Improving improv

It is only appropriate that I write about something that I have an extensive knowledge base in. Every Monday night at in the Illini Union at the Courtyard Café, there is a two hour long night of improvisational comedy. Week in and week out two separate groups perform an hour long set of improv. The first group, Spicy Clamato focuses their attention on short form improvisational games. These games are highly interactive with the audience and depend largely on the audience’s interaction for their weekly success. The second group, De Bono, does an hour set of long form improvisational comedy. They generally take one to two suggestions for a show and continue their scene work based on what the audience gives them as well.

After debating for a long time whether improv comedy would consider itself theatre, the consensus amongst a group of five improvisers was no. The consensus of the group stated that the art of improv could be an allegory or a sidestep away from theatre, but it is not theatre. Improv’s intention is to make people laugh, and the art form is never fully prepared or rehearsed. It is true that there is practice and preparation put into performing improvisational comedy, but all characters costuming and props are created in the moment. They are all imagined and created by both the audience and the performers.

Recently these same groups were given the opportunity to put on a show at a local theatre space. Housed in a black box theatre in the Armory Free Theatre in Champaign, the groups found themselves housed in a completely different space. It would be my intent to move the weekly show that is performed in a large communal space that people very often interrupt and walk through performances to a space that is designated for theatre. Currently, the groups perform in the Courtyard Café. Before each show, there is an announcement that the lights will be turned off in and that a performance will begin. It is true that you may get a passerby or two who stop in to see the groups perform, but by in large, there are more disturbances that additions. There is a coffee shop that is open during the show as well that causes a large distraction.

By relocating the groups to the Armory, the space would be more clearly designated for performance. It would also drastically decrease the amount of ambient noise that occurs. The role of space places such a large role in the professional quality given to performances. By that token alone, relocating these groups would give them a much more professional feel. Although the groups are ‘supported’ by the Union, it is of a negligent amount. They make posters on a yearly basis and hang a few of them around the building. The publicity on the union’s end is not noteworthy of any sort. Needless to say a free venue to perform is no small feat. However, the shows are free. So the groups perform a service to the campus community as well.

Asking a business to close for two hours is an unreasonable request. Finding a way to make the acoustics of a room be of a theatrical quality is unlikely. By moving to the Armory Free Theatre, the weekly shows could advertised with theatre’s yearly season could drastically increase the audience size that would counteract any amount of passersby. The shows would still retain their free status, and audiences would ultimately be less distracted, and may be engaged in the performance.