else to suppress these anxious thoughts running circles around each other in my head. 

Before I know it, the stage doors open and muffled applause becomes clearer. The lights shine down on me and their vibrant rays warm my face. I look past the brightness, and I can see a few friends and family members there to cheer on their loved ones. No more than 10 of the seats are filled, but I don’t care. I’m getting the opportunity to do something I’m passionate about with people I love. Whether it be in front of an audience of 10 or 1,000 people, I give it my all and deliver the best performance I can. Every show is completely different, with new games, new audience members, and new suggestions. I’ve had bad performances and amazing ones, and while I strive for the latter, it’s entirely out of my hands once we begin. There are no lines to memorize, no blocking to stick to, not even a light cue signaling an entrance or exit. Once I’m onstage, all that I have is myself and my cast mates, whom I must put a tremendous amount of trust in. Each of us brings something entirely different to our shows, and performances wouldn’t be complete without every element. We are like puzzle pieces, each of us necessary to complete the picture. 

Improv is terrifying, I think as we begin our first game, a rhyming piece called “Do-Run”.

Even after almost 4 years of honing this skill, I’m still scared, more often than not, of what awaits me before every show. I remember my first time doing improv as if it were yesterday. It was my first experience onstage with no idea what was going to happen. I debated back and forth all day over whether or not I should go to the class, weighing pros and cons for hours. My eighth grade self was extremely conscious of others’ perception of her, so it was only natural for worries to creep in, because improv requires you to be completely vulnerable onstage, ready to take whatever it is that the audience throws at you. I was afraid that I would be deemed weird and let that fear dictate most of this debate in my mind. In the end, my mother’s encouraging words finally convinced me to simply give it a try.

What’s the worst that could happen? 

So I went, and I was incredibly intimidated by all of the talented kids who had been doing this for years already. Their ability to think on their feet and make the audience laugh over and over again had me in awe and I knew right away that this was something I wanted to be good at. I stayed with it, working hard towards becoming the best improviser I could possibly be. As I attended classes every week I developed a newfound sense of confidence, caring less about being “weird” and more about giving my cast mates good material to work with and, most importantly, having fun. Before I knew it 2 years had gone by, and I felt like and entirely new girl.

People came and went from the class, but some of us never left, and soon a strong group of insanely funny and skilled improvisers had formed. We worked together and became very close, so we started our own troupe at the same theater, performing in our own shows and working on long form games, as opposed to short form like we had been doing previously. Doing what I love with people that I’ve grown so close to brings me more happiness than anything else. While I wouldn’t say that my career as an improviser defines me, it is undeniable that it has helped to shape me into the person I am today. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone like nothing else, causing me to become much more comfortable in my own skin. Improv and the community I have built within it is something that I am forever grateful for, and something that I will never give up. There is always something new to learn, and I intend to learn as much as I possibly can.

Thanks to my stellar writing chops, I landed at Syracuse University, where I found Zamboni Revolution.

This tight-knit group of absolute freaks only reinforced my love for comedy, and if you ever find yourself in Syracuse, NY, trust me when I say you need to seek out a performance. I can hardly put into words the impact that these people and this skill have had on me over the years, so I'll let some other people do the talking here: