Without prepared lines or blocking, eight performers came on stage to perform a scene straight from the audience and their own imagination.

Up-Buc Improv performed their first improv of the school year on Sept. 23rd at the Culp Cave from 6-8 p.m.

Photo of the Up-Buc Improv Show announcement. (Contributed/upbucetsu Instagram)

Their theme was “Welcome Back Bucs.” The team wore their improv team shirts. Over 50 people attended.
The team consists of eight people: Lee Davis, Rose Harris, Charlie Landry, Ben Potter, Emily Russel, Maggie Sanders, Anthony Vaughn and Nat Vaughn. Nat Vaughn is the president. Charlie Landry is the vice president and social media manager.

Up-Buc’s president, Nat Vaughn, said that he believes the team will go far with what they are doing.

“We have an amazing team,” said Vaughn. “We have a bigger team than last year, so we have more room to experiment.”

As president, Vaughn tries to get the best out of his team.

“I encourage them to play to their strengths,” said Vaughn. “At practice, we look at both their strengths and weakness to see what can be improved.”

Up-Buc hopes to collaborate with other improv groups in the area including UT Knoxville and Wallace Theatre. They hope to have more off-campus events and collaborations. The biggest plans for the semester are to have a greater impact on the public. Their most significant project in the works is the Improv Summer Camp.

There will be more shows on Oct. 14, which will be a Homecoming/sports-themed show, a Halloween show on Nov. 4, a July in Christmas show on Dec. 2, the Storybook show on Jan. 27, a Valentine’s Day show on Feb. 17, a long-form show on March 9, an April Fool’s Day show on March 30 and the Uppies on April 27.

All the shows will be from 6-8 p.m. except for the Storybook show. The Storybook show will be 12-1 p.m. After every Wednesday of the show, there will be an open improv for the community, where people can enjoy a mini-lecture and play games.

Up-Buc Improv is the student-led improv group at ETSU. The improv shows are improv classes with lectures and methods formed from previous improv shows. The improv team practices every Monday and Wednesday of the week.
All Up-Buc shows are PG-13, with the exception of the Storybook show, which will be rated G. Up-Buc Improv shows are free and open to anyone. They encourage audience interaction.

“Just be involved in the scenes,” said Vaughn.

Follow Up-Buc on their Instagram page @upbucetsu and their TikTok page @upbucetsu.

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