Comedy students present their talent at DSI showcase

On Friday night, DSI Comedy hosted a showcase to give a forum for its improvisation students — a place where they could show off what they learned to a live audience.

Paula Pazderka — associate producer with DSI and instructor of the Improv 101 class — and two students in the class, Mary Turner and John Sideris, sat down with City staff writer Dominique Moore to offer some insight into what goes into a improv class and how the first performance went.

Canvas: How many students are in one class? Is there a high interest level?

Paula Pazderka: We limit it to 14. Usually are between 10 and 14. Sometimes we do have to turn people down in cases where there is a high demand, and sometimes during the year there is a higher demand, and we would try to add an extra class to accommodate as many people as we can.

C: What can people expect to learn when they sign up for one of the classes?

PP: First of all it’s super fun, they are going to have a good time. The great thing about improv is the basic of having a good communication. The fundamental idea of improv is this idea of agreement then heightening it and from that we create comedy. Sometimes in life we are doing 65 things at once or we are not paying attention or we think we know what someone is going to say before they say it, and we are already passing judgment on it. So just accept what some person is going to say and agree with it and say yeah. And from that we create comedy and good communication.

C: What are the most important things people need to know about improv?

PP: The most important thing is “yes, and…” — that idea of simple agreement. You don’t have to be funny. People are naturally worried that they are not funny so that they could never do improv. I can’t think on my feet, so I could never do improv. The truth is that we give you the skills, and you are funny on your own. You bring whatever experiences that you have to the table and that is what creates comedy.

C: Do you draw from “Whose Line is it Anyway?”

PP: Not really. That is the kind of show that we did, a short form show, which is kind of like “Whose Line is it Anyway”, except we don’t have a Drew Carry or Wayne Brady. But there are elements of those types of games — improv games — that we use in class to show a certain skill.

C: Can you describe one of the games for me?

PP: One of the games that I think that might be similar is the idea of like a panel of experts; where someone creates a character on the fly and you, like, answer advice type questions.

C: Is DSI the only place that offers improv classes?

PP: We are the only theater in the area, Chapel Hill and Durham, that offers classes like this.

C: Why did you choose to teach this class?

PP: I love teaching 101, its one of my favorite classes to teach because I love to see people when the light goes on. I can’t explain it. You just know it when you see it, when all of a sudden someone understands. I had someone come up to me in a different class that told me they had been saying “no” all their lives. She was a woman in her 50s and she said, “You know Paula, I have been saying no all my life, and just sitting in this class made me realize that. It’s a revelation just to be able to say yes.” That was a super powerful moment, and I don’t think it will happen again. But just by having people realize that agreeing, being positive and being in the moment, it can change everything. I don’t think everybody has an experience like that, but that one person can change everything.

C: What’s your past experience with comedy?

PP: I studied comedy in Chicago for 10 years. I have been performing improv for over a decade. I moved here around 3 years ago. My husband is a professor at UNC. He teaches physical chemistry. His name is Dr. Moran. We don’t have the same last name. When I moved here an opportunity came up to teach and I was really excited about it.

Canvas: What sparked your interest in taking the class?

Mary Turner: I have seen shows here before and I really enjoyed them a lot and it’s a lot of fun, and it looked like something I’d really like to do.

C: Is this your first experience with performing?

MT: No, I have done theater before, and I did improv with Comedy Sports before for a few years in Raleigh.

C: How did your first show with DSI go?

MT: I think it went really well. I feel like we were really keyed up and energized that at least for me I felt like all the lessons, rules of improv were fresh in our heads. And we stuck to them and I feel like we gave a real energetic performance.

C: The person you performed with, did you practice with that person or was it random?

MT: It was random. We didn’t know until we got here, what we were going to be doing or who we would be performing with.

Canvas: Was tonight your first night performing in front of a crowd?

John Sideris: It was my first night doing improv.

C: Can you describe your experience?

JS: It was great. I really like being on stage all the time. It’s very different from when I’m doing stand-up because it’s a team effort. Good audience and very responsive and it was just a great time.

Improv 101 classes meet for two-and-a-half hours once a week for six weeks.