Improv-lem solved

Amidst the shits and giggles of wacky games and comic stage acts, there is a serious side to improvisational comedy groups. Every September, eager little freshman faces anxiously line up and try their hand at the humor business. And every September, experienced improv comedians are forced to make the difficult decisions of who to accept and who to reject. Even the improv comedians, who are known and loved for their smiles and laughs, must be serious. But don't worry, it only happens once a year.

That once a year is called rush week, and this is that week. But you can stop trembling, because despite improv groups' ferocious demeanor, they don't bite. In fact, the rush process is as docile as a lamb compared to the much more strenuous rush time rituals of a cappella singing groups. "It's a lot easier to rush a comedy group than a singing group because the process lasts only four days, not three weeks," Andrew Sessa, MC '02, said. The shorter rush process means fewer social outings, cuts, and auditions. Or, in simpler terms: for the hundreds of kids who get turned down each year, the shorter process means less time being led on and teased by groups with whom you will ultimately not perform.

This is not to say that the rush process is a lenient one, as many auditions can run up to three hours, but rather that it is more manageable. Instead of taking up the greater part of a student's first month in college and shaping one of his or her first freshman experiences, improv rush is over in a week. Most auditions consist of one preliminary audition, and then one round of callbacks. There aren't any dinners or desserts, nor is there an elaborate tap night, so the process is far less formal.

This year, however, the tap process is different from those of past years. Usually the four improv groups—Viola Question, Purple Crayon, Exit Players and Just Add Water—as well as The 5th Humor, Yale's only sketch comedy group, organize a performance for all interested freshmen, so that potential comedians can get a closer, more personal look at all of Yale's improv groups.

This year, however, Betty Trachtenberg, Dean of Student Affairs, prevented the comedy groups from organizing such an event. While Trachtenberg's reasons are not well known, many group members were disappointed by the move. "[Dean Trachtenberg] found out that improv comedy is a student activity," one senior improv member added sarcastically. "Therefore, it must be stopped."

Despite these administrative changes, the improv rush process has continued this year as it has in years past, with some lucky winners and a lot of disappointed losers. Improv groups often hold as many as 75 auditions in an attempt to fill anywhere from two to 10 slots. "There are more qualified kids then can be taken by the group, but that doesn't mean that they are not funny," Viola Question member Lucas Oppenheim, BK '00, said. "Yale's abundantly funny." In other words, rushees are often funny, just not funny enough.

Therein lies the pain of competition, because bells and whistles aside, improv groups are still businesses, and funny is a commodity. For many freshman, this is a tough reality to endure in their first week of college. Welcome to Yale.

Graphic by Shawn Cheng.

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