Student radio program offers taste of improv
When you think of improvisation, the first thing that may come to mind is “Saturday Night Live,” where actors perform in physical sketch comedy for a live television audience. You probably would’t think of improv radio, but Elon University’s only improvisation radio show, Elon Laugh Radio on WSOE 89.3, has taken to the airwaves.
Seniors Anna Weis and Sam Jones took on Elon Laugh Radio last year after their friends, who founded the show, graduated.
“[Elon alumni] Sean Liang, Matt Summers and Ben Morris did Second City, an improv training center in Chicago,” Weis explained. “They saw a need for more improv based clubs at Elon and decided to form Elon Laugh Radio.”
Jones added that inspiration came from a “real life” improv radio show called Improv For Humans, hosted by one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improvisation group that originated in New York. The founders of ELR knew they had ample resources at Elon through WSOE, so with their passion and improv experience, they created ELR in 2012.
Weis said she and Jones caught the eye of Liang when the two appeared on the show as guests.
“Every week, Elon Laugh Radio has a guest spot, and Sam and I were asked to be guests multiple times, since Sean noticed that we had a heavy interest in improv. When he graduated, he offered us a chance to take over the show.”
Taking over the reigns, Jones said, has been a great experience.
“What’s awesome is that Sean and the other founding members of Elon Laugh Radio can continue to listen to the show through our online live broadcast each week,” he said. “This is our second year doing the show on our own, and now that we are seniors, we’re looking to see who is going to take over for us.”
The future leaders of Elon Laugh Radio are unclear at the moment, but Weis said they have some ideas.
“It really has to be someone who is willing to take on such a big commitment every week and find guests,” Weis said. “You have to be really excited about it and have a passion for improv. I think if someone came up to us and [showed interest], that would be huge.”
Each week, Weis and Jones feature guests and take suggestions for topics via Elon Laugh Radio’s social media accounts.
“We try to get people with some improv experience, so they know what they are getting themselves into,” explained Weis.
Jones added they look for guests that are “excited, fun and good listeners.”
“It takes a lot to do improv but it takes even more to do it on the radio because you are dealing with the medium of sound and that is it,” he said. “If you are doing different characters, you have to do different voices. You have to give an exposition to the audience without starting every topic with, ‘Hey, Mom, we’re at the grocery store and I’m mad at you.’”
Weis said they look for suggestions that are fun and provide a lot of inspiration.
“We’ve done bits on the Rugrats and other old TV shows and fun, unique topics like ‘your mom’s spaghetti,’” she said. “It can be challenging at times, not being able to use the physical body to perform, and that is something that we’ve learned throughout our run on the show.”
Mack White, WSOE’s general manager, explained that Elon Laugh Radio is unique in that its members create the content as the show goes on.
“Creating unique content every week is definitely the most difficult aspect of working in radio,” he said. “It takes a lot of preparation to fill up one hour a week of original material that will keep the listener interested.”
Weis’ and Jones’ hard work and preparation for the show pay off each week, as they continuously draw in audiences through their original content and humor.
“Sam and Anna’s chemistry is extremely strong, so their ability to play off each other’s actions is hilarious,” White said.
Check out Sam Jones and Anna Weis on Elon Laugh Radio every Monday evening 6-7 p.m. on WSOE 89.3.