Freeze, laugh – it is comedy night

ImprovCity+High+members+act+onstage+while+playing+Double+Blind+Freeze.

Photo by Lyn Assadi

ImprovCity High members act onstage while playing “Double Blind Freeze.”

Humor, comedy and fun times are three of the many terms that describe improv theatre. ImprovCity High hosted its annual alumni show on Nov. 6, which featured various games, songs and scenes performed by students and returning ImprovCity High members who were part of the school’s program in previous years.

When performing improv, all the scenes are performed on the spot and without a script.

The audience burst into laughter when the students and alumni played the game called the Double Blind Freeze.

“Freeze games are a lot of fun. The Double Blind Freeze is where the whole cast stands with their backs to the audience, and two people stand forward and perform a short scene,” member of ImprovCity High and sophomore Jen Siino said. “When the host blows the whistle, everyone yells ‘Freeze!’ and the two players in the middle of the line turn around, step forward and tap out the players who just performed. Starting in the positions, the new players then justify those positions and perform their own short scene.”

The performers in the show seemed to be very close to one another as well as trusting, because they must rely on each other to perform a random scene from scratch.

“You make a lot of really good friends, because the community of improv is a community you don’t have anywhere else,” sophomore Abigail Steinberg said. “You need to put your full trust in this person that you’re doing a scene with, because you don’t know what they’re going to say, so you really need to trust them, and the friends you make through it are lifelong.”

The way the performers act out their scenes is by suggested words from the audience members when the host of the show asks for a topic word or suggestion. The show also features audience members volunteering to play along with a game on stage.

“When I went on stage, it was really nerve-racking because they asked to me to describe a scene they performed in only fifteen words, and it made me realize how challenging improv actually is,” freshman Alexa Lopez said.

ImprovCity is a go-to spot to see live comedy and friendships intertwined into an unforgettable experience. The show features on-the-spot skits and jokes made by a tight-knit community of students and draws in its audience with the laughs it provides.