Welcome to a new column where UHPers can shine the spotlight on orgs they’re involved in at GW right here on the UHP blog! Want to get the word out about your org and tell the rest of the UHP why it’s awesome? Want to encourage others to get involved in your org? Email uhpspa@gwu.edu about writing a post!
Hello lovely UHP members! My name is Kayleigh Ryherd, and I am here to write to you about my improv group – [insert here]. Yes, that is actually our name. Yes, it does have a tendency to confuse people who work in offices. We are one of two fabulous improv comedy groups at GW (the other being receSs, which is equally fabulous and features UHP senior and staffer Eleanor Klibanoff). For those who haven’t seen a lot of improv, it involves a group of people creating scenes on a stage from a suggestion provided by the audience. (Think Whose Line is it Anyway?)
In [insert here], we focus on both longform and shortform improv. Longform can be described as an improvised play. The performers get a suggestion from the audience and then create characters, locations, and situations on the spot. They then follow those characters through a story arc. Shortform is more like what they do on Whose Line – short, game-like improvised scenes with a predetermined premise or twist. (If you haven’t yet, check out Sideways Scene – it’s new with the return of Whose Line and it is hilarious!)
I have been with [insert here] since its start in the Spring of 2011. We had our first show in the now-nonexistent Mitchell Theater (accompanied by the delicious scent of 7-Eleven). Since then all of us have been working hard to establish a presence on campus and commit ourselves to producing high-quality comedy. However, I find the most important aspect of improv to be how much fun it is! Twice a week I get to get together with some of my favorite people and watch them be absolutely hilarious or play a character I didn’t even know I could. I started improv in high school, and I love that I am able to continue doing something so fun all through college. 
If any of this sounds interesting to you, we encourage you to come to one of our shows and maybe even audition next fall! Most of the comedy stars you know actually got their start in improv: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Seth Meyers, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Chris Farley – and that’s just some of them.
Tonight also happens to be a magical night for improv. Our first show of the year happens tonight (October 25) in the Marvin Amphitheater at 8pm, and afterwards receSs is having their newbie show at 10pm in the Continental Ballroom. Both shows cost $3, and they are sure to have you laughing all night long!
