Fuzzy Dice is on a roll

Listen to the audio interview here:

With finals swiftly approaching, it can be hard to make time for good old-fashioned laughs. Yet, despite the constant pressure of Princeton, there is one group on campus that will always manage to crack a joke. On April 20, Fuzzy Dice, Princeton’s self-proclaimed most attractive improv troupe, sat down with The Daily Princetonian for a wide-ranging discussion about their club’s history, creative process, and approach to collaboration. 

Founded in 2004, Fuzzy Dice was the first student group on campus to perform both long and short-form improv comedy. Embracing the absurd, the troupe continually constructs new, outlandish realities for its audience, setting its comedy apart from other clubs. “We can be cartoonish, we can bounce off the wall. And we encourage that in our comedy. We don’t want anything too tight,” explained co-Board Director Tyler Wilson ’26. Emphasizing this approach, Wilson shared an example prompt: imagine a kid tying his shoe. While other improv groups would instinctively act as the child, Fuzzy Dice would instead play the shoe lace. 

​One of the main drivers behind the group’s elastic, eccentric comedy is their tight-knit collaboration behind the scenes. “We often joke that we enter a hive mind when we do improv — which is honestly not that far from the truth,” joked Executive Director Shivani Sahu ’27. This chemistry was clear before the interview even began. As the group got used to the recording equipment, I couldn’t help but laugh at their jokes. Playing with noise-cancelling headphones and audio feedback, all their interactions felt like well-timed comedic bits. Once the interview began, the group was constantly riffing off one another’s jokes, chiming in after each sincere answer. To build this comedic connection in their live performances, Fuzzy Dice experiments with different partner pairings in practice throughout the year. According to Sahu, “It’s really [about] testing out each iteration and seeing how each member can shine the best in their own way.”

Since improv is unscripted, the timing and delivery of jokes relies heavily on building a rapport with your scene partner. “[It] requires a lot of watching and listening to the other person,” noted Sahu. “With a partner, it becomes more of a real interaction between two people, whereas stand-up comedy is one person writing it.”

Since improv relies heavily on these observations, Fuzzy Dice often prepares for their shows with innovative games, helping the members hone their creativity and wit. One such game is called Kick It. When prompted, a member has to break into a freestyle rap in the middle of their scene. During the interview, Sahu played this game, freestyling, “So here’s the deal. This is what I’m gonna say. Kick It is the game I like to play. And I [could] go on from there.” Many of the games they play in practice are also featured in their live show, adding some structure to the performances despite the lack of scripting. ​

Although improv might seem daunting at first, Fuzzy Dice welcomes all Princetonians to try out for the group, regardless of experience. The group makes an effort to get to know each prospective member at auditions, giving them plenty of time and trying to showcase their skills. “I didn’t join my freshman year, but I watched their shows, and it was like magic, just creating something funny out of basically nothing,” described Max Marcus ’28. “And so my sophomore year, I decided I needed to do that.”

As I observed during my interview, Fuzzy Dice is not just an improv club — it also acts as a full-time friend group. The jokes don’t stop when practice ends, but find their way to shared meals, retreats, and even alumni weddings. Sharing his favorite memory with the troupe, Marcus cited a recent trip to a Whitman College karaoke event. “We all sang [together], and we put our arms around each other, and we subsumed that space into a Fuzzy Dice space,” Marcus recounted. “We were so strongly bonded together. It felt very significant to me.”

It is these friendships, formed during countless performances and hours of practice, that are pivotal to each troupe member’s Princeton experience. Reflecting on his four years with the group, Wilson described his experience with Fuzzy Dice as life-changing. “It gave me a voice, and all of the relationships I built with people older than me in that group, completely guided me through my first couple of years here.”

In the end, Fuzzy Dice’s clever jokes, remarkable creativity, and undeniable chemistry help craft some of the funniest improv shows on campus. With their original brand of absurdist humor, the troupe set itself apart, cultivating a unique, welcoming community behind the scenes. If you are looking for a good laugh, look no further than Fuzzy Dice’s next performances on Thursday, April 30 and Saturday, May 2 for their senior show “Aura.”

Mia Mazzeo is a contributing writer for The Prospect and is a member of the Class of 2029. She can be reached at mm4755[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.