Collegiate Comedy
Georgetown is all about traditions. And with two-hundred and seventeen years under its belt, it makes sense. The Blue and Grey. The Tombs. The lore of the 75 Exorcist stairs. But few Hoyas know about their annual ImprovFest. Hardly any realize that Georgetown has an improv troupe at all, though that's probably because it doesn’t hold many shows per year and the university, also traditionally, ignores the discipline of staged comedy.
But the stone-faced International Affairs majors of Georgetown are proving they can be funny. Or at least organize an event where funnier schools join them on stage. This Friday and Saturday evening, the Georgetown Player Improv Group (GPIG) will hold their annual GPIG ImprovFest. Each night, GPIG will join four other collegiate troupes. Friday night’s bill includes guests George Washington University, Columbia College (Chicago), University of Richmond and Bucknell. Saturday night, the show changes up with UPenn, two troupes from NYU and a re-appearance by Columbia College.
Clearly “GPIG” doesn’t have the same cadence as say, Columbia College’s troupe, Droppin’ $cience. Or NYU’s two troupes, Dangerbox and Skylounge. Maybe the Hilltop intelligentsia didn't appreciate such linguistic antics as dropping the “g” or starting with a lowercase. But GPIG deserves major snaps for embracing another campus tradition, and reaching out to so many schools this year — many of which are outside the Chinatown bus ride-radius.
So what’s planned for the show that revolves around the unplanned? Well, it won’t be an organized competition, which GPIG Co-Director Michael Stecher calls “contrived.” GPIG will also avoid “gamey” exercises, like what you'd see on "Whose Line." Stecher considers this “JV improv.” Instead, each school will get a block of time to perform their choice of short or long-form improv. (Long-form is entirely driven by one audience member's suggestion. Short-form involves briefer games. The “gamey” ones that Stecher mentioned.)
GWU will be taking full advantage of the long-form option. receSs guru (it feels good to start with a lowercase) Chris Singel considers long-form a simultaneous paradox of “fun, challenging, and a breeze.” He says they don’t do much long-form on stage, mostly just in practice. Singel reminisces about his first GPIG ImprovFest a couple years back, when Cornell wisecracked about mathematics and Greek philosophers. receSs responded with theories on “King Kong's Balls.”
Collegiate improv is curious in that some students embrace their forty-grand-a-year smarts, while others use them to dissect more lowbrow topics. Like King Kong's Balls. Add that to sleep deprivation, Frat Row and a FaceBook-warped mind, and you've got good comedy.
Both Friday and Saturday ImprovFest performances begin at 9 p.m. in Bulldog Alley, inside Georgetown’s Leavey Student Center, near the Hoya food court. Tickets are $5 for students, $8 general admission.