Rich Kids is a Biola student-run club that performs improv comedy on campus, filling Mayer’s Auditorium with students multiple times every semester. Although the comedy group has performed for many years, the newest members offer a sense of community and meaningful comedy. Here is what current members have to say about leading and participating in the current group and what makes it so special.
COMMUNITY IN COMEDY
The group is made up of nine members, ranging in class from freshman to senior, and featuring everything from business majors to cinema and media arts majors. Although the group is diverse in their backgrounds and experience, they maintain a sense of backstage community that strengthens their stage presence.
“We really just take in whoever we feel like would gel with the team best and has a potential for improv,” said senior theatre major Brynn Nieuwenhuis. “A lot of it…[is finding out if we] have fun together and do our senses of humor mesh well together.”
Freshman cinema and media arts major Nick Bash explained that they often eat meals together after shows, rehearse together before shows and maintain friendships outside of the context of the group. With no script, the group has to trust each other to perform well—and acknowledge each other’s strengths.
“There’s this thing called gift giving in improv which is [when] you know a person and you know their strengths, and you set them up for a joke,” Nieuwenhuis stated. “They can make the joke and then they can use their strengths. It’s really cool.”
This ability to know each other and stretch each other in their strengths helps their performances, which are lively and leave audiences refreshed and recharged.
REFRESHING HUMOR
Many members joined the group for individual benefits. While some members join to help with connection and inspiration for scriptwriting, like junior cinema and media arts major Olivia Tafolla, others are there because the act of performing comedy refreshes them and audiences.
“I think there’s a way to do comedy really meaningfully,” Bash said. “We aspire to [in] the rich kids, which can be very life giving a very recharging for people who watch it.”
The audition process also ensures that the community aspect remains strong for new members, although the group is in constant flux, making sure that the community members have a sense of humor that meshes well with the group. Each member has a unique story of joining and auditioning that is humorous in its own way. While Tafolla did an impression of Pinocchio from “Shrek,” Nieuwenhuis joined because her friend had a crush on one of the current members her freshman year, and never left. She is now a senior, playing a huge part in leading the group.
FUTURE PERFORMANCES
The group’s performances are free, often held in Mayer’s Auditorium. See them on April 1, April 14, April 18, and April 21 before the semester ends.
