Episode # 159 - Improv Roundtable
nytheatre.com correspondent Adam Klasfeld moderates a roundtable discussion about improv comedy. The participants are Rob Reese, the artistic director of the improv group Amnesia Wars; Sharon Fogarty, who is a cast member in the Chicago City Limits touring company; and Steven Slate, who is a member of the improv groups Big Tobacco and Death League Tea Party, as well as one of the Magnet Theatre’s resident improv teams.
These three veteran improvers talk about their respective backgrounds, and their different approaches to improv comedy (Rob and Sharon are seasoned practitioners of short form improv; Steven is more well-versed in long form). They also talk about the wide-reaching influence of Chicago comedy pioneers Del Close, The Compass, and Second City.
And, of course, Adam, Rob, Sharon, and Steven conclude their discussion the only way they possibly could: by improvising. Listen to the panelists’ lightning-fast skills in action!
Rob is also a two-time NYTE alumni playwright: his play, Survivor: Vietnam!, was published in Plays and Playwrights 2004; and his stage adaptation of Frankenstein was published in the NYTE anthology, Playing With Canons.
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September 27th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Hey all,
For the record, I guess it’s not completely incorrect to refer to me as a “seasoned practitioner of short form improv”, but the truth is all of the improv shows I’ve done over the past … well, REALLY long time have been longform.
The interesting dynamic is that back “in the day” improvisers all came up through college etc. playing shortform games and discovered true longform when they moved to Chicago. Now that Del’s message has spread across the country thanks to festivals and player migration, whole generations of players like Steven BEGIN their improv training with longform.
Thanks for a fun podcast. Next time we can leave a bit of extra time and do a “Bat” or “Blind Harold” or a “Radio Play” and really show off our longform chops!