The MSMS Drama Club held Improv Night, a performance of impromptu skits, rehearsed comedy scenes and crowd-participation events in Shackleford Auditorium on Sept. 22. 

Improv Night began with improv acts, where students in the audience would submit improv prompts for the performers to act out. 

Dramatic Performance teacher Laura Stewart said she appreciated the opportunity to share her passion for theater and connect with others through Improv Night.

“Theater is one of my first loves, and I value any opportunity to share that experience with young people,” Stewart said. “[Improv Night] has also given me a chance to get to know some students who are not in any of my classes, which is delightful.”

To prepare for Improv Night, the Drama Club identified what is funny in planned comedies, practiced improv with actors and strengthened jokes in the written-out sketches.

At their practices, a group of performers were responsible for creating a general premise and a few jokes for a rehearsed scene. They would then relay their ideas to the performers practicing improv. As the improv performers carried out the prompt, the rehearsed scene group would take notes of the jokes, characters and dynamics they came up with. 

Drama Club Co-President Adair Gaines said the process was very effective for the “Vegan Cowboys” skit she directed.

“We sat in a circle and were pitching characters, settings and jokes when Seth Armstead said, ‘I want to do something Western,’” said Gaines, who co-hosted the event. “So, we came up with cowboys and we were like, ‘Let’s make them politically correct; let’s make them vegan’ — the opposite of what you would expect a cowboy to be.”

Junior Israel Cecil said he appreciated the event because of the performers’ hard work and standout skits.   

“I used to be a theater kid, so I know how much it takes to put on a decent show. I commend them all,” Cecil said. “My favorite skit was the one with the hitchhikers, where two people are driving in a car, a third joins and one finds a way to leave the car. I laughed a bit too hard. All the performers did great!”

Stewart said the Drama Club’s next production, “Door to Door,” is coming along greatly after the audition and casting processes recently wrapped up. The show, consisting of thematically and scenically linked vignettes, is scheduled for a mid-November performance. 

“We have some exciting plans in the works — stay tuned,” Stewart said.