Pigeon versus Email

The improv club brings theater games back to the stage

Photos by Gavin Chen, Staff Writer

Megan Serfontein, Copy Editor & Sydney Mulford, Staff Writer

“Theater Sports XVI,” the Improv Club’s annual charity fundraiser and improv show returned to the stage for the first time since 2020 on March 19, earning nearly $1600 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDs. This year’s theme was “Pigeon versus Email,” and the members were split into two teams: Team Pigeon and Team Email. The goal in creating this theme was to have a non-controversial fun title and give the audience a chance to root for their choice of the two methods of correspondence. 

Another way the Improv Club raised the money was that the two teams played a game called “Minute to Win it.” During this game, they ran around the auditorium collecting money, and audience members could vote for their preferred method of communication. 

“Theater sports is, first and foremost, a charity show,” Aparna Shivkumar, the Improv Club vice president, said. “It's our way of giving back to the community in a way that will be fun for us to perform.” 

To prepare for the show, the Improv Club held tryouts, but these were not like auditions for a traditional play. The candidates played various games together, and Improv Club President Sasha Borislow and Shivkumar decided the teams based on who worked best together

“We decided what team needs what,” Shivkumar said. “Where can we have a good balance of physical humor, where it's more like physical acting, big motions, big movements versus witty humor with funny one-liner jokes that are more based on vocal choices or what you're deciding to say.” 

Theater sports is not meant to follow the regular production format in the sense of a play. Instead, it is an interactive experience involving the audience. The 12 actors played improv games: three rooms, scene three ways, hitchhiker, slow motion commentary, half life, new choice, party quirks, and small town following the prompts given by the emcee, class of 2019 Northview alumnus Luke Brown, and the audience. 

“I love doing theater sports and improv in general because it combines acting on stage with thinking on your feet and coming up with witty jokes and funny scenarios,” Borislow said. “Life is improv if you think about it because none of it is scripted. Improv is just staged situations that are just amplified and entertaining to be able to watch.”

Even the Improv Club members had their favorite games that they were excited to play at the show. 

“There's also a game we play called Half Life, which is where a group of people do a scene in one minute, and they all die at the end,” Borislow said. “And then they perform the scene again, but only 30 seconds keeping all the same plot points and all the deaths. And then again, only 15 seconds and then it goes down to seven seconds. And that one's really entertaining for everyone.” 

The adult sponsors, Elizabeth Lake and Anna Pieri, helped guide the students into their leadership roles and took a step back from being the directors the way they would in a scripted show. Lake and Pieri helped by teaching the cast new improv games to get them comfortable with what they would be performing. Lake, who participated in improv in high school, hopes this experience will help the students gain confidence in their lives outside of theater like it did for her. 

“Even if I was in a situation where I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, or what I was going to say, I knew that I could feel confident in myself that I would come up with something on the spot,” Lake said. 

“Theater Sports XVI” was filled with humor and jokes. The audience was involved right from the beginning starting with audience participation dance competition from the night was controlled by the audience. 

“‘Theater sports is the coolest, funniest night of the year for anyone with a sense of humor,” junior and “Theater Sports XVI” audience member Sejal Bakare said. “What’s more entertaining than watching your peers acting out hilarious scenes you come up with? And it’s for charity? Sign me up. I’ll be there next year, too. Overall, I give ‘Theater sports’ a 12 out of 10.” 

For the actors, the production was a way to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids while having fun. 

“We are all working towards the same goal; it doesn't matter who [raises] more money because it's all going to a really good cause,” Shivkumar said. “There's something about being really close to your team and having a friendly competitiveness [with the other team], but also just working hard to put on a good show.”