Dude, Where's My Script?

The title describes a comedy format thought up by my talented son-in-law, Nathan Chapman. He dreamed up the idea of a comedy improvisation troupe performing classic theatre games for the entertainment of a paying audience. You will see such performances taking place twice weekly at the Comedy Stores in London and Manchester with such luminaries as Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence. The format will seem familiar from TV shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway? However, in my personal opinion, the live stage versions far surpass even the admittedly very funny TV show. It must be that element of surprise and delight in watching the performers create a piece of comic theatre, a miniature gem of a comedy sketch, before your very eyes.

Improvisation is often perceived as threatening by some non-professional actors who prefer the comfort zone of a script and a controlled rehearsal space. Nathan has seen the benefits first hand of the improvisational approach as the theatre lecturer at a sixth form college. Added to his undoubted talent to think on his feet verbally, and his skill as a playwright, Nathan is a very persuasive person. About two years ago now, he had managed to get together a group of actors, a rehearsal space and a venue for performances. Rehearsal space always seems to instantly imply that the actors rehearse the scenes but this is definitely not the case. The space is needed so that the troupe can learn to work with each other and learn some of the hundreds of games that are available for this sphere of activity. There is no way you can prepare or rehearse what might happen on a particular evening because each evening is unique. The premise is that the performers will respond to suggestions from the audience and spontaneously create the required scene. Other factors, such as venue, the other performers on stage that night, the format of the evening itself, all have to be taken into consideration on the night and cannot be anticipated beforehand.

I think the Dude troupe has now done five or six of these evenings at the Havant Arts Centre and each evening has differed from the others to a minor or sometimes major degree. The reason for this is that the troupe has been trying to find a satisfying format for both the audience and for the performers. Sometimes, of course, the changes have been enforced by clashes with other commitments.

I was involved in the first two, I think, and then had a break from two events before rejoining the troupe last night. The first one and last night's were staged in the gallery space of the Arts Centre with a small raised platform and the audience seated at tables with easy access to the bar. The second one and the two I missed took place in the theatre.

The troupe has grown but the optimum number of performers per evening seems to be four and so the Dude troupe has the capacity to mount two teams but in reality it can sometimes be quite difficult to match date with availability.

On the three occasions I have been involved, the format has had a M.C. (me) and an assistant running the proceedings by introducing the performers and the games, and generally keeping a judicious eye on what is working and what is not, and keeping the timing tight. I ended up as M.C. because I wasn't fast enough on my feet to be a useful performer but have the bluster to stand out front as compere. Zoe, my firstborn, has been the assistant/adjudicator on all three occasions and has been the producer and/or stage manager element. It certainly takes pressure off the compere and the performers. She spends a great deal of time cajoling written suggestions out of the audience before the show starts and is fundamental in establishing a rapport and a welcoming atmosphere for the audience. Her contribution is a vital aspect of the success of the evening and she does it patiently with great forebearance and diligence.

The gallery space wins over the theatre space in terms of intimacy and a better contact and relationship with the audience. I found the theatre encouraged a heckling style of suggestions coming from the paying patrons and, even in the intimate space of the Havant Arts Centre auditorium, an almost gladitorial "them and us" feel about the whole event. It wasn't helped by drunken hecklers in the balcony and the baying of the audience made it difficult to hear and interpret suggestions. I felt very relieved when that evening was over and wasn't too sorry when other commitments meant I was unable to take part in events three and four. These were performed with Nathan as one of the four performers also acting as compere, which obviously put him under an enormous amount of pressure. The feedback was also that the suggestions were unhelpful in the least.

When last night's event was being planned, I volunteered again as compere if I could have an assistant (which as it turned out was once again Zoe). I also took on the responsibility for coming up with a format for handling suggestions. We prepared, as we had in the past, a suggestions sheet for the audience to complete beforehand but reshaped it. I have been doing some research into what seems a veritable industry of improvisational theatre and comedy circuits. I came across a website, www. fnipgh.com, (Friday Nite Improvs), which pointed out that the more normal suggestions usually resulted in a funny scene, whereas the "funny" suggestions got a cheap laugh and the performers spent ten minutes of mind numbing nonsense trying to work up a scene using the suggestion. Following this dictum, we impressed upon the audience the need to keep their suggestions normal. It worked but did seem to restrict the amount of calling out and perhaps I was a trifle heavy handed but I felt we were in control of the event rather than the audience (or the heckling element out for a cheap bit of fun) and that in the end both the performers and the audience were the winners. Both newcomers to our work and people who had seen all our shows to date were quick to express their appreciation of how well the evening worked and how much they enjoyed it.

The evening worked so well of course because of the inspired genius and teamwork of the four performers: Alice, Mark, Nathan and Robin. Alice is infectious and when on top form is just a very funny lady. Robin is the more serious of the two girls performing last night and tends to form the quiet still centre around which the inspired lunacy of the other three flows. She is however very good as the human prop (you do need to see the show to understand some of these references) and delights in maintaining the storytelling element of each scene. Mark and Nathan are just very witty, very quick, very clever and very inventive. To see Mark's morris dance ending in the immortal line "Now I am fertile" was to witness a moment that nearly brought the house down. It was matched by Nathan's Oscar Winning Moment when he "drowned" in an imaginary river while on a bridge building exercise. On stage together Mark and Nathan are comic dynamite and, throw in Alice and Robin on last night's form, you had a combination that produced a wonderful two hours of inspired comedy.