Kicking off the end of semester celebrations, The Chapel Hill Players, or CHiPs, are hosting a night of laughter on Thursday with a luau-themed show packed with improvisational and sketch comedy.
“Most of our ideas come from our own lives or things we notice around campus, which have a certain tick that a lot of people can relate to,” said junior Jay Putnam, who is this semester’s director.
In anticipating what to expect from the show, viewers can look forward to experiencing several types of improv that CHiPs has to offer.
The first form will be seen through a variety of short improv games, which are relatively short and are primarily based on unrelated scenes, leaving some constraints to the form. In contrast, long form improv allows most of these constraints to be thrown out the window when members improvise elongated scenes as a group.
In addition to improv comedy, the show will feature original sketches that have been written collaboratively amongst members of CHiPs. In many instances, the scenes interweave together to create a cohesive performance that reflects the Hawaiian theme of the show.
To become a member of CHiPs, potential members must be a part of the incubator team for one semester. Senior Brandon Rafalson said that he became involved in theater in eighth grade. Going into high school, he gained further experience in theater and was then introduced to improv. Upon entering college, Rafalson was introduced to CHiPs through his older sister who also attended UNC.
“I thought ‘Hey I’m in (college), I would like to be part of a social group, I would like to continue to perform, and I would like for people to tell me that I am funny because my ego is very fragile and not developed‘– So that’s why I entered CHiPs,” Rafalson said.
Since the beginning of the semester, members of CHiPs have been preparing for this event by attending weekly meetings in which they rehearse, write sketches and workshop as a group.
“(People) will laugh. They will really enjoy themselves -- It’s LDOC eve, so it’s a pretty celebratory night,” Rafalson said.
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