As student life at Stevens returns back to normal, the Stevens comedy club, Off Center, has fully transitioned back to in-person productions. Their most recent show on November 5 has been the third they have hosted in-person this semester since the pandemic. Reverting back to in-person productions has been a challenge due to the COVID-19 restrictions and other changes the pandemic brought upon them. Nonetheless, the club has returned to near normal circumstances.
In an interview with The Stute, Matthew Brantl, the current president of Off Center, described Off Center’s progress this semester and the obstacles they have faced. When asked about the biggest challenge that came with resuming in-person operations, Brantl specifically mentioned that the complexity of the shows they put on has caused some trouble. “Stricter deadlines [… and] mentally, we have to coach members on performance and be able to remember all our lines,” Brantl stated. When the pandemic was in full swing, almost everything in life became more lenient.
Presently, the pressure of going back to normal has been pushing Off Center’s productions to become more professional as well. Brantl also spoke about how they provide food during productions, which is a financial factor they now have to take into consideration that they did not have to worry about during the pandemic. They also lost their loft storage space, which was located in the back of Edwin A. Stevens (EAS) Hall, and are now currently working on finding a new backstage storage space.
Despite the setbacks of virtual meetings, Off Center was still fully functional during the pandemic. While the club operated differently than they would have under regular circumstances, they were able to maintain a sense of normalcy. “We still put on four shows a semester even though [they were] limited in capacity,” Brantl said. “[It was] extremely difficult to maintain attendance levels, but enough to keep functioning.” As president, Brantl made his best effort to keep the club up and running in the midst of the pandemic. Now, his focus is shifting back to putting on in-person productions once more.
Moving past the difficulties the pandemic presented to Off Center, their in-person shows have been successful, including the most recent show on November 5. Brantl said that there were around 100 people in attendance at their 45 minute show, and they gave away four prizes for contestants who participated in their raffle. He also stated how there were ten different sketches, all of which were written by various members of the club. “We had 17 people involved in performing and [in the] background technically. We even had SITTV to film the show,” Brantl said.
Through the challenges the improv group has faced and with in-person comedy productions still running smoothly, a promising future seems on target for Off Center.
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