On Thursday nights, while most students are bored in their rooms, juniors Josh Summers, Nolan Monsibay, Ali Waxman and Cooper Smith are in the Preus-Brandt Forum providing laughs.

These four students comprise the returning members of California Lutheran University Improv, an open audition program that has been practiced for over a decade and consists of many young talented students ranging from freshmen to seniors.

This year’s team is made up solely of juniors, which makes it the first in several years where there are no senior members. Although this is a significant factor in the team dynamic, the group seemed enthusiastic about the opportunity to lead a new group of students during the next two years.

“One thing that I think people generally take for granted about the Improv team is the amount of cooperation that goes into creating a successful show. The support that is required from within the team is probably equivalent to that of any organized sport,” said Monsibay.

Indeed, it did seem that way as throughout the show, all members provided a tremendous amount of support for one another.

“My favorite part about improv is definitely working with all the team members,” said Waxman. “These past two years we’ve been blessed with a group of individuals who are always putting the team first and are always willing to sacrifice stardom for the benefit of the show.”

Lisa Fredrickson, the advisor of CLU Improv, expressed her excitement surrounding this year’s auditions. Open auditions were  scheduled to be held for the team on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Smith said, “Like any team, we are looking for people that are going to fit in and be able to play a role when they need to. Everybody wants to be a star, but the people who are most successful in improv are the ones who work hard for their teammates.”

Members are keen on creating a close group this year with team dinners and bonding activities.

“There could be 10 people that try out for improv, and while we would love to have everyone, if there’s only one quality actor in the mix then we would only take one person,” said Summers before auditions.

If you have some free time next Thursday, or if you just want to get away from the books for a little bit, head down to the Forum and check out the new talent.

Peter James
Staff Writer
Published Sept. 18, 2013