The proud traditions of the Merry Men—USC’s sometimes British-themed, always adventurous mixed-form improv comedy troupe—can be a little hard to pin down.
“In all honesty, when I first heard about the Merry Men, I thought it was an all-male improv group,” said first-year Julia Kess (BA English ’28). “I almost didn’t try out.”
It isn’t that. There are also rumors of an erstwhile uniform: frilly, puffy shirts and tights, reminiscent of Robin Hood’s merry band of thieves which gave the group its name. There’s some disagreement among the members over whether or not those ever actually existed.
“One of my TAs had a friend who was in the Merry Men when she was in college, and she didn’t remember them being British-themed at all,” said vice president Vanessa Andrick (BS Global Health ’26).
“Luckily, we never had to deal with that,” laughed president Lukas Garberg (BFA Theatrical Design ’26).
The mystery remains. What is known about the Merry Men is that they deliver some of the wittiest mixed-form improv at USC.
“I think what makes the Merry Men awesome is how much we experiment,” Garberg said. “It really keeps you on your toes.”
The Merry Men tackle many different forms of improv, from short, game-based comedy (think Whose Line Is It Anyway?) to long-form improvised plays. They have performances based on themes—like a murder mystery night where all the improv takes the form of interviews with suspects, an upcoming improvised Shakespeare play in four acts, and even an improvised musical—all while bringing the laughs and keeping the vibes nothing short of excellent.
“I feel like our team really gets the best of both worlds,” Garberg said. “Every form we do pushes different buttons.”
While improv is the name of the game for the Merry Men, they pride themselves on not taking any of it too seriously.
“We’re mostly here to have a good time,” said Andrick. “We really are a friend group—and we also do improv on the side. I see the Merry Men more than anyone else on campus.”
For the leadership of the Merry Men, keeping it casual is part of the appeal. Andrick, a Global Health major with a love for theatre and comedy, believes that USC’s theatre and comedy community is so strong in part because Independent Student Production groups (ISPs) like the Merry Men allow students to participate as extracurricular activities.
“I’ve done a show every single semester I’ve been at USC, and they’ve all been with ISPs,” Andrick said. “Truly, I think my USC experience would not be the same if I wasn’t able to pursue theatre through them.”
Kess agreed.
“I’d never done improv before. I didn’t know what I was looking for. So it was good to be able to try all of it,” she said. “I moved across the country to come to USC, so it’s been a big adjustment. The Merry Men has made it feel okay to take risks in the improv shows.”
A supportive community
While the Merry Men delight in getting laughs and share a genuine connection, it’s also been a pivotal year for the group. Five of its upper-class members graduated in 2024, and for a variety of reasons, the group’s membership went from eleven to four by early in the Fall semester. They’ve since added four new members, and their focus on rebuilding and finding the group’s identity has paid off in a big way.
“That was a pretty big change,” said Garberg. “It’s really nice to be in a place where I feel comfortable with the team, where it can sustain itself.”
Rebuilding its core membership is not the only major change for the group this year. Thanks to the construction of the Dick Wolf Drama Center, SDA’s new building which opened last March, the Merry Men—along with many other ISPs—have finally found a permanent home for their performances.
“Having the theatre space has added a lot,” Andrick said. “We now have people who come every single week to watch the Merry Men, and I think having the space has helped a lot with that.”
“SDA has genuinely been very helpful,” Garberg said. “It’s been so nice to feel supported and that they’re making an effort for us to be there. Seeing situations that other schools have—that level of support doesn’t necessarily exist in other places.”
While all members were proud to be a part of the Merry Men, they saved their highest praise for the USC theatre and comedy communities as a whole.
“The theatre scene at USC is so unique,” Garberg said. “We really support each other in a cool way. We hold our auditions together, sometimes we have collabs between the teams. We always stay connected and see each other’s shows. It’s just a really supportive environment with really talented people.”
Andrick agreed.
“We have five improv troupes and two sketch comedy troupes [on campus],” she said. “Most other schools have one improv troupe, and they perform once a semester.”
Whether the Merry Men will bring back the fabled frilly shirts and tights of yore remains to be seen. What’s certain is the group will continue to thrive, experimenting with a wide variety of themes and forms of improv while creating a community for themselves on campus.
“I feel there’s just so much good energy all around,” Kess said. “None of the productions are happening except out of pure joy, purely wanting to do this thing and loving it. Both in the theatre groups and the comedy groups, you can tell that everyone’s having a really amazing time. It’s so fun.”