By Dannicka McGrath, Photo Editor
Do you like going to Sloppy Joes shows? Have you ever wondered if you could see some of the Sloppy alumni perform again?
Good news. You can. Sloppy alumni Austin Schwartz, a 2023 Newman graduate; Brenden Schwartz, a 2022 Newman graduate; and Brittany Opfar, a 2015 Newman graduate; are a part of a local professional improv team in Wichita called Say What?!
Say What?! is the longest-running professional improv troupe in Wichita. The team was founded in 2000 by Dan Gray and Andrew Bennett.
“They got together 25 years ago in the year 2000 and put together this improv troupe that has continued ever since and of course just circulated through different members,” Austin Schwartz said.
The team is made up of 14 members. Anthony Valdez, Brittany Opfar and Jordan Geer have been with the team for eight years. Brenden Schwartz and Chop Reynolds have been with the team for three years. Abby Wray, Austin Schwartz, Izzy Lynn, Madi Laughlin, Mirta Naomi, Nick Pope and Santana Morales joined the team last November.
The team rehearses weekly to prepare for their monthly shows. Their regular shows are on the third Saturday of every month, and the troupe also does private gigs.
“My time with the Sloppy Joes helped me gain a grip of improv,” Austin said, “how it works and its ins and outs.”
Being a part of the Sloppy Joes gave Austin Schwartz a unique insight into what improv was, he said, and that has benefited him during his Say What?! experience.
“Going into Say What?!, it has been very beneficial, mainly in the understanding of what and how the art form itself works,” he said. “Some of the members of Say What?! have not been as exposed to improv as others. They have seemed to coin me as the improv guru or the poster-boy, the guy that understands it conceptually and knows its ins and outs.”
Austin Schwarz said he has developed such an understanding of and love for improv that after he graduated from Newman and was no longer a member of the Sloppy Joes improv troupe, he “itched” to continue his experience and was called back to the improv stage.
““Improv is applying that natural creativity on the fly and the ability to adapt and create any given situation at the time,” Austin Schwartz said “I found that passion here at Newman, so when the opportunity came, I knew that I needed improv back in my life. There’s points where I would just itch to be in a scene, to create something, and I just think there’s something magical about that art form that has called to me and continued to call to me.”
The next Say What?! show is at 7 p.m. April 26 at Vorshay’s Cocktail Lounge, 417 E. Douglas.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Austin Schwartz
