In many studies that look at this kind of thing, public speaking is the number one fear of human beings. Add on the pressures of making things up on the fly and trying to be funny…and you might wonder why it is ComedySportz actletes choose to do what they do. If only there was some sort of comprehensive list of ComedySportz players and why they love improv…

Great news! See below…

Alli Vollmer

I do ComedySportz because in all the imaginary worlds I create or take part in on stage is where I find my true self. In real people world, I am censored, small, and I tend to blend in. In make-em-ups land, I’m nerdy, outrageous, ridiculous, supportive, witty, and fearless. This is the part of me that the audience celebrates and I celebrate when I do improv. Also, I have no choice. No seriously. I mean, no, wait, I love ComedySportz. Do not call the police.

Corey Jefferson

I do improv because I don’t know how to not do improv.  Any time I step away from it for too long, I don’t feel right.  It’s like something’s missing.  Doing improv is integral to the proper functioning of every other part of my life.  The skills that you learn through improv translate to all other everyday interactions.  We are all going to die much too soon and the abilities of thought, feeling, and experience are gifts too often taken for granted.  In light of this, the only appropriate thing to do is to savor it all and enjoy every minute of it.  Improv helps you to stay in the moment, which is good since this moment is really all we have.  As far as the plane on which we exist is concerned, the past is just shadows of thoughts and the future really doesn’t exist, it’s just an abstract concept.  Improv teaches you to be fluid and flexible, to become whatever you need to become for the moment at hand.  It teaches you to adapt and change to make the most of every situation without fear of judgment or making an ass out of yourself.  And while performing improv I can sometimes achieve, for lack of better phrasing, a religious experience.  We have called it ‘group mind,’ but there are times when energy is flowing freely between performers and audience and it really feels like we’ve attained a higher level of functioning or being, like we’ve somehow tapped into something deeper and we’re just conduits for this wondrous thing flowing through us.

The Level III class ends with a performance for family and friends. But first…there some preparations to be done. We went over the logistics of the show…how we would be announced, how we would enter, where we would sit…all of the little details that keep a show going. I can’t speak for the rest of the class, but I thought it was fun to set up the practical parts of the show as well.

As the audience began to come in, we went to the dressing room and did about 25 minutes of warm-ups. The room was full of nerves, excitement and support. One of my favorite parts of the night happened just a minute before the show. Ed brought us all into a huddle and went over some fundamentals from our classes…and ended with “have fun.” It was nice to have one more encouraging group moment before we went on stage.

For the past seven weeks, we had only been performing for each other. It was nice because it was a supportive group that was all there for the same goal of getting better. But…there is something about a large, live crowd that just forces you to bring more energy as a performer.

One nice touch was that ComedySportz did everything it could to turn this into a truly professional show. We had someone running sound, they were serving food and Ed served as host. It really gave it the feel of one of the weekend performances which, again, was good for our energy level.

I can’t realistically give you a play-by-play of the show, but I can tell you it was a ton of fun and very gratifying. It was everything we had been working toward for two months. I don’t really feel that it’s my place to try to tell you how I personally did, but I can tell you that the others were incredible. They were on their game, very funny…and I would not be surprised at all to see any or all of them as regular weekend performers in the future. I can also tell you with confidence that I feel the show we put on would have satisfied a paying ComedySportz audience…and as a performance-level class, that is the goal. 

Looking back on the class, I’m very proud of what I personally, and what we as a group accomplished. It’s a challenging workshop, but it’s a lot of fun and absolutely worth it. It took me out of my performing comfort zone, which is healthy, and it built my confidence, which will be important whether I move forward in ComedySportz or not. I would also like to thank my classmates and my instructor Ed Trout…I am a better and more confident performer because of all of you.

On a personal note…I hope you enjoyed reading about this class and I hope it shed some light on what you could expect if you decide to take it yourself. I don’t know what the next step for me will be as a performer, but I can tell you that you will certainly see me around the theater over the weekends, so please feel free to say hello. I’m always happy to answer any questions about the class as well.

The class I took is one of several that ComedySportz offers, and the troop is looking for more people to write about their experiences. If you are interested in taking any of the workshops and blogging about it, you can contact Troy Hanna at thanna@indycomedysportz.com.

