The 3rd annual College Improv Tournament
To look at photos from CIT 2009-2010, please click: Flickr
PRESS Update: 2/22/10
Wheaton College's Faux Posse's 3rd place finish in the CIT Nationals got coverage in the Trib Local-West Chicago. To read the article, please click: Trib Local Update: 2/11/10
Suffolk University's Seriously Bent's 2nd place finish in the CIT Nationals got coverage in the Suffolk News. To read the article, please click: Suffolk News Update: 2/5/10
The CIT Nationals got covered twice in today's Chicago Sun-Times as they were chosen as one of the Top Five Things To Do for weekend warriors to partake in. To read the press, please click: Top 5
Update: 1/26/10
The Titanic Players' Northwestern University team Daddy Mags's recent victory at the CIT Chicago Regional was written about in today's Daily Northwestern. To read the article, please click: Daily Northwestern Update: 1/22/10
Tomorrow's Chicago Regional got some on-line press today at the fun Chicago-centric website Gaper's Block. To read the blurb, please click: Gaper's Block Update: 12/5/09
Cornish College of the Arts' Improvolution, received press about their victory at the CIT Northwest Regional. To read the article, please click: Cornish News Update: 11/27/09
Oberlin College's The Sunshine Scouts, received press about their victory in the CIT Midwest Regional. To read the article, please click: Oberlin News Their victory in the Midwest Regional also received coverage in the Oberlin Review. To read this article, please click: Oberlin Review Update: 11/19/09
Theatre Strike Force's Southeast Regional win got front page coverage in Uinversity of Florida's newspaper. Here's a link to the article: Alligator. Update: 11/11/09
Suffolk University's Seriously Bent's successful defense of their title in the CIT East Coast Regional received coverage in the on-line edition of the Suffolk News. To read the article, please click: Suffolk News Update: 11/7/09 CIT Gets Boston Media Attention
Update: 11/5/09
CIF Productions' College Improv Tournament's Midwest Regional was included in Crain's Chicago "10 Things to do this Weekend". To read the list, please click: Crain's Chicago "10 Things To Do This Weekend". Update: 10/30/09
The College Improv Tournament's upcoming Midwest Regional at pH Productions, was written about today in the Chicago Sun-Times' comedy blog. To read the blog, please click: Chicago Sun-Times. Daily Vidette - Article, 1/22/09 Improv Mafia's Team Success Isn't Ad-libbed
The term "national champion" usually evokes images of athletic competition. It is a term that has come to signify the image of sports glory: a team of student athletes raising their fists in victory while the whole world watches. What many people do not know is that ISU is home to a national champion-not in sport, but in the art of improvisation. Last November, ISU's own Improv Mafia took the national title at the Chicago Improv Festival's College Improv Tournament. The ISU Improv Mafia stormed through the 24-team competition, defeating the Suffolk University group, Seriously Bent, in the final round. The victory was a long time coming according to Annie Rix, a senior theatre and acting major. "We worked so hard to get there and we really felt good just to be there," Rix, a member of the Improv Mafia for four years, said. "But to win was really amazing. I definitely shed some tears." For Improv Mafia co-president Keith Habersberger, a senior acting major, the national championship was the summation to the four years of hard work he's put into the group. "[Winning] was pretty much my main goal this year," Habersberger said. "It was a pretty lofty goal, but we ended up achieving it which was wonderful." Habersberger also noted that the group was one of the few teams at nationals to not have a coach. "[The group] has always been self-taught," Habersberger said. "And to go to Chicago, which is the heart of improv, and beat all the Chicago teams and beat all the teams that come from other parts of the country was pretty great." ISU's Improv Mafia was created 11 years ago by a former student, Mikel Matthews. As Habersberger noted, the group has always been student-run and student-taught, making their nationals victory that much more impressive. Since the Mafia's inception, the group has held free shows every Tuesday night on campus. The group utilizes both short and long form improvisation. Short form involves themed skits and musical numbers comparable to the brand of improv comedy made famous by the television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Long form is a free form improvisation in which the group works a 20-minute story based solely off of one suggestion from the audience. Over these past 11 years, members of the Improv Mafia have dedicated themselves to perfecting the art and fans have come to notice, according to Chris Bogue, a senior public relations major. "We've had a very large, dedicated following on campus," Bogue, who has been in the Mafia for three years, said. "Some of our fans have been coming for three or four years." However, what is most noteworthy about the members of the Improv Mafia is not necessarily the love they all possess for their art and performance, but their love for each other. "We see each other a lot during the week for rehearsals but we also get together outside of rehearsals," Rix said. "We are like a family, everyone looks out for everyone, it's a really nice feeling." "When you're in the Mafia, you're in the Mafia for life," Bogue added. "That's our motto." These tight friendships have allowed for the members of the Mafia to not only build a social circle, but to ultimately gain a better grip on performance. "We believe that spending time together outside of improv is the best way to gain trust and respect for each other," Bogue said. "There's really a lot of love in the group." For this semester, the group will be looking to share their art not only through performance, but through teaching of workshops, according to Rix. "This semester is really focused on sharing our knowledge of improv and to help teach the art," Rix said. Along with workshops and weekly performances, the Improv Mafia will be performing at ISU's Free Stage Festival, the Chicago Improv Festival in April and the Aspen Comedy Festival in May. PRESS 2008 Daily Vidette - Article, 11/6/08 ISU Improv Mafia To Compete Nationally
