By Michelle Karparis | Staff Writer
Do you have a sense of humor? Are you quick on your feet? Have you ever thought about giving the acting life a try? If any of these apply to you, then Seahawk Down is the club for you.
Seahawk Down, formerly a part of Stagefright, is Salve’s very own improv club. You may have seen them recently performing at Dance Marathon or opening for CAB Comedy shows. They also presented a workshop on SRYou Day where they taught people the basics of improv.
While teaching improv, club president, Amelia Mason, explained three rules: “agree and add something,” “don’t ask questions,” and “build on stuff to make it interesting.”
As it turns out, you don’t need a theatre background to make yourself a member of Seahawk Down. “I joined because I like making jokes and being dramatic and I have an awful memory,” said Allison Graham, the club’s public representative. In fact, none of the current members of Seahawk Down are theatre majors and none of them had any theatre experience before coming to Salve.
“That’s the beauty of improv,” said club treasurer, Cleora Ohar, “anyone can do it.” That, and the fact that it has a lot of real life benefits as well. Ohar explained that “it helps you think on your feet,” and Mason agreed: “It gets you out of your comfort zone. . .it really helped me get out there and be more comfortable and confident.”
Club meetings consist of games that sharpen quick thinking, similar to what you would see on an episode of “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” One game, Hot Spot, mimics the “Riff-Off” style competition you may have seen in the movie Pitch Perfect. During this game, one person starts in the middle, the ‘hot spot,’ and starts singing a song. The next person then cuts that person off with a line from a new song that starts with a word in the first song.
You don’t need to be a good singer, memorize lines, or even have any idea what you’re doing in order to give improv a try. “There’s a lot of hesitating and ums,” said Graham about getting used to it in the beginning. The games and warm-up activities are meant to make people “uncomfortable but comfortable,” Mason added.
The club spends up to an hour and a half warming up before performing. Since everything is made up on the spot during a performance, this involves activities to focus and get in the right mindset, rather than memorizing or running through any kind of lines. Mason explained that shows involve “a lot of audience participation,” which can sometimes be a challenge. “The good thing about it, though, is when you make a Salve audience laugh you feel like you’ve really earned it,” added Graham.
The club urges anyone interested in having fun or trying something new to come to a meeting or check out one of their performances. Seahawk Down meets on Thursdays at 6 and Fridays at 7 in DiStefano. You will also have a chance to see them this semester opening again for CAB Comedy and performing their own show on April 21st.
If you want more information or have questions about Seahawk Down, you can come to a meeting or contact club president, Amelia Mason, at amelia.mason@salve.edu
