Acting without scripts or practice usually leads to an awkward performance followed by dissatisfaction from the audience, but for people like freshman Aaron Eley, improvisation is the key to a show’s success.
Improvisation, also called improv, is an art that appeals to audiences looking for pure in the moment comedy.
“I was in a program in Little Rock called the Summer Theatre Academy at the Children’s Theatre, and there was this guy named Josh who was the director of the Armadillo Rodeo troupe, the current improve troupe I’m in. He told me that he saw something in my acting that he liked,” Eley said. “I was 13 when I auditioned and joined the improv team.”
Soon after he joined the team, Eley learned the story behind the name Armadillo Rodeo.
“The name Armadillo Rodeo was created seven years ago when the troupe started. All the founding members and the director Josh kept disagreeing on names,” Eley said. “So, they put their suggestions in a hat and, the name that got drawn out was Armadillo Rodeo, but nobody took credit for it. Nobody really knows who came up with the name, but it stuck.”
A name created with little to no plan fit perfectly with the image of a team.
For Eley, improv is a way to bring smiles to the audience’s faces. He believes that what makes improv great, is the audience can enjoy in-the-moment comedy, but still feel a connection with the character created.
“You don’t want to tell jokes to the audience. What makes it funny is the emotional connections we make,” Eley said.
When it comes to improv, the audience practically creates the show.
“Someone from the audience will give us a suggestion, and we just kind go with it,” Eley said. “We do scenes and build plots around the suggestion and create these dynamic characters, and we try to make these real emotional connections together as a group. No matter how weird the suggestion is our goal is to make our characters become real to the audience.”
Eley may be seen as just another ninth grader, but outside of school he is a professional improv performer.
“We do shows every month at the Public Theater in Little Rock,” Eley said. “I’m the only one from Bryant in the group, but we all get along.”
