Jamie Dekat, first year MBA student, and Annie Adams, junior health promotion major, practice their improv skills Sunday afternoon in Roosevelt Hall. Sunday’s rehearsal was the first of the year. Chris Franklin/The Bulletin

For the nine members of the Zoiks improvisational comedy group, this season is shaping up to present its own challenges and excitement.

Zoiks members met on Sunday to discuss plans for upcoming shows and new forms of advertising as well as putting in some rehearsal time. Their first official show will be at 8 p.m. on Sept. 14 in the Karl C. Bruder Theatre.

“Pumped, stoked… ecstatic,” said Alex Martin, junior fine arts major, when asked how he felt about the coming season.

But while members of the group are excited to begin a new season, there are also challenges facing Zoiks. Among these is the loss of several members.

“I think we lost five or six (members), and we lost really strong members,” said Luke Ball, senior print making major and artistic director for Zoiks. This is Ball’s sixth semester with the group.

Following the meeting, members rehearsed some of the acts they perform at shows, including “Oscar Winning Moments,” and “185,” both of which are on the set list for shows this season, Ball said.

Ball encourages students to get involved with Zoiks however they can, even if they do not get a chance to audition. He said that one of the main ways students can participate is by simply coming to shows and spreading the word to help bring more people in.

“The main thing is that we want people to come to our shows,” Ball said. “We want to fill the house because the more people there are in the audience, the more energetic the atmosphere is and the more people have a good time. That’s all we’re about.”

Zoiks is also planning to perform in the Chicago Improv Tournament again this year. The group travelled to Chicago, Ill. near the end of February last year to compete in the national round of the tournament.

According to Emporia State’s website, Zoiks has also performed with touring groups like Second City and the band Ha Ha Tonka.

Zoiks is currently looking to add to their nine-member ranks. Auditions will take place Sept. 16. The location is still to be determined.

Luke Bohannon

Send article as PDF to

Members of Zoiks! practice their improv Tuesday night in the King Hall lobby. Jon Coffey

For Kevin Dudzinski and Zoiks!, Emporia State’s improvisational comedy troupe, comedy is serious business.

“I love doing comedy. I’m moving up to Chicago to do improv. I have always wanted to, you know, be on Saturday Night Live and write sketches and things like that so comedy is just something I have always wanted to do,” Dudzinski said.

Dudzinski graduated from ESU last May with a degree in theater and is an alumni member of Zoiks. He and six other members of the group competed in the first round of the annual Chicago Improv. Tournament on Nov. 9.

The group won the regional tournament for the CIT held in Kansas City at Westport Coffee House. Zoiks! received the top score in the “breadbasket” region, which consisted of comedy groups from all around the Midwest. The regional win awarded them a spot to compete in the finals of the CIT in Chicago at the end of Feb.

The win also distinguishes Zoiks! as one of the top twelve improv. troupes in the nation.

The group practices on Sundays with optional practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Lucas Lehman, senior English major and the artistic director of Zoiks! this semester, said that this semester has been a productive one for the group.

“This semester has been great (for us). We have been doing a lot of cool things this semester, a lot of great shows and the CIT,” he said.

Jamie Dekat, senior finance major, has been a member of Zoiks! for two years and was one of the members who competed in the CIT. Dekat thought the group performed well at the contest.

“It definitely went well (but) it wasn’t our best… We always say, you know, “we could have done better,” but I think we always try to think of the positive stuff about it,” Dekat said.

Annie Adams, sophomore communication major and another Zoiks! member who performed at the CIT said that the group’s energy played a major factor in the win.

“We were the last to perform… we brought a lot of energy to it and I think that is why we scored such good points,” Adams said.

Dekat agreed with Adams and said that the energy the group performed with got them through the show.

“(We had) really, really good energy. The audience reacted well to us. I mean, you can kind of tell when an audience is down or something. You can kind of feel their energy. So, for us to go in at the hour and a half or two hour mark, the audience is pretty restless. We were able to keep them alert for another 30 minutes,” he said.

