The Hello Dali improvisation group is back for another year of entertainment at Eastern.

The first performance of the year will take place at 9 p.m. Thursday in the Coleman Lecture Hall and is free and open to the public. The performance will last about an hour.

Hello Dali meets Tuesdays the week of performances to discuss what games to play and to spend extra time practicing new games and material.

The group will have special meetings for its members to practice new games and for the new members to feel more comfortable participating in the new material.

New members will also get to know the current members and help build confidence to perform with the group in these meetings.

Hello Dali hosts special workshops each semester in addition to the practices for students who want to get some experience in improvisation. The dates for the workshops will be announced later in the semester.

All students are invited to join Hello Dali, but students should know the group has an audition process to ensure the new members will make the most sense in the games played.

Eastern graduate student Suzanne Foehr is the president of Hello Dali and was a member of the group since her sophomore year at Eastern.

She said improvisation can be extremely hard and it takes a lot of work to get comfortable with it.

“I still get a little nervous before each show,” Foehr said. “I am significantly more confident in myself because I have done so many shows.”

Hello Dali is looking for new members interested in comedy who have a variety of personalities and a different approach to comedy to keep their games interesting.

The group is also seeking new people who are interested in leadership positions because many of the group leaders graduated last spring, and the rest of the leaders are set to graduate after this year.

“Every show is completely different.” Foehr said. “There are days where people laugh at everything you say or do, and days where you are off your game and nothing seems to be funny.”

Members want students who are responsible and participate frequently in the group’s meetings and performances for the new positions, she said.

Hello Dali’s current leaders will be deciding the new positions later in the semester.

Liz Gomez can be reached at 708-227-7917 or ecgomez@eiu.edu.