Arrive Magazine - May/June, 2009

affordable! As UCB proudly reminds visitors at the end of every show, their admission price is often less than that of a movie ticket, and improv groups across the country seem dedicated to maintaining similar standards. Is it any wonder that the number of groups—and the level of interest in them—is growing?

“When the UCB came to New York in 1996,” King says, “there was no long-form improv here, and now you can find a show every night of the week.”

The same thing is happening throughout the Northeast Corridor, and in the generous spirit of the art form, the well-established companies couldn’t be happier about it.

“We really do believe the more improv there is, the more audience there’ll be for all of us,” says Mark Chalfant, artistic and executive director of the Washington Improv Theater ( WIT) in D.C.

What’s Short, What’s Long and Who is Harold? Although improv has seen a surge in popularity in the past few years, it’s hardly new. Writer and acting teacher Viola Spo-lin began developing the “theater games” that became the basis of improv comedy back in the 1940s. Following in her footsteps, Spolin’s son, Paul Sills, became one of the founders of The Second City in Chicago, the country’s best-known improv company and school. Guru Del Close—a key player at Second City and cofounder of iO (formerly ImprovOlympic)—is widely considered to be the father of long-form improv comedy.

Philly Improv Theater is where, apparently, anything goes.

TOM LOVeLUND

For the most part, improv continues to fall into the short-form and long-form categories established long ago. Short-form improv closely resembles Spolin’s original theater games, featuring brief, unconnected scenes exploring single concepts suggested by the audience (imagine the story of Cinderella in the style of The Sopranos). Long-form is more like a play with multiple, intercon-nected scenes. Close’s classic Harold improv structure presents three acts (referred to as beats), with three scenes and a group game in each.

Regardless of the form, being a team player is key.

“The idea is not to try and look funny yourself—it’s to try and make those other seven people look funny,” says Dave Jadico, artistic director of ComedySportz in Philadelphia. “You can’t push your own agenda. You kind of have to create the group mind.”

A national franchise and one of the few family-friendly members of the improv fraternity, ComedySportz takes improv’s team dynamics one step further by actually pitting two short-form improv teams against each other and adding a referee to keep score and call fouls. The hilarious result has become the longest-running show in Philadelphia.

Get Schooled

A dedication to educating people in their art is another common thread throughout the improv community. Classes attract a surprisingly eclectic range of students, from professional actors and writers to lawyers, doctors and stay-at-home moms.

“Improv classes are such an interesting fit for a city like D.C. because everyone is so consumed here with their very important jobs,” says WIT’s Chalfant. “So to be the one thing that they have in their week that’s a creative outlet, that lets them relax and remember how to have fun, it’s really nice to be able to give that to people.”

In addition to improv performance classes, companies also frequently offer corporate training for companies looking to learn from the art form’s core principles.

“More and more in today’s workplace, the ideas that improv is working with are being seen as really valuable,” says Chalfant. “Companies may have

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