The Wacky World of Improvisational Comedy!

Welcome to the Wacky World of Improvisational Comedy!

. . . through the cyber-eyes of a humble fan

I am sure that all you people out there in the world find nothing more interesting...more poignant...more tear and laugh-inducing....more wonderful...than improvisational comedy. Oh..I'm the only one? Well, if you're here, at my page, there must be a reason, and I'll tell you what that reason is! You love improv! It's ok to admit..shout it out..you'll feel better! Come on....just try it..."I love improv!" Embrace the improv.....feel it....ok, ok, enough feeling, Mr. Touchy. Anyway, don't you feel a lot better? Now that we've had all that fun, can we move on?

Seriously, you are here because you like improv..even just a little. Or maybe, you're just interested by it and would like to learn more. Or maybe you hate it with a passion and just want to sign the guestbook so that you may impart to me just how much you hate it. In any case, I am so happy to have you here...visiting my little piece of cyber space dedicated to the art of improvisational comedy: the performance itself and the people who dare to try and make a living doing it (a.k.a. Those weirdos). This page is my humble attempt to distribute to the clamoring masses all that I know and have found out about improv through my Senior Exit Project ....it's not that I want a good grade..I just want the masses to stop clamoring! Please feel free to peruse the page at your leisure..but I warn you, there will be a quiz at the end! I'm serious. Enjoy!:)

Let the fun begin...how about...right....here:

THE WACKY WORLD

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What is Improv?

Improvisation is defined by the illustrious Webster's Dictionary as:

the act or art of improvising
something (as a musical or dramatic composition) improvised

This does not help us very much. For a true definition, we must take the next step and break the word down . . . to improvise, a wonderful verb. Then and only then does Webster's decide to give us a hand:

improvise:

to compose, recite, sing, or play extemporaneously
to make, invent, or arrange offhand
to fabricate out of what is conveniently on hand

And there we go. Improvisation is the art of extemporizing, of making things up offhand and off the top of one's head. Essentially, one could argue that everything human beings do is improvising. There are no scripts, no plans, and no preparations for life. All the world's a stage and we are but poor improvisers bumbling our way through it all. Luckily, the professional improvisers of the world are on the life stage too, but they are on the stage of the life stage trying to make us laugh with metaphors that are far too complicated!

Basically, there are those who have mastered the art of professional improv, that is, getting up on a stage and performing for fun and profit (though profits aren't all that plentiful so I'm told!). Actually, I jest, there is no way to fully master improv. The learning process is constantly ongoing due to the nature of the art. But, those who venture to try find it a rewarding, though trying, process.

As easy as improv appears, it's not. I shall elaborate. Imagine what improv entails. . .

You're up on a stage . . with no idea what the next moment holds in store . . relying solely on your mind and wit . . you put complete faith and trust in your fellow players and they do the same with you . . and there's an audience out there . . staring . . coughing . . sometimes snoring . . and waiting . . for you to be funny, Funny Person! Bwahahaha!

Kinda sounds like a bad dream, huh? You know, the kind where you're supposed to give a speech in front of the whole school when all of a sudden you can't find your notes and you realize that you have no idea what you're supposed to be speaking on and everyone is staring at you, waiting for you to speak when you look down and you're completely naked. That's improv! Minus the nudity...except on rare occasions.

Regardless of the risks, those who try improv find a challenging and exhilarating world where they are able to put their minds and bodies to the ultimate test . . . or die (onstage!) trying!

Improvisational comedy shows usually take the form of short improv games , but long form shows (a.k.a. Harolds) are also popular, and groups will often perform both during the course of a show.

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History Lesson

You may say, "Hey, I'm smart. If improv's just making stuff up, then it must have been around forever . . . that's its history. I'm a genius."

To quote improv master Colin Mochrie , "You poor naive fool." While technically you are correct, I've just always wanted to use that quote in normal conversation and have it make sense!

