This month, SCUDS brought a new life to the college’s only long-form improv group with their first show of the year. On September 27, members Abby Wagner ‘27 and Sophie Poissant ‘26 had their debut performance, and new talents Shivani Kadia ‘28 and Piper Dallas ‘28 were added to the group.
For the new recruits, the first SCUDS show is what drew them into the club. “I wasn’t going to audition, but I went to their first show and was like ‘this is cool, maybe I should!’ I went to audition the next day,” said Kadia. Kadia, a first-year, has a background in comedy spanning as early as middle school through theater and improv involvement. “I love getting into a character and making up a story; I’ve always been called ‘witty,’” she exclaimed.
Dallas, also a first-year, followed a similar trajectory, her interest peaking after viewing a show due to her background in theater and improv. “I went to their performance, and I did some improv in middle school and high school, so I said ‘let me audition and see what happens!”
Auditions this year took place the Sunday after their first show on Friday. The audition process began with an initial audition in the morning, callbacks the same day, and then final selections.
Reflecting back on auditions, Kadia and Dallas recalled a skit they did together where Kadia played a yoga instructor and Dallas played a distressed, middle aged woman going through a divorce crisis in Kadia’s class. “My character wasn’t very successful in her movements, so I was literally rolling around on the ground,” said Dallas, while laughing. “But improv is all for fun, and all for giggles.”
After auditions, Kadia and Dallas were selected as the new members of SCUDS. Dallas raved, “I got the call, and they came to my door, and I was so excited!”.
“I think both of our [new] members are really themselves. They both have really unique things to say in scenes, but are really good about being supportive,” Poissant assessed. “It’s so important that we have that good group vibe because it is a nerve wracking thing to do. We felt, on top of them being good performers, [they] were really going to mesh well with the current members,” Poissant disclosed.
Member Hayley Lowenthal ‘24 also spoke to the audition process. “We play around and try to get people to loosen up; then we do some more challenging storytelling games,” she explained. Exercises in the auditions included rhyming games, drawing games, skit practices, character assignments, question games, and more. Poissant added, “You don’t have to be ‘funny’. The audition is more about looking at how you think and work.”
These new members weren’t SCUDS’ only addition — Wagner and Poissant, who both auditioned and were selected for SCUDS second semester of last year, did their first performance as members this Fall. “We practice and practice, but actually performing was very affirming.” Wagner said.
This year’s group faced a large turnover of members from last year, with five past members graduating in the class of 2024. Lowenthal reflected, “We had a new group, and it’s like, ‘is this group going to be as good as the last? But I think the performance went great.”
The show did a variety of improv games, including “guess the phrase”, playing different characters, and calling on the audience for random prompts. Morganne Young ‘28, who attended the show, gave a glowing review. “They did this coffee shop skit that killed me,” she said. She explained that members were set in an over the top urban hippie coffee shop. “The personas they played were so well done, and I had the best time. It was my first show, but it definitely won’t be my last,” said Young.
“It was a good audience and a good show. The vibes were up.” Poissant beamed.
