In a clever, blink-and-you-miss-it performing style, Amuse Bouche brings a unique craft to the University’s artistic community — long form improv. After a recent performance, members sat down to discuss improv, friendship and comedy.
Amuse Bouche works as a small ensemble to perform fully improvised extended comedy scenes. With the ongoing, rapidly-changing nature of an improvised performance, the craft demonstrates the quick wit and cooperative mindset of every performer involved.
Consisting of 13 members, the group is a close, collaborative group. They work together to put on several performances each semester, each following creative themes and including a variety of activities.
The group’s most recent performance — themed “AFV: An Improv Extravaganza'' — consisted of four different forms of improv, each a structured activity that prompted the group to build scenes.
The first form, called “The Spokane,” begins with an audience member calling out a word for the performers to base a scene on. What follows is a whirlwind of brief scenes ending and beginning at the whim of any actor.
After being prompted with the word “chimpanzee,” the actors spun into a scene about highly intelligent, anthropomorphized chimpanzees. Demonstrating their expert sense for comedic timing, they returned to this scene every few minutes to continuously develop the ridiculous story.
Possibly the most impressive aspect of this form is its fast pace — actors had to make split-second decisions, starting a completely new scene from scratch or playing along with a surprising idea from their scene partner. To Thomas Arnold, Amuse Bouche member and third-year Engineering student, this collaborative impulsivity is “the beauty” of improv.
“We don't plan anything, but we plan on having a creative mind,” Arnold said. “If you just go into a scene with a strong idea of who, what, when and where, your scene partner will only have to do one more line of work to establish reality.”
Amuse Bouche’s remarkable chemistry on stage comes not only from their skills as performers, but from their strong sense of community. According to Mary Walton Peterson, Amuse Bouche member and third-year Commerce student, maintaining this rapport is one of the group’s most important values.
“A lot of our group is based on our cohesion as a group of friends,” Peterson said. “So much is about being able to read each other — just knowing each other's personalities, how we are as performers, and what we need from each other.”
This sense of togetherness is concurred by other members of the group. For Brad Schurtz, Amuse Bouche member and fourth-year College student, Amuse Bouche has been not only an artistic opportunity, but a chance to build valuable bonds after transferring to the University in his third year.
“They've been the people I hang out with the most,” Schurtz said. “There's just such a nice sense of family, of sisterhood, within the group.”
Even a performance of such comedic nature requires hard work and dedication from the actors. According to Peterson, a performance demands focus.
“There's no coming up for air,” Peterson said. “It’s just staying locked in and really trying to pay attention to what your partners are saying and thinking.”
However, the group’s performance made it clear that, above all else, they prioritize having fun. The show was riddled with inside jokes, shared laughs between castmates, and every opportunity taken to poke fun at one another.
“We tell jokes in some ways for each other more than anybody else and just hope that they laugh too,” Schurtz said.
Amuse Bouche thrives on the respect its members have both for their work and for each other. For Peterson, improv is a chance to give back after the important role comedy has played in her life. For Arnold, improv is about his personal respect for the art of comedy.
“Comedy is one of the only things we have as a human race,” Arnold said. “I think very genuinely, humor is such an important part of life.”
It is clear that, overflowing with creativity and endless potential, Amuse Bouche will never fail to put on a spirited and hilariously original show. Fueled by their outstandingly close bond, the self-declared “Bad Boys of Improv” offer a sensational comedic experience to their audiences.
More information on upcoming performances, as well as general updates and consistently comedic content, can be found on the group’s Instagram, @amusebouchecomedy.
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