On Friday, Sept. 2, the Pavilion was filled with red and blue as ComedySportz kicked off their first game of the year. The team will continue to play against each other for one game a month as they tell jokes and compete for laughs.

“ComedySportz is a competitive improv show where two teams battle it out for laughs and points. There are two teams of four, Red and Blue, and a referee,” team manager Jared Cornick wrote to the Talon. “The fans judge the scenes based on laughter and applause, and ultimately decide the winner. It is completely improvised and the audience gives all of the suggestions to the players.”

The first half began with a game of Expert Challenge, which is played by members of both the Red and Blue teams. Other individual team games of the first half included My Movie, 4 Square and Interrogation. 

“I think that overall the first game went really well! It was mostly just getting back into the swing of things, especially considering that we only had two practices before [the game],” assistant manager Elizabeth Dusek wrote to the Talon. “It was really fun being on stage again and even though there was a slightly smaller audience for this game, they all seemed to enjoy it and have fun.”

Cornick shared a similar opinion.

“I thought the first game of the year went great. It was awesome being back up on stage with the team and seeing everyone who was in the audience having a good time,” Cornick wrote.

As leaders of the team, both Cornick and Dusek are experienced and skilled players. Both have goals to continue the success of the first game into the rest of the year.

“I think some of my goals for ComedySportz this year is definitely to expand how many people are on the team and get a lot of newbies on the team,” Dusek wrote. “I also want to bring a lot of new people to the games and for the games to have a really large audience.”

People interested in trying out can attend workshops on Wednesday Sept. 14, as well as Thursday Sept. 15, where they can learn the basics of ComedySportz. In the following days, tryouts will be held on Tuesday Sept. 20 and callbacks on Wednesday Sept. 21.

“I hope to see new faces wanting to hold a spot on the team,” wrote Cornick. “Overall, I just want ComedySportz to continue to be a fun thing for everyone involved, and a place where everyone is welcome on Friday nights to enjoy the show with their friends and family and have a great time with us.”