Nick - Improv!

I had a plan for today's blog: save my improv-related post for the weekend after my last show, and then write about how sad I am it's over.

But I can't do that.

I can't write about how sad I am because I can't be anything but happy about my life with improv. I've been blessed with the opportunity to meet some of my best friends and the coolest people in the world. I got to get up on stage in front of all my friends and all my friends' friends and make them all laugh. And I got to share unforgettable moments with my fellow troupe members.

Improv has been somewhat of a surreal experience for me. Conor persuaded me to come try out, and I came in with no expectations. I was lifted from my typical life into the arms of the gods; even though I didn't think I was nearly as funny as the great people I was trying out with, I was chosen to be a part of something I didn't fully comprehend at the time. Improv was something I never earned or deserved; it wasn't something I understood and worked for. It was a gift, handed to me seemingly from nowhere.

I am infinitely thankful that I've been able to have this experience. I've watched a new generation of improvers grow together and take the figurative torch from our hands as we head off to new adventures.

And I feel like we've accomplished a lot in our time. Conor always says a couple of things that have really stuck with me. First, that before our generation, improv met once a week and practiced together and then went home. But now things have changed, and we're all friends outside of improv too; we're comfortable around each other and we really enjoy one another's presence. I'd like to think that we contributed to that atmosphere of friendliness.

The other thing he says is that his favorite moments are when someone truly becomes a member of improv; when they go from being a reluctant and newly-accepted member of the troupe, to a friend with a love for improv and a real sense of belonging. I've been lucky enough to be there to witness a lot of those moments; to befriend and see the growth of several new and wonderful people.

Even the members of our audience have something special about them. An aura that defines them as friends and good people in general. So don't think that you are left out of this because you aren't in the troupe; everyone who has been to one of our shows has a special place in my heart, too.

Improv is something I will always look back on fondly. But it's also something more than that. It's something that I will never truly leave. Because I know that I'm connected on a deeper level now; I'm marked by an undefinable bond to the people I've come to know and love, and to improvised comedy itself. So now we depart, but the people we leave in our stead are people we trust to lead Easily Amused in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing their progress in the years to come.

EATIT forever.

-Nick.