Improv Notebook » Performing Improv » “Bravo” or “Tip Your Waiter”
“Bravo” or “Tip Your Waiter”
When you think of improv do you think of a theater…where people sit in rows of seats and watch the show from the dark? Or do you think of a club with cabaret tables and a 2 drink minimum?
In a theater:
- Plays
- musicals
- variety shows
- the occasional lecture
- ushers
- and a curtain
In a club :
- Stand up comics
- bands
- drinks
- snacks
- waiters
- and neon lights
How do those things affect the improvisation?
In a theater you can develop storytelling and relationships. The improv is more ‘theatrical’.
In a club can be more random with stronger shorter scenes. The improv is more ‘comic’.
The operational necessity of serving drinks brings with it a built in disruption [or distraction].
It is easier to do club-improv in a theater than to do theater-improv in a club.
To argue which style of improv is ‘better’ would be useless. It’s simply important to determine which style of improv you enjoy. Once you’ve done that then it can be helpful to you as a producer and performer to consider the expectations and experiences of the venue in which you present your improvisation.
For example: In a club it may be helpful to use microphones so that you can be heard above the bar noise. And, after all, microphones are part of the club experience.
Where do you perform improv?
Which do you prefer: club or theater?
[add your comment and keep coming back to the Improv Notebook]
© 2009, Improv Notebook. All rights reserved. info@improvnotebook.comi
|
About: William: William Hall is a founder of BATS Improv in San Francisco and has been bringing Improvisation to theater companies and business around the world since 1986. He is the author of The Playbook: Improv Games for Performers a fun guide to improv games and formats. [http://www.ImprovPlaybook.com] He trains and coaches executives in leadership communication. He improvises and performs regularly. |
Written by William Hall
William Hall is a founder of BATS Improv in San Francisco and has been bringing Improvisation to theater companies and business around the world since 1986. He is the author of The Playbook: Improv Games for Performers a fun guide to improv games and formats. [http://www.ImprovPlaybook.com] He trains and coaches executives in leadership communication. He improvises and performs regularly.
Filed under: Performing Improv · Tags: Improv, improv comedy, improvisation
One Response to "“Bravo” or “Tip Your Waiter”"
Leave a Reply
Improv Notebook Workshops
Click to listen now.
Improv: Johnstone DONE!April 10thjoin our mailing list to find out about the next workshop
|
 |
i guess we do a quasi form of theater & club improv at JesterZ. We are the only group that performs there so there is no concern with what our audience is expecting when they come… yet we have a snack bar and do a 90 minutes show with no intermission so there are people going to the snack bar and restrooms in the middle of the show, but we even try to control that.
I have performed both, theater and club and prefer theater… simply because it allows you to explore the art of improv rather then pushing for the ‘joke’.