Not sure what to do with your parents this weekend? Sad your parents aren’t coming to visit you? Looking to have a fantastic time laughing all your troubles away? Then you should probably go see Wash. U.’s K.A.R.L. Improv as it performs alongside some of the largest names in improvisation this weekend at the Compass Improv Festival.

This is the second year of the Compass Improv Festival and the first year that college teams have been offered the opportunity to perform. As soon as K.A.R.L., the self-proclaimed “most outgoing short-form improv group,” was invited to join, the group jumped at the chance.

“We know a lot of the other people who are part of the festival, and they bring in some really cool people,” K.A.R.L. president and senior Kate Drummond said.

In fact, this festival draws more than 25 improvisational comedy teams from all over the country, from Chicago to Florida. As one of only two college teams performing, K.A.R.L. will feature some of the youngest performers. The group saw this festival as a great opportunity to showcase its skills, do some networking and rub elbows with some other amazing comedians.

But how do you prepare for a festival when the act will be completely made-up on the spot?

“It’s counterintuitive,” Drummond said. Captain and senior Will Jacobs, who leads K.A.R.L. practices, further explained:

“In the past, we used to run the complete set list of games for two practices leading up to the show, but by the time we got to the show, the improv was pretty much dead. Now, we train for the games as early as possible to know what works, and as soon as we’ve learned a game, we get off of it. We work on long form, scene work and specific exercises to get our minds off of short form so it will be fresh the night of the show.”

Short form, as Jacobs mentioned, is one of the styles of improv that K.A.R.L. performs, and it will be what the group performs this weekend.

“It’s unusual for us [to do short form at festivals],” Drummond said. “We typically compete and travel with long form, but we are very good at short form and especially strong at short form for a college team.”

As for what sets K.A.R.L. apart from the other teams?

“Our strongest suit is that we always have a fantastic time when we are doing improv,” Drummond said. “It’s hard for people to watch us and not have a good time.”

K.A.R.L. performs at the Compass Improv Festival this Thursday at 10 p.m. at Satori, which is located at 3003 Locust St. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Tickets can be bought online at http://www.compassimprov.org.