Trinity Sophomore Performs in California with Improv Group

Sarah Jacobs
Photo by Abby Stigler

By Abby Stigler

Sarah Jacobs, a Trinity University sophomore, spent her winter break in California performing with a San Antonio improvisational group.

The six-member Alamo City Improv performed at an Upright Citizen’s Brigade Club, among other places, in Los Angeles. UCB is the improv group that launched comedian Amy Poehler’s career.

They performed 10 shows in eight days. Jacobs’ favorite part of this experience? “Having really funny people laugh at [my] jokes and being surrounded by fellow improvisers,” she says. Or, in the words of Jacob’s group member, Jeremy Zenor, 36, “I wasn’t sure how they would respond, we got the Texas jokes, but everyone was so supportive.”

While enjoying making people laugh, Jacobs says “improv is not about trying to be funny. It’s trying to be really real, and that’s funny.”

Getting into the clubs to perform, however, was not that easy for the 19-year-old. Also, comedy clubs in Los Angeles start shows at 11 p.m. on weekdays and she was not used to staying up and being quick on her feet so late at night.

Still, Jacobs cherished the experience partly because of her love for improvisational theatre ever since 8th grade, when she watched the improvisation show, “Whose Line is it Anyways.” She eventually started to perform in a professional improv group after she came to one of Alamo City Improv’s rehearsals for an informal audition last March. She is currently the youngest member on the team.

As a theatre minor at Trinity, Jacobs has been taking theatre classes, which have helped her holistically. “You have to have such a strong presence to be good at improv, and I’ve only been doing it a year!" Despite her lack of professional experience, Jacobs has gained recognition from her team members. “Sarah is smart, professional, and absolutely hilarious,” says Brennan Loy, 22. “She brings an awesome female perspective to our improv scenes and also works hard to make our weekly advertisements pop.”

Each member of Alamo City Improv has a company position, besides performing every Friday and Saturday night. Jacobs is in charge of marketing and aspires to help their goal of growing the improv community in San Antonio.

Through performing and working with Alamo City Improv, which was established in July 2014, Jacobs described herself as becoming more confident in making choices. She admired the professionalism of the group and knew she would get along with like-minded, mission oriented individuals who take improv seriously.

The group performs “long form improv”, rather than the short form that is commonly seen on television shows like “Whose Line is it Anyways”. Group member Zenor describes long form improve as “no parameters, no guidelines, no gimmicks. It’s two people forming an invented reality.”

Alamo City Improv has been growing, already beginning to form other teams and planning to offer classes. Recently, they were accepted into the Dallas Comedy Festival, to be held in March. Jacobs and her team members will be on the road again.