Members of the 8th Floor Improv troop in action at the Ohio Union Saturday. Credit: Cassandra D’Angelo | Freelance Photographer
The laughter started before the performers even walked up to the stage. As alumni of 8th Floor Improv filtered back onto campus, trading old inside jokes and stepping into scenes like no time had passed, the group’s recent reunion felt less like an event and more like a return to form.
8th Floor Improv’s alumni performance, held on Saturday in the Ohio Union, brought together former members of the student improv organization to reconnect, perform with current members and reflect on the organization’s impact. Beyond the comedy, the night highlighted how 8th Floor Improv has built a lasting community that continues well after students leave campus.
“The people we have come back for the show are some of the funniest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life,” said Sam McQuate, a fourth-year in chemistry and 8th Floor Improv’s alumni relations director. “They have such unique styles that when they come back it really does obviously shake things up, but in a way, that’s really nice.”
McQuate said this alumni show differs from the organization’s typical performances.?
“There are two types of improv,” McQuate said. “There is short form, and there is long form. At a normal show, we’ll do both.”
McQuate said short form is a five-minute mini game of improv with rules explained before the set, while long form improv is usually a 20-minute play of members bouncing lines and jokes off of each other.?
The alumni show is exclusively long-form improv to maximize the interaction of members with alumni and cultivate creativity, McQuate said.?
McQuate said the event brings alumni from all over the country, sometimes as far as the west coast.?
“A lot of them end up in [Los Angeles],” McQuate said. “That’s a very popular destination for our alums, so a lot of them will fly over and stay for the weekend.”
Megan Gifford, an Ohio State and 8th Floor Improv alumna, said she came back for the performance to reconnect with old friends, now working and living full time in New York City post-graduation.?
“You just get to go out there and be silly, ridiculous, and then it is done,” Gifford said. “It’s more of working on the craft of improv which is a really hard challenge.”
Gifford said the club gave her a place to call home even after graduation, and coming back as an alum is important for the new members to see the community built around a common passion.?
“Seeing the alumni when I first joined made me realize I’ll always have a place in this group after I leave,” Gifford said.?
Gifford said it is important for the active members to interact with people they may not practice with on a typical day to build their skills.?
Similarly, McQuate said the alumni’s unique styles make for a show that never could’ve been possible without them.?
“The more you do improv with somebody, the better you get at it together,” McQuate said. “You get used to each other and you start to learn how the other person is thinking. When we have the alumni come back, a lot of these members have none of that with the alumni and vice versa.”
McQuate said the improv club’s camaraderie is based around a low-stakes environment that is welcoming for newcomers and first time improvers.?
“One thing that is really nice about this group is we try not to hold ourselves to any sort of tradition; the group is very open to change, very open to improvising,” McQuate said. “We are always changing and always growing, but the thing that has never changed about it is that it’s just a big group of friends.”?
Fittingly, the group’s slogan is, “Best friends doing best friend improv.”?
Gifford said this event is crucial to keeping the relationships people have cultivated through their shared love for the craft, and coming back feels like she never left.?
“I think for a younger member seeing that level kind of gives you something to aim for and be like, ‘Wow, I can be like that someday,’” McQuate said.?
