On a stage in a high school theater, some teenagers make stuff up. They play improv games, games that force them to make up lines and rhymes and entire scenes off the top of their head. It’s positively hilarious, evident from the audience’s laughter alone. Improv is without fail an immensely fun activity for all involved. 

Miguel Chavez, a senior at Silverado HS is an Improv All-Star in the School District’s High School Improv League. He has been playing Improv at Silverado for three years and has done amazing. He has this ability to go up on stage and be ridiculous, to lead a scene and act with confidence.

“My quest is to be silly and make people happy,” Chavez said. “The thing I enjoy about improv is being able to be creative and expressive in a unique way.”

Improv really brings out people’s creativity. Players come up with the cleverest things on the spot, and it’s always amazing how ingeniously ridiculous people can be. 

Hunter Cole has received a nomination for “Most Improved” over the season. He can start talking like lightning, saying funny things that really work in a scene and he gets the scene moving. He has learned a lot over this season. 

Silverado played several games against over schools, and won many of them. Silverado made it to the playoffs and did very well, falling to Sierra Vista.

“I’ve been able to succeed with improv because it allows me to improve with my quick thinking and social skills,” Chavez said.

Confidence is key to success in improv, and is something players develop as they practice. It’s hard because everyone is trying to be funny, always striving to do the funniest and cleverest thing in every moment. But they only have a moment to come up with something, less than a moment, then they must act. And whatever they do must be done with complete confidence, fully into the character, powerfully pushing personality into the scene. Improvers must think funny and think fast. It’s a space for crazy people to be crazy.

 Silverado’s team has always been weird, but in a great way. It’s a club seldom talked about, a few hours of laughter at the end of a school day on Tuesdays in the choir room. This year’s improv season is over, but the team still practices in fun and every scene is a wonder.