Director Michael Kuehl instructs cast members Thomas Norgle ‘25, Abigail Burns ‘26, Emmet Gripp ‘26, and Ellie Watkins ‘24 on an improv game in preparation for opening night (Kowalski/LION).

On Sept. 28-30, the cast of this year’s improv show “So_You’ll_15: A tale of _ _” will return to the stage for their 15th year in an effort to bring laughter and joy to their audiences.

This year, the Improv Show has 28 cast members, cast member Natalie Halm ‘24 said. The show will run between an hour to an hour and a half and will consist of two teams competing in different improv games. 

“The best part about the improv show is the community,” Halm said. “I was in the improv shows my freshman and sophomore year and now my senior year and I really do credit improv for meeting my two best friends. It’s just such an amazing community and you all become a really good team.”

This year’s show will be performed at 7 p.m. in the SC PAC, director Michael Kuehl said. The tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and senior citizens, or free with your LT student ID. 

“It’s more nerve-racking directing an improv show than any other show because you never know how the final product will turn out,” Kuehl said. “It’s not like a normal directing experience where you’re telling [cast members] where to stand or how to say a line like in a regular play. In an improv show you need to make sure everyone understands the rules of improv and [the cast] has to understand the rules of the games and learn everybody’s strengths and weaknesses.”

The rehearsals for the show began on Aug. 28 in the Reber Center at NC and lasted from 3:30 to 5:30 everyday, cast member Greta Sandman ‘24 said. On Sept. 18, rehearsals were moved to the SC PAC to prepare for the show. During rehearsals, actors would play games that they would actually be performing in the show. One game they played was called “Dr. Know-it-all” where six cast members stood in a line and would have to answer questions from the audience one at a time. 

“The rehearsal process [was] very fun,” Sandman said. “It [was] very low stakes because there [were] no lines you needed to memorize. All you had to do was practice the improv games.”

This year’s show will also feature a student emcee, Emma White ‘24, in contrast to Kuehl emceeing like he has done in past productions, Halm said.

“Improv helps me not take myself so seriously,” Halm said. “I think it’s already a big trap to fall into as an actor to think everything matters so much all of the time. I think by doing the improv show you can unlock different parts of yourself and it helps you not be afraid to get out there and embarrass yourself.”