The lights dimmed and the audience leaned in as the improv group Offsides asked for a fun fact to start off their short-form comedy.
"Frogs can't swallow with their eyes open," shouted Marcella Rodriguez, a UF telecommunication senior.
Then the laughter started and never stopped.
About 60 people packed into UF's Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Black Box Theatre to kick off the fourth annual Gainesville Improv Festival on Wednesday night.
The event featured the satire of Offsides, Penny Bear, Death by Improv and Generations comedy groups. Other improv groups will perform throughout the week until the festival's final show Saturday.
Whirled News Tonight, the longest-running improv comedy show in Chicago, will headline the festival with their performance on Saturday at 8 p.m.
While some of the performers traveled from as far as New Jersey, others got their start in Gainesville.
Many of the Gainesville Improv Festival's comedians are UF alumni as well as alumni of UF's improv organization, Theatre Strike Force, according to a press release.
"It's kind of like a big deal for everybody to get together, and for people in Theatre Strike Force now, it's a great opportunity to see some of the best people we've heard about," said UF engineering sophomore Rudy Mendoza. "There's a sense of camaraderie between us."
GIF will also feature workshops taught by its performers, according to the release.
"I haven't been at UF that long, but it's really encouraging to see the cooperation with the alumni and their enthusiasm to come back to the campus," said Peter Salomone, a master's student at UF's Documentary Institute.