In many studies that look at this kind of thing, public speaking is the number one fear of human beings. Add on the pressures of making things up on the fly and trying to be funny…and you might wonder why it is ComedySportz actletes choose to do what they do. If only there was some sort of comprehensive list of ComedySportz players and why they love improv…

Kelsey VanVoorst

I do ComedySportz simply because I enjoy it. I am in love with the art form of improv and I am also in love with the people that I am blessed to perform with. It’s something I can look forward to on the weekends after a long week of schoolwork. I leave every match feeling on top of the world. For me, there is really no better feeling than hearing the uproarious laughter of an audience.

Chad Woodward

I do ComedySportz because it gives me a huge outlet for my inner child.  It lets me engage in an artistic activity that reaches people in a way that plays and poetry cannot.  Improv is a building block that everyone can grasp and appreciate.  It’s a common unifier.

Lauren “Orenga” Ahlwardt

I love to make people laugh – people of all ages. I love that I am involved in something where the people I work with are amazingly talented. I love that anything goes and things that come out from it are comical. I love how wonderful people respond to this improv comedy. I love to perform!

The Level III class ends with a performance, and this week we planned out the show. We started with each of us writing out the top eight games we would like to play. It was kind of like a political election, except we were familiar with all of the candidates and the results might actually make some kind of difference.

Once we knew which games we were playing, we started assigning performers and putting them in order. This was a pretty interesting process. We wanted to make sure to spread out the types of games we are playing. For example, we didn’t want two musical games going one after another. We also got the chance to volunteer for the specific games we wanted to play. It was a unique learning experience to see how a show like this comes together.

I don’t want to get into the specific games we went over…I’d like to leave that as a surprise for the show. But I did notice something during practice worth mentioning. I have mentioned in these blogs that we all are making noticeable improvement…but I’ve noticed over the last two weeks that we are improving as a group. Like any team…it is starting to emerge that different members have different strengths. More importantly…we’re learning to play off of those strengths and put each other in a position to succeed. My sense of humor tends to be more dry and subtle…some in the class tend to be more outspoken and direct. Instead of those styles clashing…they’re starting to come together.

One other point I want to make…even though I’m the one who has been blogging…the class is filled with very talented, very funny people with all sorts of different interests, professions and styles. They are all worth seeing and supporting and I hope you will do so next week.

So…if you’d like to come see our final week performance…it’s Tuesday, November 1. Doors open at 7:30 and the show begins at 8:00. Admission is free, and I tend to believe we will be worth every penny.

Assistant Artistic Director Claire Wilcher

The ComedySportz Theatre, Home of ComedySportz Indianapolis, is delighted to announce the appointment of Claire Wilcher as Assistant Artistic Director.

Wilcher has been a performer with ComedySportz Indianapolis since 2004, and is a member of the Three Dollar Bill Comedy Company. She  is a veteran theatre performer around Indianapolis, with three encore awards for her performances.  In addition to performing, she has taught acting classes with Acting Up Productions, Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre, and Wayne Township Education Foundation.

Wilcher will be active in growing the brand of ComedySportz Indianapolis through weekly matches with the professional company of performers and coordinating the weekly practice schedule.  She will also serve as High School League Coordinator.

“ComedySportz Indianapolis has been my second family for seven years, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work even more closely with this fantastic group of performers,” says Wilcher.

“It’s been a great pleasure to get to work with Claire for the last seven years. She is an incredibly talented performer, improviser, and teacher, and I am thrilled that she has agreed to step into the role of Assistant Artistic Director here at ComedySportz Indianapolis,” Ed Trout Artistic Director/owner of ComedySportz Indianapolis

One of Wilcher’s first responsibilities will be to help coordinate and promote the ComedySportz performances of A Christmas Carol: Unscripted, which is presented Friday evenings between November 25^th – December 30^th.

About ComedySportz Indianapolis

ComedySportz is the longest running show in Indianapolis, now in its 19^th year, featuring team-against-team improv comedy. Matches take place Thursday and Friday nights at 7:30, and Saturday Nights at 7:30 and 10:00. ComedySportz is also available for private and corporate functions, and offers corporate team-building workshops called Group Unity Training Seminars (GUTS).

