The Harlequins is the oldest club on Campbellsville University’s campus. Before the university had a theatre program, The Harlequins served as its drama club, putting on shows throughout the year. Eventually CU would create a theatre major and minor. The Harlequins became an improv club in 2008.
Campbellsville University juniors Isaac Rogers and Bryce Osborne are the leaders of the Harlequins.
“Balancing Harlequins has been a learning curve for both Bryce and me,” Rogers said.
Osborne is in charge of the club’s social media and advertising, while Rogers focuses on planning rehearsals and shows. Once a week, they also meet with faculty sponsors to debrief and make sure they have everything in order.
“Balancing anything on top of school and work is hard, but Bryce and I decided that the Harlequins was worth the sacrifice,” Rogers said. “It is also fun to take a break from the stress of homework and work twice a week and practice our art with friends.”
The Harlequins’ ultimate goal is to make meaningful art through the medium of improvised comedy and spreading joy and laughter to the university and community.
“Many students and community members have never heard of improv comedy, and I believe that anyone can do it if they are given the space and tools to,” Rogers said. “As a creative director, I want to give all ages the opportunity to learn something new and get out of their comfort zone.”
To accomplish this goal, Rogers and Osborne organized several community workshops that are open to everybody, students or nonstudents. At the workshop, participants can peak behind the curtain, learn some of the tools that make unscripted comedy possible and play improv games.
The club is trying to create more opportunities for students who don’t want to commit full-time, in order to get them involved and allow them to step out of their comfort zone. The club is also doing more shows off campus.
“Last semester as our last performance, we were able to take our show on the road and perform for a retirement home,” Rogers said. “They let us set up in the dining hall and put on a show. It was really cool to be able to reach that part of our community.”
CU junior Bryce Osborne said he loves being part of The Harlequins and he’s learned many skills from it.
“I have found that thinking ahead has been the best way to balance the pressures of schoolwork and being a part of such an active improvisational group,” he said.
As the technical director, working ahead means registering for an event or working on content weeks in advance. This allows Osborne to always be one step ahead rather than being consumed by all the things he needs to do leading up to or following a show.
“For me, joining The Harlequins is a testament to this philosophy,” he said. “At the start, I strongly disliked improv because I had one bad experience with it. But after I gave it another try, it became something I looked forward to doing every week.”
According to Osborne, sometimes people limit themselves because they don’t want to step out of their comfort zones. However, he believes it’s much more rewarding to have at least tried something than not try at all.
“My advice for people to join The Harlequins is to be bold, be spontaneous and give it a try,” Osborne said.
Freshman Keegan Zulager has been part of The Harlequins since the fall of 2024.
Zulager said being in The Harlequins provides an outlet where, for an hour and 15 minutes twice a week, there is no class to worry about the next day and there’s no homework piling up.
“It’s like stepping into a completely different world once you’re in a scene,” Zulager said. “This provides some much-needed stress relief for when school gets tough and work gets to be too much.”
What really makes it special for Zulager is the realization that improv truly is an art.
“I have a whole new respect for it now than before joining because not only do I get to see all the hard work that goes into it, but also getting to participate in something with people that are doing it at such a high level,” he said. “Everyone at CU that does it truly has a passion for it.”
For anyone interested in learning more about The Harlequins, visit the club’s Instagram page @cvilleharlequins.
