Making It Up As I Go Along
Two weeks ago, for the first time, I stood up at the Glasgow Comedy Festival in front of a paying crowd, with no material and no idea what to do. That, however, is normally how most improvised comedy shows begin.
My first memory of Improv is the same for a lot of people, watching ‘Who’s Line is It Anyway’ on TV as a kid. I loved it. It was quick, weird, clever and hilarious. Ever since then I’ve always been interested by improv but I never really thought of it as something I could do.
Years later, I started going to the Fringe and seeing shows, first as a punter then as a worker. Some were better than others, but they all made me laugh, which I suppose is a minimal expectation. If I had to highlight any from last year it would have to be Showstoppers and Murder She Didn’t Write.
Showstoppers is a sell out hit every year. I first went to see them in 2015 and instantly loved them. They are improv professionals at the top of their game, making up an entire musical every night based on suggestions. It's so much fun and you can tell they love doing it.
10/10 Go see @TheShowstoppers Because you have to. #EdFesthttps://t.co/byTeSCyPCj— Chris Quilietti 📻 (@ChrisQ_1) August 26, 2016
Murder She Didn’t Write was a popular show last year by
. A murder mystery where someone from the crowd chose the weapon, victim and murderer. At one point they were doing two shows a day. A normal one and a ‘late night’ version where they changed it up by swapping genders or having an invited guests.
Murder She Didn't Write is brilliant. A lot of fun and a must see!!@DegreesOfError #edfringe#edfest— Chris Quilietti 📻 (@ChrisQ_1) August 20, 2016
For the last few years however I found myself saying to people: ‘After this years festival I’m going to take an improv class.’ But before I knew it, August had come and gone, and I hadn’t done anything about it. The Fringe would rekindle my love for the art, I’d declare that ‘this year, I’m going to do it’ and then not, a month would pass and i’d forget. A pattern of repetition so predictable, it may even constitute a game*.
Well not last year.
At the end of August I looked online and booked to take part in an Improv ‘taster’ workshop in Edinburgh. I was terrified and didn’t know what to expect. I was having war-like flashbacks to when I was in the Falkirk Children's Theatre and we had to pretend to be animals. Was it going to be like that? Or would it be full of people who knew what they were doing who would easily be able to tell that I was making it up as I went along… actually in hindsight that’s essentially what Improv is.
Once I shook off the nerves I really enjoyed the workshop then enrolled in classes. Everyone there was in the same boat. A few were actors looking to add skills to their bow, some just after for a hobby, a few wannabe comedians and those who applied on a whim. The classes were quite an eye opener for me as I thought I had an Idea of what was involved in Improv. I mean, I had watched a handful of Youtube videos on the subject, so naturally I was an expert ready for whatever they threw at me…
The most jarring thing from the first few weeks was realising I wasn’t actually funny. I can hear the shouts of “We could have told you that” but what I mean is the things that I thought were funny, weren’t. For example, I’d be in a scene and say something that I thought might get a laugh and then it didn’t. Instantly put off, focus is gone, I’m self analysing and not paying attention to my partner. It took me a while to stop analysing and start investing in the reality.
The first thing you learn about improv is the golden rule of ‘Yes, and..’ It is the accepting of whatever is going on and then adding to it. So if I say “Here is an apple” you would say “Yes and we should fill it with poison for the queen”. This is fundamental to improv as if you don't accept the reality you’re trying to create, how's is your audience going to do that? This is one of the may things that TBC teaches beginners about Improv.
While on the course I started to find out about the Edinburgh and Glasgow improv scenes. There’s a lot more to take in than I expected. I started going to the Monkey Barrel Sunday Night Shows and the Glasgow Harold Nights both of which I can highly recommend.
After a few months a friend of mine invited me to audition for an improv group based in Glasgow that were looking new members, The Improv Ninjas. I didn’t expect to audition for anyone so soon. I had hardly any performance experience and the little I did have was in front of other improvisers, arguably one of the best audiences because they’re good at pretending they’re enjoying themselves. It took me a bit of time to say 'yes, and' to the audition, eventually I decided I had nothing to lose, it was just another chance to rehearse with good improvisers, I was never going to get in.
I pulled into Glasgow early, the audition was at 3pm. The plan was to go to a coffee shop and calm myself, I was uncommonly nervous. On the way from my coffee sanctuary to the audition I stopped off to get a bottle of water (that would never leave my bag because I forgot about it) and chewing gum. Leaving the shop I realised that time had somehow moved on at speed without me and I was now running late. I ran from the shop to the venue. It’s bad enough being nervous, now I was also out of breath and stressed.
When at the door I text my friend and he took me up to the room where I was greeted by the existing Ninjas and another auditionee. It was all over in a flash. A few opening games, a handful of scenes and that was it! Train home, done. I hadn’t a clue if if the audition went well or not but that didn’t matter because I had already resigned myself to not getting it.
Turns out, I must have been ok because they let me in. I was genuinely surprised and could not wait to get into rehearsals. “How can you rehearse improv?” almost everyone asks. Improv rehearsal involves practicing the skills and techniques to get better at those, not to work on one particular plot or story. It’s also about creating a bond with your group, so you can become slick and (hopefully) funny.
Before I knew it, it was our last rehearsal before we were due to perform at the Glasgow Comedy Festival. I had my club t-shirt and there was nothing else for it but to give it out best and support each other, and we did.
In radio, 50 minutes is a long time, but the show went by in a flash. The world premier of ‘Improv Ninjas Save The World’ was a sell out (It was only a 40 seater room but still). The suggestion we take for our show is a title, so we performed. ‘Attack of the Racist Avocados’. It was as bizarre as you can imagine, and I had so much fun. The audience left happy and I was reasonably pleased with my own performance. Everyone in the group had reason to be proud of themselves and each other. They are amazing. Yes, and I’m proud to be one of them.