On Friday, September 11^th, 2009, the Mt. Vernon Drama Club visited Skinny Improv in Springfield, MO. Skinny Improv is located in the historic district of Springfield, and is an improvisational comedy team founded 2002.

            Drama Club had a fun-filled night by first going to CiCi’s Pizza, and then riding the bus over to the square. There, they played games such as Elephants and Giraffes and Freeze.

            When it was finally time to go to the show, Skinny Improv had rows of seats already reserved for Mt. Vernon…they had the biggest group in the theater. Everyone sat down and the show started.

            If you’ve never been to Skinny Improv before, you should probably know how some of the skits work. Previous to the show starting, there is a table at the front of the room with post-its and a pen. There, any member of the audience is able to write down a funny quote for the improv team to use during one of their skits. Topics for skits may also be written down.

            Improv is all about not knowing exactly what you’re going to do or say before actually having to do it. Their show thrives on simply asking a member of the audience a crazy question such as, “Could you please name an object you think you’d find in the trunk of your best friend’s car?” The comedy crew then has to perform a skit based on the answer. Another unique thing about Skinny Improv is that if someone (whether it be audience member or actor) shouts out something inappropriate, he/she is required to wear a sombrero for the remainder of the show.

            The drama club participants that attended definitely laughed when the improv team performed a skit inspired by the town of Mt. Vernon. Cast members told a story about mountaineers sitting and eating beef jerky, bored because there wasn’t anywhere to hang out in such a small town. They poked fun at how Mazzio’s is the only place to eat, and that the truck stop was a great place to catch up on the country’s latest news.

            Lacey Jones (11) said, “The show was great! The only thing that would have made it better was if Mrs. Grisbee had gotten up there!”