Improv comedy club targets morale

Story and photo by
Senior Airman Timothy Moore
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Members of the audience move the Strike Force Comedy cast during an improv game of “New Year Nuttiness” Jan. 24 on Ramstein. “New Year Nuttiness” was modeled after a popular improv comedy TV show, though some of the games typically played on the show were changed.
Members of the audience move the Strike Force Comedy cast during an improv game of “New Year Nuttiness” Jan. 24 on Ramstein. “New Year Nuttiness” was modeled after a popular improv comedy TV show, though some of the games typically played on the show were changed.

The Ramstein Community Center hosted an improv comedy show, “New Year Nuttiness,” Jan. 24.
Presented by the center’s Strike Force Comedy improv club, the performance aimed to boost the morale of the show’s cast and audience.

“Events like these create an outlet for individuals participating in the program and for those in the audience,” said Edison Ruland, 86th Force Support Squadron recreation specialist. “It gives an opportunity to step away from our day-to-day lives and let go of the stress we carry around.”

Following a model based on a popular improv comedy TV show, performers took cues and suggestions from the audience to create the scenarios they acted out.
“It is a well-known format,” Ruland said. “It lends itself well to the fluid cast we have here in the military community.”

The improv club comprises members of the KMC, and the cast changes with the flexibility expected of an improv performance.

For some members of the audience, the show also shined a new light on improvisation as an art form.
“It definitely changed my perception of improv as a mediocre-sometimes-funny stage act to seeing it as a legitimate art form,” said Cameron Andersen, Community Bank teller. “The back-and-forth between those on stage showed a flow between them one would expect to see at a jazz concert.”

That is what Strike Force Comedy is, an improv club anyone with base access can join.

“Before every show, we have an Improv Workshop starting at 3 p.m.,” Ruland said. “The people who come to the workshop are invited to be in the show that evening.”

The Ramstein Community Center tries to host a Strike Force Comedy show at least once a quarter. The next show is scheduled for May 16.

For more information about Strike Force Comedy and other events, contact the Ramstein Community Center at 480-6600 or 06371-47-6600.