Sunday, March 17, 2013
The Difference Between Long- and Short-Form Improv
www.backstage.com: Back before Upright Citizens Brigade racked up $1 million in debt on a shiny new Lower East Side theater and improv training became de rigueur for any actor’s résumé, “Whose Line Is it Anyway?” was what many Americans thought of when they thought of improv comedy. The show aired on ABC from 1998 to 2007 and featured comedians performing quick theater games assigned by the host, Drew Carey. Last week the CW confirmed that it is reviving “Whose Line” with several of the original performers in tow and Aisha Tyler slated to host.
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3 comments:
Before reading this article I had never heard of long form improv. So I think it is an interesting topic that with the revival of "Who's Line is it Anyways?" that long form improv. is brought into it as well. I spent a good deal of time in high school doing improv. games to come up with sketch comedy ideas as well as to get actors ready for rehearsal, however, I don't think I have ever experienced long form improv. It seems to me that long form is makes you a better actor because you have to spend a great deal of more time in the same character and elevate them more and in a myriad of situations. I would like to see some long form improv. it seems like it could be worked in many ways and although the author said it often didn't work well, I would like to see if I can get it to.
I've done a lot of Improv back in high schools and had a lot of friends who are really in love with the form. I think that this article does a good job of explaining what the improv world is like in new york and on tv. I didn't know what improv was like outside of high schools and the local improv theatre before reading this. From my experiences both long and short form improv have good and bad sides. I love long form because of the more rich plots and characters. I also think that in long form the actors are much more challenged and grow more as a result. On the other hand, like the article said, short for is much easy for people to get in to and the higher level of audience participation really helps keep the mood of the room high.
My senior year of high school, I performed in a show called improv jam that happened within my florida thespian district and my group was given long form to do. Through my experience with long form, I agree that it is much more useful to use long form to improve on your skills. I think this is so because it makes you think more about what is happening in the scene so you can bring everything back together in the end and make a well rounded story. Short form, however, is definitely more popular and I think that it is a cheap and easy way to get a laugh out of someone. Usually with short form it's funny or weird or gross, but I've never seen a sad short form. Long form however allows you to play with your emotions and see where the scene takes you which i think is also another reason as to why it is more helpful in developing skills as an actor. I wish more people knew about long form so they can truly get the experience that improv can give you.
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