Zoiks! is performing a Christmas show on Dec. 8 at 10 p.m. in Bruder Theater. The group will perform sketches and some improvisational games.

Eric Hemphill

Send article as PDF to

This week, I’m feeling funny… Alright, maybe not so much, but I did decide a long while ago that I eventually wanted to feature ZOIKS! in this column.

Improvisational comedy has always mesmerized me. From an early age, I would stay awake after I was told to go to bed and watch episodes of “Who’s Line is it Anyway” in secret. It always fascinated me that these guys and gals had the talents to think so quickly on their feet, and the incredible talent to entertain, which is an extremely valuable skill to have.

So, four years ago, when I arrived on Emporia State’s campus to start my college career, I was amazed to find there was a group on campus similar to the show I had watched for so long. I’d never thought about the fact that guys like Colin Quinn and Wayne Brady had to start somewhere.

So, when I first attended ZOIKS!, I was taken back to those nights I’d spend in my room, keeping the volume down so my parents wouldn’t hear, and stifling laughter with a fist in my mouth at nearly every joke.

Since that point, I have always found ZOIKS! to be one of the most interesting and almost enigmatic groups on campus. I was, and still am, amazed that these people have the frame of mind and frame of reference to crack jokes to a crowd of college kids whose views and senses of humor vary about as widely as humanly possible. But somehow, they pull it off, night in and night out.

With that in mind I decided to try to get into the collective head and funny bone of some members of ZOIKS!. I attended a ZOIKS! rehearsal, and was quite figuratively blown away.

When I arrived at King Hall, at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, I found a few ZOIKS! members, met the ones I didn’t know, and sat in on discussion of different types of “long-form” improv that the group wanted to try. It took me about as long as I would last in a ring with Pacquiao to become confused. “Short-form,” “long-form,” “the gauntlet,” “freeze tag”… What the hell was going on?

Eventually, I think they kind of realized how lost I was, and attempted to explain some of the terminology to me. I was completely taken aback. Me, in my ignorance, figured they just got up on stage and made shit up. I had no idea that there were volumes upon volumes of books written about different improv techniques and theories. I had no idea that my improv idols, the guys from “Whose Line” practiced a type of imrov called “theatersports.”

All at once, my respect for improv actors and actresses everywhere shot through the roof, and particularly, my respect for ZOIKS! members increased tenfold.

So maybe I could never be an improv actor. Perhaps I’m not cut out for the “think on your feet” atmosphere, or the self-inflicted pressure of participating in a group like ZOIKS!, but I’ll tell you one thing: I just became a damn good audience member.

Send article as PDF to

Junior sociology major Joel Dixon and sophomore communication major Joel Austin perform Saturday evening with Zoiks! at Natasha’s in downtown Emporia. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin

Last Saturday, Zoiks! performed at Natasha’s for a crowd of about 40 people.

“It wasn’t one of our best shows,” said Luke Lehman, junior English major. “It’s hard to hear in a bar and hard to talk. We did a lot of long form which is tough on the audience and for us because there’s not a lot of breaks and you just having to keep building on the story.”

Overall, Lehman said the group likes performing at Natasha’s.

“I like just getting up in front of people and having fun,” said Joel Austin, sophomore communications major. “We have a really good group, which makes it fun to perform. Tonight we had a smaller audience, but it was more dedicated fans.”

The owner of Natasha’s, James Roberts, said Zoiks! is one of a variety of acts that he likes to bring to the bar.

“We try to host a wide variety of things so we so we don’t get the same things over and over,” Roberts said. “That way it’s different for everyone to see.”

As a fan of improv comedy because of its unpredictability, Roberts likes hosting Zoiks! in particular because most of the performers are fairly new to comedy.

“I like to watch no name comedians,” Roberts said. “They’re edgier because they’re trying to get a big name.”

As part of an act, Zoiks! performers pulled a member of the audience, Donley, on stage and incorporated her into their act. She said the experience was not an unfamiliar one.

“Being pulled up on stage was like a day in the life of being friends with a bunch of improv kids,” said Katie Donley, senior photography and sculpture major. “I go to every show, all the performers are my friends.”

