Get ready to end the semester with a laugh as Detroit Mercy’s very own improvisation class puts on an improv show. Mark your calendars because on Friday, Dec. 15 at 11 a.m. in the College of Health Professions in Room 124 No Mercy will put on an unforgettable show full of humor and wits.
Andrew Papa, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Theatre, was asked about why the class needed to perform a show, and he said, “Well, I did improv in college for two years. It was one of my favorite experiences in college, and I feel like I learned a lot about acting from those experiences. Ever since I started teaching at Detroit Mercy back in 2015, I have wanted to find an opportunity to bring improv comedy to campus. When the Department of Performing Arts talked about teaching improvisation as a class for this term, I thought it could be a great platform to launch an improv show at the end of the year as a sort of “showcase” for what the students had learned.”
The class itself is very fun and would be enjoyable to many across the campus who aren't even theatre majors or minors. It also helps develop skills that many can take into their lives, and as Professor Papa says many of the student in the class are not even theatre majors. Skills include thinking on the spot, developing chemistry with others, conflict and most importantly finding humor out of ordinary everyday sceneries.
For students to put on an improv show is an impressive accomplishment in itself, and while the class could have just done a mock show in front of no one, this would not have the same effect as a live show since after all an audience in greatly needed in performances apply for improv shows where crowd work and crowd participation is necessary for the show. When asked about if there will be more improv shows in the near future Professor Papa said that “in a way, that’s up to the students! While the students in the class (or any other student at Detroit Mercy) are under no obligation to do so, I would love to see an improv troupe form on campus. And if one does start up and they’re looking for a faculty advisor, I would love to be considered.”
