Have you ever stood in a crowd and felt like you didn’t know what to say, or even how you fit in? The Pelicants, the student improvisational group, have taken those fears, and turned them into laughter!  The Pelicants are a group of students who meet weekly at the Pelham Picture House to take classes in improv and sketch comedy. On the first Saturday of every month, they take the stage and delight audience members with ad-libbed performances where they get up on stage, with no pre-written words to say or even specific characters, and create a scene from scratch.

The Pelicants help students develop skills in order to come up with ideas on the spot. Freshman Andrew Kelly, who has been a member of the group for three years, said, “Performing without a script is fun, but it’s also stressful. I have a lot of practice with it, so I actually find it easier than taking a script and than memorizing it, but it takes a lot of practice and a good team to be any good.”

The classes Kelly took prior to the improv class at the Picture House are what inspired him to continue pursuing this talent.

He said, “I did it because I had been doing improv at camps for years, and I thought it would be fun.”

However, no experience is necessary to join and participate in the group. Sophomore Katie D’Angelo, another member of the Pelicants, has similar positive experiences.

“Doing a show in front of others is pretty exciting. We get to do our own thing for an hour and people really seem to like it,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of new friends out of it and feel more confident when public speaking.”

Doing extracurricular activities such as improv are a great way to meet new people and go out of your comfort zone. Whether it’s developing public speaking skills, participating in a new and fun activity, or making new friends, the Pelicants are the way to go!