Preface

BNDS DI club was founded in 2016. Leaded by Mr. Douglas and managed by students, BNDS DI is a mature and developed club now. Every team has their special stories and unique growth experience. As this year’s student manager, it’s my pleasure to know and meet these team members. Now, let’s hear the story from BNDS DI 2021-2022 team D Mr. Mister!

Team up

When we first entered the big BNDS family, we were thrilled by the numerous activities we were able to join, but among them, DI stood out to us as a name that is a little bit mysterious yet intriguing and as a renowned non-academic club in an academically prestigious school. None of us have ever had any experience in DI, but we all wanted to try, therefore, we signed up for the interview. During the interview, we tried improv acting and instant challenge (building stuff using the materials given in a limited time). The interview was the first time that we ever experienced what it is like to be part of DI, and at that moment we fell in love with DI for it provides us a challenging yet comfortable space for us to use our imaginations and develop our creativity. Soon after the interview, we were officially recruited to the DI family and were told to choose a group. After consideration, we decided to be a group D member, henceforth, our journey as Mr. Mister has started.

Daily training

We have training every week, the IC on Monday, and the improv learning on Friday night. For the improv learning, we developed a routine and divided it into three parts: warm-up and short improv practice, the CC training. During the training time, everyone concentrates and then tries to come up with good ideas to use in the improvisation. We listened carefully to what others were saying during the discussion, focused our thoughts, and worked well together. Though we may fight to stand on our ideas, we cooperate most of the time. The teammates understand that they only want the story to be better and try their best. We're also an inclusive team, which is one of the reasons we're on our way to success.

Except for on-campus training and activities, team building and workshop training off-campus are also essential. During the team building, we gathered together and had dinner. After that, we did some teamwork activities, such as room escaping or werewolf card games. With the laughter of the members, our cohesion and tacit understanding have gradually improved. Moreover, we went to a specialized workshop together to understand improvision at a deeper level. There, we learned some professional improvision knowledge and did some improv together. We improvised with some strangers and got some inspiration. After this precious experience, our improvisation and teamwork skills have improved a lot.

Preparations

During the stages of the DI competition we have been through, the most important thing is to never stop preparing. DI is a very interesting but at the same time intensive competition. The teammates train every week to practice solving the challenges in the competitions. Also, due to the pandemic, we are not allowed to attend the actual competition, and everything was transferred online. We have to record our performing video. Every weekend before recording, we stay at campus and train all day long just to get ourselves in the mood. For us who do improve, there is only one shot, and when the skit starts, there is no chance for us to pause. Although we have great pressure because every stage of the competition is important, we still use our full effort and try our best. The results proved that hard work will always pay. Every stage of competition will take a lot of our time, but our love and passion in this competition motivates us to do better.

Relationships and feelings between teammates

Every member in DI group D is a component of our big family，we are highly bonded and connected as a whole therefore we help and improve our improv & IC together regardless of the circumstances. We never really blame each although we some time make hilarious jokes and make fun of others. I believe the humor and trust we have is the best lubricant of our relationship. Everyone in the team are familiar with each other: we’re something more than regular teammates in DI, we’re also close friends in our daily life. Every interaction we had, every conversation we made, every cooperation in stage, and every obstacles we encountered, have shaped the best of us and the best DI group D.

Written by DI Team:
1. 黄麒臻Florence
2. 黄逸轩James
3. 戴启霖Darren
4. 王冕珩Ann
5. 周宇豪Jerry
6. 黄楚文 Kevin
7. 林默白 Mobai
8. 兰芳菲 Eva