Jenna Bacon, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor

This past weekend Berry College’s Easy Baked Improv troupe put on their annual Improvathon. The challenge, which took place in Evans auditorium, kicked off at 7 p.m. on Friday and wrapped up exactly 24 hours later, at 7 p.m. on Saturday. In the course of the challenge, the members of Easy Baked Improv engaged in continuous improvised acting throughout the entire 24-hour period. Improvisational acting, often called improv, is a form of theater where performers create scenes, dialogue and characters spontaneously without a script or pre-planning. Actors must think quickly and work together to create and maintain an interesting storyline. 

Throughout the challenge, Easy Baked Improv had a few different ways they handled eating, drinking and sleeping. Many of the challenge participants brought pre-packaged snacks and frozen meals. Additionally, a member of the troupe brought their mini fridge and microwave to preserve perishable foods and heat up meals as needed. This year Vice President of Student Affairs Lindsey Taylor brought members of Easy Baked Improv breakfast and coffee from McDonald’s. During the times they weren’t performing, troupe members could rest and take short naps on couches brought in from the Evans lobby.  

Part of the challenge required a theme to be drawn from a suggestion box at the top of every hour. Then, the actors had to center the next hour of their performance around the chosen theme. Some of the hourly suggestions during this year’s challenge included a princess theme, a sitcom theme and a musical theatre theme. Senior Brayden Kimbrough shared why getting to draw a new theme every hour is one of his favorite parts of Improvathon. 

“Sometimes you’ll find one that just really sticks, and you get a really solid stretch of scenes within a certain hour,” Kimbrough said. “Sometimes we get good hours consecutively. So, I think there’s always a lot of excitement with that especially considering that sometimes the best hours are hours that you’re not expecting to be that amazing.”

Since there are no scripts in improvisational theatre, actors must channel some of their creativity to keep the scenes interesting. The perennial rule in improv is that characters should rarely ever say “no” in a scene because it halts the momentum of a scene. Instead of saying “no”, characters should either agree to whatever action is suggested or propose a different option. Freshman Hannah Evans shared her approach to keep the ball rolling while she’s performing. 

“I just go in and try to be as creative as I can by drawing on something I had recently experienced or maybe something I saw on Instagram reels or something like that,” Evans said. “Honestly, I just try to have fun with it. I like plot twists a lot so I try to switch it up as much as I can.”

The group members’ camaraderie was made evident during their performance at Improvathon. However, within this tight-knit group, there are certain pairs or trios whose connection seems to elevate their scenes to new heights. It’s a testament to the creative bonds formed within the ensemble that while every member brings something special to the table, some pairings really help bring the best out in each other. Kimbrough shared why he enjoys working with one of his fellow troupe members. 

“I really enjoy doing scenes with Logan,” Kimbrough said “He’s one of our new group members. I think that he’s got incredibly good wit. On top of that, he always brings a lot of energy to his scenes.” 

Being a part of something like Easy Baked Improv can be a fantastic creative outlet for students. It can also be a way for students to make new friends or try something new in a low-stakes environment. Aside from being a creative outlet and an opportunity to make friends, taking part in Easy Baked Improv can be a form of stress relief for students during the busier times here at Berry. Junior Victoria Severiche shares how being a part of Easy Baked Improv has impacted her. 

“I’ve gotten a lot of new friends out of it,” Severiche said. “I also think it’s made me more confident in my skills as a performer. I have really bad stage fright, but being able to go on stage and just say and do whatever I want for the most part has made me feel a lot more comfortable doing that. In turn, I guess it’s even made me more comfortable being myself as a person.”