IMPROVables brings holiday cheer to Black Box theater with Christmas-themed improv show

From left to right: Sarah Stepp, Isaac Herrington, Ellen Klintworth, Joshua Nikodym, and Caleb Jalas act in the Christmas improv show in the Black Box Theater.

Photo credit: Mi-Ree Zwick

By Mi-Ree Zwick

The IMPROVables created an atmosphere of holiday cheer during Concordia’s “Dead Week” with the last improv show of the semester on Dec. 10.

The Black Box in the Borland Center for Music and Theatre held an audience of many new and returning faces eager to watch the show. Most people were dressed in Christmas-themed sweaters because they came right from the Mixed Chorus’s Christmas Jubilee, which had just finished in the Borland lobby.

The audience had high energy before the show started, but the energy would get higher as the show started and progressed.

Professor Bryan Moore is the head of the Theater Department and the faculty advisor for the Curtain Club/IMPROVables. He said he was very proud of the IMPROVables’ performance.

“They are very talented students,” said Moore. “It was great to see them put together a fun, holiday-themed event.”

Moore said that the cast had good chemistry with each other and that the students “showed a great range of their skills” in the games that were played.

Sophomore panel member Sarah Stepp said that the performance was similar to a “feedback loop.” The more energy the audience had, the more energy the cast had, and vice versa.

“The audience was also having a grand time, which made us have a good time,” she said.

Freshman Isaac Herrington, a graphic design major who was cast for the show, liked the audience’s participation.

“It felt like everyone [from the audience] talked at some point,” said Herrington. He said that there was “lots of laughter” and “lots of clapping.”

Freshman Chipper Banks had the good fortune of being the audience participant in one of the games, an opportunity which came in the form of his speedily raised hand.

“I love their energy on stage, their ability to improvise on the fly, and the good chemistry they have with each other,” Banks said. He is a regular at the IMPROVables practices but didn’t want to “take too much of the spotlight” because this was the cast’s show, not his.

Alleah Struble graduated from Concordia in the spring of 2024 but returned to watch the performance.

“The show was incredible,” Struble said. “Everyone did really, really well.”

She particularly enjoyed the characterization and the commitment the cast had to their respective characters. Struble said that it didn’t “feel like you were watching a practice” and that it “felt like you were watching a show.”

Sophomore Robert Wagner was an audience member at the show. He particularly enjoyed the “audience’s involvement in shaping the different scenes.”

“I don’t typically come to improv, so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Wagner said. “It was a bit chaotic, but it was certainly fun.”

Stepp said there were some “interesting” plot developments, which is one way to put the “chaos” that unfolded.

“There was some excellent usage of the themes we often talk about in improv practice,” Stepp said. “So it’s nice to know our practices are paying off.”

The general consensus from the audience was that the show was fun and chaotic.

The next event for the Curtain Club/IMPROVables is a movie night collaboration with the Art Club. The clubs are watching The Spongebob Musical in Thom Auditorium on Dec. 12 at 8:30 p.m.

The IMPROVables have planned three shows for the coming spring semester, including the annual 24-hour IMPROVathon.