Aragon and Hillsdale perform on stage together during the show.
The Aragon and Hillsdale improv teams faced off from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 in the 2019 Improv Olympics. From musical numbers to bringing challenges to life, the competition encompassed a variety of events.
“Improv is acting without a script,” said Aragon Improv Team vice president Owen Convery. “Everything we do and practice for a show will only happen once and never happen again.”
The Improv Olympics are an ongoing tradition for Aragon’s Improv Team (AIT). The AIT, made up of twelve Aragon students, compete every year against Hillsdale’s Improv Theater Squad (HIT Squad).
To give each team a fair home theater advantage, the first competition was held on Jan. 31 at Hillsdale High School in the Little Theater, and the second was held in the Aragon Theater.
“The Improv Olympics is a show based on a format called Theatresports, created by an improviser named Keith Johnstone,” said AIT coach Shara Tonn. “He set it up so two improv teams go head-to-head in a series of challenges, which are scored by a panel of ‘expert’ judges, and he gave the players, emcees and judges the power to shape the show in any way they see fit, so anything can happen.”
The Aragon Improv Team won 216-210 on the Thursday night, and the Hillsdale Improv Team won Friday night with a score of 234-226. Overall, the HIT quad won the weekend with the most cumulative points. The score, however, is not the main focus according to Tonn.
“In reality, the points don’t matter. The teams know that; the judges know that; the emcee knows that,” Tonn said. “The goal is for the audience to have a good time, so the more they can boo the judges and cheer for the teams, the better the show.”
Thursday night at Hillsdale, the competition was judged by Hillsdale teachers Allison Gamlen and Pam Seligman and improvisor Tynan Challenor. On Friday night at Aragon, art teacher Katherine Katcher and English teacher Jim Daniel judged, along with improvisor Sean Marney and AIT alumna Rachel Van Heteren.
“I think it’s a very fun event, and I want to support the improv teams,” Gamlen said. “For me, I judge based on how well they follow the guidelines of improv and the games, [and] I give a score if it’s overall entertaining or funny.”
Judges held up signs with a score from one to five ranking the scenes.
“One of the things [that’s] different about theater sports from regular sports is the score is not reflective of how good the scene is; It’s quite arbitrary,” said judge Tynan Challenor. “I think the teams did excellent. I think that they could improve on really establishing who their characters are to help create the illusion of the scene. As a whole, they’ve done a great job.”
According to senior Samantha Wen, the competition pushes growth, not rivalry.
“Even though we are rival schools, we have a great relationship with each other,” Wen said. “We practice with each other, also with all the other schools in our district, like San Mateo High and Burlingame High’s improv teams. We are a big group, all helping one another.”
The supportive environment was also seen by the audience.
“It is a different cast this year, so there are different dynamics, but it’s very similar with a supportive atmosphere. Even if they get low score, it’s still regarded as good,” said senior Sarah Wu. “I liked the musical numbers, especially the one with the little girl learning to read the alphabet for the first time.”
While improv does not have a script, it still involves prior preparation.
“We usually have a lot of practices leading up to the event, and we work with our musical improvisor, who plays the piano for us to get musically rehearsed, “ Convery said. “We practice skills and fundamentals, so we feel ready for our shows.”
The preparation paid off with more than forty people attending the show Jan. 31 and almost sixty people attending on Feb. 1.
“Improv is about how much you can do for your team and not what you can do for yourself,” Challenor said. “Showing how supportive you can be, saying yes to someone else, is what I would want the improv team members to take away.”
