On Thursday, January 30th, Millard West Theatre held a special event in the auditorium. It was a rivalry against Millard West junior,  Edison Geiler and his dad Matt Geiler, competing for the Improv Trophy. 

The father and son split the group into teams and got to know one another. Edison’s group was deemed the space cowboys and Matt’s group dressed in all flannel. Improv is a hard technique to manage, as there are no lines or any script, which requires actors to think quickly on your feet, while still keeping the audience engaged. 

“The point of the improv show is to throw all the scripts away,” Matt Geiler said. “Instead of a play you see in the MIllard West theatre, everything comes from off the top of your head which gives the opportunity to perform without having to memorize anything.”

There were many games played in the hour and a half long show. One of which was charades where the team leaders had to guess what the performers were. The audience seemed to love it as they were seen laughing continuously. Another game involved a toilet seat that had lines from favorite movies on the inside. The performers had to incorporate that line into the scene they were acting out. 

“I have been doing theatre for about three years now, but this is the first time I have ever done improv,” junior Jack Defreece said. “I really enjoyed it and I think next year I will definitely be more involved in shows.”

The drama department originally put this show together to help gain more publicity for future shows and to give off a light-hearted performance. As an advertising technique, they included comedian Matt Geiler, who was fond of the idea after learning that his son would be his rival. 

“I think my dad being my rival is a fun experience,” Edison Geiler said . “Him and I do off the cuff improv in our house and I think that we work well together. It was fun leading my team against the dark overlord of improvisation.”

The two teams competed against each other, however when it was time for the audience to decide who won, it came to a very close tie. To close ends, the father and son shared the trophy. This was a chance for the audience to see the true love that goes into drama

“The show was really cool,” junior Joseph Hughes said. “It was a cool opportunity to see how talented my classmates are.”

The drama department’s next show will be H+ on February 21 and 22. H+ was written by a Millard West alumnus, Monte D. Monteleagre, which adds a little twist to the production being shown here at Millard West.