BWW Blog: Paisley Haddad - Anything Goes: 3 Reasons Why Schools Should Have an Improv Theatre Company

Hello Broadway World readers!! I'm dedicating my first blog post to the club that EVERY school should have. That's right, I'm talking about Improv theatre. Here are my three reasons on why schools should add an Improv Theatre Company into their list of clubs:

1. There's no auditions or any lines to memorize.

There's no having to worry about preparing the perfect monologue or having to highlight lines in your script. The only rule in Improv is to "don't think, just DO!" My theatre teacher always tells us to not write the script before we play an improv game, just start and it will come naturally. Also, another thing to keep in mind when doing Improv is to accept any offers that your fellow actors give you. For example, if you are starting a scene with two people, and one of them starts with the line "hey mom!" you must accept that you are this actor's mother and continue the scene as if you are their mother.

2. You don't have to be an actor or actress.

A common misconception about theatre clubs, like this one, are that you HAVE to be an actor or actress to join. That's not the case at all! Our club consists of regulars to the after school theatre scene and also some athletes that have never stepped foot on the stage in their lives. It's not about how well you can act, it's about how much fun you have while trying! The beauty of theatre is that you can transport yourself to any place or be anybody you want to be.

3. You will form a special bond that you wouldn't have with any other club.

You become pretty close when you are doing "silly walks" or pretending that you are Donald Trump filming an infomercial for hair brushes. Also, one key part of any Improv company is that you are able to know what every actor will do next and be able to work as one cohesive group. We always do at least one exercise when we meet that helps us strengthen these skills. One of my favorites was when we were put into partners of two and had to teach the rest of the group how to do something, but the catch was that we had to both speak as one, having no script at all and not knowing what the other person was going to say next. Another exercise that we use to work on these skills, is when we set a chair in the middle of the stage. Three actors get up in front of the group and at all times one actor must be standing, one sitting on the chair, and one laying on the stage. It always leads to interesting and funny scenes while also helping us with our skills.

I hope you take my advice and join an Improv Theatre Company or even bring these techniques to your own theatre groups! If you want to practice more Improv games it's great to watch "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" on Youtube.

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