Comedy group Noun draws laughs laughs with improv

Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat

Appalachian State University’s improvisational-comedy group Noun started in late 1999 when Appalachian State student Kiehl Smit and former Mountaineer Bill Cochran decided to take their love of comedy and entertaining one step further.

Both Smit and Cochran worked together at an improv-comedy club in Raleigh called Comedy Sports during their high school years.
Comedy Sports presented improvisational shows on Friday and Saturday nights, drawing in families and friends to experience a game show comparable to the television show “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?”

“Line” is imported from the British Broadcasting Corporation and shown on cable’s Comedy Central. The improv show proved to be so popular with U.S. viewers that ABC and comedian Drew Carey developed a simultaneously running American version.

After Smit and Cochran obtained improv and acting experience with the Comedy Sports shows, the duo thought it would be exciting to start an on-campus improv group.

Smit held an improv workshop at Appalachian in 1999. Many students showed interest, he said.

Once the pair got a good group of comedians together, they started putting on shows. Eventually they did well enough to charge for shows, and groups on campus began to book them for entertainment.

Cochran came up with the group’s moniker. “He always wanted an improv group called Noun. There is really no symbolism to it besides that,” said Smit.

However, Cochran is no longer a member of the group since he transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and joined an on-campus troupe. Once in a while, he will come and participate in a Noun show, said Smit.

There are no real auditions for the group, he said.

“You just come to the rehearsals and practice with us for a few weeks, then you just write a letter of intent when you are ready to perform, stating that you are comfortable working with the other group members on stage,” said Smit.

“We don’t even require you to be funny. In fact, the less funny you are, the more funny it is to the audience,” Smit said.

The group is made up of five performers and one announcer.
The announcer, similiar to Drew Carey’s role ABC’s “Line” introduces the show and gets the audience involved.

Most current members of the group are theater majors, but it is not a requirement to join the group.

Noun presents an improv-type that is a short, one-scene skit that progresses through the audience’s suggestions, said Smit.
During an improv game, the announcer will ask the audience to yell out suggestions.

The comedians will draw the first things they hear into the skit. The more the audience is involved, the funnier the skit will be. “We try to stay away from ‘potty’ humor, but our show is definitely not a children’s show,” said Smit.

However, “we have a diverse group of comedic tastes since we each have different things that we are good at doing. Because of that, we appeal to a vast audience,” said Smit.

Noun was chosen as one of nine groups (from a pool of 50) to perform at an improv festival in Columbia, S.C., last April. “We tore it up,” said Smit.

“We’ve done about 10 to 15 shows so far, with mostly the same people. However, since there are a lot of new people interested in joining the group, I definitely see a future in Noun, lasting longer than I will be here,” said Smit.

The group is trying to schedule shows at Geno’s and will put on a show as part of the Appalachian Popular Programming Society program sometime in October.

The last show the group put on was in I.G. Greer Auditorium a few weeks ago, and they hope to book more shows soon. The intermission-free show lasts about 90 minutes.

“We try to stress unity and no one leads everything. It’s an accumulation of the group’s efforts and thoughts about improv,” said Smit.

Noun is sponsored by Playcrafters, which is part of the Department of Theatre and Dance. Playcrafters allows the group to hold its rehearsals and shows in I.G. Greer Auditorium and Chapell Wilson Hall.

Noun tries to practice at least once a week, and information about practice times and show times can usually be found in Chapell Wilson.