Studying to be spontaneous
Loose Moose teaches the fine art of improv
INTERNATIONAL IMPROV SHOW
Loose Moose Theatre
August 2
Garry Theatre
They come from different backgrounds, different countries and even speak different languages, but their love of improvisation has drawn them to Loose Moose Theatre for the annual International Improvisation School. Their studies draw to a close Friday night with an opportunity to strut their stuff in a free-wheeling Micetro Impro show with a decidedly global flavour.
A summer tradition at Loose Moose since 1989, every year the Improv School has attracted enthusiasts from around the world. This year’s participants come from eight different countries: Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, the United States and Canada. These are people wo are passionate about improvisation. When that enthusiasm combines with the multicultural mix, it results in a show that is always a highlight of the Loose Moose calendar.
"When we first started back in 1989 we were mostly getting hard-core Theatre Sports people," says artistic director Dennis Cahill. "But as time has gone on and the school has progressed, that has opened up. We’re getting people with a wider range of backgrounds, which has ultimately been much more interesting."
Originally created to help actors develop their skills for the stage, the school has taught teachers, corporate trainers, therapists and activists how to use improvisation in their work outside the theatre.
This year’s show uses the Micetro Impro format familiar to Loose Moose fans – it’s designed to give every performer their chance to shine and ample opportunity for the audience to participate by judging the winners. About a dozen improvisers perform scenes and compete for audience votes. Performers with low scores are eliminated until only one remains.
"It’s crash and burn," says Cahill. "You’re an individual trying to climb up the ladder but you are totally dependent on your other improvisers. So there’s no use going out and working solely for yourself – you have to work with other people.
While it may seem a contradiction to train someone to be spontaneous, the Loose Moose folks do just that by emphasizing a specific theoretical approach and structure of performance. Other instructors joining Cahill are longtime Loose Moose members Shawn Kinley, who offers instruction in mask and contact improvisation, and choreographer Betty Poulsen, who teaches movement.
"We start off with the basics and move along depending on what exactly this group needs," says Cahill. "One thing leads naturally to another. We don’t have a set curriculum. We are improvisers. We should be flexible even in the teaching."
Cahill remarks that including improvisers from other countries who use English as a second language actually improves the skills of other performers.
"What it does is it forces the rest of us to slow down. And it forces people to find non-verbal ways of communicating which, for improvisers, is really valuable because a lot of improvisers, particularly if they’re really witty and clever and funny, rely on being verbal so it’s good to push them away from that.
"So the fact that we do have people in the class that find English a little more difficult to understand as well as to speak, it forces people to find other solutions. And that probably wouldn’t happen if we were all a bunch of North Americans getting together for a couple of weeks." |
