As students prepare their funny bones for the arrival of acclaimed comedians Jim Gaffigan and Keenan Thompson, OU’s student improv group will provide fellow students with an early taste of a different form of professional comedy.
OU Improv will welcome professional Chicago troupe Dream Team to the Baker University Center Theater on Saturday for a combined set to involve group and solo improvisational comedy acts.
Bringing entertainment from Chicago to campus hasn’t been a problem for the student organization during this school year, which also shared the stage with professional act Pudding-Thank-You last semester.
All five members of Dream Team regularly perform in Chicago’s top improv venues, including Second City, iO, Chemically Imbalanced and Annoyance theaters.
OU Improv coach Anthony Ellison, who is currently pursuing an MSA in playwriting, developed a friendship with the members of Dream Team after performing alongside them at these theaters.
Ellison said that the student troupes that comprise OU Improv — Six to Midnight and Black Sheep Inc. — have developed into much more professional acts during the course of this year.
“It’s sort of an uncertain art form, but the good teams tend to make their shows better and better,” Ellison said. “Both Six to Midnight and Black Sheep have been consistently getting better and better.”
OU Improv’s veteran group Six to Midnight faces reorganization, as a majority of its members will graduate at the end of Spring Semester. Heading into Fall Semester, the organization plans to rebuild the troupe with new talent.
Cat Abood, a senior member of Six to Midnight and OU Improv event director, said that Ellison has been a great overall coach and prepared Black Sheep Inc. for further growth of the group and its audience.
“Black Sheep are learning a lot this year and are passionate about improv like the members of Six to Midnight,” Abood said. “I see them progressing, getting our name out there and exposing our audience to improv.”
Dream Team member Jo Scott, who has been performing improv since moving to Chicago five years ago, said that she likes the energy she finds on the stages of college campuses.
“College groups are awesome because you can just feed off of their energy,” Scott said. “I think it’s a hipper crowd, so we can push the boundaries and they’re not going to be offended.”
jd202409@ohiou.edu
