Buchanan “Buck” and Clint Vrazel were doing improv long before they even knew what improv was. Playing silly games and making up songs with their friends, the twins had no idea that what they were doing would become a significant part of the Oklahoma performing arts scene.
“We were just messing around,” Buck said. “We didn’t know it was called improv or acting. That was the word we discovered later. We were just messing around, making up songs and making up games and that was just normal. We saw improv later and thought ‘Oh, this feels familiar.’”
The realization that improv was a viable performance art was the first step in the creation of OU Improv (Obviously Unrehearsed Improv), the Vrazels’ first Improv troupe.
“We went off to college to be engineers because everybody’s an engineer,” Buck said. “And I saw improv for the first time live. There was a student group doing it, and it was pretty magical. We tried out and got rejected, so then we just started doing it at a friend’s house. And before long, a weekend party turned into a regular thing. Then we found out that OU would give us space and money to be a group, so we applied, and that was sort of the beginning of history.”
O.U.I. is now the campus’s main improv comedy troupe. The group usually performs in the Oklahoma Memorial Union or library for audiences between 30 and 50 people. Saturdays are designated improv days for both rehearsals and shows.
Current cast member Norma Ruiz Cruz said she joined the group to keep in touch with her theater roots, but not everyone in the group is as seasoned a performer.
“When I’ve done improv in the past it was more of a professional acting environment,” Ruiz said. “Here, improv is more of an escape. Most of the people don’t actually have any acting training or any experience; it’s just for fun. And I’ve never actually done theater just for fun. I’ve enjoyed it, but it always had a more serious connotation. Improv here is much more relaxed.”
O.U.I. performs primarily on campus but has participated in Improv Fest Oklahoma in the past. Improv Fest is organized by Red Dirt Improv, another troupe of the Vrazels’ creation that is still active on the professional circuit.
The Vrazels’ involvement in improv doesn’t end in Norman. The two have been active in another group they co-created as well.
In 2009, the Vrazels and two friends created OKC Improv. Arguably the most accessible improv organization in the state, OKC improv offers regular shows and classes.
“Anybody can start with our level-one class,” said Sue Ellen Reiman, managing director of OKC Improv. “The people you see onstage have had professional training or come up through our program. We’ve had quite a few teachers and professors, more than one doctor and attorney, people in advertising and public relations, librarians. All kinds of people do improv.”
According to its website, OKC Improv typically does both a 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. show, each of which features two to four troupes. Each show lasts about 90 minutes. The 7:30 p.m. performance has been deemed the “family friendly” show, keeping content PG-13 and below, while in the 9:30 p.m. show, anything goes.
“A lot of people come for the comedy,” Buck said. “They come for the classes; they come to feel good onstage to get that boost, to live that dream of being a rock star for one night and to be in that band. But they stay because it’s this larger group. While some people might criticize that as being cult-like or touchy-feely, you need a family in this world and for some people that’s what improv is.”
According to Buck, improv is more than a performance art to many people in the community. Vrazel said improv helped him during struggles with depression and anxiety and made him a more professional person.
“Nobody snaps out of anything,” he said. “Like people won’t do one show and suddenly the world is open to them, and they’ll be fine talking to cute people. It’s never over. It’s like a horror movie. These challenges don’t ever resolve, but they do get better over time.”
What started as a hobby for a couple of college kids has become a thriving community of teachers, students and performers. Whether it be in the form of a traveling Oklahoma-based troupe, a college improv group or an organized institution of improvisation, the Vrazels’ creations have had a lasting impact on the artistic landscape of the state.
“I’m so happy that these things still exist and that they grow and change and that they continue to evolve because in many ways, they’ve gotten so much bigger and done so much more than I would’ve done if I’d stayed. So I think it’s important to turn over the baton to … the current leaders of the other groups. That’s the thing about improv. It’s never a one-man show; it was always a team.”
To learn more about the improv performances, including schedule and cost, visit the OKC Improv website.
