After improvising their way through Chicago traffic, students from the Improvisation for Theatre class laughed along with the work of professional performers. Based on a disastrous Everglades date told by Trevor Cisneros ’28, one of the acts crafted a hilarious musical adventure filled with love, gators, and painted nails.
It started out as a planned trip to iO Theatre (Chicago); and when traffic jams turned I-90 into a parking lot the Improvisation for Theatre class ended up improvising a new route to get to the theater. As we squished past double parked cars and hit stop light after stop light, we finally arrived to see Improv done by the pros.
The first show we were supposed to see was Devil’s Daughter, but as improv would have it – Devil’s Daughter was substituted out for three different groups from other parts of the city. We got to see 3 teams approach “The Harold” in three completely different ways.
“I didn’t know that people could tell a consistent story using improv. It changed my whole view of improv,” stated King Snider ’25. Another student claimed, “My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.” While waiting in line for our second show, students argued over which team they liked best.
The second show, “Trapped in a Musical”, came from our suggestion! Trevor Cisneros ’28 told the audience about the worst date he ever had. According to Cisneros, if you want to show a girl a gator, don’t take them to the Everglades. You’ll get eaten by mosquitos, sweat like crazy, and never see a gator even if you get lost!
The improv cast took that story and ran with it. Before our eyes, we met “Clementine” who was a nail tech trapped in a tiny town in the Everglades. She always wanted to see what else there was in the world, but was a little afraid to look for true happiness until she met someone new to town.
And as for the gators? Well, an evil villain was keeping them in a cage where they whined and cried for blood and finally bit the hands off the villain to get free. But after a series of fanboat failures, Clementine runs into the blood thirsty gators and wins them over by painting their nails and everyone lives happily ever after.
Remember, this show included made up songs, improvised choreography, and hysterical surprise after surprise!
On the way out to the van, students ran into the cast of “Trapped in a Musical” and got a chance to talk to them about their work. At the end, we all showed off our nails alongside the singing gators!
March 08, 2025
