By Isaac Hamlet
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When improvising, there are no meticulously measured setups or practiced punch lines. Performers have only their wits, the support of their team, and an infinity of decisions.
The IMU will provide the stage for three Iowa City improv groups starting at 10 p.m. today.
“Everybody has her or his own style,” said Shane Nielsen, a captain for Paperback Rhino. “Because there are different people in each group, their different energies go into it, and each group brings different energies to the stage when they step on.”
Paperback Rhino, the most time-tested group, regularly competes in the College Improv Tournament, a national event in which it won second place last year.
“We got to perform in New York this past summer,” Nielsen said. “By going to other places, we branch out and experiment with different styles and different audiences. A lot of people want to go into professional improv, so it’s good experience.”
Also performing is Great White Narcs, a 3-year-old group. This team focuses on short-form improv similar to “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
“We’re newer still, but all of our members do standup and sketch comedy,” said Elsie How, Great White Narcs captain. “Some of my friends have started doing standup in basements, and we’ve won two viral video contests for ‘Funny or Die.’”
Like the Great White Narcs, Janice is an improv group in its third year, headed by cocaptains Elena Bruess and Megan Gates.
“We’re an all-female improv group, which stands out in the comedy world, as it tends to be one female to every three males,” Gates said. “It’s a challenge that I think makes us better performers.”
Janice started off with eight members last year. But leading into this year — as the demands of class, other extracurriculars, and graduation — all that remained were Bruess and Gates. The duo now act as cocaptains, coaching their new recruits.
The team uses a long-form style of improv called “Harold.” The style presents a series of scenarios that over time reference or otherwise tie back to the initial scene as the performance progresses.
“There’s so much hidden potential and talent that comes out every time we perform,” Gates said. “Someone will do something that heightens a scene, and someone else will be deadpan. It’s a really good dynamic, and everyone’s very invested in it.”
The three teams will each provide the audience with a different image of how improvised material can be approached and played with.
“Improv is a lot of truth,” How said. “The audience is seeing a performer exposed on stage struggling to stay in the moment; it’s not a TV show or movie you can come back to. It’s real, and it’s spontaneous.”
Event: Homecoming: Iowa City Improv Show
When: 10 p.m. today
Where: IMU
Admission: Free