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BYU Improv club kicks off semester with a packed house

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BYU’s Laugh Out Loud Improv Comedy Club kicked off the winter semester with their first show. The club holds auditions to select six performers for the night’s lineup. (Elsa Bray)

Nearly every seat was filled as more than 100 people attended BYU’s Laugh Out Loud Improv Comedy Club show on Friday, Jan. 17.

The show, titled “The Black Tie Show,” featured six club members. It was billed as the perfect date night, with a $5 entry fee or a discounted price of $3 per person for attendees who dressed up.

Talmadge Holt, an 18-year-old freshman at BYU, attended the performance.

“I’ve always loved funny things,” Holt said. “Seeing 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' on TV with Wayne Brady just lit a spark in my mind.”

Holt, a former member of the club, participated last semester before joining Divine Comedy, another BYU comedy club that meets at the same time. He described improv meetings as being filled with fun games and opportunities to improve scene work.

“I love how spontaneous these shows are,” he said. “Being able to think of a quick-witted joke or a whole character in a split second is amazing and fascinating to me.”

Holt, who has not declared his major, said he hopes to pursue a career as a comedic actor.

Another audience member, Hannah Spigarelli, a junior studying computer science, said she hasn’t attended many improv shows but wants to come to more.

Her favorite moment of the night was a genre-switching game where players acted out a certain scene in different movie genres including a musical, accompanied by live piano.

Audience members eagerly reach out their hands, hoping to catch the goodies tossed their way. Throughout the show, performers hurled rolls of toilet paper and fruit snacks into the crowd of college students. (Elsa Bray)

“It’s just so fun,” Spigarelli said. “I love how much the story changes and takes on a whole new comedic meaning after every genre switch.”

During the show, players performed a series of skits and games. Audience interaction was a key element, with attendees shouting out suggestions to shape the scenes.

A standout moment featured a game where two players performed a scene blindfolded on a stage covered with mouse traps, pretending not to notice the traps.

Logan Cropper, an electrical engineering senior, was one of the six players performing in the show.

“Improv was something that I never saw myself doing,” Cropper said.

Cropper joined the club as a freshman in 2018 when his roommates encouraged him to attend. Now, almost seven years later, he leads the club as its president.

“It’s honestly one of the best skills I’ve ever learned,” he said. “You learn to think on your feet, collaborate with others, and speak even when you have no preparation.”

Cropper explained that improv requires balancing quick thinking with paying attention to others in the scene.

Performers entertained a live audience with a variety of improv games. Two blindfolded players navigated a stage scattered with mouse traps, delivering a scene as if the traps didn’t exist. (Elsa Bray)

“You have to let go of the idea that everything out of your mouth has to be good because then you’ll never say anything,” he said.

The performance ended with several standing ovations from the audience.

The Laugh Out Loud Improv Comedy Club is open to all BYU students, regardless of major. Practices are held on Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. The club’s next show, “The Third Wheel Show,” will take place on Feb. 7. See @lol.byu on Instagram for more information.