Hit Or Miss part 2

Jerry Wasserman www.vancouverplays.com and I were recently debating if improv shows were always hit or miss. He feels they are, I have disagreed. I recently sent him this letter.

Dear Mr. Wasserman

In a recent performance of the semi-improvised show A Twisted Christmas Carol a giant sized puppet head came loose and fell towards John Murphy, who was playing Scrooge. It could have hit him but John moved in time and it missed him.

So to be fair, I have to change my stance. In some cases an improv show can be hit or miss.

Sincerely,

Ian Boothby
www.urbanimprov.ca

The Times Why Aren't They A Changin' ?

Here's a quote from a Patton Oswalt interview I found linked from www.torontocomedy.com

http://www.aspecialthing.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1465

There were guys that would say, “Well I’m the headliner ‘cause I’ve been doing this eleven years and you’ve been doing this four years.” Well, yeah, you’ve confused doing something for eleven years with doing something for one year and then repeating it eleven times, which is a totally different thing. Just ‘cause you’ve clocked in doesn’t mean you’ve learned anything or you’ve advanced. - Patton Oswalt

This is something we all have to ask ourselves. Are we just doing the same show over and over? The set list for most corporate events (improv shows for companies and private parties) hasn't changed in 15 years at least. Open with Options, then Word at a Time, Day in the Life, Audience Sound Effects, New Choice, Endowments and wrap up with Moving Bodies. Pretty much the same no matter what improv group you go with. Of course doing a corporate event is a lot like being a band at a wedding. You're not there to push the envelope, you're there to do the Chicken Dance, Shout and take a few requests from the drunk bridesmaids.

If your mainstage shows on the other hand haven't changed in 15 years, that's something to look at. How is your 2006 show any different than the one you did in 1996? Or 1991? Are you moving forward or just clocking in?

Hit or Miss

If you haven't seen A Twisted Christmas Carol yet, get yourself over to the Arts Club theatre on Granville Island. Urban Improv's Diana Frances and Drew McCreadie star with Peter New, Jeff Gladstone and John Murphy.

Recently Jerry Wasserman of the Vancouver Province and www.vancouverplays.com gave the show a B+ review. But added "Of course every night will be different, and what works in one performance may fall utterly flat in another." Then in a mini review he stated, "Because much of the show is improvised, it's always hit and miss so you might include a disclaimer with the tickets".

I wrote the following letter to Jerry and he's going to have it on his web site with a link to our web page.

Dear Jerry,

You’ve hit on one of my pet peeves in your mini review of Twisted on Thursday. One that’s right up there with articles about comedy that start by saying, “Comedy is serious business”.

I honestly can’t count the amount of times I’ve done a partially improvised or full improvised show and the review was something glowing with “but it’s improvised so it’s always hit and miss” tacked on at the end. It’s like the quality of an improv show is considered random, depending on which way the wind blows.

No one ever says, “Oscar Peterson may be doing some improv jazz in his show so it’ll be hit or miss”. Jay Leno ends every stand up show with about 15 minutes of spritzing with the audience, but no one says “Watch out for those last 15 minutes, they could go either way”.

In both of those cases you’ve got artists who know their craft well enough that they can venture safely into improv. Hell, even Reveen got more respect in his reviews.

A comedy play of any kind could kill one night and tank the next. But that’s never brought up. Any play or performance can go either way. You review the show you saw. When you get into predicting the future you’re on shaky ground.

Best,

Ian Boothby