Mprov Comedy club aiming to create safe space to have fun
Image: Chas Pridgen
Devon Raffield (left) and Dakota Johnson (right) are the founders of the “Mprov Club.”
April 18, 2018
Devon Raffield and Dakota Johnson—both Junior engineering students—founded an improv comedy club on campus with one goal in mind: to have fun.
“(The club is) supposed to be a place for anyone to be silly,” Raffield said.
Improvisational comedy is a style of comedy where there is no script. The performers or players come up with the dialogue off the top of their heads based on prompts, usually given by an outside party such as an audience member.
The improv club, known as “Mprov Comedy,” is open to anyone, student or faculty, who is interested in having a good time, Johnson said.
Raffield and Johnson are both lovers of comedy who decided to stop just listening to comedy and start creating their own. Both of them listen to a multitude of comedy podcasts, which were also their inspirations for their comedic styles, they said.
Raffield and Johnson said that they are not seasoned performers, and they are not necessarily going to be teaching this style of comedy to the members of the club. It will be a more collaborative environment where everyone present can learn and grow together as comedians.
They said that the club will be a judgment-free zone where anyone who wants to explore comedy will be free to do so at their own pace.
“The day to day goal is to create a safe place to escape,” Raffield said.
Johnson also said that learning to improvise in a comedy setting will also help members in real-life scenarios.
“(Improvising) helps you to think on your feet,” Johnson said, relating the skill to situations like job interviews and public speaking.
There are currently no performances scheduled, but Raffield and Johnson said that there is a definite possibility of performances in the future.
The “Mprov Comedy” club meets every Monday at 7 p.m. in Knight 302.
Chas Pridgen is a senior majoring in Journalism and Theatre. Outside of The Cluster, he is very involved in the Mercer Players, the theatrical group on...
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