2024 marks the 10th anniversary since the founding of Blank Slate Improv in 2014 by members of APO (Alpha Psi Omega). Despite not having a contract to keep members on the team, they are a popular and consistent form of entertainment for Union students and other Jackson residents.
Blank Slate Improv was founded in 2014 by a group of students who were a part of APO, Alpha Phi Omega, the national theater honor society. Blank Slate was officially recognized by the Student Government Association in 2021. Initially, only members of APO were allowed to audition to join Blank Slate but eventually the auditions opened up to all Union students.
Many organizations on campus require their members to sign contracts that stipulate how long the student must take part in organization activities while others do not require the signing of such contracts; Blank Slate is one of the latter. Their members are permitted to leave the group at their leisure. There is nothing holding them to the group if they don’t have time anymore or wish to pursue other aspects of campus life.
“It’s hard to really gauge how you are going to feel about it before you get into it, but I think you sort of need to know when getting into improv. It’s going to be scary. It’s going to be hard and maybe not even fun for a while. I didn’t know fully when going in, but I knew those things were true,” said Sam Boger, a junior journalism major, when asked about the commitment of joining Blank Slate.
One veteran of Blank Slate, Kat Pinkston, was a member for 3 years before she graduated in 2023 with a degree in communications. She joined Blank Slate after accompanying a friend to audition and ended up making the team. While initially hesitant, Pinkston quickly grew to enjoy performing with the other members and stuck with the team until graduation.
“Blank Slate survives because enough people want to be there. Trying to do improv while not wanting to do improv is such a terrible idea, cause it’s so subjective,” Pinkston said. “For other organizations, you can still show up and play ultimate frisbee, there are rules and expectations for your performance. There are some guidelines for improv but it’s a lot less objective.”
Some members, like Pinkston, had no exposure to improv prior to Blank Slate. For other members, like Maddie Grace Theirfelder, this is not their first rodeo. Theirfelder was on the improv team at her high school and auditioned for Blank Slate her first semester at Union.
“It is never stressful. I am never pressured. Our captains are super awesome,” Theirfelder, freshman music education major, said. “But it is also not just messing around. We take it all very seriously. We learn; we improve; we talk about it.”
One result of this hands off approach to the team’s members is a group of people who love what they are doing and are passionate about it. Even after graduation, former members of Blank Slate generally stay in contact with one another since the members care about what they are doing.
Blank Slate is an improv group, yes, but they are also a team that must work together to make one another appear better on stage. During their practices, the team plays the same games that they perform while on stage. These practices also let the team captain(s) learn the strengths of each member, letting those strengths be played to.
Most Blank Slate shows have a cost of admission. However, if you are low on cash, there will be an occasional no admission show such as the one held in Barefoots on Feb 23. The show was attended by dozens of people, including many visiting scholars also participating the Union’s Scholars of Excellence competition. The Blank Slate team captains Isabella Robertson and Aubrey Eytchison introduced the other members of Blank Slate and selected the prompts that were shouted by audience members. A few memorable lines from the show include:
“I’d stop lying to you child if I could stop lying to myself.” – Grayson Harris
“Apologize to my kraken or get eaten by it!” – Noah Friedrich
“You want me to get you New York cake? Where am I supposed to get that?” – Sam Boger
“…New York.” -Isabella Robertson
And lastly
“The key to your heart is also the key to an explosive car?” – Aubrey Eytchison
Follow Blank Slate on Instagram to learn about any upcoming shows or auditions.