Chortles, guffaws and snickers ringing through the auditorium at Lyons Township High School proved that students had achieved their goal.
“We just want to make the audience laugh,” said Taylor Koc, a junior from Brookfield who was one of group of students who put on an improv show at the school’s south campus in Western Springs.
The players, who do improv as an extracurricular activity, were divided into two teams: one called Follow Your Dream and the other was dubbed Financial Stability.
They were challenged to perform in scenes that evolved from challenges that were posed by their sponsor, Mike Kuehl, who also teaches English.
He suggested in one scene, for instance, that all of the players had to start every sentence with a particular letter of the alphabet. In another, a performer was required to perform as Donald Trump’s hair while another portrayed a Shakespearean actor playing Twister at a party.
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Koc said she likes improv because it allows each performer to put their own stamp on a performance.
“You get to be yourself on stage without any constrictions and you don’t have to memorize any lines,” she said.
While it may seem like it’s all fun and games, Kuehl said improv has other benefits. It prepares the performers for life.
“They learn to think on their feet,” he said.
One of the skills that the students learn in improv is to accept the premise of a scene as it progresses rather than negating or saying ‘No’ in it, which would shut a scene down.
That’s a skill that can transfer to life as students weigh opportunities, Kuehl said.
“It’s just a good rule of life,” he said. “If you constantly say ‘No’ than nothing is going to come of it.”
The show titled “So ___You’ll ___ Fill in the ____!” will also be performed at 3:30 p.m. Fridayand at 7 p.m. Saturdayat the south campus, 4900 S. Willow Springs Road.
Twitter @triblocalam