Marquette’s only improv group previously met twice a week to practice in Helfaer Theatre’s Studio 013. After getting kicked out of this space several years ago, they had to move to Humphrey Hall’s auditorium for practice, and coined the name Studio 013 Refugees, or the “Fugees.”
Josh Pirogovsky, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Leah Gerut, a senior in the College of Communication, arrived at Marquette as seasoned improvisers from their experience in high school.
At Marquette, they hoped to continue their improvisation career. After going through the audition process for the Fugees as first-years, they were lucky enough to make the team. Three years later, they are serving as the group’s presidents.
Improv is a form of live performance which relies on performers ability to make up a scene on the spot. Typical improv shows consist of performers playing games that help them come up with funny scenes or dialogue, and often asking the audience for people, places or things to set the scene for their games.
The group, which typically performs short-form, improv comedy, has 12 members. Each member tries out at the beginning of the year after attending three workshops and then auditions in front of Pirogovsky and Gerut.
“We start every workshop by telling them the most common rules of improv…” Pirogovsky said. ‘We tell them not to punch down, which is to not make any certain person or demographic feel bad.”
The group has monthly performances, each with a different theme, corresponding to the improv games they play. Their winter show, titled “Under the Missing Toe,” took place on Dec. 5 and consisted of different holiday-themed games.
“We played a game called Director, which is where we get a suggestion [from the audience] and the players will do the scene, then there’s somebody in the scene that’s the director, and they’ll give us something like, ‘This is supposed to be a musical!’ and then they’ll repeat the same scene with the director’s critiques,” Gerut said.
Pirogovsky and Gerut agreed on their excitement and love for the Fugees this year.
“It’s a judgment-free zone, and it’s fun to do [improv] with people who also like it and who are open-minded,” Gerut said.
Gerut said they are working on putting together a workshop with Logan Square Improv, which is an improv theatre based in Chicago. It is focused on learning long-form games, which the group has never done before. They are also planning an Alumni Workshop with past members of the Fugees.
Gerut and Pirogovsky also agreed on the benefits of improv as a skill.
“Anytime I’m talking to someone, I’m doing improv, so I just get to practice doing it with professionals, it makes you a really good communicator…” Pirogovsky said. “I’m pretty good at public speaking; it also makes you quick on your feet.”
Prospective members do not need to have previous experience in improv, and the group is also diverse major-wise, with several theatre majors, but also engineering, computer science and digital media.
“With improv, you can really put your own creativity and your own ideas into everything,” Gerut said. “It’s a space to be silly and a space where you don’t have to think so hard. You can just be yourself, as cheesy as that sounds.”
The Fugees’ next show, whose theme and name are yet to be revealed, is on Jan. 30, in Marquette Hall 100. They are also holding spring auditions, with workshops on Feb. 10 and Feb. 12, and then auditions on Feb. 15.
Look out for more information and events related to Studio 013 Refugees on their Instagram.
This article was written by Annie Goode. She can be reached at [email protected].
