Mark your calendars: the BirdSpokes Big Show hits campus on Friday. The BirdSpokes Big Show will feature the talents of Birdstrike Theatre and all-female a cappella group, The Spokes. The showcase will be Birdstrike Theatre’s final production for the Fall Quarter.
Birdstrike Theatre is the university’s improvisational comedy group, which produces small comedy shows throughout the quarter and concludes the term with one big showcase.
Sarah Lloyd, a third-year chemistry major and Birdstrike member, said that though most Big Shows follow a specific theme, this quarter’s will not.
“This show will be [100 percent] improvised!” Lloyd said. “The Spokes are planning their songs ahead of time, of course, but everything [Birdstrike does] will be made up on the spot.”
Because the group specializes in spontaneous creativity, the preparation process for the final production differs from typical theatric rehearsals.
“We practiced the skills necessary to do good improv a lot,” Lloyd said. “We also practiced performing the formats (namely, Chicago-style long form technique) we do at our shows. The content is never the same, of course, but the technical skills of improv are mostly universal.”
The quarterly Big Shows really highlight the creative chemistry of Birdstrike members. Lloyd explained that a special kind of bond exists among the improvisers, through which members not only grow personally, but also collaboratively.
“We have to know each other in order to play well on stage, but we also have to wholeheartedly trust each other,” Lloyd said. “Improv is a collaborative art and [the] attitude of every other improviser I have met speaks to that.”
The BirdSpokes Big Show will take place Friday in Kleiber Hall at 8 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door.
To learn more about Birdstrike Theatre and the upcoming showcase, please visit the group’s Facebook page.
