Story, Story DIE

On Monday the Improbables met for the second instalment of 'Unleash your Inner Comedy hero' Improvised theatre course. This weeks sessions focused on narrative.

There was a special addition to the night in the form of Lydia Pugh who has joined us to have a crack at providing some musical improvisation.

I am not a musician myself and have always been intrigued by the genius of the musical improvisers. They've always seemed to create atmosphere and tinkle along without any effort but I have absolutely no idea how they do what they do. So when I approached Lydia and she asked what she would be doing, I found it difficult to explain exactly what she would be doing. Luckily Lydia is no stranger to the stage and managed to play along as if she'd always been part of the team.

I watched the first game with the 'drop in' class ( for those who have done the course before). We played Style replay and the first replay was Action/Thriller and from the second Lydia touched the first keyboard note I was immediately reminded what a invaluable addition a musical improviser can be. The soundtrack adds a layer and lifts the level of  the actors playing. I believe we respond to music in a unique way and having it in the show is a fantastic bonus. I loved it. The next show is going to be unmissable. That and I did the splits. I may even do them again in the show, just saying.

The second half of the evening was devoted to creating stories with the beginner Improbables. As an exercise we played 'Beginning, Middle and End' in a circle. It's great when the group gets this exercise straight off the bat without even sticking to the classics 'once upon a time' beginnings and sunset ending. The stories that emerged made me want to hear more, especially the missing bits of the seal.

Playing 'Story, story, die' with the half of the group making up the story was a real test of their listening skills and produced some fun deaths. There was a word at a time interview about a Haribo eating record attempt that was expertly handled by the interviewer. A 'Pop up Story' book with some reluctant monsters. A space jump through a market place, a touch of coward getting dressed, a scuba diving expedition to a very hairy back wax and back again. So many moments.

Now I'm excited for next week when we tackle characters.