Theater-lovers of all shapes and sizes! Starting today, the UniversityÕs one and only improvisational troupe, Absolute Improv, is hosting a one-time-only event for three consecutive days. The members of the group are going to great lengths to make improvisational theater in: ÒAbsolute Improv Goes Long.Ó
The performances today, Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Pocket Playhouse mark the groupÕs first public attempts at long-form improvisation. Using a form called a Harold, the group will take one suggestion from the audience and create a performance that will last somewhere around 40 minutes. Because nothing is planned by the cast, each show will be entirely different and never seen again.
This marks a giant deviation from the troupeÕs traditional use of short-form improv games. During the games, a few troupe members take suggestions from the audience and play out a scene lasting only a few minutes. These short games require much less effort and attention on the part of the players.
Rich Brown, the graduate teaching fellow who introduced the long-form idea to Absolute Improv, said, ÒLong-form is the art in Êimprov, where short-form is just the sport.Ó
The Harold is a style that was developed by late comedian Del Close. He worked with many members of Second City Television and Saturday Night Live, but his lasting mark was in the creation of the Harold. Participants in the improv start giving monologues that generate ideas sparked from the main suggestion. Then the troupe launches into three sets of three scenes that create characters, action and, ideally, resolution.
Quinn Mattfeld, an Absolute Improv member, explained that this is totally new for the troupe and that it has helped them grow.
ÒI think that weÕre adding on to something that was already really good,Ó he said. ÒWe all have absolute — ha ha — faith in each other whether weÕre on stage or not.Ó
Last year, the group had a regular gig every Friday night at CharleyÕs Comedy Club. They have since stopped those performances and have been looking for other ways to perform. Doing the long-form is a way to give the group a shot in the arm, but it has taken time to prepare.
ÒWeÕve kind of been underground to rehearse for this,Ó troupe member Sam Super said.
The last time the group performed publicly was in late September at the Robinson Theatre.
Brown has been working with the group during this hiatus and said the group has made a lot of progress with a challenging art form. Not only are the troupe members carrying themselves, but they have to carry the audience along with them for the duration of the show.
The departure from caricatures to characters and the absence of the cheap laugh may catch traditional improv audiences off guard, but Brown is certain that itÕs for the best.
ÒThere may be a bigger investment from the audience at the beginning than in the short-form games,Ó he said, Òbut you get a bigger payoff at the end.Ó
Performances will be in the Pocket Playhouse in Villard Hall with a suggested donation of $1.