Vivian Reeves

04/08/2016
OutRighteous: Improvisation and its Role in a Jesuit Education

Without hesitation, the silhouette in the front row bellows, Jamaican! The director
takes his suggestion and turns towards me, followed by twenty-two pairs of expectant eyes, and
declares, Yes, a Jamaican accent! Just what my vision was missing. From now on, you are
Jamaican. The audience laughs. Its no wonder as to why; my white, Eastern European features
directly contradict the stereotypical cadence of the words that next leave my lips, which I
inexpertly mimic from the Dominos reggae-themed, online delivery tracker.
When attending a performance presented by OutRegis, Regis Universitys improvisation
club, students tend to give little consideration as to the clubs role in a Jesuit education beyond a
method of comedic relief and artistic self-expression. Angel Oaxaca, a current junior at Regis
University and non-member of OutRegis, describes it as such: OutRegis is the kind of thing
youd do if you were really into theater in high school, or if you wanted to try theater out. I think
its really important to have programs like that at Regis for people who are interested in that kind
of thing, but I dont think it affects the rest of the school that much. Interestingly enough,
though Oaxaca shared the common opinion that OutRegis is exclusively for the acting-inclined,
when asked about the skills one learns through regular improvisation he stated that, you learn a
lot of skills you could use later in life, like how to react to unexpected situations stuff that
would probably be really helpful to do like before job interviews to practice, or during them.

He went on to say that the Regis University Student Government Association was the
most popular club on campus, but he now struggled listing skills learned through participation in
RUSGA that he believed rivaled the situational preparedness and social aptitude gained from
improvisation. Yet Oaxacas initial perceptions are not that dissimilar from the clubs own
members today, such as Mekaela Flageolle, a recently-joined freshman, who suggested that,
people join because they like to be funny. They want to make friends and OutRegis is a great
place to do that I think they think were a bunch of hilarious people that make them laugh. In
regards to OutRegis core values, Flageolle speculates, I think they are be who you are and
thats your best self. Its also a safe place to come and have a great time while also learning to
be funny.
Such commentary reflected the communitys understanding of Regis improvisational
club as a sort of sanctuary for those specifically interested in improvisational acting. Still, when
prompted, individuals acknowledged the important life skills to be gained from such practice, as
reiterated by Flageolle who says, it teaches us how to work in a team, it helps one with people
skills [it] teaches us how to better improvise situations [and it] will help you get over your
fear of public speaking. Despite the host of various skills recognized by both members and nonmembers of OutRegis today remaining constant, founding members had different, more socially
active intentions with starting the club, including the comedy sketch-writing chapter of OutRegis
called OutWriteous.
In an interview with Jennie Babcock, one such founding member, Babcock claims that
upon starting in 2009 the club met and talked about social issues on campus that they would
then incorporate in sketch in order to spread awareness of issues. She recounts her first
performance as being Guerilla Theater; it involved members dressing in orange jumpsuits

covered in duct tape, chains, and various offensive names that members had heard being used on
campus, then striding through the quad whilst improvising their characters. It is doubtful that
Babcock, or any of her fellow founding members, recognized the historical relevance behind the
birth of OutRegis/OutWriteous at Regis University.
One needs not read far into the history of Western education to realize that the
organization in its founding represents one of the central, defining ideologies of a Jesuit
education. In fact, according to Father John OMalley, it represents at least two of what he calls
the four cultures of the history of the West: the academic/professional culture (the second) and
the humanistic culture (the third). In regards to the academic/professional culture, OMalley
suggests that it, is the analytical, questing and questioning, restless and relentless style that is
never satisfied, that is critical of every wisdom, that is insatiably eager to ask the further
question, and that is ever ready to propose yet another perspective (Introduction, 11). The
questioning of established social issues described by Babcock embodies OMalleys culture of
tireless inquisition by causing the community to think twice before accepting the corrupt,
foundational errors in our thinking.
The fact that this questioning happens through the performing arts supports the notion
that OutRegis promotes OMalleys humanistic culture, one which is, steeped in poetry, drama,
history, and rhetoric (oratory) (Introduction, 14). He goes on to say, eloquence was, then, a
deep-seated value in this culture. But it was so because it was geared to the common good
(Introduction, 18). Although OutWriteous in and of itself teaches eloquence through performing
comedy sketches, gearing such performances to the common good is what gives the club a
humanistic quality.

OMalley continues to explore this culture whilst recalling the history of Jesuit
involvement in education. He asserts, [Jesuits] esteemed in the humanist system (How the First
Jesuits Became Involved in Education, 68), that is, the potential of poetry, oratory, and drama to
elicit and foster noble sentiments and ideals, especially in younger boys; they believed in its
potential to foster pietas--- that is, good character (How the First Jesuits Became Involved in
Education, 68). Thus, were the first Jesuits to have been asked the same questions as Oaxaca and
Flageolle regarding the hierarchy of club importance at Regis University, they would have surely
ranked OutRegis, as described by Babcock, at the top of the list.
However the clubs importance extends even beyond its role in Jesuit education to being
beneficial for all sorts of students--- including medical school students. According to research led
by assistant professor of medicine Dr. Robert Shochet, an improvisational workshop geared
towards enhancing medical student communication skills has the potential to impart valuable
skills that are essential to providing empathic, supportive patient-centered care (R Sochet, J
King, Re Levine et al, 120). The results of such a workshop were the reflective commentary of
medical students in the form of an anonymous online survey which revealed that over 80% of
students believed the concepts taught in the improvisational class, were either very much or
tremendously relevant to the care of patients (R Sochet, J King, Re Levine et al, 122).
Fellow researcher Dr. Paul Haidet of Penn State suggests that, effective clinicians who
are committed to relationship-centered practice depart from overarching principles of biomedical
inquiry when necessary to respond spontaneously and without script to the particular
circumstances of each encounter (R Sochet, J King, Re Levine et al, 120). In this case,
incorporating improvisation into the education of medical students succeeds in perpetuating

goodness by increasing physicians abilities to communicate effectively and empathetically with

their patients, perpetuating Jesuit ideals on a broader, more universal level.
While OutRegis plays an integral role in nurturing a communal awareness of
questionable injustices that is characteristically valued by the Jesuit education, it also benefits the
students on an individual basis by contributing to the formation of well-rounded characters.
Although the organizations position within the Regis University community is underrated by
much of todays student body, its potential is unfaltering, and its continued existence assures that
the students of Regis will have a venue through which to express their concerns over societys
shortcomings in an ever-noble effort to use the performing arts for the pursuit of a greater good.

Works Cited:

Angel Oaxaca on OutRegis Impressions. Personal interview. 04 Apr. 2016.

Mekaela Flageolle on OutRegis Reputation. Personal interview. 04 Apr. 2016.
"Jennie Babcock on OutRegis Founding." Personal interview. 21 Mar. 2016.
O'Malley, John W. Four Cultures of the West. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP,

2004. Print.
O'Malley, John W., S.J. "How the First Jesuits Became Involved in Education." The
Jesuit Ratio Studiorum: 400th Anniversary Perspectives. By Vincent J. Duminuco. New

York: Fordham UP, 2000. 56-74. Print.

Shochet, Robert, et al. Thinking on My Feet: An Improvisation Course To Enhance
Students Confidence And Responsiveness In The Medical Interview. Education For
Primary Care: An Official Publication Of The Association Of Course Organizers,
National Association Of GP Tutors, World Organization Of Family Doctors 24.2 (2013):
119-124. MEDLINE.