This fall marks the end of the first full year for Goshen College’s Improv Club. Adam Sherrill, sophomore broadcasting major, and Korbin Hershberger, sophomore music education major, founded it in the fall of 2025.

When starting the group, the two faced trouble gaining traction. Despite its status as a registered club, they mainly gained interest through word of mouth. 

Starting this fall, the club is in full swing with new posters and meeting times — now meeting in Connector 3 on Fridays from 6-7:30 p.m.

While the group has only met a few times this semester, Sherrill is already planning ahead to what this year could hold for Improv Club. He hopes to host improv competitions in front of a live audience and include more performance venues like Umble Center.

The group had their first public performance this year at Kick-Off where they demonstrated the fast-paced nature of improv playing the game “Change.”

Sherrill and Hershberger founded the club after learning that GC did not already have an improv group. “I was in my high school’s improv club and I had a lot of fun with it, and I kind of just wanted to do this in college,” Sherrill said.

When finding a faculty adviser, the club leaders turned to the accounting department. Greg Sommers, Improv Club faculty adviser, has an extensive background in performance improv leagues. 

He is currently involved with GoProv, a local adult improv troupe. Sommers had been hoping for a GC improv league already, but never found students to be a part of it. Sommers said he had been looking for an excuse to start up the club, so the leaders reaching out made him excited. 

Sommers explained his reverence for improv and what it means to him to be a faculty advisor. “It is a joy to be able to be there and be part of somebody finding their spark. You know, finding that thing that they can do,” Sommers said. 

For Sherrill, improv has been a gateway into other GC performance opportunities. Despite coming into college without much formal theater experience, Sherrill found himself immersed in the GC theater department. He started with onstage roles as a puppeteer in the fall production of “Hansel and Gretel” and servant in “Poor Clare.”

“I came into Goshen kind of not knowing what to do, but I accepted that, so that honestly made things better because I could just try new things,” Sherrill said. Now, in addition to his involvement in GC’s theater department, Sherrill can foster his peers’ love for performing through the art of improv.

Unlike Sherrill, Hershberger came into GC with many performances under his belt. From high school theater to choir, the stage has been a place for him to shine. Despite this, he continued to reiterate the importance of improv. 

“Improv — for fun and just in general — you have to use it no matter what. There’s kind of no escaping it because you can’t plan out everything in your life,” Hershberger said.

Hershberger then went on to say that the club has greatly improved his own improv skills. “When I first started … thinking on my feet was so hard,” Hershberger said.

“Improv is good because you’re working those muscles,” Sommers said. “I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but you practice improv and it’s all about making mental lists.”

He recalled club meetings throughout the past year where he watched students train their brain to speak off the cuff and find their spark through improv. “As you work on it, you can see them getting quicker. Their mind is sharper,” Sommers said.

When planning club meetings, the student leaders go in with a rough idea of what it may look like, often choosing a theme or games they hope to play that day. “Much in line with the club, it’s very improvised,” Sherrill said.

Improv, by nature, is unpredictable. When the group gets into the swing of their games, “It can get out of hand pretty quickly, that’s why we have Greg to keep us in line,” Sherrill said.

The club balances educational and recreational activities. The group learns about the fundamentals of improv and can then demonstrate their skills through individual and group performances.

While Improv Club allows for members to hang out with friends and decompress, it also serves as practice for on-the-fly elocution and articulation. “You get to play a fun game, make fun of yourself, make fun of others … you also learn improvisation and public speaking, which are very useful things in real life,” Sherrill said.

The club also strives to be a safe place for students. Hershberger said that he hopes it is a safe space for queer and other marginalized students. He noted that the club’s community has grown to include more women since last year. “I’m glad that we’re kind of destigmatizing it as something only a man can do,” Hershberger said.

In line with the club’s caring community, new students shouldn’t feel pressured to perform when attending Improv Club. Hershberger said, “You can just sit out and just enjoy other people because we’re there to make people laugh.”

In a sentence, Sommers summed up the sentiment of improv leagues. “We’re gonna have fun on the stage and the audience is here and they’re coming along for the ride,” Sommers said. 

GC’s Improv Club hopes to be an escape from the stress of normal student life; the sense of community and life-skills are just an added bonus. As Sommers  describes the club, “It’s not exactly a cult, but it is a way of thinking, and that’s the key.”