By Julia Leaman
Closing their curtains and packaging up their performances, the Garrens Comedy Troupe is ending after eight years of performing at BYU.
Lincoln Hoppe, owner of the Garrens and BYU alumnus, said a cast meeting Wednesday 'basically decided to end the Garrens.'
Known for their improvisational comedy, audience participation and BYU-humor sketches, the Garrens have some students wondering what happened to the group.
'I was shocked when I heard. The Garrens are popular. The first time I went, their show was completely packed. I don''t see why they are canceling when so many students enjoy it,' said Jeanette Mosley, 18, a freshman from Tucson, Ariz. who has not yet declared a major.
The Garrens ended for several reasons.
'There were some issues with Student Life ... a series of miscommunications on both ends. If there had been more clarity in certain instances, the ending probably wouldn''t have been as abrupt, but it still would have ended,' Hoppe said.
He said the cast made a mutual decision.
'We could have gone on and finished the semester, but there were concerns that the show quality may have gone down with everyone knowing it would end. We wanted to end on the best note possible,' he said.
Hoppe said it''s also really hard to come up with new material every week, let alone for eight years.
'It''s a constant pressure,' he said.
However, Hoppe said that the reasons aren''t the important thing.
'It''s something I''m really going to miss. It was fantastic that we could do the eighth anniversary show two months ago. It''s a great part of the ending of the Garrens.'
Eric Snider, BYU alumnus who founded the Garrens in November 1992 as a freshman, said, 'A lot of it was internal. There were some differences of opinion of how things ought to be done.'
He said it got to the point where it was not mutually beneficial.
'The very nature of it almost required the person in charge to get burnt out,' said Snider, director of the Garrens.
He said some of the cast members are talking about starting or moving to another group.
'It was fun while it lasted,' he said.
Patrick Maravilla, 23, a senior from Anchorage, Alaska majoring in advertising/marketing has been a cast member with the Garrens for the last two years.
'It''s sad to see us stop at this time and in this way. We had a blast together. But all good things must come to an end sometime, right?' Maravilla said.
Garrett Batty, a BYU alumnus from Park City and a Garrens cast member for the last three years, said the decision was not from just one person.
'There were enough factors in the group to reach a unanimous decision ... to end the Garrens,' he said.
The Garrens will continue their improv Saturday performances the next three weekends to fulfill their commitment to the Provo Theater Company. The shows are at 10 p.m. on 100 E. 100 North.
Jeremy Pearson, 22, a junior from Los Angeles majoring in chemical engineering said, 'With TV, you always have good shows that are on for a while that stop. If they feel it is time to move on then it''s probably the best decision. But as for being good, they really were and they were fun to watch.'