RUMFORD — Members of the Mountain Valley High School improv group, known as Room for Improv-ment, teamed up with the Curtain Raisers from Mt. Blue High School for a day of learning and performance in Boston.
The students traveled by coach to ImprovBoston for a two-hour workshop. After some time exploring Cambridge, they were feature performers at the evening show. They also joined other improv groups from the area for a “community jam.”
Junior Dalton Milldege summed up the trip. “I really enjoyed travelling down there, learning new methods of improv and getting the chance to see other people perform.”
Senior Robyn Pellerin added, “ImprovBoston was a great experience because we got to learn a lot of new things, make some new friends and we got to perform professionally in front of a live audience.”
While other students relaxed over April vacation, this group earned the money for the trip. They participated in three days of the Western Maine Improv Festival. The opening night was at 49 Franklin Street in Rumford and the remaining two nights were held in Farmington.
Through the performances at the festival, the students earned about half of the cost of the trip. They split the remaining half among themselves.
Asked if it was worth the work, the resounding answer was “yes!”
Senior Nate Fitzpatrick said, “We had a very interesting course that taught us about how to edit long-form comedy games in order to keep the audience more involved. I really enjoyed learning about various aspects of improv comedy, and performing with and in front of a live audience at the institute where we learned.”
Junior Tucker Phelps added, “The highlight of the trip for me was the show we performed. We had a funny show and the audience was great!”
Additional participants on the trip included juniors Corbin Arsenault and Kristen Arsenault, sophomore Ron Russell, and senior Kelsey Bevins. Theater arts and English teacher Natalie Simmons is the group’s faculty adviser. Technology teacher and improv coach Jeff Bailey chaperoned.
The next performance for Room for Improv-ment will be at 7 p.m. Friday, May 30, in the MVHS library.
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