The Greenhill Improv Troupe hosted a Valentine’s show on Feb. 22. Their most recent show prior was on Dec. 6, 2023, and since then, there has been a push to improve the Troupe’s chemistry and performance skills.
One thing that the Troupe agrees is hugely important is their ability to work together, even when they’re offstage.
“Understanding the other person and being friends with them helps with the coherentness of the story, the characters’ chemistry in-scene, and being able to play off of each other,” said sophomore Ruby Garza.
In order to build connections, the Troupe practices decades-old traditions such as writing a quote on the board before rehearsals or wearing troupe shirts and jeans on show days. Additionally, they spend time together outside of school, typically organized by Garza or senior Quinn Graves.
Performances have higher stakes than rehearsals, but they are an opportunity to learn via risk-taking. The ability to improvise in front of a crowd comes with experience.
“We’ve had two shows under our belt,” said Graves. “The first show is completely new, our first time working together. The second show is kind of, ‘Okay, we’re starting to get a feel for it,’ but by the third major show, we’re a coherent group and kind of figured out how we all work together.”
The Troupe has been trying new games to add to their repertoire, some of which are long-form. Long-form games typically have a pre-established setting and premise, leaving the characters as the only variable to be determined by the improvers. Thunderdome, for example, is a competitive game that pits twelve improvers against each other.
“A straight-up competition show takes away from the comedy and can cause more tension in the group,” Garza said. “You kind of have to take yourself out of the competition and play it for the character in the competition. It’s going to be really fun, and I’m super excited to work with long form.”
Additionally, with the recruitment of junior pianist Ali Agha during auditions, the Troupe can now incorporate musical elements into their games. Agha said his favorite musical game is Concept Album, in which around six improvers create an album based on a given theme because it exercises his spontaneous improvisation skills.
“You’ll burn your first four ideas right off the bat, and then you have to actually improvise. You’ll press a note down because you have no time to react to what’s happening,” Agha said.
While the Troupe worked on improving their improvisational skills for the Valentine’s Day Show, they shared their personal goals and hopes for the future. Some wanted to work on their ability to stay organized with rehearsals and outside-of-school meetups when their schedules were full, and others wanted to work on improving their individual improvisation skills.
As a troupe, however, they agree that collaborating by listening to and building off each other is one of the most important aspects of improv and one they aspire to get better at as time goes on. Graves, the only current senior on the Troupe, expressed his hope for the future of the troupe members.
“My personal goal is to make sure they’re all endowed with that sense of drive and love for improv that I have, and I hope that they continue to carry on,” Graves said.
