Improguise | Megan's Head

Good News

On April 25, 2019

In Cape Town, deeply personal, me on stage, theatre stuff, world of work, writing

Today has been a really good day from a creative point of view. There have been a series of signs that I am moving in a positive direction – not totally there yet, but moving certainly. I am working my way through getting funding for my trip to the US so I can be at the reading of my play Lost Property at the end of May, and I am preparing for a reading of it here at home before I leave (watch this space for more news of that). I am gearing up for the first ever proper performances of my piece The Deep Red Sea on the 20, and 21 May at the Alexander Bar and Café, and I am preparing for teaching a series of classes and workshops. Also, my favourite thing happens next week, also at the Alexander Bar – we are improvising from Monday to Friday in The Style High Club, a series of long form improv shows dedicated to style – film noir, SA soap, Austen, movies and musical, all made up on the spot.

But the best news of the day is that my rhyming children’s story has been picked up by a really big publisher and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I will share all the details as they evolve, but right now I am grinning, and giggling and delighted.

Improv excitement

By megan

On June 26, 2017

In Cape Town, improv, me on stage, theatre stuff

I sprang out of bed today with the happiest sproing because on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night I am going to be improvising with ImproGuise and we are doing a different improv format on each of the nights and this makes me very damn sproingy.

We are going to be playing our hearts out at my favourite theatre, The Alexander Bar, and we are on at 9pm and we want you to come and witness the fun and join in the laughter. On Thursday night we will be warming up with old school TheatreSports; short form, competitive improv games, with suggestions and scores from the audience. Friday night is reserved for our new format Tribute. We have only played this once before and we were transported by it. The first half is an improvised documentary about a made up band. Then, after suggestions for titles from the audience, we pay tribute to the band by singing four of their songs; all made up and never heard before. You need to be there to believe it. Finally, on Saturday night we’ll be doing SuperScene, where each player directs a scene using the other players, and the audience votes for which ones they want to continue seeing, until there is the last and final, winning SuperScene.

You know me; any opportunity to get my improv on. I am so, so sproingy. Please go here to book. The venue is tiny and you only have 3 nights to choose from. Yayayayayayyayayayyay!

PS. I was a little bit underwhelmed by the response from actors regarding my proposal for improv masterclasses. Maybe you want to come check out the show and then see?

the best improv fest

By megan

On February 27, 2017

In Cape Town, improv, inspiration, me on stage, theatre stuff

I know it hardly makes sense for me to be talking about the next best thing when the best thing of the moment hasn’t even started yet, but I have to. You see, although hasn’t opened yet (it previews on Tuesday and Wednesday and opens on Thursday at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square this week), and that has been my main and most absorbing focus, once it is open I whizz back to Cape Town without a moment to catch my breath and start playing my heart out in ImproGuise‘s fifth annual improv fest.

Starting on Monday 6 March, and with a different format every night until Saturday 11 March, this is the improv festival I cannot stop thinking about. The intimate Alexander Bar theatre hosts us each night at 7pm for an hour long exploration of on the spot creativity, team work, imagination and fun. Nothing thrills me more than a week of improv every night for almost a whole week. And I am playing with Cape Town’s finest improvisers and make-believers. The Alexander theatre is small, with only 42 seats a night, and the different formats we are playing are a combination of audience favourites and ‘brand-new-never-tried-before’. My old favourite is Documentary; a completely made up documentary (think fake news only much more creative) based on a few suggestions from the audience. The format I am the most excited to try out is Tribute, part documentary, part tribute show. We make up the band, the members, the people who influenced them, and then we sing their songs, based on titles given by the audience. There is also Naked Improv, Duos, Westword and Alexander Abbey (our nod to period drama). I am salivating.

Improv for my life

By megan

On February 7, 2017

In Cape Town, improv, inspiration, me on stage

For those of you who know me you know that I love directing theatre, performing plays and writing them, but my big love, if I were forced to choose, is improvising. I am the happiest and luckiest when I am making things up, especially in front of an audience. I have been very clever about living my dream. For the past 24 years I have been doing this almost every week, in some form or another. I remember thinking, when I was in my 30s that there was an age limit to this form of play, but I haven’t stopped and I love it more all the time.

Last night we practiced a new format that we’ll be ‘premiering’ at ImproGuise‘s fifth annual improv festival (can you believe we have done 5 improv festivals?) that takes place at my favourite Alexander Bar from 6 to 11 March. This new format is called Tribute and how it works (kind of) is that the first half is the back story of the band or musicians we are paying tribute to, and the second half is the tribute band playing their songs. Everything is made up. For those of you who know me, singing is not a strong suit of mine, but I love it nonetheless, and I will be belting it out with the best of us. I cannot wait.

