RAFM improv group encourage people to ‘RAF out loud’

  • Published
  • By Gina Randall
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Many people’s worst nightmare is public speaking, particularly when unprepared. Their palms sweat. They stare into a sea of blank faces. They swallow to clear the lumps in their throats. They want to say something, anything, to fill the hours it seems that have passed since tiptoeing onto stage to make the big address, and it can put fear into the hearts of millions.

But not for one man.

Senior Airman Seth Balla, 352nd Special Operations Support Squadron radio frequency transmission systems technician, not only makes the most of these situations, but embraces them. In fact he thrives under this type of pressure so much, he wanted to help others do the same.

He founded ‘RAF Out Loud.’

“I guess you could say I’m the creator. It’s been up and running since April 2015 and the first year has been pretty amazing,” Balla explained. “I originally started the group to be a creative outlet. It’s kind of like ‘Whose Line is it Anyway.’ We have a lot of impromptu activities and games to warm us up, challenge us, and stretch us out.”

As an Airman serving his country so far from home, Balla knows all too well how difficult life can be starting over every few years. He wanted to help others form friendships.

“I created the group when I was going through a really stressful time in my life. To this day I am really happy it has grown to be what it is,” Balla said. “I’ve seen it change a lot of people when it comes to their confidence levels and how they present themselves and actually, how they feel about themselves.”

He welcomes people from the tri-base area, and enjoys the skills each person brings.

“It’s an open minded, great group of people — no judgement,” he said. “That’s one thing I make sure happens, I don’t want them to be afraid of acting like a fool, as we are all acting like fools. Everyone that has come to the group has enjoyed it and had a great time; never felt pressured. It’s kind of like a really weird family.”

While the group is informal, their leader is trained with valuable skills to pass on.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and a minor in theater,” Balla added. “My passion is public speaking and performing in front of an audience.”

The name of the group comes from the founder’s creativity.

“The majority of the group has been people from the bases — Mildenhall, Lakenheath and Feltwell. So I didn’t want to just say Mildenhall improv group,” he explained. “So I used what they had in common, Royal Air Force. ‘RAF’ sounded like ‘laugh,’ so it’s a funny play on words.”

One member enjoys the freedom of mind the meetings allow, and the communication skills the group develops.

“Improv is the ultimate confidence builder,” said Master Sgt. Joshua Rosenberg, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron unit deployment manager. “In theater you’re confined to a script so it takes some of the imagination from performing, but in improv there’s no script. You’re just given an idea and told to go and it’s all whatever comes to your mind, whoever comes to mind. You have to be able to listen to the other players and respond in a way to keep the scene going and get to a resolution. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s a train wreck, but you learn every time.”

The group has enjoyed local successes.

“We performed at a wedding once,” Balla explained. “They heard about our group and said they have a DJ but would like some entrainment, so I ended up becoming a wedding entertainer and it went really well. The DJ asked if we did other weddings, so there might be future gigs there.”

But the only success he hoped for was to share his passion with others, and help them deal with the stress of public speaking and learning how to think on the spot.

“At all the bases and training I have been to there has always been a group of people who, for lack of a better term, are starving to be creative,” Balla reflected. “So it’s a case of accessing that group of people and utilizing those talents. I got this group together and I didn’t expect them to go on stage at all. I told them I would never put them on stage unless they wanted to be there. I wanted them to work on public speaking skills and to think outside the box.”

Though he may have set up the group for his own gains, he relished in helping others achieve their own success, however big or small.

“I really wanted to be part of a theater group, but I had difficulty finding contacts for people in the area, and the ones I found fell through,” Balla added. “So I thought, ‘you know what, I’m just going to do it myself.’ At first it was just me and one or two other people. I’m not going to lie, those were kind of awkward meet ups, but we still had a blast and that started the group’s steady growth. From there I found out about the ‘Lakenheath Players.’ They were a theater group that worked with all the other bases and I was able to recruit some talent from them as well. That doubled my group, and now we have up to 20 people attending our meet ups.”

Today, he sees the difference his contributions make to a small group of likeminded people, in a small town in England who share his love of serving their country. And he sees them develop as Airmen, and as individuals, in both their professional and personal lives.

“You don’t have to have any experience to come along — learn, try it out and have fun with it. Some people come to help with their public speaking, to help them if they get caught off guard,” Balla said. “But I have been told by several of my members that this is the one thing they look forward to every week. It touches a lot of lives and makes a lot of people happy. We make people’s days brighter, through laughter, through relationships and commitment.”

The group normally meets Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in the RAF Mildenhall chapel, and opens their circle, and minds, to their Air Force family.

“We are always looking for new people to come out and have fun,” Balla added. “We have airmen first class through to master sergeants, as well as dependents. We welcome all the local bases and, if they are able to, the civilian population as well. This group is open to everybody and everyone.”

For those who want to see what it’s all about, the group is performing Aug. 6 at the Galaxy Club. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a free, ‘80’s-themed event.