Ask Improv Andy

 Andy does welcome all questions and will answer whatever he can thoughtfully and respectfully.  Write him at improvandy@improvreview.com.

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Dear Improv Andy-

I work with a small group that performs together regularly.  One of the troupe members likes to be seen "at her best" and gets visibly agitated when she is called upon to do something that she feels does not show her off favorably.  How should I talk to her about this?  I hate it when her displeasure is broadcast to the audience.  –Always Smiling, Kansas City, MO

Dear Always Smiling-

Are we not actors?  Do we not jump about in front of large audiences?  If you hit us with a pie, will we not stamp our feet in a manner most silly?

Everyone wants to be seen at their best.  The responsibility of the actor is to portray ideas and communicate them effectively to an audience.  Sometimes that includes doing things that might not show us in our best light.  Then again, doing those things shows us as a fine actor, and therefore, puts us in a light that might suit us just fine.  Most Jack Nicholson characters do awful things, but the awards he wins keep him one of Hollywood’s favorites.

On the other hand are the negative aspects of pimping.  Say in a rehearsal a fellow actor has demonstrated that when they say a particular tongue twister they drool, and I slip it into a scene as a character offer.  That’s not only rude, but a fine way to destroy trust between actors, and should not be done.  Also, pay back’s a bitch.

How should you talk to her about it?  Ask her what it is she’s afraid of.  Help her to understand that it is the job of everyone involved to do the things they have to in order to put on a great show.  Assure her that you wouldn’t have her do anything you weren’t willing to do yourself.  Ultimately, tell her it’s her job, and if she can’t hide her personal issues from a paying audience you will do everything you can to remove her from the group until she gets over them.

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Dear Improv Andy-

Is a one-person improv show format valid?  What is there to keep the audience from thinking it is just pre-scripted and how does one make his or her own extended riffing interesting?  -Proof Please, New York, NY

Dear Proof-

Any format conceivable is valid, the more important question is: is it watchable?

Of course you are right in thinking that, barring audience suggestions, there is no way to provide proof that what we are seeing isn’t scripted.  Who cares?

When you watch a show, any show, improvised or not, your enjoyment should not depend on whether or not you can see the strings holding up the spaceship, but instead you should be asking yourself the questions: am I entertained?  Informed?  Educated?  Or even, enlightened?  If the answers to any or all of these is yes, then why worry about how much was scripted or not.

Certainly, nobody wants to be lied to.  And when we buy our tickets to the “improv” show, we would feel cheated if we later found out that it was almost entirely scripted.  But that is largely the onus of the publicity department.  Hearing of a fine improvisor performing a one-person show should conjure thoughts of a good evening in the theater, not making sure that person is on the level.

Reverse this question: if you saw a play that you loved (you identified with it, and the characters engaged you), and later you found out that it was improvised, would you feel cheated and wish they had provided you proof of a script.  Of course not.

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To pose a query to Andy, please e-mail him at improvandy@improvreview.com.