The history of improvisational comedy could hypothetically be traced back to before the invention of the written word. One could make the assumption that, because this form of theater requires no written aids, humans were telling stories through acting before written language. In essence, ancient folks were improvising.

"Ah Lucius Auerlius, my donkey is dead!"
"Basically, Petronius, you have lost your ass."
"Can you see this is no time for bad puns?"
Ancient Alphabet - get it?:) Alpha beta??

Historically speaking (a.k.a. not me making things up), the most direct ancestor of modern improvisation is the commedia del arte, which was a popular form of entertainment beginning in the mid-1500s. Performance troupes would travel from town to town and present theatricals on makeshift stages. All dialogue would be improvised within a framework provided by a scenario. Though comparatively long-lasting, this form disappeared after about two hundred years.

After the death of commedia del arte, improvisational theater faded into obscurity until it was reinvented by 2 improv pioneers, Viola Spolin and Keith Johnstone.

Preceding Johnstone, Viola Spolin developed a new approach to the instruction of acting. Simply, she felt that if acting were presented to children through a series of games, it was more likely that the learning of the craft would be enjoyed. Spolin's improv games now have applications outside of the theater, such as in education, mental health, psychology, ecology, as the games bring the players closer to their individual selves and their roles in the world, and speech therapy. But, despite these numerous applications, Spolin's theater games have mainly influenced improvisational comedy.

Johnstone's contribution to the art of improv came in the form of a hybrid between theater and sports appropriately titled Theatresports. This mating of two unlikely forms of entertainment came about when Johnstone began to feel that the theater had become so pretentious that the average man was far too intimidated to even attend. He wanted to bring the thrill of the theater back to the same type of audience that attended in years past, the type which also attended sporting events and the like. In response to this desire, he decided to combine elements of both theater and sports by adapting the theories of team sports to the context of improvisational theater. Teams would compete for points in various improv challenges with the audience encouraged to behave as though it was a sporting event. Through Theatresports, Johnstone's ideas continue to influence nearly every major modern improv group.

Often, the ideas of Spolin and Johnstone are combined into a performance of Theatresports consisting of improv games.

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The Games

Games are the bread and butter, the piece de resistance...you get my poorly made point...of improv. The come in several different proverbial flavors:

Warm-ups are simply that; little games, hardly even games, used only in workshops and classes to allow the participants to get familiar with and feel comfortable working with their fellow players. These are never seen by an audience because frankly, they would make for a bored and unhappy audience and as all improvisers know, a happy audience equals no rotten tomatoes being thrown. Since I'm lazy, if you want an amazingly complete listing and explanation of many types of warm-ups, click on that pretty link and you shall be magically transported to the world of Hugh McLeod, who has a much better grasp on the different types of warm-ups and such than I...or maybe he just has more time on his hands.
Exercises are a more formal type of game, but rarely performed in front of an audience. They allow the participants to learn how to develop character and other necesary improv rules. We've established that I'm a no good, lazy person so visit Hugh's page again for a list and explanation of exercises.
Handles are what the audience sees. These are the games with built in gags and gimmicks. They are meant to entertain as well as educate (the improvisers that is). There are so many different types of handles, with new ones and variations being created all the time, that listing them all would be impossible (hehe, good save, huh?). So, here I will merely list and explain some of:

My Favorite Games

NOTE - all handles are known by many different names and are recognized by content rather than title

Dead Bodies - In this game, one performer is alive and the rest, unfortunately have died (no not really, so put away your chainsaw..yes, I mean you!). The unlucky alive person must carry on with the scene by physically moving his/her fellow performers and speaking for them. Hilarity ensues, my friends.

