Improv Revolution Takes On UCI Campus

photo taken by Improv Revolution of the iRev cast at UCI

It’s 7:50 pm, Friday, and the UCI campus is empty except for a couple of late-night studiers and those on their way to the Little Theater on the bottom floor of Humanities Hall. Darkness is approaching and noise can be heard from outside the theater as all of the guests socialize before the Improv show begins. Warm lights and laughter greet you upon entrance to the quaint theater, fully living up to its title. Patiently mingling is about 100 or so hip students seated in the middle portion of the room while posters are taped to both walls with the title “Improv Revolution.” It feels as if the venue should be a coffee shop instead of an auditorium with its dim lighting and welcoming, friendly attendees.

Improv, short for “improvisation,” is a theatrical technique when a group of comedic actors are placed in a scene forced to make the scene go along without any plan—hence the name “improv”. Usually funny, it forces the actors to make up lines off the top of their heads in order to entertain the audience. Vinny Tangherlini, one of the performers, explains that Improv is when they “get on stage and make things up.”

A little after 8 pm, a rowdy group of 9 students make their way around the projector hung in the middle of the stage all the while yelling and cheering as the audience mirrors their excitement back to them. An especially ecstatic performer, Sarah, greets the audience with a loud voice as she introduces the group as “Improv Revolution.” They all welcome the audience excitedly as each member of Improv Revolution introduces themselves. When asked who has never attended an improv show before, all but two people raised their hands out of about 100—many audience members seeming like regulars.

A volunteer from the audience was asked to help them set the scene for their “social media” themed show. Out of plenty of willing subjects, a guy is picked to give his Instagram account name so the actors can look through his pictures to scope out a random scene to start their improv in. Finally settling on a picture of the volunteer in the UCI Career Center, the scene begins after the actors on stage set up a chair, representing Peter the Anteater, the well-known mascot of UCI.

The audience roars with laughter as the performers continually put themselves in awkward situations during the entire length of this “long form”—a 30-40 minute scene. In contrast to a short form, the audience members get to enjoy the characters and layers of meaning; resulting in the audience becoming invested in the actors’ work. A short form would focus on the spontaneity of the moment and the comedy would be in the risk taken by the improvisor. However, the goal of the actors onstage is to take risks, even when it means embarrassing themselves.

Currently in the UCI Career Center, the scene plays itself out and two guys end up on stage alone, one playing a guy named “Joanna” and the other a socially awkward student who the girl “Joanna” has a crush on. The audience bursts into cheers and howls as the socially awkward guy proclaims his crush on Joanna the guy instead of the girl—completing surprising the audience.

Speaking to Tim Wu, one of the two audience members who’s never seen a show before says “I definitely did not expect them to be that funny. Their spontaneity and ability to come up with this stuff on a whim is awesome. I will for sure be coming to the next show.” The entertaining show, lasting until 10pm, is a great way to spend a Friday night if you're looking to laugh and have fun!