Laughter erupted throughout the Blackbox Theater as the seventh grade Improv Team performed their inaugural Halloween showcase. The performance, which took place during lunch Monday, Oct. 27, included scenes based on prompts suggested by the audience. Each scene was related to Halloween and played on elements of pop culture and internet references.
Arts teacher Ashley Fisher oversees the Improv Team, which started after she noticed an overwhelmingly positive response to improv lessons in middle school theater classes. According to Fisher, the team meets regularly during the middle school FLX block rotation and will be open to new members starting second semester.
From a teacher’s point of view, Fisher said seeing her students develop their improv skills is rewarding.
“I just love watching them grow and learn to fully express themselves as different characters,” Fisher said. “It’s really gratifying to see them make stronger choices every week and just see them have a lot of fun.”
Ellie Epstein (’30) is a member of the Improv Team and said she enjoyed the spontaneity of Monday’s performances. She added that having to think on her feet is one of her favorite aspects of improv.
“I like not knowing what’s coming and having to think of something on the spot,” Epstein said. “It’s just really fun, and it’s also helpful in life.”
During their performance, one audience member proposed a scene prompt related to the popular Roblox game Dress to Impress, in which the actors were trapped in one of the game’s horror-based quests. Epstein said this scene was her favorite based on her enjoyment of the game.
“I play that game, too,” Epstein said, “so it was just fun because it was the one that we all knew the most about.”
Fisher said the Dress to Impress scene was significant to her, too. She highlighted the importance of referring to current events and pop culture in scenes.
“Part of improv is being current in terms of pop culture trends, and just anything going on in the world always gets the audience really excited,” Fisher said. “I thought that they did a great job incorporating something that’s really on-trend right now.”
Fisher said she is proud of the confidence and energy displayed by the performers. She added that improv is a refined skill, which makes her all the more proud of the middle school team.
“There are very specific rules to improv. There’s not very many of them, but … it takes a long time to understand and master the skills of doing improv,” Fisher said. “… So I’m just really proud of them for the way that they have been working so hard at it the last few years, and I’m proud of them for putting themselves out there in front of their peers because it’s not always easy to do.”
