ComedySportz, an improv show where suggestions come from the audience, has been at Oak Park High School since 2015. The team began their 2024-2025 season with their first game on Aug. 23. It wasn’t until September that they began to welcome newbies to the team. 

The ComedySportz workshops were hosted on Sept. 10-12 in G9 from 6:30-8 p.m. No one is required to go to the workshops to try out, however, they do help students get an idea of what ComedySportz is. 

“We pull a few games that we think show off a good amount of skill for the people trying out to perform,” Assistant Manager Livi Gaeta said. “Usually, these games are the ones we practice at workshops so the people that do go to workshops have almost a little experience with them.” 

On Sept. 17 and 18, tryouts and callbacks were held. Returning team members stay after tryouts to help choose the newbies.

“Before any person gets voted on, all people who have a bias on said person must leave the room–this means both a negative and positive bias,” Manager Madi Pelc wrote to the Talon. “This allows the voting to be as neutral as possible … Then, we go into a lengthy discussion about the tryouters, both the pros and cons of their performance and behavior during tryouts. Afterward, we take a vote and determine if they got on.”

Practices are typically held on Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. and Fridays before the games. The purpose of practices is to get a refresher on how different games work and practice their improv skills. 

“For me personally, it helps me see where I should be in a scene,” Pelc wrote. “Should I be a more prominent figure to help guide the scene along or can I take a step back and let someone guide me? Practices also allow me to test out different characters and see how they interact with my teammates, this helps me determine if I should bring them out during a game or not.”

On game day, players arrive around 5 p.m. to help set up the stage, do a sound check and loosen up with some games before starting. As exciting as games are, they can be a bit nerve-wracking as well. 

“That’s the beauty of improv, if you act like you know what you’re doing the audience will believe it,” Pelc wrote. “It brings a smile to my face to see friends who constantly come back to our shows and smile every time as well as newcomers who come up to me after the show to say how much they enjoyed it. By the end of the game, I feel proud of myself and happy. I know I need to stop overthinking but I’m prone to it. I’m glad I have such an amazing community to remind me that my hypotheticals are simply that, hypotheticals.”

Directly after the game, they clean up the Pavillion and have some fun at a teammate’s after-party. At their next practice, they try to implement any notes they receive from the referee for their next game. 

To learn more about ComedySportz, check out their Instagram and website.   

“It’s just so goofy,” Gaeta said. “Half the time is just laughing, it’s so fun. Everyone is creative and nice.”