Any public performance comes with a great deal of pressure. Whether it’s a speech in your COMM107 class or a production of Shakespeare in front of a packed house, the anxiety of having so many eyes fixed on you at once can be only partially extinguished by your knowledge of the script.
Even if everything goes to hell, there’s a plan to fall back on.
Now imagine performing without any script as a lifeline. The only thing preventing an awkward silence is your wit and your ability to think on your feet. Oh, and I almost forgot — you are expected to be hilarious.
The brave souls who take on this overwhelming task with enthusiasm and mental dexterity are members of improvisational comedy troupes, like the University of Maryland’s own Erasable Inc. and the Upright Citizens Brigade TourCo, the traveling branch of the famed bicoastal Upright Citizens Brigade.
Both groups are performing at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Kay Theatre on Friday at 10:30 p.m. as part of NextNOW Fest, the two-day arts festival presented by the Artist Partner Program.
“There’s a certain legitimacy to performing at NextNOW,” said Oliver Owens, a senior sociology major.
Owens, a veteran member of Erasable Inc., has workshopped with UCB through his troupe, and called the opportunity to open for them “gratifying.”
Founded by comedians Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh, UCB has spent the past two and a half decades cultivating comedic talent. Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Nick Kroll (The League), Rob Riggle (Saturday Night Live), Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Donald Glover (Community), Ed Helms (The Office), Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) and Adam McKay (The Big Short) are just a select few who have spent time in the group, which helped push forward their careers.
Critically acclaimed by several major publications, UCB has a touring group from its theatre called UCB TourCo, which is the troupe that is headlining the improv show.
Owens said he and several of his troupe members are “very much acquainted with the UCB style.”
“The end result almost feels like a sketch,” he said of the stylistic differences between UCB and Erasable Inc., citing the transition that many former members of UCB undergo from improvisation performers to sitcom actors.
This is the first time either group is performing at the NextNOW Fest, which began in 2014; Erasable Inc. performs every Friday at Hornbake Plaza due to construction on Mckeldin Mall (where they usually perform on the front steps of McKeldin Library), and the UCB typically performs in New York City and Los Angeles, with one collective on each coast.
