About Improv

Improvisation in theatre can take many forms, comic and dramatic. Improv comedy as you might see performed in Boston is often one of two flavors, long-form or short-form.

Long Form

In long-form improv, there is usually one theme that is culled from the audience and then used as a jumping off point for what can be one continuous narrative or a series of related narratives which may be visited and revisited through the course of the scene, which could last one-half hour or more.

Short Form

In short-form improv, such as that performed by KIS, short, unrelated scenes and vignettes are performed, each one inspired by a different audience input. In most cases these scenes last 5 minutes or less. This is the type of improv fans of the TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" will recognize.

Are you guys REALLY making it all up?

As the name implies, improv is just that, in that the actors do not have lines nor do they know what the scenes are about before the show. However, some things are not improvised. These are the structures, or framework, of the scenes themselves, what makes a good story, and the "rules" of improv.

Structures

You will often see familiar structures in a KIS show. An example of a very simple structure is "Try Again". In Try Again, a scene begins based on an audience input. During the scene, a moderator rings a bell whenever he or she does not like the last line that was spoken. At that point the previous line is essentially "erased" from the scene and the actor must come up with a new line. The scene then continues.

A Good Story

A scene is usually just a narrative, and most engaging narratives have similar characteristics. There is usually a beginning, a middle, and an end. There are usually several strong characters who have a clear relationship to each other, an environment, a conflict, and then, of course, a resolution. To create this improv-ers usually play by the rules.

There are rules?

The first rule is "never say no". That is, always accept whatever reality your fellow actors might create. Another rule is "up the ante", keep raising the stakes of the scene to make it bigger and bigger. Another rule is "no directing/teaching", don't tell your fellow actor what to do. And then of course "don't ask questions". Rather, come up with your own answer and contribute that to the scene.