Last Thursday, the iFalcon Club and Generic Improvisational Peep Show (GIPS) presented a night of improv comedy at Cerritos College.
The performance started at 7 p.m. and lasted a little over two hours.
Kevin Hoggard, a former theatre professor, started GIPS at Cerritos College in 1985. GIPS is a class at Cerritos College and a touring improv group that goes to local high schools to showcase improv abilities in an effort to encourage students to consider the Cerritos College theatre program.
The school performance was a hit and kept the audience entertained throughout the show, they very quickly pleased the crowd with their innovative humor.
An audience member Vanessa Manning, said, “It was the best show I’ve ever seen, it was super fantastic, we came in here thinking it was just going to be alright but we were cracking up the whole time and it was kind of embarrassing how much we were laughing.”
For many of the students performing that night, it was the first time performing live at the school. According to Michael Timoney, president of the GIPS, “A lot of the people up on stage were actually first time performers who have done theatre in high school but as far as improv goes, they are getting started up and they are all very talented group.”
The performers on stage are very interactive with one another, they have no script and each person was working with another in every scene.
Timoney said, “Being on stage with people, it’s all about chemistry and having that chemistry with somebody on stage helps the scene out so much and with everybody up here, I have chemistry will all of them and they are always doing fun scenes and hopefully making the crowd laugh.”
According to Michelle Mancilla, president of the iFalcon Club, the proceeding made that night will be divided 50/50 between GIPS and the iFalcon Club.
The GIPS touring class rehearses every Thursday and visit schools on Fridays, and then there is the improv club who welcomes any visitors.
The improv club meets up on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. to discuss topics such as business and future events, they also rehearse and practice the improv games to better their skills so that they will be better prepared for the future.
To connect with GIPS, students can find them at https://www.facebook.com/cerritosgips