It's a given that BYU students like to laugh.
Luckily, the Wasatch front is equipped with a surprising number of comedy improv troupes to entertain and amuse the masses.
Comedy improv, also known as improvisation, improv or simply impro, is a form of theater that developed from Commedia dell-arte, a popular sixteenth century form of entertainment. Now, improv is synonymous with getting up on stage and performing sans script, sans rehearsals, sans any sort of pre-planned response.
What most students don't realize is that, amid all the hilarity, improv is considered a serious art form - an art form with it's own aesthetics and rules. Annually, there are a slew of tournaments, festivals and workshops where improv troupes come to compete, learn and work to perfect their craft.
' took third nationally and first in the western region,' Comedysportz owner Curt Doussett said. 'We're not just a bunch of guys goofing off; we take comedy seriously.'
It appears an oxymoronic comment, but seems the general consensus among troupe leaders.
'We prefer to use the term 'Comedy Improv' it carries the connotation that the improv is more important than the comedy,' said Joe Rogan, founder of Knock Your Socks Off (KYSOff), a comedy improv troupe based in Salt Lake City. 'We are not merely improvising ways to make you laugh, but we are creating improvisational theater in a comedic structure.'
It was this feeling that led Rogan and his troupe to experiment with more technical forms of comedy improv. They were the first troupe to perform long form improv in Utah.
'Our humor isn't mindless,' Rogan said. 'Long form can be more entertaining, more popular than short form -- it's just about educating the people what to expect.'
Since KYSOff premiered 'Guacamole Sunrise,' their original long form improv, several other Utah troupes have jumped on the bandwagon. Comedysportz in Provo performs long form improv every Thursday night.
'It's fun for us to do ,' Doussett said. 'It's a little more in depth, a little more artsy and fulfilling.'
Which is not to say laughter is unimportant.
Kathryn Peterson, a senior majoring in illustration, went to a performance of Quick Wits, the oldest comedy troupe in Utah. 'It was hilarious,' Peterson said. 'They would take ideas from the audience for what they should do, and then they would do them. It was a lot like 'Whose Line is it Anyway?''
Not all students are so enthusiastic.
'I thought was good the first time, but if you've been there once it's just kind of the same thing over and over,' said Ryan Blick, a senior majoring in psychology.
Blick prefers Laughing Stock, a troupe based in Salt Lake City, to Comedysportz.
In Utah, most troupes make an effort to ensure that their shows are kept clean and appropriate for family audiences.
'There were a lot of Mormon culture jokes,' Peterson said, 'but that's inevitable around here. There wasn't anything that made me uncomfortable.'
Most troupes have regularly scheduled performances at permanent locations every weekend. Prices vary. For information concerning specific troupes, locations and times, visit www.utahimprov.com.