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Whose Line Is It Anyway?

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False Alarm

Sirens (Chicago)

Reviewed by Jeff Catanese

The eight women that make up Chicago’s Sirens made a lot of the mistakes of many amateur improv groups and toward the end of their 45-minute freeform set seemed just about as lost and finished as the audience was.

Many of the performers seemed to defer to habitual physical and vocal traits to the point that many of the short scenes came off as high school drama club productions, flailing arms and over-dramatized emotions were plenty.  The remainder of the scenes suffered from being over-thought.  Even some of the monologues meandered aimlessly and were derailed by the improvisors performing them.

When strong offers were made, they were often followed by a bout of staring as each scene partner struggled to get on the same page.  Sometimes the Sirens would force their page right on top of another if they were misplaced in the scene, and trying to start another, similar scene.  In other instances they jumped on offers with such abandon that they didn’t allow themselves to think as they did it.  In even other instances, the members seemed to be playing games that were fun for them, but failed to include the audience.

A smart scene where a math whiz tried to use a protractor to save a fallen baby bird was entered into unnecessarily by another actor, and a much less interesting scene ensued.  In a bit where a gardener is dismissed, being told there are Mad Libs in the cupboard, the gardener reenters moments later with, “No!  I decide you are stealing my baby.”  Although it was pertinent to an earlier conversation, the offer was so out of left field that the performers seemed confused, and the scene quickly fizzled.

I don’t want to write as though this group is completely without value.  Many of the actors were very adept at creating strong characters, and showed a great subtlety in their portrayals.  If only they concentrated as much on the writing and directorial aspects of improv, they may fare better than they did here.