IMPROVables Travel to Illinois For First Performance Outside Seward

Left to right: Senior Paul Nelson, senior Andrew Crist, sophomore Joshua Brumm, alumnus Ethan Kesar, junior Cadence Klemp, junior Michael Duffy, junior Benjamin Leeper and senior Izaak Wendorff. Photo courtesy of Concordia IMPROVables Facebook page.

by Dana Simpkin

Members of Concordia’s improv group IMPROVables traveled seven and a half hours to perform at the LCMS Central Illinois District Junior Youth Lock-In on Friday, Nov. 11 in the IMPROVables’s first performance outside of Seward.

The group was invited to perform at the event by Pastor Kevin Bueltmann, former director at Camp Luther Nebraska and friend of Concordia senior Paul Nelson.

“It was kind of a crazy thing, just something we were invited to go to. I’m really excited,” Nelson said on the night before their departure. “But I’m driving back right away so I can make it to pep band.”

Along with Nelson, the traveling squad of improvers consisted of sophomore Joshua Brumm; juniors Ben Leeper, Cadence Klemp and Michael Duffy; and seniors Izaak Wendorff and Andrew Crist in addition to Ethan Kesar. The seven performers were selected by the IMPROVables leadership panel.

The actors’ evening in Illinois began with a 30-minute mainstage performance in front of 500 kids and was followed up by four one-hour shows from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. with audience participation.

After their long night, the group pulled back into campus around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday but had plenty of stories to share about their experience.

“It was so awesome. There were so many laughs and we got an amazing opportunity to talk to kids about Concordia,” Brumm said.

The IMPROVables frequently perform on the Concordia campus and in local Seward theaters such as Olde Glory, so the actors are used to mostly college-age and above audiences.

“We kind of forgot how young junior high kids are, so we had to play to physical humor more,” Nelson said. “The different audience was a real nice change though.”

The IMPROVables practice their games every Monday and Thursday night from 9:30-11 p.m. in the Black Box Theater, located in the basement of the Music Building. All are welcome to join at any time. Their next performance will be in the Black Box Theatre on Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m .

For more information, follow @cuneimprov on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook.