The Stevens Off Center comedy troupe participated in the national round of the Ninth College Improv Tournament National Championships this past weekend. Held in Chicago, Illinois, this competition followed their victory in the Big Apple Regional earlier in the year. Off Center sent a competitive team to represent Stevens at the National round.
The competition began with an improv jam with the other teams on Friday evening. They performed their first set at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning, competing with two other regional champions and a wild card team. Off Center was able to win first place in the first bracket, giving them the title of the East Super Regional Champions.
This victory allowed the improv team to move to the top four to face off against the winners of the remaining three Super Regionals. Off Center’s hard effort and two hilarious sets won them fourth place in the nation, among 136 total teams, and first place in the East Super Region.
The Off Center team stressed that their main concern was having fun and putting on an entertaining show. According to Chris Fitzgerald, Off Center president, the team was able to win against teams that had coaches and those that consisted of theater majors, all because they were simply having fun with their friends, which an important factor in improv. Improv is supposed to come naturally when one is simply having fun, not concerned about winning.
Jonathan Pitts, CIT Nationals Producer, the executive director of CIP, and cofoundeder the Chicago improv festival, helped make the competition relaxed. He kept the teams calm before the competition and gave the atmosphere a feeling of collaboration instead of competitiveness.
Along with winning fourth in the nationals, the Off Center team also won some fans at the competition. According to former president Zach Kastner, “Even though we got 4th place, one judge gave us a first place vote. Pretty crazy to think that there’s a person out there who considers Off Center to be the best team in the country.”
