We hold “Pop Up” shows every now and then. The shows are free 45-minute shows that take place in the basement bar of a local pub (Valhalla, at 7:30 pm on April 24, 2025 for Basel residents). These shows are where we practice our new material before incorporating it into paid shows. As improv is an art form, we need to solve problems and have an audience to help us.
The students are also welcome to do an improv during the show. Anybody who has taken classes at Boutique Theatre Basel with me, Jennifer Cain Birkmose, or Carrie Aikman can come on stage and perform a “Pan Left”, or “Numbers”.
We are convinced that performing arts need a chance to be performed. It’s exciting to watch students develop as they go from the classroom to the stage. It’s spectacular.
I told my students that for a upcoming performance they needed to commit to at least two practices. One student asked, “Why practice when it’s just improv?” Why don’t we just make up the material on the spot?
Why?
Improvisation isn’t just about standing on stage and saying things. Everyone can do it. To do improv comedy right, you need to develop skill after skill. Your performance will improve the more you know about your ensemble. All that requires practice.
We don’t spend all of our practice time working on the pieces. We concentrate on the skills required to create the performance pieces. I will describe the pieces of performance and the skills that we will develop in practice.
Pan Right:This game is for four players. Participants stand in a circle facing the audience. Two people are in front and two at the back. The audience suggests a scene, such as the first two participants.
- Both people have a career they share
- Relationship between people
- The hobby that they developed during COVID
- Lines in songs
- The word “good” feels good when you say it
- The street name
After that, the director will say “Pan Left” and everyone will rotate one position. The audience is then asked to suggest a second scene, with two people in the front. The process is repeated until four scenes are set up. Each scene is independent and each participant appears in both scenes with two different characters.
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The director will say “Pan Left” to end the scene. A new one begins.
There are three rotations in our basic format. In the first rotation you will establish who, what, when, and why. In the second rotation, you intensify the situation. In the third case, you solve the problem.
You may find that as you gain more skills, additional skills are added.
NumbersThis scene has three people. Each person gets a different number. Ideally, one small number (1-3), one medium number (5-9), then a large number (15-20). Each person must speak their assigned number of words.
To get the number, we ask questions that are designed to elicit answers in the range. As an example, you might ask:
for low numbers
- How many brothers and sisters do you have?
- How many times have you accidentally texted the wrong person in the last week?
For medium numbers
- How many lipstick colors do you have? This can sometimes be a bad question, and I receive a response like 30,
- How many books do you have on your shelves that are unread, silently judging and shaming you?
for high numbers
- What was your age when you received your driving license?
- How many passwords can you remember?
- How many times did you snooze your alarm clock this week?
We will practice the games and skills with these two games.
We’ll be practicing a variety of skills
- Establishing who, where and why of a scene
- Everything is getting bigger. It can be either more thrilling or more horrible! Escalate!
- Making bold choices
- Establishing hierarchy
- Character building
- Observe and respond to other ensemble members.
What does this mean to me?
Selling isn’t just one skill. You can develop a lot of small skills.
Resolution of employee conflict is not a single skill. You can develop a variety of skills.
Presenting is not a single skill. You can develop a lot of small skills.
This pattern is something I can do all day. Building core skills helps us do our jobs. When we ignore these core skills, we fail in front of an audience. Failing with joy, while important, can also be detrimental to our pay.
