Pulse .
Local improv performers
follow whim of audiences
Several troupes in Eugene
perform improv, including
Comedy Sportz, Absolute
Improv and WYMPROV!
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
Harvesting eggplants with a chain
saw. Using a stapler as an electric ra
zor. Having your body moved around
by complete strangers. Dressing in a
giant foam rubber cross.
These are just a few of the situations
local comedy improvisation groups
have dealt with onstage in front of a
live audience.
Popularized by the British televi
sion show "Whose Une Is It Anyway?"
and its eventual American counter
part, improv comedy has become a
popular form of entertainment in Eu
gene. With a number of troupes per
forming around town in both regular
and sporadic intervals, there are plen
ty of opportunities to witness the
spectacle that is improv comedy.
"It's like going to the circus and
watching people on the high wire,"
WYMPROV! comedy troupe member
Sally Sheklow said. "You get this kind
of 'whahh!' feel when you think the
performer is about to fall, even
though you know they'll be all right."
Relying on audience participation,
improv shows consist of a series of
games and exercises that the
performers go through based on ran
dom suggestions from the crowd.
Since the performers have no idea
what the audience will suggest, the
entire performance is created on the
spot. Absolute Improv member Kim
berly Bates believes spontaneity is part
of the attraction to improv.
"I think there is something really
amazing about watching people do
ing things right off the cuff," Bates
said. "It really has a fresh, unplanned
quality to it."
While most of the improv groups in
Eugene perform whenever they have
the time or a venue, one group faces
neither of these concerns. Comedy
Sportz, which operates a storefront
theater at 1030 Oak St., has perform
ances at 8 p.m. every Friday and Satur
day night. A national comedy team,
Comedy Sportz was founded in 1984
in Milwaukee, Wis., and has since
started troupes all over the country.
"We started here in Eugene back in
1999," Eugene Comedy Sportz exec
utive producer Kent McCarty said.
"Business has been up and down
since then, though it's never popular
enough for our taste."
Pitting two teams culled from the
troupe's roster of performers against
each other in a variety of games,
Comedy Sportz is a competitive im
prove show in which the audience
awards points to the best performing
team. Other than the points and the
presence of a referee, the show has
little to do with actual sporting
events, McCarty said.
"There is often some confusion
about that," he added.
Though Comedy Sportz is the most
regular performance, it is not by any
means the only one. WYMPROV!, a
four member, all-woman comedy
group, has been performing in Eugene
since 1991. In a performance style usu
ally dominated by men, WYMPROV!
attempts to break down some of the
stereotypes, Sheklowsaid.
"We're not the usual image of
women in popular culture," Sheklow
said. "In most improv shows, women
are usually the pregnant one or the
bitch. But there is so much material
out there that isn't explored because
of that view of women. There are so
many possible images of women."
Improv also plays an important
role in a different way for other per
formers around town.
"I think doing improv helps me de
velop confidence in myself," Bates
said. "It's just a good way to engage
with people. It really helps me talk to
people without feeling awkward or
having to scramble for words."
But the most important part of im
prov, for many performers, is the
comedy itself.
"We all need to laugh," said Shek
low. "We need to laugh a lot."
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
Green Garter Band celebrates
20 years of music mayhem, fun
The athletic band features
top musicians and songs
ranging from rock to rap
and will perform tonight
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
University football, basketball and
volleyball games gain much of their
spirit from band music, and the
Green Garter Band plays a central role
in generating lively and recognizable
tunes at athletic events. The band,
comprised of 12 advanced student
musicians, will celebrate its 20th an
niversary Tuesday with a special per
formance at Beall Hall.
The Green Garter Band is the core
group of the Oregon Marching Band
and the Oregon Basketball Band. In
addition, the group performs at
women's home basketball and volley
ball games, plus a number of com
munity and University events. Since
its 1983 debut, the band has grown
from its casual set-up into a formal
group of musicians who serve as role
models for fellow Oregon Marching
Band members.
Green Garter Band baritone saxo
phone player Laura Arthur, who has
studied the history of the band, said
the group began when eight members
of the Oregon Marching Band named
the Emerald Dixieland Jazz Ensemble
(EDGE for short) entertained the rest
of the marching band as they waited
for games to begin. When the octet
was asked to perform at a private
event, they added three more players
and became the Green Garter Band.
Several rumors exist as to where the
band's name originated. Arthur said it
was possibly named after a 1930s
band with the same name, or after a
1970s University basketball band
named the Green Garden Band.
Green Garter Band alto saxophone
player and bandleader Brian Silva,
who has spent four years in the group,
said the original members actually
wore green garters on their arms.
After two to three years of private
gigs, the University athletic depart
ment asked the band to perform at
women's volleyball and basketball
games, and awarded the musicians
with scholarships that covered half
their tuition (they presently receive a
full scholarship). Trumpet player
Dave Chartrey was the official student
founder of the band, and Steve Paul,
the associate director of bands at the
Turn to BAND, page 6
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The University of Oregon Alumni Association
and Student Alumni Relations Board
present
SENIOR
SEND OFT 2004
A graduation party for the
Class of 2004!
Music by Rhetoric Tuesday, a free gift for
graduating seniors, alumni
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DATE
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TIME
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
PLACE
EMU Amphitheater
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UNIVERSITY OF OREGON1
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION J
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