In many studies that look at this kind of thing, public speaking is the number one fear of human beings. Add on the pressures of making things up on the fly and trying to be funny…and you might wonder why it is ComedySportz Indianapolis actletes choose to do what they do. If only there was some sort of comprehensive list of ComedySportz Indianapolis players and why they love improv comedy…

Great news! See below…

Strange David Fuller
I do ComedySportz because in learning to accept and expand others’ ideas, I’ve learned to accept and expand on my own. In learning to find the joy in others’ ideas, I’ve learned to find joy in my own. In learning to trust that others have my back, I’ve learned how to be trustworthy. In learning that others have confidence in me, I’ve learned confidence in myself. Plus, I haven’t found anything else that makes showing off and goofing off this much fun.

Kirk Keevert
In 1991 a friend called, asked if I’d seen the auditions in the paper and insisted I attend. Because of that phone call I have the good fortune to get up in front of a bunch of strangers a few times a month and help them forget about the crap that’s gone on the previous week. I’d be lying, though, if I didn’t admit that not all of my reasons for doing this are quite so altruistic. I’m a Leo and I love the attention. But my favorite thing I’ve gotten out of ComedySportz is that I am a member of a family, a real, strong, loving and supportive family that lives all over the country and in Europe.

Kristin Katsu
I’m in a class of eight other actors and directors at my graduate school, and the professor leads us in an improv game that I have played as routine at ComedySportz: Bippity Bippity Bop. Many of the others had never played before, so at first they focus intently on getting it right. Then suddenly they realize it isn’t about getting it right; it’s about being a group and working together on getting energized. That’s why I do ComedySportz: the transformation from a routine life to a joyful, energetic, family. I laugh at how foreign that game was to them, but within minutes they weren’t outsiders anymore. Confidence comes out of that focused, supportive environment.

Want to know more about our players?  Keep reading this blog and check out the player page on the website.

I was admittedly a bit uneasy heading into week six of class, which was set to focus on long-form improv. I had never done long-form, and it’s never been my favorite to see performed. However…Ed told us last week if we didn’t find something funny, try to find out why other people do and focus on that. So…that was my goal as I headed into class.

The game we played was called “Harold”. The story behind the name is epic and unforgettable, but unfortunately I do not have time to get into it here. The game is a little tough to explain in a couple of sentences, but here is my attempt. The concept of the game is that you take one suggestion, and base around 45 minutes worth of scenes around it. It starts with people telling stories about the suggestion (in our case, “Kentucky” for the first game, “The White House for the second). The performers then take parts of those stories and use them to form several scenes. Throughout the game, you call back to different subjects from the previous scenes, tell more stories, and create more scenes.

There are two important memories I will take away from this class. The first is that this was some of the most fun I’ve ever had doing improv. Because of some absences, Claire Wilcher, who was filling in for Ed, played with us. Because there were only four of us involved, we were all involved in almost all of the scenes. It was non-stop fun…everybody working together to tell several funny stories one right after another. I was very proud of what we put together…I said then, and I believe now…both games we played would have been perfectly presentable before a ComedySportz audience, and that’s what this class is all about.

The second memory is slightly more painful. As part of one of the scenes, one of the performers fell backward toward me. The idea was that I would catch him. That would have been fine, except he didn’t realize I was on the very edge of the stage. His fall took us both backward off the stage. I crashed through the three stools on the side and landed flat on the ground. His fall was, fortunately for him, cushioned by landing on me.

Everyone is ok. I’m very sore and still limping, but these are the sacrifices we make for our art. If nothing else, expect me to be the founding member of the Hardcore Division of ComedySportz Indy.

This week turned out to be my favorite so far. We worked on gimmick games, which are those that have some kind of significant twist or gimmick. These tend to be very popular games during matches, and it was a lot of fun to get to play them during class.

We spent some time discussing the games before we played them, which really helped. With each game, we talked about what makes it funny. It sounds simple, but that’s not something a lot of people really stop and think about…we see a game as funny, and just accept it. Knowing what it is the audience tends to react to gives you something to specifically target during the game. I’ve written about my challenge of overthinking games in the past…these gimmick games almost prohibit me from overthinking because I’m focusing on the gimmick itself.

In some of the games we played, the gimmick was physical…such as “Moving Bodies,” where you play out a scene with someone else controlling all of your movements, and “Arms Expert,” where someone plays an expert answering questions on a certain topic, but you don’t use your own arms…someone else provides them from behind. In other games, the gimmick was verbal…including the very funny “Pick a Play,” where three people act out a scene, but two of them can only read lines of dialogue from the scripts of completely unrelated plays.