World's Worst - In this game, the performers must alternately give examples of the "World's Worst _____" (e.g. "person to be shipwrecked with" "thing to say to the inlaws" "presidential candidate"). Again, hilarity. Some of my favorite examples of this game come from Whose Line is it Anyway?:

World's Worst...
Person to share an apartment with
"I've gone to the bathroom somewhere in the house; why don't you try to find it?"Ryan Stiles
Ad Campaign...
"Many people think it's in bad taste to advertise for an insane asylum, but come on down! We're going crazy!" Colin Mochrie

Film, Theater, and Television Styles - Here, the players must act out a scene in various film, theater, and television styles as suggested by the audience. Trust me, it's funny!

Some suggested styles . . .
Porno
Swedish Porn
Canadian Porn
An improv show
I never said they were good suggestions!

Secret - One of the two players participating in this game has a secret. Who? Who knows! During the course of the game, one player must uncover a secret being concealed by the other; the other player must then justify the discovered secret or explain it away in a humorous manner.

Some suggested secrets . . .
You cheater! If I told you, then they wouldn't be secrets anymore, now would they?

Alphabet - Very simple (or is it????) game. The performers must improvise a scene by speaking successive lines in successive letters of the Alphabet. (See my interpretation of "Ancient Alphabet" above and then picture that only funny)

Shakespeare Scene - I first had the pleasure of seeing this game performed at the ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles, California and it completely blew me away. The performers must improvise an entire Shakespeare-esque play, complete with murder (the funny kind!) and intrigue and they must do it in the normal Shakespeare dialect - complete with "thees" and "thous". It's really amazing, trust me!

And the list goes on and on and on and on....To find a list of handles far superior to mine, go..guess where?? That's right, just click on Mr. Link and behold the world of improv handles in a whole new light.

To continue with my list, for it's all about ME ME ME isn't it, you'll find that most of my favorite games come from the TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? and include, but are not limited to:

Helping Hands

Hoe-down

Song Styles

Superheroes

Home Shopping

Three of a Kind

Greatest Hits

Whose Line

Backwards Scene

Director

Moving People

For a more complete listing of the games of Whose Line is it Anyway? go here to find a world of wonder at Mark's Page.

Improv groups out there also perform long form improv. To explain this, I'm afraid I must send you away again to here until such a time that I can sucker an expert into writing a definition for me. I would confuse and perplex should I try to explain.

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Elements

Modern improvisational theater utilizes audience suggestions to shape the action that unfolds on stage. Unlike conventional scripted theater, there is an element of ingenuousness and unpredictability that makes each performance unique and exciting for both the performers and the audience. There are no guarantees about the degree to which the performance will be successful, but there are several key elements without which all possibilities of success are destroyed. Now presenting.....

The Elements

*Note: elements of improv include, but are not limited to, the elements included here - thank you and have a nice day.

Trust

In order for two or more performers to interact with and react to each other successfully, they must first establish a sense of trust. This trust allows each player to know that during the course of the scene, their partner or partners will be as willing to accept what they offer* as they are of what is being offered. When trust is established, communication, another important element, can occur. Alternately, when trust is violated, a scene will die, leading to a possible free-for-all, bodies flying everywhere....improvisers pulling down everyone they can with them as they plummet to improv hell...Bwahahahaha!! Sorry.

*Note: In scenes, anything a person says or does is referred to as an offer. Offers can be verbal or non- verbal, intentional or unintentional.

Communication

Communication is just that: communicating with fellow players, verbally and physically. Between two or more improvisers who have established a deep sense of trust the communication can appear nearly superhuman. Offers can be made almost subconsciously. After years of working together, improvisers become like an old married improv couple, capable of practically reading each other's minds (spooky, huh?).

Acceptance

In improv, anything that is offered can be accepted if it relates to or will further the scene. The simplest way to accept an offer is to simply agree with it. When offers are ignored, trouble arises. This is referred to as blocking, or undermining the truth or intent of an offer. Often, players make the mistake of becoming so focused on what is in their heads that they can lose sight of the fact that their partner is attempting to move the action. Blocking occurs when the other player is fearful that they will not be able to incorporate the offer, they want the control of the scene, or they are attempting to go for an easy laugh. All blocking is looked down upon in all forms of improv. Not to scare anyone, but blocking = DEATH in some cultures...so be warned, my friends!

