LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — On Wednesday, March 5 at 6 p.m., Los Alamitos High School hosted Los Alamitos Unified School District’s second annual Staff Improv Show. Hosted by Los Al Live and improv coach/math teacher Mr. Barker, the show featured teachers and staff members from all six elementary schools, both middle schools and the high school. 

To start off the show, two improv students, Evan Pagan and Tom Curd, welcomed the audience by inviting them to sing the iconic song “Sweet Caroline.” After this, they introduced “Minute to Give It,” where numerous improv students ran up and down the aisles collecting money from the crowd. 

The money collected during the event and the proceeds from ticket sales will support the LAL’s trip to improv nationals. Mrs. Castiglione, the drama director for LAHS, later announced that the audience contributed $994.84.

“This money is very impactful for families to send their students to (various improv) opportunities,” Mrs. Castiglione said during the show’s intermission. 

Mr. Barker then came out on stage and introduced the three teams participating in the first round. One team consisted of Mrs. Castiglione, Mrs. Schanaker, Mr. Brown and Mrs. Wells, all teachers from LAHS. The second team was made up of Mrs. Padilla, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Brounley and Mrs. Hanohano from Los Alamitos Elementary School. Lastly, the third team was Mr. Miko and Mrs. Beld-Jones from Oak, Mrs. Schwarz from McAuliffe and Mrs. Knight from McGaugh Middle School.

The show began with a game called “Hey Waiter,” in which all three teams participated. This game was a great way to calm the teachers’ nerves.

“It was very nerve-racking, but it wasn’t as bad as when Mrs. Colty (Rossmoor’s principal) makes me do the assemblies,” Mrs. Avalos, who participated in round two, said.

After a few minutes of hilarious puns and audience suggestions, Mr. Barker shouted, “Scene!” and the game was over. The show’s two judges, Dr. Pulver, the superintendent, and Mr. Weiss-Wright, the assistant superintendent, gave their input after each game.

After everyone was warmed up, each team played an individual game. The teachers from LAHS played “Double Header Talk Show,” which drew lots of laughs out of the audience. Team LAE played “Party Person,” which allowed the teachers to show off their acting skills. Oak, McGaugh and McAuliffe played “Two-Line Vocabulary,” a hilarious game that limited the four teachers’ speech. As the games went on, the audience became increasingly more energized and eagerly offered suggestions.

Once these games were complete, Dr. Pulver and Mr. Weiss-Wright held a quick conference to decide the winners. At first, it was a tie, but with the help of the eager audience, they decided that LAHS would continue to the final round. 

As the first round’s teams exited, the new wave of teams filed onstage. First was Rossmoor’s Mr. Vierra, Mrs. Avalos, Mrs. Cochrane and Mrs. Whittaker. Mr. Schmidt, Mrs. Freedman-Finch, Mrs. Penick and Mr. Anderson represented Weaver, while the third team was Mr. Willems, Mrs. McElderry and Mrs. Siersma from Lee and Mr. Farvor from Hopkinson. 

These three teams warmed up with a game called “World’s Worst,” where the audience shouted occupations and team members had to act the worst at that particular job. 

After this group game, the three teams played individual games. Weaver went first, playing “I can do it better”; next, Team Hopkinson played “Human Props.” Rossmoor went last with “Emotional Party,” which seemed to be a fan favorite, as laughter could be heard erupting from the Performing Arts Center.

“My favorite game was the emotion party game where each teacher had to be a different emotion. They were very funny because they (exaggerated), and (it) made me laugh,” Engerman said.

During all three games, audience engagement was out of control. People cheered for the teams they supported and shouted suggestions. The energy in the audience helped fuel and enhance the performances of the contestants onstage.

“I enjoyed all the (cheering for) Rossmoor. It helped motivate us to do a good job,” Mrs. Avalos said.

Once these games were complete, the two judges had an extremely hard time deciding who should move on to face LAHS in the final round. With the help of the audience once again, Team Rossmoor was chosen as the winner.

After a 15-minute intermission, the two remaining teams came out onstage. For the final round, LAHS played “Four Square,” and Rossmoor played “Movie Director.” Chants of “Lets go, Rossmoor!” and “Los Al!” filled the auditorium during the final decision.

After a brief conference between the judges, it was announced that Team Rossmoor were the 2025 staff improv champions. The PAC erupted in applause, as many current and past Rossmoor students were present to support their teachers.

Overall, the second annual LAUSD Staff Improv Show was a huge success and a great way to unite the community through humor.