While it may be too late to schedule some courses, students with quick wit will be able to find a new option available on the Schedule of Courses next week.
Improvisation acting, not taught for years at Penn State, is the subject of a new course coming this fall. Dan Carter, director of the School of Theatre, said the new class will be listed under THEA 297, and he hopes the class will be very popular with students.
"We live in a time where creativity is really valued and improvisational comedy demands that you are present in the moment," Carter said. "Most of life is like improv."
The class will be led by Eliot Preschutti, a familiar face at Penn State who has taught classes before.
Preschutti said he sees this class appealing to everyone, not just those who want to be future comedians and actors. For those who do foresee a future in improvisation, he said his class will be extremely beneficial -- learning these topics can be a tedious process in the real world.
"This is basically a gold mine of information," Preschutti said. "It gets them inside the pipeline and saves them years of trouble."
He said he has taught improvisation to Penn State students before and was impressed by how well they picked up the skill. Preschutti said his class performed once a week at locations such as Bar Bleu, 114 S. Garner St., and the Crowbar, which is now called The Cell Block, 420 E. College Ave. He said he would like to see a similar experience occur with his new class.
"I want to put someone on the stage," Preschutti said. "They're going to rock this town again."
Some of the methods taught are pulled from the teachings of Second City, a training facility in Chicago for improvisational and sketch comedy. Famous comedians such as John Belushi, Tina Fey and Chris Farley have graced the stages of Second City in the past, Preschutti said.
The class will also touch upon sketch writing, which Preschutti said was not taught in the previous improvisational classes.
Because the class is a special topics program, Carter said the Faculty Senate does not automatically attribute any general education or major requirement credits to the course. Carter said that if a student wishes to have the course count as more than an elective, his department would approve their inquiries on an individual basis.
