Improv club aims to entertain and teach

The art of improvisational comedy is one of the hardest to master. Being talented enough to spontaneously spurt ideas and create both tension and humor on stage eludes most people, but not improvisers T.J. Jagodowski and David Pasquesi.

Jagodowki and Pasquesi are the subjects of the documentary “Trust Us: This Is All Made Up.”  Last Friday, Rowan University’s Sketch Improv Club presented the documentary to a receptive audience in the Bozorth Hall Auditorium.

R.U.S.I.C. is a relatively new club at Rowan University, and provides an alternative to the theater normally highlighted at Rowan. Members have the vision to provide laughs from unrehearsed jokes and also seek to learn from the people they want to entertain. With “Trust Us: This Is All Made Up,” the giggles and guffaw surely showed a positive response that Rowan University is definitely warming up to a well-needed belly laugh.

Keith Miller, freshman theater arts major, was highly amused and enlightened by the film.

“Initially I didn’t know what to expect, a documentary explaining to me how to do Improv, or some guys just doing Improv,” Miller said. “T.J. and David were amazingly funny without being desperate, which many actors like myself am guilty of.”

Students from all majors and interests attended to learn about the art from professionals that make it seem so effortless. Both comedians are considered to be the best at the dying art form of improv. The documentary allowed viewers to pique the mind of a performer with no script and a penchant to be funny at less than a seconds’ notice.

Christopher Santiago, a junior theater major, also attended in hopes of understanding comedy and possibly including that into his acting.

“I learned that you just have to go with what’s funny. Some people may or may not understand your humor, and that’s when you have to put your ear to the ground,” Santiago said. “Somethings are illustrated funny, and others are wordplay funny. I learned the difference today.”

Patrick Bean, senior radio/TV/film major and R.U.S.I.C. vice president, felt that his club had benefitted from the audience’s experience.

“I think the documentary screening was a great way to promote the club,” Bean said. “The audience really seemed to like our short set of improv, so I think we’ll be seeing them at a show in the near future. I think the audience also learned a lot about what goes into an improv show.”

Bean himself is a comedian involved in Second Place Champions, a group of improv students from Rowan University that includes a host of students from varying majors.

“I’ve been doing improv for a few years now, and even I learned a lot about how to be a good improvisational performer,” Bean said. “The documentary featured insights into many pitfalls that many comedians run into when trying to earnestly to be funny.”

Be sure to check out R.U.S.I.C’s future improv and sketch shows around the Rowan University campus.