Improvisation is such a growing part of the Edinburgh Fringe and this year, acts are taking the art form in so many different directions. From improvised musicals to improvised whodunnits, you can find a variety of options within the festival programme. After catching Acaprov: The Improvised A Cappella Musical at Brighton Fringe in May and being impressed by the rapid creativity, I became fascinated by the genre and wanted to interview an act taking improv to Fringe. After scanning the event programme, I found out that Flying Chairs Theatre had plans to improvise a TV sitcom at theSpaceUK and I couldn’t wait to hear how they would bring the spirit of television to the stage from Director Gabriel Foley.
‘Improv and Chill’ is the brainchild of Bristol-based Flying Chairs Theatre. What can you tell me about the company behind the fringe production?
Formed in 2019, Flying Chairs was created by a group of Uni friends as a means to putting on professionally produced shows once they’d left University – the first of which was Jez Butterworth’s Mojo, which was eventually performed (thank you COVID-19) in April 2022 in a sold-out five day run at the Lightship Theatre in Bristol. Since then, the company has expanded into having a youth theatre, producing more scripted shows and, of course, Improv and Chill, which was performed for the first time in March 2023 and has gone from strength to strength.
‘Improv and Chill’ is described as ‘the TV show where you decide what happens’. What is it about television that inspired you to create a live improvisational show?
A lot of television programmes, most notably sitcoms, have a finite amount of time per episode to deliver a plot/subplot that entertains on their own but also feeds into the overall storyline of the series that links all the episodes together. To deliver a story in this way, you need maximum efficiency in world-building, establishing characters, establishing their relationships etc., which is a direct parallel to what is required in a good improv show. Highlighting the time constraint and putting an emphasis on how little time there is to waste when beginning an improv show is a great foundation, the rest easily flowed from there.
There are lots of improv acts at fringe festivals, what makes ‘Improv and Chill’ different?
So many improvised shows either ask the audience for a suggestion or two at the start of the show and never acknowledge them again, or go all the way in the other direction and constantly ask the audience for new suggestions throughout the show. With our show I believe we have a nice happy middle, letting the audience choose our framework at the beginning and giving them one or two opportunities to really put the cat amongst the pigeons once we get going; which I explain more in a later question.
How many performers are in the cast? To what extent do you assign roles ahead of the performance?
We have a total cast pool of nine, consisting of five ‘core’ regulars and four understudies. Six performers and one host take to the stage for each show; all that’s assigned is which of the four understudies will be the sixth performer and which will host – after that it’s a free-for-all!
How do you involve the audience in the show?
At the start of the show: audience members have the opportunity to shout out suggestions for genre, location, guest star and title of the TV show.
At the end of episode one: we invite suggestions for something (anything!) to happen that we then have to work into the plot somehow – to keep us on our toes.
At the end of episode two: we ask for a line that the audience wants to hear at some point during the final episode.
There is an extra special bonus way the audience can influence the show, but you’ll have to come and see it to find out what it is! 😉
What are the greatest opportunities and challenges with directing an improvised production?
Without a doubt the biggest challenge is keeping everybody’s confidence and enthusiasm up – as improv is such a vulnerable thing to do. One joke that falls flat or one instance of freezing up on stage can be enough to knock any of our confidences hard, especially as when the Flying Chairs improv group was created in late 2022, only myself and the then-director had any experience of performing improv on stage. I’m thrilled to say confidence grows with every rehearsal and the whole cast now has strong expertise in improv.
And the biggest and best opportunity is being able to have a laugh with some of my favourite people in the world, because when improv goes well, it’s bl**** hilarious.
If you could sum up the art of improvisation in one word, what would it be and why?
Rewarding – as I mentioned before, improvising is a specific skill, and going up on stage to improvise an entire show is a very vulnerable position to be in. But when it clicks between you and your scene partner? If you ask me, there’s no better feeling on stage.
How are you preparing for your Edinburgh Fringe run at theSpaceUK?
Every Monday we get together, we practice, we discuss, then we learn from ourselves and each other about what we need to do to produce a good improvised show. On the last Friday of every other month (with a special bonus ‘Fringe send-off show’ in July) we put it to work in front of an audience in our base in Bristol – and we cannot wait to do it in Edinburgh.
Watching an improvised TV show at the Edinburgh Fringe
I really like the sound of the cast asking the audience for one or two suggestions in the middle of the show. It must really encourage on-your-feet thinking! A huge thank you to Gabriel for taking me through the ins and outs of producing an improvisational production. It is under two weeks until the Bristol-based company open in Edinburgh, with ‘Improv and Chill’ at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall – Haldane Theatre (venue #53) from 3rd – 10th August. Performances start at 18:30 and tickets can be purchased via the festival website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
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