CIA troupe gets 'a lot of laughs'

From their seats in Talley Student Center's ballroom, attendees of Comedy Improvisation Alliance's show can see a colorful wheel resembling that of the popular game show, Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel of Comedy, built by member Sean Finch, senior in applied mathematics, features categories such as Horror Film, Soap Opera and Audience Challenge. 

A marked characteristic of any CIA show is the high level of audience participation. Founding member John Fowler, a junior in computer science, pauses the music that has been playing and commences the show by introducing host Philip Boyne, a senior in physics. 

This founding member of CIA sprints to the stage and joking declares, "Turn your cell phone off. Or if it goes off, I will answer it."

 The annual Halloween-themed "Improv of the Dead!" features two teams of comedic actors, who are ready to enter the stage. To the song "Survivor" by Destiny's Child, a group of CIA actors dressed in combat gear carrying plastic guns enter the stage. Next, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" plays as a team of actors dressed as zombies break out into a dance en route to the stage left. Finch, captain of the survivor team, raises his plastic gun towards Gabriel Pappalardo, captain of the zombie team and senior in psychology and Spanish. Pappalardo is noticeably limping. 

As the show progresses, the zombies appear unified through their strange behavior and mannerisms as do the survivors through their fervor and readiness to fight. 

  "It's really what you strive for, to become a character," CIA member Alex Kovach, a junior in chemistry, said. "Totally leave reality, drive the scene on. Because that's really what the audience wants to see." 

The CIA has performed shows for audiences for the past three years. N.C. State students ComedyWorx players Philip Boyne, John Fowler and Katie Roberts created the organization in fall of 2005. 

"We ended up getting, I'd say, 17 people at the first meeting. Just to get a bunch of people who where happy to come in, work together, have some fun, put our fears out the window, and improvise together. The sense of unity… that's what it's all about," Fowler said of the organization's beginning. "This is a product of what we love to do." 
Many members of CIA have joined and stayed with the group since its inception. Kovach joined the group as a freshman. 

 "Doing improv, there's nothing else like it. I love seeing other people laugh and smile and have a good time. It's completely worth it," Kovach said. 

 Kovach recalls his eleventh grade theater teacher’s perspective on stage fright. 

 "What you do is recognize that [stage fight is] what's happening to you. You have this mass amount of energy, this mass amount of adrenaline," he said. "Take all of that energy and focus and put it into your work and that right there is one of the things that can help from having an OK night to just blowing everybody out of the water." 

Jake Finan, a senior in psychology, remarked on how CIA members have changed since joining the group. 

"A couple of our members were really shy when they joined and now they're the most outgoing people," remarked Finan."That's how I was." 

 Fellow team member Kelly Herron, a zombie team member and senior in English, agreed. 
"It's really cool to see everybody grow and grow and get better and gain confidence," she said. "To see what they can really do. It's really cool." 

The group's practices prepare CIA actors for shows such as Friday's Halloween-themed event. 

Some audience members were "checking [the show] out for the first time" like James Holbert, a senior studying mathematics. Others had been to many CIA shows. 

"It's funny. You get a lot of laughs out of it," Patrick Parr, a junior in engineering, said. Both Holbert and Parr have friends who are members of CIA. 

"Practice is all about getting in a lot of experience and developing good relationships with the people who you're playing and learning how to get good relationships in the scenes, because that's what people find funny -- the interplay between the [players]," Finan said. 

"Anyone can come to our practices. Anyone can do this. We don't have dues. We don't have auditions," Boyne added. New members are encouraged to attend practices at Witherspoon Student Cinema, 6:30 to 8:30pm on Tuesdays.