It’s all fun and games with the Seaside Jesters, the BYU-Hawaii comedy club that averages over 100 students and community members at each of their shows. The Jesters have earned their large fan-base with lots of hard work and weeks of preparation before shows, said Cameron Abaroa, Vice President of Activities and Careers for the Jesters, and a senior in IDS from Arizona.“The Jesters make improvisation look so easy on stage,” said Alyssa Walhood, a senior in English from Oregon. But, said Abaroa, “Hours and hours go into these shows, from paperwork that needs to be filed to working with BYUHSA to make sure everything is all set up,” and the hours members spend work shopping.Though a lot of time goes into the workshops, they are full of laughter and fun, said Abaroa. Workshops are held every Tuesday from 7-9 p.m., and consist of two parts: a presentation from a club member on how to improvise combined with games to practice the new skills, and then an hour of free-play games. It’s during this time the next show’s master of ceremonies, the MC, looks for prospective cast members. The club members use this as a time to get used to the games and practice their improv skills, and also vie for a spot in the next show’s cast.Adam Williams, an MC and founding member of the Jesters, and a senior from Arizona studying English, said, “Once I have my set list of performers I go through and I decide what games to play. I pick games based on their strengths - if I know Dax is going to perform I know I can play ‘Day in the Life of...’ If Dania is going to perform I know I can do ‘Big, Bigger, Biggest’ or ‘Murder Mystery’ because she’s great at that.”Once the cast is announced, Williams continued, for that hour of free-play the cast and the MC go off and have practices on their own. These practices are meant to help the cast get used to the types of humor each member brings to the table and get their comedic chemistry mixed just right. The MC continues to tweak their plan even on the day of the show at times, said Williams. Although the actors know what games will be played at the show, they never know what games they specifically will play in, or what will happen.About an hour before the show the cast and stage crew gather together to prepare and talk about who will be doing what responsibilities. The cast and MC gather for a prayer before playing some games that are comfortable for everybody in the cast to get their energy up. Throughout the show the stage manager talks with the crew about any potential problems that may arise, such as ushering people in and determining if the actors can be heard throughout the entire venue, and so on. The stage manager then communicates with the MC about preferences of what to do. If the MC notices any problems or concerns, they rely on the stage manager to communicate and get those problems taken care of.
Writer: Camron Stockford ~ Multimedia Journalist