While their most recent show was local, the group often travels to different cities around the state, mostly Kansas City, Salina and Wichita, and has performed in various venues.

“There’s a lot of places you wouldn’t expect that we go,” Lehman said. “One time we went to a country club. It was really awkward at first, but it was fun. I don’t think (the audience) knew a lot about improv comedy before we came but they were a really great crowd.”
    Though, Lehman prefers performing at ESU.

“I love the campus shows,” Lehman said. “Emporia students are just a fun audience because they are filthy college kids and there’s a lot you can say that will make them laugh.”

For those interested in improv comedy, Zoiks! will hold auditions in mid February. The auditions will take place over a couple days, one of which is a workshop to familiarize perspective performers with improv comedy and allow them to become acquainted with the group.

“The workshop is really helpful because it gets people warmed up for the audition and allows them to get comfortable with the other performers and really get prepared for the audition,” Lehman said.

Lehman said there are many qualities sought in an improv performer.

“Going out and having fun and being confident is huge, but not over confident,” Lehman said. “You have to be able to make the person you are working with look better by helping them out on stage.”

Send article as PDF to

Harrison George

Over the last four years, I have had some incredible experiences while at Emporia State University. I have met a lot of great people, attended some very enlightening classes on a wide range of topics and learned a great deal about who I am as a person. But the most important experiences I’ve had while in college have stemmed from my involvement in student groups and organizations.

I have been lucky enough not only to be deeply involved in various student groups, but to lead them as well. I am sure most of you have seen me on campus working a table in the union or running around trying to get an event ready. Most people seem to know me simply as “the recycling guy” or “the Zoiks! guy.” I have worked hard to bridge gaps between other groups on campus, making it easier for the different organizations to work together and share information.

These groups have become a facet of who I am and how I define myself. I am very proud of the work that I have done within them. I feel like I have really impacted my community here at ESU, and I like to think that I left things better off than when I arrived.

But like all good times, it must come to an end. I will be graduating this May and my work with the groups of ESU will have to cease.

Though I am proud of the work that I have done, the one regret I have is that I was not able to get more students involved in the activities. In a school of nearly 6,000 students, it always seemed wrong that I would see the same 50 or so students working in various groups around the campus. Even when other organizations like UAC put on their events, the attendance is not what I’d expect for a campus this size. It seems most students simply come to school, go to class, then turn around and go straight home.

So this is what I’m going to do – since this is my last semester here, I plan to officially pull out all the stops in my quest to get more of my fellow students involved in campus activities. I am issuing a challenge to everyone reading this to go and make this the semester you get involved. It doesn’t matter what group you pick – with over 130 groups on campus, there’s bound to be some group that peaks your interest. And if not, maybe there’s a group you would like to start. It’s easy – I started the Environmental Club when there wasn’t one for me to join.

The benefits of getting involved on campus are numerous: you meet new people, you get to work on issues and matters that interest you and you can gain valuable leadership experience that could come in handy later on in life. Once we leave school, do you think it will be this easy to get involved? It will probably take twice the time and effort to get this much accomplished in the real world.

So, like I said, it’s time to pull out all the stops. I am going to make a deal with everyone and anyone reading this: I promise that I will double my efforts to make progress on campus through the organizations I care about, if you take the first step to get involved in something you care about. Find a reason to get involved – something you are passionate about, something you think needs to change (in the world or just on campus) or something you are already good at. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you are getting up and doing something.

I want to make these last few months really matter so I can look back 20 years from now and know I did everything I could to get the most out of my college experience.

Send article as PDF to

After last Sunday’s rehearsal, four of the five women that are members of the ZOIKS! improv comedy troupe shared some insight into their lives as students and comediennes at Emporia State. This semester, ZOIKS! has more than doubled the number of women in the troupe, with women making up five of the 15 members.

Lindsay Roland, junior theater major in her second year of ZOIKS!, said that a lot more women auditioned this semester than in previous semesters.

