90.5 WESA: There’s comedy, there’s improv comedy, and then there’s long-form improv comedy. It’s the kind of improv that Kasey Daley calls “the granddaddy of all forms.” And it’s the kind of improv that Daley co-founded Steel City Improv Theater (SCIT) to teach and promote.
3 comments:
I love hearing about different opportunities for various types of theater to workshopped and showcased in a way thats respectful for the developmental process of theater and this is exactly the type of work that should be brought to a festival. It highlights talent and it also provides the opportunity for a lot of natural work to be born out of this type of improv. I know certain musicals like the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee came out of improv and literally just trying out concepts. I'm surprised that this hasn't already been a thing in our industry but I'm really glad its starting to become a mainstream form of festival. I would put it along the lines of being similar to New work development because improv requires a certain sense of precision in the same way that new work is created, and requires contributions from everyone involved to really carve out some pretty stellar ground breaking work to occur.
I have only seen long-form improv once, but it was one of the funniest experiences of my life. It was at another high school in my town. Their improv troupe performed two thirty-minute pieces with an intermission between. One half of the show was about a man who lived underground and whose son was stolen by a commanding aboveground being. This man enlisted the help of an old friend, a lobster general, to help get his son back. As it turned out, this son was a supergenius who escaped on his own. The other half of the show was about frat boys sabotaging each others' parties to impress a girl. As I sat in the audience, laughing myself a stomach ache, I considered the quick thinking and sharp wit required to keep the show going and keep the show enjoyable. I know I couldn't. The fact that Pittsburgh is celebrating this fine art is very inspiring.
I have never heard of long form improv before, but it sounds like something I would really be into. I like the idea of starting from a random point given by the audience and seeing how far the troupe can take it. I imagine that they have some fixed things that they can try to work into their shows, but it still has to be very fluid and new every time. I am always impressed by how much rehearsal really must go into improv work like this. I remember being in an acting group in high school that tried to just do an improv show on a whim, not knowing how much real prep it would take, and it did not go over very well. This is a form of theater that not a lot of people really understand. Maybe I will go check this festival out. It sounds like a good show.
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