Not impossible, but Improvable: Improv comedy group headed to campus

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By Jon Parton

An improv comedy tour will be performing at the college this spring. The comedy team of “Mission Improvable” will be performing at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7 in the Craig Community Auditorium.

The group has toured all across the country and has even performed at Lollapalooza. The show originally started more than 10 years ago. Pat Kiely, one of the members of “Mission Improvable,” explained the show’s collegiate roots.

“It started with some guys from the University of Massachusetts and then moved to Chicago and later Los Angeles,” Kiely said.

The show itself is styled upon a special agent theme, with each performer assigned to a specific code name. The performers interact with the audience in a number of improvisational games, Kiely said.

“The whole point of improv is that you can never say no,” Kiely said. “You always use what the audience or another performer gives you.”

Kiely also has local connections. While studying at the Second City Theater in Chicago, he was coached by Jason Sudeikis. Sudeikis, a “Saturday Night Live” alum, grew up in Overland Park where he attended school at Shawnee Mission West.

Improvisational comedy relies heavily on audience participation. The challenge for the performers is to think quickly in order to adapt to the material.

“The best part of it is that no one owns these improv games,” Kiely said. “They belong to everyone.”

Rather than call them “games” onstage, the performers call them “missions.” The comedy team does not rely on scripts, making each show a unique experience.

Student Jakob Weber said he is a big fan of improv, including TV shows like “Whose Line is it Anyway.”

“It’s just taking something out of nothing,” Weber said.

Jacob Marshall, student ambassador of Student Activities, said that audience participation made this the right show to bring to the college.

“It’s interactive fun and the students can get involved with it,” Marshall said.

Marshall serves on the Campus Activities Board, a group responsible for putting together various activities and events for the school, including “Mission Improvable” and Rob Riggle’s performance back in October.

“A lot of people know us because we’re the people who make I.D.’s,” Marshall said. “But something else that not everybody is immediately aware of is how much we bring to the college.”

Marshall said he believed that the show caught their attention during a national collegiate convention attended by student activity boards. He believed their style of comedy was well-suited for the school.

“Comedy’s big and these guys, they’re not quite crude, they’re just improv,” Marshall said.

Contact Jon Parton, staff reporter, at jparton@jccc.edu.

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