A staple of ASU improv comedy since 1985, the troupe Barren Mind will hit the national stage in February.
After winning the National College Improv Tournament’s Western regional competition in Santa Monica, Calif., on Nov. 20, Barren Mind was one of 10 teams chosen to compete in the national tournament in Chicago.
Last semester, the troupe didn’t make it past the first round.
The tournament featured 20-minute performances delivered in the long-form style of improvisational theater.
Each performance started with a one-word suggestion; in this case, the word was “toucan.” This was followed by a monologue performed by one of the team members based around the word. The entire troupe then acted out full scenes built on the monologue, said English literature junior Samuel Lowy, the team’s director.
Seven people participate in each competition, and the three other members of the troupe are understudies, he said.
The competition was judged by a panel that included a writer from Saturday Night Live and a founder from the Improv Olympic Chicago Theater, a major training ground for famous names like Tina Fey and Mike Meyers.
The team also practices short-form improvisation in the spirit of the TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
Members of the troupe learn theatrical games and then compete against one another every Thursday at the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus. This was the troupe’s main focus up until spring 2009.
Last semester, the group shifted their focus to long-form performance.
Lowy attributed the troupe’s success to a new, more competitive and professional attitude.
“When I started directing, the mentality shifted,” Lowy said.
He said before he started directing two semesters ago, the tendency of the club was to continue to accept all the people already on cast every semester simply rather than looking for the best candidates.
The core members of the troupe have been able to stay together for the past two semesters and Lowy said he thought that helped the group gel.
“The reason why we won in L.A. and the reason why we are going to win in Chicago is because we are all friends,” Lowy said.
Some members of the troupe also perform with Risky Business and Drunk White Girls, a group of four guys, at The Torch Theatre in downtown Phoenix, said troupe member Ben Backhaus, a journalism sophomore.
This outside practice helps the individual members improve, he said.
Next semester, Lowy will be stepping down from his position as director to give the group time to adjust to operate without his leadership. But he will continue to be part of the troupe, he said.
As director he picked two assistant directors so the groups could maintain stability after he graduated, he said.
Backhaus said he didn’t think this change of leadership would affect the group.
“The troupe isn’t going to change too much,” Backhuas said. “I think we will still have that same competitive feel.”
Lowy is also confident in the troupe’s ability to succeed at the competition and in future semesters but it will depend on new talent.
“I hope we get young, up-and-coming freshmen and sophomores to come out and audition,” Lowy said.
Troupe member Ryan Beard, a theater education and communications senior, said the troupe holds auditions at the beginning of each semester.
Love of the spotlight and on-stage confidence brings the troupe together.
“We’re a cast full of attention whores,” Beard said. “But we are all friends, so it works out.”
Reach the reporter at mary.shinn@asu.edu
