In a time when most Bruins are getting serious about essays and exams, 12 theater students are working hard to lighten the mood across campus.
Rapid Fire Improv, a new comedy troupe founded by fourth-year theater students Cooper Sivara and Patrick Sweeney, is performing Friday at 6 p.m. in MacGowan Hall 1330. Admission will be free, but donations are encouraged.
Hidden away in a small, plain studio room, the group sits in a loose semi-circle, watching two of their peers participate in an improv game. These actors are caught in a spontaneous dialogue, coming up with random jokes and humor on the spot.
Throughout their performance, the actors read pre-written lines that often clash with the scene in surprising, hilarious ways. The group laughs and claps their approval, and at first it seems like their work is all play.
But when the actors call scene, the students circle up and specifically, constructively critique the performance, revealing a serious interest in improving their skill.
“It’s been great. We have a lot of people who are ready and willing to perform and who really want to learn too, and that’s the crucial thing,” Sweeney said.
Friends since high school, Sivara and Sweeney decided to start the group after being initially disappointed in the general lack of UCLA improvisational comedy.
“We really just wanted to create an environment for people to experience and explore improvisational comedy on campus and with students and that was completely free,” Sivara said.
The two seniors said they hope that their group will be a lasting addition to campus comedy.
“We saw on campus that there were a couple of improv groups that had faded away as people graduated,” Sweeney said. “We wanted to create an improv group that would continue beyond our year.”
The group focuses on shortform improv, which revolves around games similar to those performed on the popular television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” This style of comedy requires the actors to work with given situations and think quickly to create both physical and verbal humor. It also gives the audience a chance to interact with and influence the actors.
They have been rehearsing twice a week all quarter preparing for their debut show, but the group members said they agree that Rapid Fire has been more than just a performance opportunity. First-year student Mallin Alter said being a part of Rapid Fire Improv has helped her find her place at UCLA.
“I’ve made a lot of new friends in the (theater) department,” Alter said. “It’s great if I’m stressed from school or just having a bad day. I come and just laugh so hard, and it makes me forget my troubles.”
Conversely, fourth-year student Marcus Toji said performing with such close friends can create a challenging learning environment.
“It’s almost more pressure rehearsing with your friends because they’ve seen you be funny in just regular life,” Toji said. ” So now it’s like, “˜Oh crap! I’m on stage so now things have to be twice as funny because that’s our objective, that’s our goal.'”
But Toji also said that learning with peers is very beneficial.
“If you’re at a school there’s a teacher, so it’s a lot more strict, the way you figure things out, you kind of have to do it their way,” Toji said. “But here, we’re all students trying to teach each other, so we sort of discover it more than being told it, and I think that’s actually more useful.”
Because a small group is so conducive to Rapid Fire Improv’s comedic chemistry, Sivara said that they are not looking to expand their numbers. However, he has plans to spread knowledge of improv around campus in the future.
“We are next quarter hopefully going to be doing some workshops where anyone can come, and we’ll teach them games and they can get an experience of having a little improvisation,” Sivara said.
The group said it hope that students from all backgrounds, not just theater, will feel encouraged to attend and learn something about improv.
“Improv is one of those things where you don’t really need anything to accomplish it, you just need the people,” Toji said. “If we just get a few engineering students there and they can think, “˜Oh wait, I can do it?’ If we could get everyone to be there, or just a few, it’s worth it.”
Sivara said he agrees that improv is beneficial for everyone.
“Improv is really just wonderful for everybody because it’s funny, obviously, but I think it shows you a lot just about situations. We’re always improv-ing,” Sivara said. “It really helps with taking something and running with it. And just in general it’s a great way to let loose a little bit, have fun and really explore what you’re capable of.”