An Evening At The Improv
Posted By CATHY PELLETIER , CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Posted 2 months ago
Lacing your shoes with spaghetti. Rubbing ointment on a lizard. Brushing your teeth, soap-opera style. Imitating the Slap Chop guy on TV.
Terry Van Nort acted as guest host to emcee Dick Passmore at the Youth Impact Centre Sunday, and the two suggested guidelines, encouraging audience members to yell out ideas to keep the young actors -known as the Impact Improv Players -on their creative toes throughout the evening's entertaining performance.
Imaginations ran amok as improvisers stepped into the spotlight to invent on-the-spot scenes and dialogue, such as pretending to seek pink radioactive turkeys in Alabama. Another boy clutched the floor while portraying a very believable fear of gravity. "God wants us to stay on the ground, obviously, or he wouldn't have invented it," said the quick-thinking performer. Actors became enraged and accused others of stealing both boyfriends and Kraft Dinner, to the crowd's amusement.
"This is our second time performing for the River Arts Festival," said Passmore -playing the role of Dunnville's Drew Carey, "and none of the scenes have been rehearsed."
In 'Rant,' each person is given 30 seconds to step into the spotlight and rant about a specific topic suggested by the audience. Nate Waldes ranted about having to maintain his personal hygiene for his girlfriend's sake, while Justin van Nort claimed his hatred of synchronized swimming stemmed from the fact that his bathing cap was too tight.
"It's not just about acting," Waldes told the Chronicle during intermission; "but more about letting loose and being yourself." A grade 12 student at Dunnville Secondary, Waldes is already an accomplished musician, who also takes courses at Theatre Aquarius.
In 'Advertisements,' players are handed an everyday object and have just 30 seconds to come up with a way to "sell" it to the audience via an impromptu infomercial. In the hands of 12-year-old Bailey Passmore, a vacuum hose instantly became a cat toy. Enormous flyswatters, spaghetti strainers, and supersonic hearing devices (disguised as Styrofoam meat trays) were all pitched at outrageous prices.
In 'Lines,' two players engage in conversation, with instructions to pull out a slip of paper they have been given previously when they feel it's the appropriate time. That's when they read their surprise line. "I only have two things: my friends and my thermos," was one humourous example.
Other games included 'Park Bench,' in which two characters sit on a bench and one has to drive away the other person somehow. In 'Alphabet Scene,' two players speak, using subsequent letters of the alphabet to start each topic.
For the past two and a half years, Passmore has hosted weekly Improv workshops Sunday nights at the Youth Impact Centre, where he focuses on helping young thespians hone their onstage skills and gain self-confidence.
"I started doing this years ago with the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton," he said. "We have up to 16 kids show up from 7 to 9 at night, and from 8 to 9:00 is for the advanced group.
