Improv comedy troupe keeps U. laughing

Can you find a link between Kool-Aid, Madonna, Tarzan and the Olympics? Without A Net, the University's only co-ed improvisational comedy group can, and did, last night at the opening night of their fall show. Without A Net, a phrase describing the feeling of free-fall actors experience when put on stage without a script, is an appropriate name for this performing arts troupe. Created in the early 1980s by University students -- some of whom are now working on Broadway -- Without A Net has always sought to entertain audiences while giving the members a chance to have fun themselves. Troupe member and College junior Kym Frank explained, "In our shows, we want to let other people, as well as ourselves, relax and have a good time." This year, Without A Net brings together a diverse group of eight undergraduates and one graduate student with a wide range of background in theater arts. More than half of the group has had "years of extensive training" while "the rest has dabbled in the performing arts since high school," said Frank. College senior Riaz Patel, a member of Without A Net, spent last semester studying with the prestigious National Theater Institute in London and Connecticut. Without A Net performers said confidence and the willingness to take risks on stage is what makes or breaks an improvisational performer. "Most people in Without A Net are inherently funny people," said troupe member and Engineering senior Avish Parashar. Improvisational acting is about working together as a team, not finding "individual moments in the sun," said troupe director and College senior Andrea Kemp. With the goal of producing spontaneous humor, Without A Net spends four hours a week practicing and one hour Sunday nights performing in the High Rise East Rathskellar. In rehearsal, the group plays the same games they feature in their shows, focussing on the rules and parameters of each game. Kemp said that when the group rehearses, members try to challenge and push each other by choosing scenarios that "are harder and more complex than anything an audience would come up with." On campus, Without A Net has a loyal following of fans who support them weekly at their free shows in High Rise East. One self-proclaimed fan, College and Wharton senior Eva Sacks, said she respects the group because of their "mental agility, and their ability to think fast on their feet and be funny." Performing Arts Chairperson Rosalie Will, a College senior, said she thinks "improv is one of the hardest things to do in Penn performing arts."