Improv club Zamboni Revolution looks to create tight-knit group of performers

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Though it may not be a sports team, Zamboni Revolution is going through its own version of a rebuilding year, Charlie Hane said. After six members graduated in 2022, Hane said the improv group’s main focus this semester is to find more people to join its revolution.

“We’ve gone through a change where we lost a lot of people — in terms of graduating, not dying or anything,” member Mary Shalaby joked.

Zamboni Revolution is a long-form improv club at Syracuse University that has been around for over ten years. In past years, the members met twice a week to practice and put on several shows every semester. But this year, its membership was cut in half to just six members.

The club’s main focuses this year are to build up its numbers and create a tight-knit and welcoming community, Shalaby said. She said that everyone in the group is supportive and involved in each other’s lives outside of practice.

“I feel like most clubs on campus try and make it their goal to be really, really big, but I’ve enjoyed having a more intimate group of people,” Shalaby said.

Shalaby said some of her favorite memories with the group happened at its “Zamboni Thursdays,” which are nights where they hang out at one of the senior member’s houses after practice. Freshman member Ronan Mansfield said those nights make the group feel more connected.

To fill in the gaps in its team, Zamboni Revolution tabled at the club fair and tried to convince passersby to check out the group. Mansfield joined after seeing the table, and said he’s loved his experience being part of the group.

The group has no barriers to entry, and anyone is welcome to join, regardless of their prior experience, Shalaby said. She and several other members have experience with stand-up comedy, but that isn’t a prerequisite for membership.

Hane said that practices are much more important to the group than official performances because the group loves honing its craft. He said that the members thoroughly enjoy what they do.

“In my mind, those shows are kind of like just the cherry on top,” Hane said. “Bending that muscle and training yourself is really where the priorities lie for us.”

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Though the group’s shows aren’t its main focus, Shalaby said the shows usually get a decent turnout, and allow the group to share what they love with a larger audience.

For new members like Mansfield, the shows are both exciting and nerve-wracking. He said it is a very different experience performing in practice versus in front of an audience of 50-plus people.

Hane, a VPA film student, joined the group when he was a sophomore, and said that joining the club was one of the best decisions he has made at Syracuse. He had no experience with improv before joining Zamboni, but it appealed to him because the club helped him have a space to create.

During his sophomore year, Hane felt that he was learning theory rather than pursuing his own creative ideas. Zamboni gave him an outlet to “get those juices flowing.”

Hane said that improv is a lot more casual and fun than people give it credit for. He described it as “comedy that rolls off the tongue” and said that it is less formal than it may appear.

“Improv seems like it would be so nerve wracking, but if you’ve ever sat on the couch with your friends and had a little bit going, it’s just like that but extended,” Hane said.

Being in a group run wholly by the student body helps to create a comfortable environment, Hane said. He added that it’s important to be familiar with the people who you are doing scenes with.

Despite the fact that the group’s numbers have diminished, the ripple effect that improv has on the other aspects of the members’ lives continues to make them much happier, Hane said. “Thinking in improv” and adding humor to daily life has a tremendous influence, he said..

“If you’ve ever been funny and you’ve ever told a story and really gotten into it, you can do this,” Hane said.