Members of the Improv Club playing a game called "0ne-Five-Five-One"

Credit: Kasey Sheridan

A part of Friday’s showcase will be a game called “One-Five-Five-One,” where five actors perform a scene onstage and every time an actor steps off, a different one steps in and changes the scene entirely.

CSU Improv Club to put on showcase Friday, May 5

“Everybody needs a good laugh,” Anne E. McLaughlin, the club’s president, said. “It’s been a rough couple of years and laughter is just something everybody needs sometimes.”

By KASEY SHERIDAN - posted May 5, 2023

The CSU Improv Club, also known as the “Improvisational Jokesters,” is putting on a showcase on Friday, May 5, in the black box theater on the fifth floor of the Middough building.

The showcase is completely free to attend, and students and non-students alike are welcome to enjoy the show.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 and will run until 8:30. The Middough Building is at 1901 East 13th Street.

The showcase will consist of a number of improvisation games, all of which rely heavily on audience participation.

Anne E. McLaughlin and Nickolas Hassan, members of the Improv Club, performing a scene together

_{Anne E. McLaughlin, left, and Nicholas Hassan, right, acting in an improvised scene together. (Credit: Kasey Sheridan)}

Nicholas Hassan, a sophomore theatre major, joined the club last semester after a friend insisted on it.

“It’s just a lot of fun to be here,” Hassan, 19, said. “When you see the showcase, we’ll do this one game called ‘One-Five-Five-One’ where one person comes out, and then a second, and a third, and so on, until there’s five, and then every time somebody comes out and somebody leaves, it’s a new scene. It usually ends up being pretty fun because you have so many shots at it.”

Junior theatre major Anne E. McLaughlin, the president of the club, described the showcase as just that — a showcase of acquired skills and improvisational abilities.

“The goal is to make interesting characters, dynamics, and stories, and it gets pretty ridiculous but that’s improv,” McLaughlin, 22, said. “We’re just showcasing different skills that improv can offer. Most importantly, it’s about having fun and just enjoying the audience interaction.”

With a difficult couple of years behind us and finals week creeping closer, if you’re looking for a good laugh, McLaughlin says to look no further.

“Everybody needs a good laugh. It’s been a rough couple of years and laughter is just something everybody needs sometimes.”

The showcase is welcome to all to attend and, if you think you’ve been bitten by the improvisation bug, you’re more than welcome to join the club yourself. No experience is required, and even if theatre isn’t your forte, you could gain a useful skill or two.

“We have a range of people from people who have no experience, people who’ve dabbled with it, and more experienced actors,” McLaughlin said.” We welcome everybody. I really think improv helps with thinking on your feet and memorization, and it’s fun.”

Students interested in joining the club next semester can email McLaughlin at annmcl5441@gmail.com.

Those who are unable to attend Friday’s showcase will be able to view a filmed version, which will be available via CSU’s theatre department.