“We try not to take people because of their gender — we take them because they’re funny,” Roland said. “And it just so happened that we had three hilarious girls who came in this year.”

Although there are fewer women than men in ZOIKS!, the women of ZOIKS! say the setting they work in is comfortable.

“All of the guys are really supportive… it’s really nice to work in that kind of environment,” Roland said.

Tricia Stogsdill, senior theater major and three year member of ZOIKS!, offered some advice to students, especially women, who are interested in joining the comedy troupe.

“You really can’t be funny as a girl if you’re afraid to be ugly onstage,” Stogsdill said. “And so many women are afraid to look bad onstage… so many girls are afraid to be ugly because it’s not cute and cool and everything and that’s the best advice that I have for anyone – try to look as ugly as possible all the time.”

Roland said that many of them often switch gender-roles during performances and portray men.

“We love to play men,” Roland said. “It’s kinda fun to bring a new twist on that stuff, ‘cause it’s always funny to see guys acting like girls and I think it’s funny to see girls acting like guys.”

The women of ZOIKS! said that, when it comes to sexuality onstage, things can get a bit awkward.

“My dad was in the audience once when I was playing a dildo salesman and that was pretty awkward,” Stogsdill said. “I tested the merchandise onstage.… (talking about sex is) not awkward for me, but I want it to be as awkward as possible for the audience.”

Originally, Roland said she auditioned for ZOIKS! because she thinks improv is an important skill for actors. Roland is one of several theater majors involved in ZOIKS!.

“I just ended up having a lot of fun with it,” Roland said. “I think it’s just something that will really help onstage. If someone ever freezes then I can help us get out of the situation.”

The women of ZOIKS! said that they draw inspiration from several comediennes, including Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Poehler and Charna Halpern.

“My hero (Madeline Kahn) died years ago, but she was in Mel Brooks movies and she is one of the funniest people I have ever seen on film,” Roland said. “I watch The Office regularly and I love Angela Kinsey’s work. She plays Angela Martin and I think she’s incredible… She improvises a lot of her stuff on the show and I just think it’s so amazing ‘cause you can never tell. Those are my two main influences in female comedy.”

Laura Dossett, freshman theater major, said she is especially inspired by Artemis Pebdani, who guest stars on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

“When I was 15, I was at a summer theater camp and (Pebdami) came down for a week and taught improv every night and then I did a show with her, so I was taught a lot by her,” Dossett said.

One of the newest faces in ZOIKS! is Caelee Gibbs, junior communication major and member of Alpha Sigma Alpha.

“(My sorority sisters) all think it’s terribly fascinating that I made it… now they’re like, ‘We’re coming to every show, even if you don’t perform, we really want to see just how these people go and do things,’ Gibbs said. “They’re a huge support system so that’s really nice.”

Gibbs, Dossett and Briana Julo, freshman theater major, are DOIKS!, or junior ZOIKS!, members who can later “graduate” as full-fledged ZOIKS! members.

“Our first semester is kind of our ‘getting our feet wet’ kind of thing,” Gibbs said. “They let us do off-campus performances and just little things like that, but we don’t actually get to go out there and perform for the big shows.”

ZOIKS! members said they are working more on long form improv, which they will use in their upcoming performance.

“Long-form improv is where it’s not so much a game so much as we make scenes, and they last longer than our regular games do… We get suggestions from the audience and we make scenes based on that,” Roland said.

ZOIKS! performs at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. next Saturday in the R.Q. Frederickson Theatre in Roosevelt Hall. Admission is free.

