Improv can be extremely difficult, but these students have found a way to perfect the art and have formed a group called Silly Outrageous Funny Actors (SOFA). Sponsored by drama teacher Elizabeth Deker, the troupe will be performing Fri., Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

“It is very much student driven, although I am their sponsor and in charge of them, it’s very much what the troupe wants. I do try to defer to them because if the troupe isn’t happy, then it’s not funny; they’re not funny if they’re not happy,” said Deker.

The shows are essentially a series of comedy improv games that can take audience suggestions or simply involve the actors doing hilarious and weird things. They have been learning some new games during their rehearsals, one of which is the favorite of sophomore Robert McNickle.

“I really love this game called Left, in which you stand in a square and then you start a scene with someone and then they say ‘left’ and you circle to the left. Then the next person comes to the front and the two people in the front do a scene, but every pair has a different scene, and you have to pause the scene when they say left and start a new one. It’s really fun,” said McNickle.

He looks forward to performing for the audience and using his veteran experience to make the audience laugh.

“I love performing; I love the shows. I know I’m supposed to say the practice or whatever, but the shows are really fun. We rehearse every Wednesday, and then to finally be able to do what we’ve been accomplishing is really nice,” said McNickle.

Sometimes the actors experience some reluctance when it comes acting in front of people. For sophomore Zora Grace, she sometimes feels a little nervous about doing games that she hasn’t practiced a lot.

“You always have to do games that you’re not really good at or something that you’d prefer to not do, but you have to just suck it up and do it,” said Grace.

She does enjoy how spontaneous improv is and enjoys how weird the scenes can get sometimes; however, the tight-knit community that they have is the part of the troupe she loves the most.

“Everyone on it gets really close and we’re all really good friends. I really just like the sense of community,” said Grace.

The last time the troupe had a show there was a football game the same night, causing low attendance. Because there aren’t any conflicts this time, the actors now get an opportunity to perform in front of a bigger crowd and show them how much better they’ve gotten.

  “They always improve overtime. The first show is always tough because you’ve got new members and it’s their very first time being with the troupe, performing the show and there’s not a whole lot of time for them to [bond] as a group,” said Deker.