A Herd Of Cats

Have you ever heard the saying “It’s like trying to herd cats?” Well, that’s an easy job compared to directing an improv team…I imagine…I’m not the director…I’m one of the cats. Kevin Luebke is the instigator of this whole situation. And even he’s lucky. Megan Boyce is the main herder with all of the responsibility while Kevin also gets to participate in the silliness. If you’ve ever worked with Megan on a production, you know she’s the right person for this job.

I’ve known Kevin for a number of years I can’t currently recall. A couple of years ago he mentioned that he was going to be directing an improv comedy show at BDACT. My first thought was, “How exactly do you direct an improv show? Isn’t the whole point that there’s no script or stage directions or anything else?” Before I had the chance to learn what an improv director does, Kevin told me that I should come in to audition to be part of the team. I was reluctant since I had never done improv before. I’d done some acting, but even that had been a while. Lo and behold I was cast as the pre-intermission host and post-intermission participatory performer.

And that’s why I love this show so much and what makes it so much fun. Some of us are performing for the first time while others have been in every show since the start. We all have our strengths. Some of us (not me) even have a few weaknesses. Those with experience are able to give advice and help coach the group while those newer to improv might bring a fresh perspective as a result of not conforming to the “rules” of comedy.

Leading up to the shows we get together a couple times per week to practice. I prefer the word “practice” rather than “rehearsal” since we’re really not rehearsing anything. We’ll run through the various games, or “missions” as we call them, mostly to remind ourselves of the structure of each game. During practice we’re able to get comfortable working with every member of the team in every possible configuration. When you’re up there trying to be funny and your brain refuses to tell you words to say, it’s nice to be able to look at your scene partner knowing that you can count on them to keep things moving.

Some people have asserted that our shows are actually scripted. Let me assure you that’s not the case. In the first year we had a fairly strict list of games that we’d use during a performance, and may have even known which games we’d be participating in, but now Kevin must think we’ve grown enough to be able to do anything at any time with anyone. As the host, I don’t even know which game is coming up next, or if I’ll be performing, until the current game is well under way. We’ve gotten pretty high-tech at Mission: Improv-able HQ. Megan randomly draws each game, and participant names, and then sends that info to me through a series of tubes (the internet). Would the show run more smoothly if it were scripted? Maybe. Would it be funnier or more fun? Definitely not.

Never been to one of our shows? Never been to an improv show at all? Mission: Improv-able is a great introduction to improv comedy. We perform in Encore Hall so it’s a very close-up experience. When performers inevitably run, or roll, off the stage they may end up right at your feet.

Show up ready to participate. That doesn’t mean you have to end up on the stage, although we will ask for volunteers to do that from time to time. We need scene suggestions. We need silly personality quirks. Want to see a group of people going through all of the stages of grief while working on an automotive assembly line? You can see that at Mission: Improv-able. Sure, we’ve played these games before, but we’ve never played them the way that YOU want us to.

You can go to all three shows and not see the same thing twice. In fact, I think you should. Buy extra tickets and invite some friends. Sure, I wrote this with the goal of being informative and maybe a little entertaining, but mostly I want to sell tickets. You can’t beat a night (or day) out in Beaver Dam that includes friends, drinks, and some community theater improv comedy.

All joking aside, it’s a good time. I’m thankful to Kevin for suggesting that I audition. I’ve met a bunch of incredible people and have gotten to do something I never thought I would. I think I may have even made a few people laugh. I’m not sure about that though because I pretty much tend to black out during my scenes and have no idea what I’ve done.

See you there!