Every new scene in a D+ Improv show begins with a “3, 2, 1, clap.”
Troupe members will then immediately jump into characters they invented, acting out a scene with the object or place given by random viewers in the crowd.
The audience’s laughter encourages the members, letting them know which jokes landed and which bits to hang onto. Once the scene ends, the audience claps and gets ready for the next prompt.
Drake University’s only improvisational acting troupe, D+ Improv, was founded in 2014 by Erika Hakmiller. For members of the troupe, improv – short for comedic improvisational acting – allows their minds to turn off and “be in the moment,” according to first-year Elle Hinds.
“I really enjoy the kind of carefree aspect of it,” Hinds said. “It’s not always trying to be super funny all the time. It’s just being more truthful and kind of in the moment. It’s always nice to have people laugh at the jokes that you make, that’s always a bonus.”
The Troupe recently collaborated with Impractical Jokers star Sal Vulcano on his “Everything’s Fine” stand-up comedy tour. Two Drake students won free tickets to Vulcano’s show on Jan. 25 by participating in one of D+’s fan-favorite games called “Sex with Me.”
“The opportunity came out of the blue and we thought it would be too good to pass up,” Joey Zollar, the Marketing Director of D+, said. “It was a fun and unique way for us to give back to the campus community and strengthen our outreach.”
The Troupe meets every Monday and Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. on the lower level of the Harmon Fine Arts Center. During those rehearsals, members play the same improv games they perform at shows. It allows them to familiarize themselves with the dynamic and even personalize it for their own style as a group.
“It’s a pretty straightforward way to get everybody in there and just try new things,” said Abdiel Gallardo, the treasurer for D+. “I think the best way we try to introduce [the games] is just providing [members] the space to experiment and figure out how things work. Sometimes new dynamics are made. Sometimes we take a game in a new way so that we all are happy with it.”
Joining D+ was almost a dream come true for Hinds.
“When I heard that we had an improv troupe on campus, I just [had] to join,” Hinds said. “It’s been something that’s been a part of my whole life. If I didn’t have D+, I would not be as happy as I am right now with my life. Life without improv is, as overdramatic and crazy as it sounds, bleak.”
The audition process to join the Troupe was daunting for Hinds.
“As soon as I stepped into the audition room, everyone around me was hilarious,” Hinds said. “There wasn’t a single person who I auditioned with who [wasn’t one] of the funniest people I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It was like a terrifying moment where I wanted nothing more than to be in D+. I was really scared I wasn’t going to get in.”
Even though she earned her place in the Troupe, it’s still hard for her to take in.
“Being a first-year, I can’t believe I’m actually in the club,” Hinds said. “Sometimes I think about all the people who didn’t make it in, [and I think] ‘how did I get in over them?’ It’s kind of a bit of imposter syndrome sometimes. But at the end of the day, I know that the people on the [executive team] know what they’re doing.”
D+’s success during their shows comes from collaboration, according to Hinds. For her, the on-stage chemistry between members is due to the behind-the-scenes love for each other.
“They are some of the funniest people I have ever met in my entire life,” Hinds said. “I aspire to be like them one day, [to] get my skills up to their level.”
D+ isn’t just an improv group for the members, it’s a family.
“It’s just a good way to have fun with your friends,” Gallardo said. “The people who end up in the troupe become your friends. I [want to see] people smile, because obviously, times are tough, so it’s nice to just take an hour or less to just get away from all that and go laugh at some ridiculous stuff.”
Look out for announcements about future shows on D+ Improv’s Instagram, @drakeimprov.
