What do coal miners, soccer moms and long-lost clown siblings all have in common? Most would say nothing — but not the First Time Offenders (FTO). Trinity’s improv club weaved these characters into improvised skits and stories at their opening fall show on Sept. 13 in the Café Theater.
The show consisted of five games, each with different rules to guide the improv. In the first game, “Change,” the performers had to change their current action whenever cast member Henry Castaneda, junior psychology major, yelled the word, creating rapid new situations the actors had to interpret. In another game, “Sit, Stand, Bend,” one performer had to be in each pose at all times throughout the skit. But beyond these guidelines, everything was improvised. Arlo Castilan, junior neuroscience major and FTO president, hosted the show — introducing each game and letting the audience decide who the characters were, where they were and particular objects that set the scene. Then, the actors brought them to life.
Arlo Castilan, junior neuroscience major and FTO president, hosted the show — introducing each game and letting the audience decide who the characters were, where they were and particular objects that set the scene. Then, the actors brought them to life. In “Sit, Stand, Bend,” the performers turned the prompt “charcuterie board” into a lively skit about two disgruntled chefs and a rat.
Not only was this FTO’s first show of the season, but it was most of the cast’s first show with the group. Of the nine people on stage, only two were returning. One member, Eden Avera, first-year psychology and political science double-major, had previous theater experience but had never before performed improv for an audience, even at FTO club meetings. Despite this, Avera performed in three of the games, ranging from a coal miner to a lost child in the grocery store — all of which drew plenty of laughs.
“I was a combination of nervous and excited, and I couldn’t tell how much of each that I was. I was pacing backstage, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what if I mess up?’ and then I realized you really can’t mess up when you’re just improv-ing,” Avera said. “Once I realized how fun it was, I let myself go. I was very happy.”
JR Law, sophomore marketing major, was another first-time performer. Law first heard about FTO in an improvisation class he took last semester and joined the club to further pursue his interest.
“I liked how creative you can be with it, because with improv you have unlimited possibilities, you can be whatever you want,” Law said. “You just get to have this moment on stage where you just kind of let your imagination fly.”
Throughout the course of the show, Law’s imagination ended up taking him from a graveyard to the world of “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Like Avera, Law was initially nervous about the performance, but he overcame that with the support of Castilan and Lydia Beseth, junior theater major and FTO vice president.
“Arlo and Lydia reminded me the best, most important thing is to just have fun, go out there, play games and do improv,” Law said.
Beseth — who has loved improv since she was a child and is also a member of Trinity’s long-form improv troupe, Buddy Buddy — is far from a FTO or improv first-timer. She said, however, that such experience was not necessary to get involved with the club.
“Just come to one of our jams,” Beseth said to anyone interested in joining. “You don’t have to participate. You could just watch the entire time, and it’s a really fun experience. And if you feel like participating, you can participate whenever you want. It’s very open for any kind of comfortability who wants to come.”
FTO will have three more shows this semester on Oct. 18, Nov. 9 and Dec. 9. The club as meetings every Friday at 3 p.m. in the Café Theater.
