Amanda Morris
Assistant News Editor
This Saturday, March 23, eight Wheaton College seniors will head to Chicago to compete in the College Improv Tournament Nationals. After winning the Windy City Regionals in January, Wheaton improv troupe Kids These Days has been invited to compete against 16 troupes from around the country, including schools such as Princeton, Arizona State, Cornell and Johns Hopkins University.
Kids These Days is the only improv troupe that will be representing a Christian institution.
In preparation for Nationals, the troupe has been practicing for three hours once a week while having weekly shows on campus.
The troupe will be judged on technique, group mind, teamwork and creatively using the suggestions that it receives in the opening scene.
“The judges are looking for us to take ideas and continue to make them larger, to play around with them,” said senior troupe member Laura Ketchum. “They can tell if you’re having fun.”
Ketchum described the group dynamics of Kids These Days.
“We’ve got a lot of really strong personalities coming together to create improv together,” Ketchum said. “We’ve all known each other for three to four years … so we’re basically best friends up on stage, kind of poking fun at one another, and we know each other’s strengths.”
Senior troupe member Amanda Gregornik said, “I think that’s something that (the judges are) looking for. When you’re in a scene, the judges are watching to see how you interact with your other players, and when you know your other players, you can play with them better — it’s easier to know what they’re going to do. … You know their responses.”
Brendon Culhane, Wheaton ’07 alumnus and coach of Kids These Days, said, “(Kids These Days) have some very strong social bonds personality-wise, but I would say one thing that really characterizes them is they really enjoy learning and they love improv.”
Culhane explained how the troupe has developed and each member has learned his or her role.
“When you talk about a long-form improv, what’s really cool is it’s sort of like a jazz ensemble where everybody has their instrument and is a part of it at the same time,” Culhane said. “There’s eight of them; they all find a way to be in the piece, sometimes at the same time. … I would say they’ve grown in that way — I’ve seen them be able to create their own structures and pieces spontaneously, rather than saying, ‘We’ll do scene one, scene two, scene three, try a monologue.’ … We find out together how the show is going to be built.”
In the final days before Nationals, the troupe members of Kids These Days shared feelings of anticipation toward the tournament.
“I think I’m just excited to spend more time playing with people that I love and knowing that I can trust them and have fun with them,” Gregornik said. “I’m really excited.”
Ketchum has high hopes for attendance at the tournament, whcich will feature comedian Frank Caeti, a former cast member on Fox’s comedy sketch series MADtv.
“(The tournament) is honestly like the Woodstock of college improv. You’re going to be seeing the best players in the nation, you’re guaranteed to have a laugh. … It’s totally worth it,” Ketchum said.
The College Improv Tournament Nationals will be held at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago, with student ticket prices at $12. The competition will also stream live online.
Photo Courtesy Amy Ketchum