The ISU Improv Mafia squad won the Midwest Regional competition and will move on to compete in the National College Improv Tournament on Nov. 15 in Chicago. ISU will compete with teams representing Northwestern University, Suffolk University and the University of Southern California at the event, which is hosted by the Chicago Improv Festival. "All four groups participating are very established," Chris Bogue, senior Improv Mafia member, said. "The group from USC has done work with cast members from Reno 911." The competition consists of three parts- a short form, a mid form and a musical form. Every week the team works on new forms so their style is geared toward upcoming competitions. "The set-up of the competition allows us to basically do a condensed version of our weekly shows," Bogue said. "We try to bring a good variety of our improv team to the competitions," Keith Habersberger, Improv Mafia team captain, said. Seven of the 16 team members competed in the regional competition. "All of the members of the team have different styles and strengths, so we try to get a good mixture to make it more interesting." ISU was the only team at the regional without a coach. According to Bogue, the team reads a lot of books written by people who began the improvisation movement and mentored famous comedians such as John Belushi, Mike Myers and Bill Murray. "We're going out there without a coach but all of the Chicago improvisers write books and essays on improv. We read them to try to better understand what they want and what good improv is," Bogue said. The theme for this year's competition is a sports broadcast. Each school has been given 60 seats to fill, and their respective audiences will be dressed in the school's colors. "Each team has two anchors broadcasting the action," Habersberger said. "Each team will go back and forth doing their style and then be judged." The winner of the tournament will get to perform at the Aspen Comedy Festival in Aspen, Co., the largest comedy festival in the world. It will be broadcast on Comedy Central and will include famous comedians such as Dave Attell. "It's a really big honor to win," Bogue said. "All the groups are amazing. Whoever gets this coveted spot really worked hard for it." This is the Improv Mafia's 11th year at Illinois State. They have a free one-hour show every Tuesday at 8 p.m. in CVA 145. The team also has an improvised full-length play at the ISU Free Stage Festival on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday of this week. "We're always working towards something," Bogue said. Illinois State University - Press Release, 10/27/08 ISU's Improv Mafia Advances to National College Improvisation Tournament
All the regional competitions are over, the scores have been tallied and Illinois State University's Improv Mafia has reached the national College Improv Tournament, hosted by Chicago Improv Festival and set for Nov. 15 in Chicago. Now in its 11th year at Illinois State, Improv Mafia recently won the Midwest regionals, beating 11 other colleges and university in the tournament of the College Improv Tournament hosted by Chicago Improv Festival. Finishing second in the regionals was host school Northwestern University's The Titanic Player's Matador Now. Among other competitors were The Cosby Sweaters from DePaul University and The Titanic Players' The Founders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the national semifinals, to be held at ComedySportz Chicago, 929 W. Belmont Ave., Improv Mafia will face Seriously Bent from Suffolk University, winner of the East Coast regional. The other semifinal will pit West Coast regional winner Second Nature from University of Southern California against the team Improv Mafia beat, The Titanic Players' Matador Now from Northwestern University. Illinois State competitors at the tournament were Keith Habersberger of Bolingbrook, Michael Norris of Oak Lawn, Chris Bogue of Burbank, Ricky Haschemeyer of Quincy, Nick Klahs of Vernon Hills, Justin Triezenberg of Naperville and Annie Rix of Wheaton. The Suffolk Voice - Article, 10/21/08 Seriously Bent Named Best Improv Troupe In The East
Call them the Beasts of the East. Seriously Bent, Suffolk's improv comedy troupe, beat out seven other groups for the title of East Coast Regional Champions at the second annual National College Improv Championships on Saturday, October 11. They were crowned champions at midnight after winning in the initial round that afternoon. The Improv Competition was held at Boston's famed Improv Asylum. Seriously Bent defeated eight teams to seize the championship, some of which were from local colleges and universities. Improv teams from BU, Northeastern, and Emerson also competed. In the finals, the team finished off "Theatre Strike Force" from the University of Florida by a unanimous decision. The judges that day included Will Leura (Artistic Director of Improv Boston), Norm Laviolette (Artistic Director of Improv Asylum), and Nick Zanio (Boston Globe's comedy writer). Seriously Bent and Suffolk alumnus, Julia Gustafson ('08), hosted the event. Last year, the group made it to the quarterfinals of the nationals after receiving and accepting an invite to participate. Currently, they are working on fund raising for their trip to the National Semi-Finals and Finals in Chicago, IL on Saturday, Nov. 15. |
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