Overtime, NU’s premier improv sports group, brings competition to the campus comedy scene through audience participation.
Wanting to bring a niche and fresh twist to student comedy groups, Communication junior Ani Kabillio created the group during fall of 2023. Kabillio said she recognized the prominence of the NU comedy scene, and therefore was eager to take part. But after attending various comedy performances at NU, she said she realized something was missing: competition.
“I just thought that adding a competitive element to improv was something that the scene here was missing because I personally love when an audience can participate in the show that they’re doing,” Kabillio said.
Kabillio added that she was inspired in part by the discussions that took place in her freshman year theatre classes. The classes touched on “interactive theater,” “liveness” and what makes it necessary for a performance to take place in person as opposed to on a screen. Therefore, the club is referred to as a “sports group” not because it is athletics-related, but because it turns acting into a sport through competition.
“The beauty of liveness is that you really get to interact with your audience on stage,” Kabillo said.
Overtime, inspired by the work of ComedySportz Chicago, combines improv comedy with competition. Kabillio described Overtime as “the riff-off in ‘Pitch Perfect’ but with comedy.”
During an Overtime performance, two teams face off against each other, and the audience determines which team wins the round and gains a point. This ability to interact with the audience so closely is something Kabillio said she truly values about the experience.
“You’re always feeding off of their energy,” Kabillio said. “The audience should be able to vote for who they think was the most successful, and I think it just makes the whole thing a little more invigorating. It raises the stakes.”
Some Overtime members expressed that they get even more out of the group than comedy.
Weinberg freshman and Overtime performer Anjali Ajmani said Overtime is a safe environment to forget about the stress of academics during the week.
“It just kind of feels like you’re a big group of friends laughing together,” Ajmani said. “Every rehearsal, I always am like, ‘Wow I really needed that this week.’ It always is such a high point of my week.”
Ajmani added that she also enjoys the group because it allows her to learn from comedians and performers with more experience.
Communication junior and Overtime performer Celeste Shuman said she loves Overtime not only for its sense of community, but also for allowing her to become part of the school’s comedy legacy.
“You have a lot of comedy greats coming out of NU with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert and all these famous comedians now,” Shuman said. “It is cool to be a part of that sort of legacy.”
Overtime’s next performance is tentatively March 6 with another performance following in spring quarter.
Email: biancadishmon2028@u.northwestern.edu
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