Once at MSU, a friend took him to a Residential Option in Arts and Letters, or ROIAL, improvisation troupe meeting and after the performance, he spotted an advertisement to audition for one of the group’s shows.

“I got a fairly large part. It was really big, the confidence they put in you. The group is very much there to nurture every single individual and keep them safe,” said Swartz, an arts and humanities and psychology junior.

The group was the place for students interested in theater prior to the current Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. When the residential college formed, ROIAL no longer had a purpose — theoretically.

“The community was so strong that they decided to carry it on,” Swartz said. “There was still a place for people who didn’t exactly fit in to the theater department who still wanted to act.”

ROIAL is student-run and Swartz is directing the group’s latest production “Arsenic and Old Lace,” a show about two elderly sisters with a dark secret and the antics which ensue when their nephew comes to visit them. The show will be at 9 p.m. today, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the basement theater of Snyder-Phillips halls.

“There’s a lot of subtle humor,” said Tim Smela, an arts and humanities freshman. “It’s not in your face humor you see a lot today. It’s a sophisticated humor I hope the audience will grab on to.”

Smela plays Jonathan Brewster, the main character’s brother who complicates the already twisted situation.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” is Smela’s first play with ROIAL. Ten of the 14 cast members are freshmen, including arts and humanities freshman Emily Nott, who plays one of Brewster’s aunts.

“It isn’t about creating the perfect masterpiece of theater,” Nott said. “It’s about coming together as a group and making the best show you can and connecting as a group and enjoying yourself. I thought I wouldn’t be able to find that in college.”

However, ROIAL goes beyond mere theater. In 2007, ROIAL’s improvisation troupe was formed. Commonly referred to as “improv,” it is a type of performance where scenes, characters and dialogue are all made up and usually is inspired by a prompt from the audience.

“We always mixed it with games and stuff, but it actually got its own place,” said Sean Walsh, the current director of ROIAL Improv and an
English senior.

Two weekends ago, the group competed in the College Improv Tournament in Chicago, its first regional competition, and although the team did not win, it was a valuable learning experience, Walsh said.

“For the people who have been around a while, learning together — as we haven’t had a coach in a while — it was a big step forward,” he said.

Many kids in the improv branch do theater as well.

“(Improv) makes you feel more comfortable as an actor, because, in improv, you need to make up a character right on the spot. You get a whole bunch of different and unique viewpoints,” Smela said. “And if you screw up on the stage, you can cover it up easier.”

“As long as you’re willing to learn and be open to the process, I think anybody can learn,” Walsh said.

ROIAL isn’t made of only theater majors and students who are Broadway bound. Most of its members are there to share their passion for performance and learn a thing or two in the process.

“I came in with almost zero knowledge. Improv? I’ve never done improv before I came here, and now I’m directing shows,” Swartz said. “Everyone is here to teach you, and that’s what it really is. It’s a learning, growing, teaching experience.”