Bear With Us for fun and laughter
From Bill Murray to Will Ferrell to Tina Fey to Steve Carell – the list goes on and on – for decades American comedians have gotten their start performing with improvisational comedy troupes. Now Lenoir-Rhyne University has established its first improv troupe, Bear With Us, to carry on this comedic tradition right here on campus.
All five members of the newly established troupe have experience with theatrical and/or musical performances, but most of them are new to improv, which develops a different set of skills and presents an exciting challenge.
“I’m learning a lot more about performance techniques and also how to experiment and see where the scene goes. This is useful in every art form, every part of life – it’s always good to know how to think on your feet,” shared Kaylyn Hall ’27, a theatre major who started performing at eight years old, in a community theatre production of “Peter Pan.”
The drive to build flexibile thinking, adaptability, creativity and collaboration for students was a key component in starting Bear With Us. Startup costs for the troupe have been supported through a grant from the Kenneth K. Millholland and Suzanne G. Millholland Endowment, which was awarded to Lenoir-Rhyne in December 2023.
Auditions for the troupe were held in early fall of 2024. The group and their advisor, assistant professor Tripp York, Ph.D., have spent the last few months forging the relationships, dynamics and thought processes essential for successful improv. Rehearsals are based on improv games and activities – similar to episodes of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” or “Game Changer.”
“One of my favorite games is called ‘World’s Worst.’ You’re given a profession, and you make a statement or do an action as the world’s worst member of that profession,” said sacred music major Ash Alvarez-Allred ’25. “I was a firefighter who started throwing punches to fight the fire.”
Hall described a memorable moment during one of her favorite games, “Stand, Sit, Lie,” which requires each of the three players to be in one of those positions throughout the sketch.
“If the person sitting stands up, someone else has to sit down. If the person lying moves to sitting, someone else has to lie down, and so on. So, it creates a lot of really funny movements, and a lot of funny lines to cover them,” she explained. “Last time we played the game, it was three of the guys doing a scene at a funeral home. One said, ‘Is that a speaker in the coffin?’ and the other said, ‘Yes. Just in case.’”
Both Hall and Alvarez-Allred agree that the sketches tend to be funnier when something goes wrong, which creates a relaxed and encouraging atmosphere to learn and perform.
“We’re in this together, and we all know each other. Everyone plays to their strengths, and experimenting is encouraged,” Alvarez-Allred shared. “You learn a lot about a person based on what they laugh at.”
On January 24, Bear With Us will present their first public performance in Belk Centrum at 7:30 p.m. The free program will include a series of improv games, a short improv play, audience interaction and plenty of laugh.
“We’re ready for people to laugh at us!” said Hall.
