Although members of Freudian Slip practice nine hours per week, their monthly shows remain unscripted and unpredictable.
The improvisational comedy troupe will perform on Friday at 7 p.m. in Rudder Forum. Tickets for “FSlip Goes Sicko Mode: A Valentine’s Show” cost $5 and can be purchased through MSC Box Office.
Freudian Slip was founded in 1992 and does five public shows per semester, with additional shows by request. The troupe is currently composed of nine permanent members and eight probationary members.
Freudian Slip Director and public health junior Amon Cox said their shows usually start with a gimmick opener that goes into short-form games and long-form improv. They occasionally take suggestions for scene ideas from audience members throughout the show.
“When you’re in the middle of a scene, and you can feel that everyone just clicked and got on the same page, there’s this weird feeling, this group mind that you tap into,” Cox said. “That feels incredible because you can do that scene for an unlimited amount of time.”
Freudian Slip also offers workshops to the public where they coach participants on the basics of improv, working with a group and speaking in front of an audience through exercises and scenes. The next workshop is Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Rudder Tower 502. Fees are $10 per person and include pizza.
“Since we realized that half of what we do is teaching people improv, that’s something we could market to maybe people who don’t want to join the club, but they want to get some sort of experience,” Cox said. “We actually have a lot of organizations that hire us to do workshops just to get everyone comfortable with each other.”
Additionally, the group plans to host an improv comedy show on Thursdays at 7 p.m. on KANM Student Radio.
Telecommunication media studies senior Jana Landers has been a member of Freudian Slip since her junior year. She said there are several skills learned through improv that can be used in professional situations, such as answering questions during interviews and solving problems on the fly.
“Improv is a really cool tool to have in everyday life,” Landers said. “Everyone would benefit from learning the basics of improv.”
According to Landers, the most difficult part about improv is the unpredictability of their scenes, along with audience participation and reaction.
“You have to have a lot of positive self-talk,” Landers said. “Every show’s really different. Really it’s within the first five minutes we kind of get a good idea of how the show’s going to go. When you’re so in the moment, you are that character in that moment, and once you come off, it’s like ‘I don’t remember half of the things I said.’”
Industrial distribution junior Jensen Klodnicki said he joined Freudian Slip because it was one of the only opportunities for a student to act at Texas A&M. Klodnicki said he enjoys improvisation because of the friendships he has built and the happiness he gets to bring to the community.
“I tried out on a whim,” Klodnicki said. “It was 6 o’clock on a Tuesday and I wasn’t doing anything else. It worked out and I really like it.”
Klodnicki is also involved in film and community theatre in Bryan. He said he wants to draw the people going to shows in Bryan into Freudian Slip shows, helping connect college students and families in the Bryan-College Station area.
“Being involved in [community theatre] myself, I feel kind of a tension between the campus and the student culture versus the community and the families that live here full-time,” Klodnicki said. “We just want to help bridge that gap.”