By Shannon McKenna
Round Table reporter

“Improv,” short for improvisation, is when the actors have to act out a situation or character on the spot, rather than coming up with it ahead of time. It requires quick thinking and a tremendous amount of teamwork among those performing in the scenes.

Middletown High School’s TBA improv troupe is stepping up its game, bringing on more laughs for all to enjoy by adding a new member to the group to create a more enjoyable performance.

Members of the MHS improv troupe include seniors Marissa Gastelle and Eric Looney, juniors Sarah Brierly and Sean Morris, and sophomores Matt Gabb, Tara Forseth, and the newest member Liam Traube.

Improv is the beginning of acting on stage; if someone forgets a memorized line he or she improvs it, which is exactly how the troupe works.

Working together, they show off their talents every month, thinking up witty humor that gets the audience laughing. Their motto, “I just made that up!”, created by former Middletown student Katie Johnson, is what they follow and work by to put on an enjoyable show.  

“We started an improv troupe last year, but there was almost no interest in it. Some of the original members met over the summer to create a performing group now known as TBA,” said Forseth.

When choosing to add a new member to the group, they decided to go with someone who, even outside of practice, could constantly make people laugh and smile. This is why when Traube was suggested to join the troupe, they felt he met the criteria.

Two shows, plus the Holiday Spectacular and MHS talent show, have been performed, all of which were filled with tons of laughter.

Each show takes a lot of planning, even though when the troupe is on stage, everything is decided on the spot. When planning for the last show, the group decided it was time to add a new member.

“In the upcoming months, you can expect a lot from us. There will be new members like Liam joining us up on stage and a slew of new games to try out,” said Gabb.