On Feb. 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, eager audience members entered the UHS Big Theatre to support and enjoy the February match produced by members of UHS Comedy Sportz. Comprised of members from all four grades, these “act-letes” competed in an exciting and entertaining match against Comedy Sportz team members of Laguna Hills High School.
The match began with an opening round commencing promptly between two teams: Team Red for Laguna Hills and Team Blue for UHS. Team Blue featured UHS freshmen Dina Morten and James Zhao and juniors Adeli Mukasheva and Mac Masri. At the same time, Team Red included Laguna Hills sophomores Grigorii Naganov, Ethan Kushnir and Maely Cernicky and senior Aleksandr Naganov.
“It’s really tough to be up there,” Cernicky said. “I’m glad to know that people were entertained by my part in the opener.”
After the opener finished with a close win in favor of the Blue Team, the night moved on to the main competition between the teams. For the first half, the Blue Team consisted of sophomore Felix Wang, junior Parker Medvitz and seniors Kimberly Tsai and Surya Mokkapati. After several highly enjoyable rounds, with team members scrambling to fill in another’s place, changing topics hilariously and finding perfect punch lines to seal their performances, the Lover Match’s intermission happened, but not without some shenanigans.
During this time, new UHS Comedy Sportz roster members took to the stage to introduce themselves and solidify their spots on the team. Junior Sodongoo Sodtuya was one of the members who entered the spotlight.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know the team,” Sodtuya said. “I’m also ready to improve my improv skills and learn more about comedy through our after-school practices.”
After a short break, the match’s second half commenced, with the UHS team consisting of sophomore Sarah Almanza, juniors Chase Byer and Shyli Slakmon and senior Adair Boehme. Once again, they were quick on their feet and ready to compete for the audience’s laughter. After an intense couple of games played, the final score was 40-36 in favor of the Blue Team, sealing UHS’ victory in their February Lover Match.
From being an audience member to performing on stage, Sodtuya describes how the humorous and positive environment encouraged her to join Comedy Sportz.
“I went to a Comedy Sportz match to support my friends, and it just looked like so much fun,” Sodtuya said. “The energy on stage, the audience laughing and only having two years left here, I figured I’d just jump in and try something new.”
