Improv Anonymous, UNH’s one and only improvisation acting group on campus, hosted its Spooky Halloween Show last Thursday, Oct. 27 from 9–10 p.m. in the Memorial Union Building’s (MUB) Entertainment Center.
Improv Anonymous is a comedy-acting group in which everything from the characters to the dialogue is made up on the spot. Eleven students gathered on Thursday to perform in front of an audience of UNH community members.
Preceding Halloween weekend, event attendees were encouraged to arrive in costume. “All ghouls and ghosties welcome, you will be pelted with jokes and candy,” advertisements for Improv Anonymous’ Spooky Halloween Show said.
The group will occasionally perform shows in residential halls, as well as other booked shows separate from weekly acts. They have just begun hosting Wednesday Workshops at 8 p.m. for anyone interested in joining.
This week’s act was Halloween themed, as members acted out comedic scenarios that involved castles, graveyards and trick-or-treating style skits.
Freshman Improv member Brier Haigh said that she thinks organizations like Improv Anonymous are important for a couple reasons. “I absolutely love being on Improv Anonymous and would recommend it to everyone to try to audition at one point, or participate in the workshops,” she said. “It not only promotes being yourself, but it also helps people with thinking on their toes when it comes to being in situations.”
Taking audience suggestions, Improv members will play-out a scene on the spot depicting the suggestions in a comedic way.
“Improv is a way that people can appreciate performing arts in a non-traditional way,” Haigh said.
UNH sophomore Douglas Crawford said that he enjoyed attending the Spooky Halloween Show.
“You could tell the members were passionate about making people laugh,” he said. “The Halloween theme probably made it harder for the performers to act on a whim, but we still all enjoyed the work put into the event and it was nice to get out and get a good laugh.”
The performances act as an outlet for students and community members alike to join in and have fun during the week. Stop by the Entertainment Center, located in room 18 in the MUB’s basement, on Thursdays at 9 p.m. and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. to get involved or sit in during an act.
“The group has an awesome dynamic which creates an environment to just be yourself,” Haigh said. “We all love to perform and make people laugh.”
