“LOL” is more than a text message acronym at Saint Louis University.
The League of Laughter, or LOL, is SLU’s first student comedy group. LOL was founded in 2007 by alumnus Kevin Dwyer and medical school student Astha Mor, with the help of alumni Chris Lyons and Matt Albers. The league started out as a small group— most of whom did not have any real theater or comedy experience.
“Mostly, they just wanted to have some fun and act like the goofballs you see on ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’” Jason Swierk, senior and LOL president, said.
The group has since grown to a membership of about 30 people, with 15 to 20 members showing up to every meeting. Raphael Knaub, one of the regular actors, found out about the group through his floor during his freshman year.
“I always enjoyed putting a smile on people’s faces and was always curious about improv, so I showed up one day,” Knaub said. “They told me to pick a superhero to join the league. As a Frenchman, it was only natural to pick ‘Napoleon.’”
Originally, every member of the league had a superhero name, but this trend has since died out. The names ranged from comic book heroes to self-created characters. Swierk’s superhero name is “MorMan,” which Swierk said that he chose simply because he found it funny.
The comedy troupe became a Chartered Student Organization (CSO) at the end of the 2010 school year. The group meets up every Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Xavier Hall’s Black Box Theater, and puts on an hour-long show on either the first or last Friday of the month.
“We’re always open to having new people join, and our shows are always free,” Swierk said.
Both participants and spectators are encouraged to show up to any of the meetings, and anyone is welcome to join in at any time. This openness is Knaub’s favorite aspect of the LOL.
“Everyone is given an opportunity to perform, but there’s never any pressure from the crowd of peers,” Knaub said.
The club maintains an atmosphere that encourages learning through participation, and hopes that everyone that shows up will try acting at least once. They even offer their time for fledgling comedians to try out jokes and get feedback from their peers.
Knaub warns that LOL might not be for everyone, because “a significant part of the comedy is rated ‘R.’” However, Knaub argues that the content of LOL’s comedy shouldn’t be an issue, given that the group is a college organization for college students. He also praised the league’s diversity, saying, “All performers in LOL are funny in their own way.”
True to improvisational form, the vast majority of LOL’s act is unrehearsed and generated on the spot. And, very much like their inspiration, “Whose Line is it Anyway?” their shows generally consist of a medley of games, for which most scenes are directly initiated by the audience.
When asked for his favorite joke, Swierk said, “We don’t really have any kind of jokes that we keep around.” Similarly, Knaub had only one joke he deemed clean and strong enough to present: “Two guys walk into a bar, a third one ducks.”
LOL’s next performance is on Friday, March 2, at 6 p.m. in Xavier Hall’s Black Box Theater.
