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AREYOUAWARE?
Appleton, Wisconsin February 2016 Vol. XXI
Issue I
Page 8
Are you aware of the most
side-splitting club at Appleton
North? Improvedy, the local
improv troupe, has been going
on for almost sixteen years,
and the laughs just keep com-
ing.
Improvedy is a comedy
troupe that performs based
on skits and games that are
changed and suggested by the
crowd. Improvedy is the only
improv group in Appleton run
by a high school, according
to the Appleton North The-
atre webpage. This group of
nine even leads workshops
at businesses and performs
for parties. The improv group
consists of Appleton North stu-
dents ranging from freshmen
to seniors, featuring students
such as Emma Knutson, Jack
Russell, Sam Stratton, Claire
Riebau, Brett Peters, Timo-
thy Rausch. Ben Wylie, Saul
Roselaar, and Alyssa Gruen-
der.
Emma Knutson, a junior
this year and one of only two
girls in the troupe, has been in
Improvedy for two years. In an
interview with Knutson, she
was asked why she decided to
Appleton North’s Improvedy reaches new heights
audition and join Improvedy:
“I thought they were cool, and
I liked their show.” Despite
how fun it looked, she knew
the commitment she needed to
make to be a part of the troupe.
Improvedy members meet
weekly to rehearse, creating
suggestions of ideas they think
people will suggest during
their performances.
During the shows, Im-
provedy members explain the
rules for certain games and
skits and then create scenes
based off of suggestions from
the audience. “My favorite
thing is probably getting to be
with all of the other Improvedy
members as a team,” Knutson
said. One expectation Knutson
doesn’t like is the assump-
tion that she is funny all of the
time.
Another two-time member
of Improvedy, senior Jack Rus-
sell describes his experiences
with Improvedy. “I’d seen
the shows a lot during middle
school and thought they were
interesting,” said Russell when
asked why he joined. Having
tried out as a freshman and
sophomore, Russell finally
joined Improvedy in his junior
year at North.
Russell defines Improvedy
as, “being in a room of
clowns, and you can’t leave
until you’ve told a joke.”
Russell enjoys experimenting
with what’s funny on stage:
“It’s incredibly rewarding to
be funny, but even more so
from failing big.” His only
Improvedy-related pet peeve
is the pre-show. He said, “The
part I dislike the most is the
ten or fifteen minutes before
the show...I just want to show
people now.” Russell’s favorite
part of the troupe is trying out
the new games and skits, espe-
cially ones that haven’t been
By Jacob Zajkowski
done in a while.
A rookie to the Improvedy
scene, sophomore Sam Strat-
ton is experiencing his first
year of the antics of the troupe.
Stratton’s love of comedy
drew him to the shows and
eventually the club. “I feel like
we’re a really close group of
friends that love to do funny
stuff on stage and make each
other, and people watching,
laugh until their sides ache.”
To Stratton, Improvedy is
a great way to express himself
and show who he is. “It’s also
a great way to try out new
puns,” he added. When asked
about rehearsal, Stratton said:
“We play improv games to
help get better at maintaining
a good stage presence, coming
up with things on the spot...
and other stuff that helps us
be funny when we are in front
of an audience.” Stratton is
exhilarated for the upcoming
show on Feb. 13. “The goal is
to have fun and make people
laugh, which I think is really
cool.”
Improvedy’s shows are
based off of the TV show
“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
National Novel Writing Month in November gains new participants
Are you aware that writ-
ers recently embarked on
NaNoWriMo or National
Novel Writing Month in
November? NaNoWriMo is
a non-profit organization that
supplies schools around the
world with classroom kits
and other things needed for a
successful education, all at no
cost to the schools. During
November, countless writers
worldwide write stories of
50,000 words for NaNoW-
riMo. Participants can get
support from locals in their
community and meet new
people, and they even get pep
talks from published authors!
Story genres range from
realistic fiction to fantasy,
and everything in between.
Participants of NaNoWriMo
also look forward to the
“Night of Writing Danger-
ously”, a writing marathon
in San Francisco at the Julia
Morgan Ballroom. Hundreds
of writers congregate here to
get ahead in their novels and
talk with their peers.
This international event
has many participants in our
own community. According to
nanowrimo.com, the Fox Cit-
ies wrote almost one million
words in five days this year!
Writers even walk among the
North High population.
One of them is Cece-
lia McDermott who found
NaNoWriMo three years ago
via a YouTube video of a
participant. Since November
is the only time she pursues
writing outside of academics,
McDermott plans on continu-
ing to participate in NaNoW-
riMo. Although she partici-
pates, school always comes
first. McDermott doesn’t even
like to start writing if it means
she won’t be able to finish her
homework.
This year, she wrote about
people who can hear some-
one else’s thoughts, and they
must find the other person
before the voice will go away.
She loves to write and would
recommend NaNoWriMo to
anyone. “As long as you go in
with an idea and a little moti-
vation, you can achieve what
you never thought possible”
she said. McDermott hopes
to finish a novel someday
during NaNoWriMo. “...that
probably means an extreme
Outline October and Editing
December if I decide I want
to seriously consider getting
the book published.” It has
become a goal for McDermott
to write all fifty thousand
words.
Another participant is
Madeline Clark, and she
shares Cecelia’s goals for
someday completing a novel.
She has been a member of
NaNoWriMo for less than a
month and was introduced by
a friend of hers.
Although this is her first
year, Clark plans on continu-
ing because she thinks it is a
fun and engaging experience,
and she has more things to
write about. Her introduc-
tion to NaNoWriMo has not
affected her social life, but
it has affected how fast she
does her homework. Clark
has chosen to write a fanfic-
tion based on the characters
written by Rick Riordan in
the Heroes of Olympus; she
chose this because she enjoys
his writing.
When asked about what
she wants to gain from
NaNoWriMo, Clark said “I
just want my writing to get
out there and for people to
like it.”
A sophomore at North
named Margaux Pisciotta also
participates in NaNoWriMo.
Her novel this year is about
two teenage girls and the high
school troubles they face.
When asked why she chose
this she said, “I think it is a
very relatable story and is
something that a lot of people
in high school could connect
to.”
This is Pisciotta’s second
year as a participant; she was
introduced by an author, Amy
Zhang, that had just gotten her
novel published. The author
explained that it had started as
a NaNoWriMo draft, and Pi-
sciotta was immediately taken
with the idea. She managed
to complete all 50,000 words
during her freshman year.
Her passion for writing, and
the pressure of the time limit,
keeps bringing Pisciotta back
for another month of writing.
Her message to everyone is,
“If you’ve ever even thought
about writing a novel before
but have been too intimidated
to do it, try NaNoWriMo...”
NaNoWriMo is a way for
writers of all ages to share
their stories; a place where
writers can get support from
local peers and make new
friends worldwide. Many peo-
ple fall into their inner writers
during November and share
their stories to the world.
By Jacob Zajkowski
Margaux Pisciotta begins writing the first chapter of
her realistic fiction novel for National Novel Writing
Month 2015. This will be her second novel complet-
ed through NaNoWriMo.
Photo by Rachel Flom
Appleton North’s Improvedy Troupe features new and returning members for the
2015-2016 school year. Their next show is on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m., and tickets
are $5 at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Photo from Appleton North Theatre