Inside the Improv

Alyssa Desautelle

For the Clock

andesautelle@plymouth.edu

Plymouth Players is a student organization at Plymouth State University. They meet once a week on Fridays from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Silver Center for the Arts in room 119, where they play theater games. Anyone is welcome to join their meetings to play games, or simply to watch and have a good laugh, no matter their experience level or major.

There is a closely related audition troupe, Plym-Prov, which is a part of Plymouth Players and holds auditions once a semester. Once a month, Plym-Prov puts on an improv comedy show.

Their first show has already passed, but their next two shows are on Oct. 28 and Nov. 17, in the HUB Hage room. One of the new things they are doing this year is themed shows. For their October show, they will be hosting a creepy, Halloween-like show. Their November show is tentetivlly dubbed "in the dark".

Another new aspect of Plym-Prov is the monthly shows. For the last two years, they only performed one show per year. However, last year, Plym-Prov participated in an Improv Olympics through the student activities office. Assistant Director of Student Activities Edye Levin offered the group the opportunity to perform once a month.

The president of the Plymouth Players, David MacNeill, calls his experience in improv as "unique". One of his favorite things about improv is "how funny everyday material can be" and the community that has formed for the group, including the people in the club and the people who go out to see the performances.

MacNeill describes improv as "on your feet theater" with the need to think quickly of a location, conflict, etc., and then try to make it coherent for the audience. He would recommend others to see the Plymouth Players' next show, because it is something "different and so crazy" since the audience, and even performers, never know what will happen next. 

Plym-Prov at the October Show

PHOTO BY: ZOE KAY