Sauk Valley Community College gains new improv troupe

By Samantha Zellers

Sauk Valley Community College has gained a new acting group focusing on improvisation headed by Ellen Johnson, a local teacher with a flair for the dramatic and a minor degree in devising theater. 

The group, simply called the Sauk Valley Community College Improv Troupe, takes place every Wednesday from 3PM to 5PM in the Jerry Weston Mathis Theater on the east side of Sauk campus. There are no currently scheduled show dates, as the group plans on taking a few semesters to practice and plan before opening their doors to the general public for performances.

At the first meeting, Mrs. Johnson led the group in several improv exercises, focusing on improving diction, confidence, and situational awareness. The students used vocal cues, arm gestures, and eye contact to ‘pass’ various phrases around in a circle, and keeping track of who had what phrase was an exercise for even the casual observer.

Mrs. Johnson, who teaches at Washington Middle School and works at theater organizations on all academic levels, stressed that these exercises were vital for improvisational performances, as well as in real life scenarios, and enthusiastically led her merry band in each practice round. The night ended with two-person improvisation performances. Each pair was presented with a prompt, and the two-person team acted out the scenario to the best of their ability. Prompts ranged from “weirdest museum ever” to “teaching an elder a skill they wish they’d learned earlier”.

The group is open for applications to SVCC students. Questions or interest can be emailed to Ellen Johnson at ejohnson2@sps5.org.