Bryan Mangieri
Reporter
John Morgan goes over potential improv topics in the Improv Group’s first meeting. Picture By Bryan Mangieri
With only two members (theatre majors John Morgan and Timothy Williford), the Improv Group, forged ahead during its first meeting Feb. 17.
Doing it for the love
When he lived in Washington D.C., Morgan played a part in George Mason University’s improv team. Upon arriving in Oklahoma, he found he had lost no love for the art and wanted to bring it to campus.
“It’s good energy because you never stop,” Morgan said.
The group’s purpose isn’t necessarily to draw laughter from the audience, like on the television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
Morgan said jokes can happen, but drawing emotion out of the audience is the most important objective. It’s about presenting a conflict and following through the scene to its resolution, Morgan said.
In the spotlight…
Williford, Morgan’s assistant, found a different introduction to improv. In a high school play, the crew turned on the spotlight too soon, so he and his cast mate saved the scene by improvising lines.
“Then we ran through the rest of our scene,” Williford said.
The audience was none the wiser, Williford said.
Come one! Come all!
Sponsored by professor Rick Nelson of the Theatre Dept., the Improv Group opens its membership to all students, even those who do not consider themselves actors, Nelson said. He hopes potential members “will try something new.”
Nelson said the Improv Group meetings are come and go as students please. If a member misses Monday’s meeting, for example, Nelson said the member may attend Wednesday’s meeting and vice versa.
The group meets Mondays and Wednesdays 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Fine Arts room 108. During its meeting on March 6, the Drama Club will discuss the Improv Group, Nelson said.
“It’s something you can’t do by yourself,” Morgan surmised. “That’s the nature of improv.”
