Surrounded by tables splattered with paint flakes and clay, a group of U-High students improvise a few comedy lines. After being met with laughter and applause, they are asked to recreate the scene with a different ending. This is just one of many improv games the students have set out to play.

Founded by two members of The Second City Teen Ensembles, a comedy center founded in Chicago that offers improv and skit lessons, the Thursday Afternoon Live club, which meets in room N308 on Thursdays during lunch, provides students with a space to express themselves creatively with improvisational games and skits.

Junior Abhay Chandran founded the club during spring break last year and has been co-leader with ninth grader Adrian Greenstone since the beginning of the school year. Abhay is a member of the Midway staff but was not involved in producing this story. The club’s normal activities include playing improv games, creating short skits and preparing for potential shows.

“It’s quite a small group,” Adrian said. “If somebody has an idea for a sketch, they can pitch that, and we can try to work through it.”

Art teacher Jason Pallas is the faculty adviser of Thursday Afternoon Live. He thinks that the club has the potential to become more enmeshed within the community by organizing shows. The club is planning to perform during next month’s Rites of May celebration. 

“They have some aspirations to take their work further into the community,” Mr. Pallas said. 

He also thought that since most of the club members are younger, the club has the potential for longevity and growth.

Mr. Pallas finds that Thursday Afternoon Live offers a space for mindfulness, especially during the crowded schedule of a student’s school day.

“This is much more sort of being present, being mindful, being together as a community of creative folks,” Mr. Pallas said.

Adrian agrees with Mr. Pallas. He thinks that improv applies to more than just comedy. It also teaches important skills for social interaction.

Adrian said, “I feel like [improv] is helpful for things besides comedy, besides theater. It just teaches you, sort of, a mindset to adapt to anything that could be happening in your life, to make better conversation with people and generally just to connect with people.”

A student quickly raises their hand, offering up a suggestion for the next joke. Everyone huddles around, talking about how to make the joke better. As the students prepare to leave for the next class, the echo of applause and laughter still rings out in the room.