In the Beginning, there was The Troupe!

...and the rest is History. Or Herstory, if you like, because the Troupe was created by Sue Stephens and some folks from an acting class who had a lot of fun and didn't want it to stop. We've been around since 1990 and are still highly recognizable on campus and in the Keweenaw community (even in the blizzards) because of our bright, energetic personalities and those sweet, e x t r a - f u n k y purple jackets we wear.

The Troupe performs
improvisational comedy and children's theatre,
focusing on sharing humor and creativity (and cRaZiNeSs) with our audiences. We've performed our annual Campus Show in Walker Theater each spring for the last five years, and have been on stage at other locations, including the venerable C a l u m e t T h e a t e r!

We construct highly complex (and wacky) scenes for our shows, play improvisation games, perform running skits ( both literally and figuratively) , and explore extreme (and graceful) variations of movement, dance, and mask work, as well as aspects of lights and sounds. All this without chemical enhancement!

We also put on a Children's Show each year, which we take on tour through Wisconsin, and perform many "issue" pieces which deal with the problems faced by children every day: drug addiction, peer rejection, and parental abuse. In 1994, the Troupe performed in a short film sponsored by Michigan Tech's Department of Public Safety and Counseling Services about date-rape. This film is shown once a quarter during the Film Board's weekend movie nights.

One of the Troupe's historical highlights was our invitation to perform excerpts of our 1994 Campus Show at the


American College Theatre Festival (ACTF)
at the University of Wisconisn--Green Bay. It was the first time, perhaps, that such a scientific and technically-oriented improv ensemble was let out on the unsuspecting world without snow. For those of you who missed that magnificent and brilliant time in the spotlight, well, we can only say one thing: NEENER, NEENER!, NEENER!

In addition to our yearly shows, we also do special performances including:

• The Renaissance Madrigal Dinner
  (featuring the Troupe perfoming Commedia del Arte)
• The Disney Show
  (a joint Troupe-MTU Wind Symphony production)
• Family Appreciation Week at the Copper Country Mall
• BridgeFest "Under the Arts Tent"
• Copper Country Arts Council Telethon
• The Michigan Tech Student Foundation "Red Carpet Day"

We are also available for hire for schools, University departments, other organizations, state and federal government officials, and anyone who currently possesses or has ever owned a ChiaPet. For more information:


call Sue Stephens' office at (906) 487-2067
or the MTU Fine Arts Office at (906) 487-3282. Sorry, we're no longer taking calls from "Gretla."
You can recognize us by the purple jackets, the extra-extra-BIG baggy pastel pants, and the colorful short-sleeve T-shirts with "The Troupe" emblazoned upon them. We also practice during bi-weekly "PlayTimes" in the Walker Theater.

...So you can feel most obligated to attend our shows.
E v e r y S i n g l e O n e .
Twice.

Break a leg, splint it, set it, keep on Troupin'!