The Improv Club at Carlsbad High School has always been known as a casual and fun environment. Seniors Cameron Penn and Ethan Beretz, the new co-presidents, plan to take the club to the next level.

Being thoroughly involved in the drama program for the past three years, Beretz and Penn are more than experienced to run the improv club. Through consistent promotion, the improv club has gained a bigger following compared to previous years.

“We’ve been involved [in the drama program] since freshman year, but this is our first year as co-presidents,” Bertez said. “We’ve been doing improv longer than anyone else at this school.”

The breakdown of a typical club meeting, taking place every Wednesday at lunch in the drama room, usually starts with an improv game, followed by critiques and constructive comments to help improve people’s abilities.

“We start with a simple group game so everyone can break the ice, then after the game we give commentary on what they could fix,” Beretz said. “Then we move on to more elaborate group games.”

The club consists of students who are passionate about acting– specifically improv, and Beretz and Penn want to provide those who share this passion with an efficient and enjoyable place to practice their art.

“It’s driven by the people there, we have a lot more people going this year, and we have a lot of talented freshman,” Bertez said. “We want to make it more of a workshop, rather than just a place to play games. So you can come in and work on your skills.”

Not only do the co-presidents want to change the format of the club, they also plan to expand the club into the community.

“We are going to contact other schools to do competitions,” Penn said. “We are also working on creating regular comedic sketches that we film and submit to CHSTV.”

The years prior did not require much effort for captains, but with Penn and Beretz in control, they plan to up the ante. Determined to make this the best year so far for improv club, they have committed to put in more time and make their club one to beat.

“We’re making it a regular thing,” Penn said. “Ethan and I have been filming skits, we’ve been doing giveaways in the club, getting the word out. So we’re making it a big responsibility, and we’re going to make sure that the people that replace us will do the same.”