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What’s it like to compete with eleven other teams in the College Improv Tournament in Chicago?

That’s the subject of Whether The Weather, a documentary about six students collectively known as Theatre Strike Force.

The film follows their journey from rehearsal in Florida to their feelings after the tournament. It also features interviews with Joe Bill, Dina Facklis, Rebecca Sohn, Noah Gregoropoulos, Jet Eveleth, Bill Arnett and other Chicago luminaries.

If I have a criticism, it’s that the film doesn’t delve that deeply into any of its student subjects. But it’s worth watching for the pros’ perspective alone.

You can see full-length interviews that aren’t in the main feature; they’re a gold mine of improv wisdom, insight and candour. (I especially love hearing Joe Bill swear.) Watch them in full, or in bite-size chunks on the website or on youtube.

The website is a little confusing: when you click on “Main Feature,” the segments play out of order. To view in order, click on “Playlist” at the bottom of the screen and select a segment.

 

 

If you threw up in your mouth just a little bit when Step Up was released, put down the Pepto because Freak Dance is here.

Freak Dance is a musical dance comedy starring Megan Heyn, Michael Cassady, Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Tim Meadows and Horatio Sanz. Think Rize meets Rent, or maybe Dirty Dancing meets Really Filthy Dancing. 

The film also features real dancers from Quest Crew, and So You Think You Can Dance winner, Joshua Allen.

Written and co-directed by Matt Besser, Freak Dance begins rolling out in theatres in May.

Way back before Mike Fly directed of some of Second City’s funniest videos, he created a little thing called The Improv Monologue Project.

The concept was brilliantly simple: get killer performers to improvise a scene for one minute, in one take, using some sort of prop to inspire them.

The results are as funny and offbeat as the people performing them: George Basil, Neil Casey, Lee White, Mark Meer, Tasman VanRassel, Kayla Lorette, Christian Capozzoli, Ken Hall, Alex Tindal, and 65 others.

Image © Mike Fly

So what inspired Fly to create the series?

“I was inspired by being at improv festivals and meeting so many talented performers; it seemed wasteful that there was no record of the experience that brought all that talent together. So I shot some and they became the template for the repeatable form, and then I kept making them after that. And then it became about teaching myself to edit and shoot more professionally and consistently, trying to challenge myself within the form as much as the performer.”

And the props?

“I usually went to Value Village and said to myself, ‘What’s not too expensive, but could really inspire someone?’ I did the same with locations; I tried to find places that were interesting enough visually, and rich with potential to really make for a fun scene.

I learned right away that my camera work was as important as the performance, and that we had to shoot at least two monologues otherwise I would be stuck using something that made the performer look bad because I screwed up. I would always end up picking the monologue that showed them off the best.”

You can watch the complete archives here.

I’ll admit: when I signed up for a workshop with Matt Besser, I was scared shitless. Although I’m a fan of his work, I’d heard he had a reputation for being harsh.

Sure enough he had strong opinions, but isn’t that what you’re paying for in a master class? I learned a lot, and was grateful for the opportunity to learn from someone who’s done so much for improv.

When I came across this series of shorts produced by UCB Comedy, I just had to share. Besides being absolutely hilarious, they scared me just a little bit. Enjoy.

“What do we do to prepare? Observing people and people’s idiosyncracies. We practice. We practice paying attention.” – David Pasquesi

TJ and Dave make improv look easy.

In theory it could be, maybe even should be. But as anyone who’s spent more than five minutes doing it knows, there’s a whole lot that can get in the way.

All those rules you learned (don’t ask questions, don’t talk about people who aren’t in the scene, don’t turn your back to the audience)?

TJ and Dave break them all, and they have a great time doing it.

There’s a reason these guys have attained cult-like status. Besides being masters of their craft, their style is unlike the fast-paced, frenetic improv most of us are used to. But their scenes, their characters, and the audience are all richer for it.

The set-up is deceptively simple: just two guys playing a handful of characters over 50 or so minutes. They don’t even get a suggestion from the audience.