Every single of the five nights is a different format, and the Alexander Bar is teeny, so you should start booking for the ones you definitely want to see.

Also starting in March is our new Improv for Beginners training course. I haven’t been involved in the teaching or running of one of these for a bit, and this year Tandi Buchan and I will be doing it together. It is also another favourite thing of mine to do. If you are keen, please email Tandi on for info on dates, times and costs. This course will change how you do life, and it is for everybody, so come and play.

An ImproGuise Letter

By megan

On August 26, 2016

In Cape Town, improv, inspiration

Many of you know me as an improviser. I have been improvising, teaching improv, and involved in all shapes and sizes of improv in Cape Town for close to 25 years. It is my first love. Our group was originally popularly known as TheatreSports, and then it became ImproGuise, and we are proud to call ourselves the longest running live show in South Africa. This letter that follows is a letter to all that know, love and support us.

A Letter from the Improguise improvisers

To all our fans, friends, supporters, patrons, reviewers, fellow improvisers, suggestion givers, audiences, and those who have laughed along with us for 23 years,

As you know, Improguise is Cape Town’s (and South Africa’s) longest running, most loved and creative improv company. We have been performing continuously in Cape Town and around the country for the last 23 years, bringing you our well known brand of TheatreSports, and introducing you to other fabulous improv formats; some that we learned from fellow improvisers across the globe, and some that we invented all by ourselves. We have entertained schools, corporates, performed at festivals and overseas improv celebrations, performed our own week long improv festivals, improv marathons and of course, carried on performing our weekly shows to our faithful audiences.

We think it’s time to start doing things differently.

We have gotten better and better and we want to be able to bring the best of what we do to different stages and audiences, new and old. So this is what we are going to be doing in order to change the way we bring improv to you. We have decided to focus on little runs of improv at various venues around Cape Town, and even South Africa, where we will focus on a particular style, or format of improv. Occasionally we have done these very successful improv shows in the past, and now it is going to be the way we move forward.

So, what’s up next? Where can you see us? On the 1, 2, and 3 of September we will be performing three nights of Word Play at The Alexander Bar. This is an exciting new format using words as improv inspiration. The Alexander Bar is an intimate venue with only 44 seats, so make sure you book soon, and online to get your booking discount.

Then, later on in October Improguise will be participating in the Mama City International Improv festival, that is being held in Cape Town, and the details are still being finalised for that.

We are in talks for a series of three shows in November in our old stomping ground in the Southern Peninsula, and will let you know about this the minute dates have firmed up. And we can announce that those dates have firmed up as 27, 28, 29 November at the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg

The best way to find out about where we are and what we’ll be doing is on social media. Check out our website www.improguise.co.za, like our Facebook page , and follow our twitter account @ImproGuiseSA for all our latest news.

We want to continue to bring the best improv to you.

With much love and respect

The Improguise Guys

Our 4th Improv Fest

By megan

On March 2, 2016

In Cape Town, improv, me on stage, theatre stuff

ImprovFest I cannot believe that we ImproGuisers are about to perform our 4th Improv Fest, from 14-19 March, at The Galloway Theatre.

Inspired by an amazing improv travel experience to Oz in 2012, Candice D’Arcy (now living in Oz with Melbourne improviser Mark Gambino), Tandi Buchan (artistic director of ImproGuise), and I came back with inspiration, motivation and a lot of madness, and slapped together an improv festival that offered the best improv in short and long formats.

We were amazed at the amazement of our audiences. We listened to what they loved the most. We were inspired by their suggestions. And we did the festival three times in a row, for the last three years.

This year the biggest difference is the venue. Our last three week long festivals were in Kalk Bay, but now we will be performing at ImproGuise’s home base, The Galloway Theatre. This makes it much more accessible for most of our fans, (although there will be a few long faces because we are not on the other side).

Every single night of the week will present a different improv form; some tried and tested, and our audience favourites as well as one entirely new, very dangerous one, Naked Improv, where absolutely nothing is known beforehand.

I am not gonna lie. We have been performing improv in Cape Town for 23 years now, and the biggest challenge is getting, and keeping, an audience. It is tough, and we have to do a tightrope balance of reinventing ourselves and doing what our audiences love. If you have seen us before (or if you embarrassingly never have) please come and get a sample of this smorgasbord of improv delights.

Tickets are ridiculously cheap. R80, and R70 for students or for block bookings. They are available here on TIXSA and you can find out more if you call our own booking line 0729393351. Every night is different. Choose your best from the line-up in the poster, or take a risk.

Megan's Head

A place where Megan gets off her head.

Tag: Improguise (Page 1 of 3)

Good News

Improv excitement

the best improv fest

Improv for my life

An ImproGuise Letter

Our 4th Improv Fest

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