Members of 8th Floor Improv during their travel show to University of Missouri. Credit: Courtesy of Brendan McDermott

Not only does April bring upperclassmen one step closer to graduation, but it’s also a time for seniors to say goodbye to organizations they hold close. 8th Floor Improv Comedy Group, however, is making an event of it.

8th Floor Improv is preparing for its annual Senior Sendoff Show to bid farewell to the club’s four graduating members.

Nicole Repishti, a third-year in history and president of 8th Floor Improv, said the Sendoff is similar to the rest of the group’s shows and will include other club members, but mostly centers around the seniors. There will also be a 20-minute improv set featuring seniors.

Rather than the club’s board working together to decide how each show turns out, Repishti said the Sendoff is organized by the seniors and tailored to what they want their last performance to look like.

“I just kind of guide them through this show because it is about them, not about the younger members,” Repishti said.

Repishti said that although she is sad about what the show means, she still looks forward to seeing the seniors’ last performances and the crowd’s reaction to them leaving.

“It’s definitely nice to see people who have come in to support [the seniors] throughout their 8th Floor experience, and just being able to celebrate that is really great,” Repishti said.

Repishti said the club has a strong relationship with its alumni, so even if it’s the seniors’ last time performing as active members, it won’t be their last time performing with 8th Floor Improv.

Brendan McDermott, a fourth-year in economics and one of the four graduating members, said he is looking forward to the senior-only improv set because it’s a rare performance that occurs only once a year.

“This is kind of going to be our first chance and our last chance to just perform on stage as the four of us,” McDermott said.    

McDermott said he joined the club as a freshman when he still needed to mature and felt unsure of his role on such a big campus.

“8th Floor has been probably the biggest part of my college experience and definitely the part that I’ve enjoyed doing the most,” McDermott said.

The Senior Sendoff Show will take place April 12 in the US Bank Conference Theater at the Ohio Union at 8 p.m. Admission is $5.