It’s what they do in those 50-plus minutes that defies description. The stories they weave and the people they play are so funny, so utterly believable, it’s no wonder some folks think they planned it beforehand.

Filmed at the Barrow Street Theatre in New York, Trust Us… features one complete performance, plus a glimpse of the two pre- and post-show. Thanks to multiple cameras and skilful editing, Director Alex Karpovsky captures the essence of their relationship, both on and off-stage, beautifully.

Improv may not be easy, but TJ and Dave prove it can be hilarious, truthful and – that rarest of things in this ethereal art form – memorable. If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing them in person, this is the next best thing. Trust me, you’ll be a fan.

You can buy the DVD here.

 

Photo © Sharilyn Johnson

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels…

No, not Einstein, Earhart or Ghandi; we’re talking about the people who make up The CenTre.

Created by Second City alums Rob Baker, Dale Boyer, Adam Cawley, Brian Smith and Chris Earle, Live From The CenTre is an improvised web series about, well, weirdos. It’s also laugh-out-loud funny.

The CenTre provides a platform for “alternative” businesses who want to make the world a better place, each in their own unique way. Things like GuyWhoBringsAGuitarToAParty.org. Parking Doctors. And the Animal Literacy Group.

Baker, Boyer and Cawley play a multitude of offbeat characters so convincingly, you’ll swear you’ve met some of them. Especially if you’ve spent any time in Trinity Bellwoods.

Smith meanwhile, plays voice of sanity and Host, B. Gordon MacKie. According to Smith, the series is “99 percent improvised.” Take that, Judd Apatow.

Since its debut March 1st, the show has already garnered over 40,000 views and is apparently a big hit in Europe. Which makes total sense really, when you think about it.

Steve Coogan is one of the funniest people on the planet. So why isn’t he as famous as, say, Ricky Gervais?

That’s the question that permeates The Trip, a six-part series starring Steve Coogan as a character called Steve Coogan. Co-star Rob Brydon plays a character named – yep – Rob Brydon.

The Trip was cut down to just under two hours for its North American release. That’s too bad, because like a good meal, the six half-hour episodes leave you wanting more.

The premise is simple: The Observer asks Coogan to review some fancy restaurants in Northern England, and he takes along Brydon for company. It’s kind of like Harold & Kumar, if they were English and going through mid-life crises.

According to Coogan, the script was mostly improvised. Director Michael Winterbottom had “…a beginning and an end; after that it was all up to us. Sometimes we wouldn’t know what the hell we were going to talk about.”

The results are hilarious, uncomfortable, and sometimes quite moving. Coogan and Brydon riff off each other with the ease of an old married couple, but it’s the tension between them that makes it so watchable. Where else would you find a “Michael Caine-off”?

I’ve always thought the reason Coogan hasn’t made it big in America (besides, ahem, Hamlet II) is because his characters are so dyed-in-the-wool British. David Brent probably wouldn’t exist without Coogan’s Alan Partridge. But Brent is a universal sort of loser, where Partridge is a very specific type of British twat.

References in The Trip to Follyfoot, Softly, Softly and Ronnie Corbett may baffle some viewers, but in the end it’s Coogan and Brydon’s relationship that resonates.

If you can track down a copy of the BBC 2 series, you won’t be disappointed. Otherwise there’s always the film version. In the meantime, here’s a taste.

Peter Sellers often improvised on set, and director Stanley Kubrick encouraged him. Many takes of Dr Strangelove were ruined by actors corpsing at Sellers’ antics.

With three roles in the film – as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, American President Merkin Muffley, and Nazi physicist Dr Strangelove – his performance is nothing short of awe-inspiring. But my favourite moment of ad libbing is from the movie Lolita, where Sellers plays the pompous playright, Clare Quilty.

With the tiniest gesture – boredly checking his watch while his dance partner twirls – Sellers reveals his entire character. It’s a powerful reminder of how much information physicality alone can convey.