August
11, 2005 - THEY improv participation
in the South Florida Improv Jam Mentioned in the New Times Broward/Palm
Beach
THEY improv's participation in the 4th Annual
South Florida Improv Jam to benefit Gilda's Club South Florida
was mentioned in the New Times Broward / Palm Beach in an article
by Deirdra Funcheon. If you would like to view the whole article,
click
here for the New Times Broward / Palm Beach.
Jam
on It
Six improv comedy troupes get together and Jam
By
Deirdra Funcheon - Thursday, August 11th, 2005
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"Hey,
I'll arm-wrestle you for tickets to the Improv Jam!"
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"Our philosophy is, never
try to be funny," Dave Hyland says. Surprising words from a member
of an improv comedy troupe. But Hyland, who at age 34 considers
himself one of the genre's "elder statesmen," explains the thought
process used by his group, Mod 27: "If you force the issue, it
ends up being significantly less funny. Being funny is a byproduct
of what we do, which is creating quality characters. We focus
on letting them live and exist in the moment. That ends up being
funny."
This weekend, Mod 27 hosts the Fourth Annual Improv Jam, which
provides a rare opportunity for six of South Florida's improv
groups to get together. The show is a benefit for Gilda's Club,
a support group for people living with cancer. Hyland expects
the format to be the same as last year, when the troupes mixed
together and split into four entirely new groups. That makes performances
more challenging and exciting, Hyland says, because "people get
to work with people they don't normally work with. At the end,
there'll be a jam in which all [25 or so] performing members do
something together."
In addition to Mod 27, the troupes Impromedy, Just the Funny,
THEY, Laughing Gas, and Name Change Pending will perform. "Every
group," Mod 27 member Kat Kiernan says, "does their own take on
improv." Whereas Impromedy focuses on sketch comedy à la Saturday
Night Live, Just the Funny and Laughing Gas often try long-form
improv, in which they start with a single audience suggestion
and develop it into a full-on play.
Kiernan,
who is 22 and one of just a few women performing, says that she's
trying to stretch the audience's expectations. When she walks
on stage, "I don't want people to assume I'm going to be the wife
or the daughter. My favorite type is a physical, oddball type
-- something you wouldn't normally see a girl doing. We've been
working on abstract stuff lately. For example, if we're doing
an Alice in Wonderland-type skit, I'd want to be the clock instead
of the main character." What would a clock say? "When you're up
there, it's so organic. It kind of just happens. You're not really
thinking. You are who you're portraying, and stuff's just going
to come out of your mouth naturally."
Improv shows have yielded some of the most hilarious characters
in recent history. Members of Impromedy have given birth to such
gems as Wang & Chung, the Ping-Pong Guys; the Incredibly Gay Hulk;
and Drunken Bald Man in a Kimono. Just the Funny has hatched Les
B. Anne and Mariachi con Cojones. Although Kiernan says that she
never wants a "staple" character lest she start to lean on it,
her day job can always provide inspiration: She's a Hooters girl.
"I get some stuff from there," she says. Improv players are "always
people-watching. There's always characters around." And, she adds,
"Real life is funny enough."
About
THEY improv
THEY improv is an informal group of actors
getting together and performing improv, often for charities and
always for the betterment of everyone. For now there is no corporate
structure and no financial relationship, with their first several
performances to be done for charities and the money never even being
seen by the troupe. Marketing funds and efforts will either be donated
by the members or provided by the charities themselves.