Send article as PDF to

ZOIKS!, Emporia State’s improv comedy troupe, held their annual auditions for new members Feb. 13. A group of about 25 people auditioned, establishing a record for the highest turn-out in the history of the group’s running.
“It was certainly the most talented turn-out of any group auditions we’ve ever had,” said Benjamin Howard, senior social sciences major. “Which is great, it means we had a great group of people to consider.”
In addition to a larger turnout, Howard said a number of changes were in place, which made the auditions unique. A major factor was last month’s appointment of Scott Swezey, junior theater arts major, to Artistic Director of ZOIKS!.
“Scott took over just at the beginning of January and these were the first auditions he hosted,” Howard said. “We usually have them the first week of school, but we decided to move them back to accommodate the director change and get more folks involved.”
Howard credits this change to an increase of awareness about the auditions.
“We had a workshop the night before which a lot of our auditioners attended,” he said. “It let them see what we expected and what we do.”
The workshop was held at Freisen Studio Thursday night, one day after the most recent performance of ZOIKS! Much of the workshop covered how to perform improv and offered information on what ZOIKS! would be looking for in auditions the following day.
“It also allowed them to work their nervousness out,” Howard said. “A lot of the funniest folks we’ve run into have come to one audition, they were really nervous and came back to the second and blew us away. The first time they just didn’t have enough confidence. In the general sense, it’s about how you carry yourself.

“It’s about committing to whatever you’re doing. Working on thinking on your feet and jumping into whatever you’re working on. Coming to the workshop let them work out those initial kinks. Even if it doesn’t work out, it still is worth trying.”
Announcements were also made through Facebook, where ZOIKS! has a fan group of about 200 people. Having the information may have also played a part in drawing out the more experienced theater members.
“We had a fair number of folks who had a considerable amount of theater or improv background,” Howard said. “Some of the quality had to do with more people knowing about the audition ahead of time. And some of it is luck of the draw, we just happened to have some really funny people.”
Consistent with the larger size of individuals auditioning, ZOIKS! will accept more members from the auditioning pool than usual.
“We’re looking for up to seven new members, but we’ll probably realistically only take four to six,” Swezey said.
According to Howard, the new members won’t regularly perform with the ZOIKS! cast members.
“New folks will not be ZOIKSTERS, they’ll be ZOIKS,” Howard said. “They’ll be like  apprentices, so they’ll come and play games with us at rehearsals, but generally someone new to the group will spend an entire semester as a ZOIK before they become a ZOIKSTER. The exceptions are the opening or closing game, which everybody plays.”
The larger group will also work on returning to the improv roots upon which the comedy troupe was built, according to Swezey.
“It’s important that we return to longer forum improv,” Swezey said. “And get away from the scripted scenes.”
Howard supports the change, noting that the rules of improv are important in professional settings as well.
“The biggest challenge in improv is that people are afraid to perform because they don’t want to embarrass themselves in front of their friends,” he said. “Improv is a great teaching tool to help people in all aspects. If you commit to an action to whatever you’re saying and you aren’t apologetic about it, your audience will go with you.

“Whether you’re giving a speech to a board of directors or improv at a comedy show, when you start being apologetic is when you really loose people. As long as they are committed, they are okay.”
To be a ZOIKS! member, individuals don’t necessarily have to have experience with improv or even theater.
“In the general sense, it’s about how you carry yourself,” Howard said. “It’s about committing to whatever you’re doing… working on thinking on your feet and jumping into whatever you’re working on. And having a positive attitude on whatever you’re doing helps tremendously.”
Howard also said that there are several non-performing positions available with the ZOIKS! crew. However, these positions are of a volunteer nature, and many of them are filled with ZOIKS! performers themselves.
“We’re looking for non-performing roles like house manager – people to help the group do functional stuff that has to happen so we can perform,” Howard said. “I don’t think a lot of people know that ZOIKS! has those positions available. Unfortunately, all officer positions are not paid.”
Individuals who didn’t make the cut or are interested in attending next year’s auditions should consider getting involved with ZOIKS! or attending future workshops.
“What we’re looking for more than anything else is enthusiasm,” Howard said. “At auditions, if they ever come to one, or workshops, just jump in and be ready to be a part of the scene. We look at how easily people can build a relationship on stage together.”
For Swezey, establishing those relationships is critical to the natural progression of improv.
“When a relationship plays out on stage, what happens becomes relatable,” he said. “What’s relatable is funny, so it’s important that we build those relationships.”
Auditions are held once each semester. Interested students are encouraged to contact any member of ZOIKS! for further information.

The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to