Building

A stronger way of accepting an offer is to, after agreeing, build on the offer. Building involves making an offer that supports and expands a previous offer. A successful improviser is able to give offers and accept them while maintaining a sense of trust.

Spontaneity

Duh! The lure of this art is the fact that it is always fresh and always unpredictable. In order to succeed in improvisational theater, one must be willing to let go of all preconceived notions, stubbornness, and even morals. One must be open to anything and everything, and willing to do what it takes to make a scene work. And don't pre-plan, you dummy! Even the best made plans can be gone in a second in improv - and it's usually for the best.

Once you have mastered the elements of improv, you are ready to give improvising a shot! But, now you probably have some questions about......

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Getting Started

At this point, I am sure that my phenomenally persuasive and descriptive writings have absolutely convinced you that improv is right for you. "Join us....joooooiiiin us!" say the voices coming from your computer screen...or maybe they are the voices in your head..I'd have that checked out.

The point is, you want to try this wacky thing we call improv, but you don't know how to go about it. No problem! No worries! I am here to help with my rampant exclamation points!!!!!!!!!

Getting started is easy. First you need a desire to do improv (and as we've already established, you have that). After that, call around, find out if any improv workshops are available in your area and then enroll. Take the chance, man! Also keep in mind that most improv groups offer some manner of workshop, so give the groups in your area a call as well. Or, if you're one of those go-getters, you can start your own group. Of course, you'll probably want to save this for when you at lease have some idea about what you're doing. But then again, many of the groups out there have no idea what they're doing, but they're funny, so we still like them!

In short, the main thing is to get out there and start doing it. Like Colin (Mochrie of course, have you learned nothing! Colin=improv god) says,

*cue heavenly music*

" . . . do it as much as you can."

And yes he's talking about improv, Mr./Miss/Ms./Mrs. "I've got my mind in the gutter." For more information about getting started and forming your own group, check out a much *cough* better *cough* improv page. Again, created by a person far more knowledgeable than I, the Self-deprecation Queen...and yes, that does mean you must worship me.

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The Senior Exit Project: All high school seniors in my county were required to do one. It entails the following:

Selecting a topic (Improv in my case).

Research, research, research!

Write a big old paper (done with this part).

Create a "product" (eg, this web page you're admiring right now).

Do a presentation (have yet to do this part...).

Hello Graduation!

I finished my project with a perfect score on all parts which means - I GRADUATED! I actually managed to have a lot of fun with the presentation, though it certainly wasn't improv. The ladies who graded me all urged me to give improv a chance. Little did they know that my seemingly improvised (*cough*) speech was actually the culmination of many hours of writing, rehearsing, and sweating. I sure fooled them! Ha ha. In any case, it's long done and I'm a free woman! Hey, that doesn't mean I'm easy. I don't mean free like that, like I dont' cost any money. Get your mind right out of that nasty gutter. I cost money, ok! Darn straight!

*Note: Picking a topic you love and enjoy (like me!) is the best advice I can give to anyone! For more info on my school system, cause I know you want more info, click here

And now stand by...for the thank yous . . .

Thank you to everyone who has visited my page - tell your friends and make me feel loved by signing my guestbook. A SUPER HUGE MEGA thank you goes out to Jessie Johnston, without her help this page would not be possible. Thank you to everyone who answered my questions and allowed me to use them for my wacky experiment. Thank you all the Whosers for being the sweet people you are and for all your help. Thank you to Freda, Tash, Leslie, and Nessa for offering and providing help to me. Thank you and goodnight!

THE END! !

I said "The End!!!!!".....it's time to go.....no...you have to go....get out of here girl! I said leave!!! ::sob:: Can't you see I don't want you anymore??? ::bows:: My Timmy (from Lassie) Impression! Thank you! Try the veal!� Vose 1999

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