Fifth Wall

Senior hopes acting will result in career

Tymber Moody, Web Editor|December 7, 2018

Fifth Wall

Bright lights, clapping hands, quick-thinking and laughter. Those are all things that come with being an actor for the improv group, Fifth Wall.

Playing a game called “Late to Work,” sophomore Adalyn Green pledges, which is the ending statement of the game. “I like improv because I get to interact with a bunch of different people from the department and experiment with the different games that we play,” Green said.

The actors in Fifth wall meet before school on Thursdays and Mondays during Tiger Paws. During this time, they rehearse the games that they play during the show. They do this to understand how to perform successfully and make the show enjoyable for the audience.

Co-captain senior Jake Demo has been part of Fifth Wall since his sophomore year and became a co-captain later that year.

“I was interested in Fifth Wall when I saw them perform during ‘freshman day,’ my first week at BV,” he said.

Improv is different than regular acting because everything said by the actors is thought of on the spot, not memorized from a script, which eliminates the nerves about forgetting lines or what to do.

Playing a game called “Naive Replay,” sophomore Ann Heitman makes a statement about the actors ripped pants and how they were appropriate. “It’s really fun to play because you have no idea what’s going to come next, and you can’t change what you’re saying. I love it,” Heitman said.

It also gives the actors a chance to be unique and play ideas off each other. They have the ability to hide who they really are with a different person.

“I enjoy being able to have multiple characters and voices in one show,” Demo said. “I enjoy the comedic aspect because normal acting isn’t always comedic.”

Although performing on a stage with harsh lighting and hundreds of eyes on you may sound frightening. Demo said he doesn’t get nervous because his team’s there too and he can lean on them.

Demo said, if you get stuck “you have a team to back you up and they are able to come in and save you.”

You’re never alone on the stage so it takes some of the pressure and fear away from performing.

“When I perform improv, I can do anything on stage and I’m not structured by a script,” he said. “I like having that ‘free to do whatever’ feeling.”

Demo said in the past he has gone blank and not known what to say, but he doesn’t normally worry about it. If he worries about it, then he won’t be able to think of anything else.

Improv is a great way to create new characters, and it helps bring more energy to the stage. Demo said this is needed when acting to keep the audience interested, which is helpful with both, acting from a written script and acting from nothing but your mind.

This is especially helpful for Demo’s acting experience, which he plans to turn into a career.

“My favorite part about Fifth Wall is making people laugh,” he said. “I love bringing people joy through performing.”