Serving up laughter for charity
The Woodlands High School Improv Troupe will perform fundraiser for Rett Syndrome
The hit 1990s comedy television series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” has inspired the next generation of staged improv in The Woodlands.
But rather than comedy for comedy’s sake, students at The Woodlands High School Improv Troupe are using the healing power of laughter to raise funds for charity.
The troupe, which comprises 12 students, will take to the stage for the second time this fall and perform a variety of family-friendly skits at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the senior campus auditorium.
“People always say laughter heals, it really does,” said Omar Saber, a senior at The Woodlands High School and first-time member of the troupe. “The fact that we’re able to give people an experience that they’ll never forget and help a cause, that’s really phenomenal. That’s hands down the best aspect of being part of the troupe. Every month, you’re making a difference in someone’s life.”
Once a month during the school year, the improv performs for a different cause or charity. The funds raised during the October per-
formance will go to the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, which will help fund research for a cure to the genetic mutations that causes a postnatal neurodevelopmental disorder — Rett Syndrome — that disproportionately affects girls.
The disorder, which starts to manifest itself between a few months and age 3, can cause children to develop breathing problems, lose motor skills and be slow to develop communication skills. Some children with the disorder are unable to lift their arms, sit up, walk or even control their hands.
“We just want to raise as much as we can. If we can raise $3,000, $2,000, if we can raise $1, that’s kind of our mind-set. As many people as we can get in there and as much as we can raise, that’s what we want to do,” said The Woodlands High School theater teacher Matthew Peters, who oversees the improv troupe. “We know people who have been affected by that, so it’s a big thing to be able to shine a light on that.”
A longtime high school alumni reached out to Peters, telling him that her niece who attends school in The Woodlands was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome. She hoped they would consider fundraising for a cure to help girls, like her niece. With research from institutions like the Rett Syndrome Research Trust that has suggested animal models show “dramatic reversibility” of symptoms, the improve troupe decided that they wanted to help researchers take the next step toward a cure for humans.
So the Highlander troupe will set out to impress the audience with its witty, improvised humor with familiar games like “scenes from a hat,” “news anchors” and more than that invite the audience to name a suggestion to kick off the game, sit back and enjoy the show. Funds are raised through ticket and merchandise sales, concessions and donations.
The troupe has been fundraising for charity for about four years. Last year alone, the troupe raised a total of $22,167 for charities and individuals, including Doctors without Borders, Hilarity for Charity and 17-year-old Brooklyn Brumfield, a Woodlands girl who suffered with a rare genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
The disorder affects connective tissue like joints, skin and blood vessel walls. Gravity would slip Brumfield’s joints out of socket, and she became wheelchair-bound. Along with funds raised by other student-run benefit shows and area charities, her family was able to pursue potentially life-changing treatment that would have been financially out of reach.
“Hearing that story, that right there is proof as to what we’re doing in our troupe. That’s why we’re here. We’re here to help raise money. We’re here to help raise people, and all the while, we can make some people laugh,” Peters said.
Many students in the troupe had never heard of Rett or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, but being a part of the troupe has helped expand their horizons and instill a sense of gratitude.
“Getting to learn about all the things that people in our area struggle with — in The Woodlands here, we often think that we are more special than everybody else — but getting to meet all these amazing people who are so strong I think that it lets me know as a person that our community is amazing and still needs help,” said Chance Bryant, a junior and president of the troupe.
Above all, the improv troupe has given these students the ability to do what they love best: bring joy to people’s lives. By opening people’s hearts with humor, they’re able to spread that joy to those in need.
“The greatest part is you get up there and bring joy to others. That honestly makes me so happy; I know I’m making someone’s day,” Saber said. “And who doesn’t like to be funny?” nora.olabi@chron.com twitter.com/nolabihc