■ The WYMPROV!
improv comedy group
celebrates the end of
this year’s tax season
Rory Carroll
Oregon Daily Emerald
If your federal income tax re
turn makes you cry, then you can
count on the WYMPROV!’s re
turn to the WOW Hall on Satur
day, April 15, to turn those tears
into cheers.
That’s right, those four wacky
women of WYMPROV! will be
back at it again, this time fight
ing the Internal Revenue Service
blues with their unique style of
improv comedy.
“I’m really excited because I’ve
always wanted to do a tax show.
We looked at the calendar and
thought, ‘what a great opportuni
ty,”’ WYMPROVI’s group leader
Vicki Silvers said.
The group originated when they
met at an improv workshop and in
stantly felt a comic chemistry.
Their first performance was in
1991, and they have been
humoring the North
west ever since.
The group doesn’t harbor much
anxiety going into a performance
because with improv there really
is no formal preparation, accord
ing to some group members.
"The more mistakes you make,
the better,” member Sally Shek
low said. “It’s not like a theatrical
performance. If it looks perfect,
then there is no fun in making it
up. We don’t have many worries."
Opening the show will be Laff
Off 2000 champion Jennifer Self,
who will perform a half hour of
stand-up before the improv troupe
takes the stage. Self, who is also
part-time manager of the WYM
PROV! troupe, encourages people
to expect to be involved and to
laugh a lot.
“Be prepared to travel all over the
world of your imagination,” Self
said.
The troupe relies on sugges
tions from the audience as fodder
for their show, so they encourage
attendants to come ready to par
ticipate.
“Be ready to shout out your fa
vorite food or to suggest a char
acter,” Sheklow said.
Although the WYM
(( The more
mistakes you
make, the bet
ter. It’s not like
a theatrical
perfomance. If
it looks perfect,
then there is
no fun in mak
ing it up.
Sally Sheklow
WYMPROV!
member
_n
JV!
PROV! troupe is made up of
women, it has acquired a diverse
following. Women and men,
young and old alike come out to
enjoy the troupe’s act.
“Some of our biggest fans are
kids,” Sheklow said. “They are
great to have in the audience be
cause they are so free with their
suggestions.”
Group member Silvers agrees.
“We have kids who stuff their
backpacks full of things in case we
ask for them,” Silvers said.
Dynamics are an essential ele
ment to any performing group,
and the individuals that make up
WYMPROV! each bring a differ
ent strength to the collective.
“Debby Martin is really wacky
and off the wall. You wouldn’t ex
pect it from looking at her,” Sil
vers said. “Sally is really wordy
and comes up with witty, smart
rhymes easily. Enid Lefton is the
consummate professional. She
drives us to improve. And I’m the
youngest of the group and can
play off of everybody.”
The troupe members said having
the group entirely made up of fe
males makes their job more chal
lenging, but it doesn’t limit them to
having to do only female charac
ters.
“If someone calls out, ‘sailor,’
we have to take that on,” Sheklow
said. “You have to be able to be
anyone. The joke of switching
gender isn’t there.”
The troupe is raising funds to
help pay for a trip to Chicago for
a female improv festival at the
end of August, Silvers said.
courtesy of WYMPROV!
Debby Martin, Vicki Silvers, Enid Lefton and Sally Sheklow make up WYMPROV!
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