I loved this week, and actually feel that these are my strongest games. So, if you happen to have me in your improv fantasy league, use me in these games.

One other note…while it will be seen as some kind of improv blasphemy, I haven’t been a huge fan of the warm-up games we’ve done so far (legions of Bippity Bippity Bop fans will have my head for that). But…this week’s warm-ups were a lot of fun. We did a pattern game that was a great focus exercise, and we did a simple word association game that really helped. Sometimes I have trouble thinking of ideas on how to incorporate a suggestion into a scene…doing a simple word association where you just think of the next word that comes to mind helps.

Give it a try…start with any noun, then think of the next word that comes to mind…then repeat. This morning, I went from paper towels to Ferris wheel in ten steps. I mean…I worked all morning. That’s what I did.

This week we focused on performance games using the music and genre work we’ve spent time on over the last few weeks. I think we were all happy to get to the performance games. If I had any athletic ability at all, I would tell you it was like going from doing drills at practice to playing scrimmages. But…I don’t, so I won’t say that.

During the music games, we worked with musical tracks for the first time, rather than singing only a cappella. That, as we learned, is a mixed bag. It’s nice to have some musical support, and I tend to think you sing a little better with music behind you…but, you no longer have the freedom to just sing however you want.

I particularly enjoyed the genre games we did. We started by telling a story with each of the five of us using a different genre/style. I was assigned the style of an investigative reporter, which, being in the media, was especially satisfying (do you know meerkats are killing YOUR children?!?) We also did a game called “Replay,” where we did the same short scene in three different genres, and one called “Split Stage,” where the genre you use depends on what side of the stage you are on.

Ed also provided us with a list of movies and books that are good examples of many of the genres we’ll use. I’ve already watched Gypsy, which showed me that everything Bugs Bunny cartoons taught me about vaudeville is absolutely accurate.

I think this was most fun session we’ve had. Everybody is really coming together well. The energy is higher and higher, and we’re working together better and better. I say this every week, but it’s a lot of fun to see the progress. It makes you realize the time and resources you’re putting into the class are worth it.

To close, I’ll share with you the most challenging bit of advice I got. Ed told me my eyes were going to him too much while I was on stage…he told me to stop looking at him. Anyone who has seen Ed’s glamour shot on the ComedySportz web site knows this is a tough assignment…but I will press through.

One of the things I’ve noticed about the improv workshop I’m taking, at ComedySportz, is that after each class, I find myself wishing we had another session the next day so I could take what we worked on and immediately put it to use. With that said, I certainly did not want to wait two weeks between classes. Before I signed up for the workshop, I had booked and paid for a week at Disney World, which is a trip I take each year. But…wanting to stay sharp, I asked instructor Ed Trout for some solo exercises I could do at the happiest place on earth.

One area that I wanted to concentrate on was pantomiming. In the middle of a scene, it’s easy to forget little details. For example…if you’re getting out of an invisible car, you need to remember to take out your invisible keys and shut the invisible door. One of the exercises Ed sent me was to take note of something you’re doing, then remove all the actual objects and pantomime it. At first, this proved challenging. You spend a whole lot of your time at Disney World waiting in line, and pantomiming that isn’t much different than actually doing it. However, as the week went on, there were plenty of opportunities…getting off and on buses, interacting with characters, taking pictures and even the movements of the rides themselves. Admittedly, I didn’t do the pantomime right after the original action…I waited until I was back in the room. Even in a land of talking mice and evil octopi, that comes off as a little weird.

Another suggested activity was to give yourself a character and play it as you interract with someone else who doesn’t know you’re doing it. Now…it has to be believable. My week one character of a southern physicist bodybuilder might have been tough to pull off, even the land of mouse-talking and villianous octopi. But…just adding an accent or something simple like that is certainly doable. It’s a good exercise in keeping to your character…you can’t accidentally drop your accent or else you’ll have a bit of an awkward explanation to give.

The week was good at Disney World…it always is. But…I’m looking forward to getting back to the actual class as well. Improv, like Disney, is a world where talking animals and almost anything else you can think of has a place.

Check back to read this week’s class blog on Thursday 10/6/2011