1. UConnImprov Comedy Laughter on-the-go

2. UConnImprov Comedy The University of Connecticut offers many opportunity for students to get involved with both long-form and short-form improvisational comedy. -Horse Lincoln -Agents of Improv -Reckless Gents -Scared Scriptless Those four are some of the most prominent and well-known on campus however only two, Scared Scriptless and Agents of Improv, are non-audition troupes, open to anyone.

3. UConnImprov Comedy Scared Scriptless, is a subsidiary organization of “Dramatic P.A.W.S.” the primary performing arts club on campus. “Agents of Improv, Reckless Gents and a few others have all branched off of Scared Scriptless to become their own things, but we were really the first,” said Chris Wasko president of Dramatic P.A.W.S., “We have a distinct advantage of being a short-form focused group and short-form improv is really the people’s improv. It’s quick and funny. Long form, like a lot of the other groups do, is mostly for actors, but still great.”

4. UConnImprov Comedy Agents of Improv do a combination of short and long-form. They don’t share the luxury of having a big brother organization like P.A.W.S and thus must do it’s scheduling and show planning in house. Stephen Yenke the troupe’s M.C. doesn’t mind the limitations, “We’re really just in it to perform. P.A.W.S. really gets the theater kids but we’re mostly made up of people who were curious about improv, or passionate about it,” said Yenke. The group is so committed to the craft that they even offer an advanced audition only opportunity for performers who want to refine their skills.

5. UConnImprov Comedy Each group tries to put a heavy emphasis on socialization being a kin to better performances. “Good improv, we believe,” Says Yenke “is about being comfortable with your group. Especially in a non-improv setting. That way when you’re on stage, you’re all comfortable with each other and it reflects on the scene.” To foster this idea Agents of Improv elects a Social Manager to plan outside events for the group to get together in. Scared Scriptless members have nothing as official but encourage spreading news about the club through word of mouth. “We’ve never had a problem maintaining interest in our club thanks to that. It means we start out as friends,” Said Wasko.

6. UConnImprov Comedy Despite competing for show space and members, the groups are anything but rivals. Margaret Malley, general manager of Agents of Improv discussed plans to do joint shows with other groups, “We want to create what we’re calling an ‘Axis of Improv’ in which we work with all the other troupes on campus and put on really big unified shows. Chris Wasko shared her sentiment, “Since Scared Scriptless is already a well established name on campus, we’re always trying to have mixers and get other groups involved with our name and vice versa.”

7. UconnImprov Comedy - Get Invovled Scared Scriptless, meets Mondays from 9-11 in the SU rm. 104 Agents of Improv meets Thursdays from 9-11 in the SU rm. 104

8. UConnImprov Comedy All photos courtesy of Rachel Weiss Sources: Stephen Yenke – M.C. of Agents of Improv Margaret Malley – General Manager of Agents of Improv Chris Wasko – President of Dramatic P.A.W.S. and Scared Scriptless Member Special Thanks to all of the members of each club for being so open, receptive and downright hilarious! You can find both groups on Facebook:Scared Scriptless Agents of Improv