On Valentine’s Day, a group of students at Grinnell College took the stage to bring something special to the holiday — laughter. For one night only, Grinnell’s short-form improv troupe, Almost Always Improv, turned their usual spontaneous and comedic performances into a love-themed showcase.
For 28 years, Almost Always Improv (AAI) — previously known as Ritalin Test Squad — has been entertaining Grinnell using audience suggestions to shape short skits, making each of their performances different from the last.
“I think the whole thing is collaboration. Because one thing, especially with our team, is we all really like doing improv together, which makes it a whole lot more fun,” said AAI performer Evie Caperton `25.
“We really rely on audience participation, and if they can’t think of anything, that’s gonna affect the show,” said AAI performer Tanvi Bhujle `27. “But having the love theme was really nice. They all had ideas, so it was a lot of fun.”
With love as the theme, the troupe dove headfirst into cheeky Valentine’s scenarios, from Love is Blind Lines — a twist on their classic game Blind Lines — to “Minute Mass Proposal” instead of their usual “Minute Mass Murder” game.
Sasha Fine `27, who joined the troupe in her second semester at the College, said the holiday theme added fun to the show. “I think it was funny to poke fun at the tropes that accompany love and Valentine’s Day. We did some enemies-to-lovers jokes, and practicing for that show, there were some really funny skits about all sorts of different tropes and making fun of that.”
The humor didn’t stop there. The group explored a series of scenarios, from awkward encounters to unexpected romantic mishaps. “There’s just a lot of material — how awkward and funny a relationship can be at the beginning, or you’re on an awkward date,” said AAI performer Maddie Yu `25.
Caperton said, “Learn to trust yourself and trust your instincts and make really bold choices. That typically leads to bigger laughs.”
The Valentine’s show was a chance for the team to get specific. “We don’t usually have a singular theme that runs the whole show,” Bhujle said. “All of our games kind of centered around love or romance genres. It was a lot of fun to have one central theme and it made it easier to market the show to people.”
“We really stuck to the theme and we rode with it,” said AAI performer Peter Versh `25. “We had an actual couple play in one of our games, so that was a unique experience.”
As for future shows, Almost Always Improv isn’t slowing down. After their Valentine’s Day special, the troupe is gearing up to attend the first annual Uni-Toons Festival in Chicago, and later this semester, they’ll host their annual 24-hour improv fundraiser for Iowa Safe Schools.
Editor’s Note: Nora Kohnhorst, co-editor-in-chief of The S&B, is a member of Almost Always Improv. She was not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
