They won their title with “games” such as “He Said, She Said,” “Movie Critic” and “Foreign Poet.”
According to Kylie McElrath, 18, the latter, for example, requires a poet with a heavy accent who speaks gibberish while two interpretive dancers illustrate, more or less, his sort-of-spoken words.
How exactly does one win such a game? Teams like Bothell High’s 13-member Mighty Imps are given points for narrative, entertainment value and technical merit, said Imps co-captain Tucker Cholvin, 17.
While students reported it is tradition to boo all judges’ scores, in a competition held in late November at the Market Theater in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Mighty Imps booed scores high enough for them to bring home the Hogan Cup, the first-place prize in an annual contest among high-school improvisational comedy teams.
Bothell High has competed in what the squad’s other co-captain Aly Henninger, 16, referred to as theater sports for 12 years though this was the school’s first Hogan Cup win. Tucker and others described the competitions as very similar to the old “Whose Line is It, Anyway?” TV show. During contests, each improvised scene is about two minutes long.
Teams qualify for the Hogan Cup by taking part in improv contests around the area, earning points along the way. Including a squad from Inglemoor High, two other Northshore School District teams competed in qualifying matches this year.
During the Hogan competition, Bothell bested teams from Holy Names Academy, Kamiak and Mountlake Terrace high schools. Bothell has qualified for the Hogan Cup in the past, though this was its first appearance since 2008.
In talking about the team’s winning technique, Tucker described improvisational acting as a kind of muscle.
“Exercise it and use it and it just gets stronger and stronger,” he said.
“You get to be goofy,” Max Goeke, 18, said of performing with the Imps. “It’s always new, you’re never doing the same things.”
Always saying “yes,” and no gagging or stalling, were some of the keys mentioned by the Imps as leading to worthy improvisation. “Over-commitment” was a phrase mentioned numerous times. Kate Hovda, 18, said over-committing means purposefully “going to the danger” or “raising the stakes.”
“You learn how to get out of your shell,” said Kara Bartlow, 16. “That’s the beauty of it, it comes from you.”
“You just react to what the other person said or did,” added Goeke.
The Imps gave plenty of credit for their win to coach Derek Kavan, a professional improvisational actor and education director for Unexpected Productions, which puts on the Hogan Cup competition.
“He taught us how to fail,” said McElrath.
“It’s more like a learning experience than failure,” injected Kara.
At the urging of the their regular coach, Bothell High Theater Director James Wilson, the Imps gladly demonstrated their reaction to failure, clapping loudly and cheering.
“He (Kavan) just drilled story structure,” Wilson added.
Probably predictably, the Imps are all involved in other drama groups or have participated in theater at Bothell High. Imps are chosen on the basis of an audition and are in grades 10-12. McElrath noted every member of the team has different strengths. She admitted, for instance, that she’s not much of a story-teller. Sarah White, 16, said one key to making the team work is making the other actors look good.
“If I support them, they’ll support me,” she said.
Aly will take over the Imps next year after Tucker graduates. Numerous troupe members indicated they hope to make theater or acting their profession.
“It’s something we all enjoy,” Tucker said.
To view videos of the Imps’ winning performances, visit the Bothell High drama page on Facebook or search for “2010 Hogan Cup” on YouTube.
