improv | Megan's Head

Our 4th Improv Fest

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.

February Improv Line up

By megan

On February 9, 2016

In improv

feb Improv flier

Brett made this fabulous flyer for our February line-up. Choose a night, or even more than one, and join us.

Fortune Cookie and first resolutions

By megan

On January 5, 2016

In Cape Town, deeply personal, improv

There is nothing more fantastic than performing a show as soon as the year starts. It’s like those first days of total commitment to your New Year’s resolutions. I know it’s silly, but it colours how you think your year will turn out, and especially with improv, this means positive, creative team work and fun. I am also kicking my year off with a tiny bit of work (if you can call such fun work) before going on holiday. How lucky am I? So we had our first show last night (terrific and fabulous) and we have another tonight and tomorrow night (Alexander Bar, 8pm) if you wanna.

I have also hitchhiked onto an idea that Big Friendly suggested, which is to try 30 days of new habits instead of hard core resolutions, and my first one is to not drink alcohol for at least 30 days. I am on day five today. Honestly, nothing much has changed (I am suffering from a sinus thing that feels just like a hangover, to be honest) except for how easy it is not to drink. That’s it. I really don’t see the problem. So, I won’t drink for 30 days and then I’ll see how I like it. I know for sure I’ll have a little extra cash in my pocket, and I’ll probably be able to lose a few extra inches. Those are the benefits. Let’s see how I go.

Five days in, and aside from Penny Sparrow and the other hideous racists, I am having a good one so far.

Improv Explosion – Double Bill

By megan

On October 3, 2015

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

Not gonna lie, after 24 years of improvising it is hard to get my people freshly excited about something I am doing. I keep having fun though, almost every week of my life, but self promotion is becoming more and more of a challenge. My Facebook friends are sick of the weekly invites to our Monday night shows, and I don’t blame them, it is every single Monday night after all.

However, in two weeks’ time, on Monday the 12 October, I am involved in some improv that I can’t help shouting about, from the rooftops (or at least from my blog, and social media).

At 730pm we (Improguise) will be performing some as yet undecided format with our great friend, mentor, magician and master of improv, Chicago based , who is visiting our shores again. But that’s not all. At 9pm Joe Bill and I will be performing an improv duo, because we are completely desperate to be on stage, making stuff up, just the two of us. Honestly, Joe Bill is my wet dream of an improv partner and I can’t believe my fantasy is coming true.

Now, here’s the thing. I have no idea how to tell all of you how amazing this is going to be, or why it would be terrible to miss it. I don’t know what to do to convince you that this is going to be the real (made up) deal.

So I am going to tell you the details, and you can just go ahead and book, ok?

Monday 12 October, Galloway Theatre @The Waterfront Theatre School, 730pm and 9pm

Tickets are R60 per show, or R100 for both. I promise. No strings attached. Ridiculous.

Call, sms or WhatsApp our booking line 0729393351 to book, and spread the word please.

PS. Joe Bill will also be doing one of his amazing improv classes, on Wed 14 October but places are limited so contact to book your spot.

A few lovely little things on my mind

By megan

On July 7, 2015

In deeply personal

I always know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged when I have to re-enter my password. That’s this morning. I am not even sure I have one whole thing to write about; it’s bits and pieces. Let’s see.

I woke up remembering last night’s improv show. We had a lovely house (it’s school holidays) and clearly, not everyone went to Grahamstown. There is always that nervousness about running anything theatrical while the festival happens. Pah, I say. But as important as the lovely house was the lovely show. We performed our old favourite format, TheatreSports, and because of all the great scene work we have been doing, and all the other formats we have been working on, the standard and satisfaction of our work last night was really high. Everybody loved us, and we loved each other, and ourselves. This got me thinking again about how lucky we are to have sustained this thing for almost 22 years, proving that we are not only the oldest but also the best improv group in Cape Town. And we can still pull audiences! This makes me extremely happy.

Another thing that is making me extremely happy at the moment is that I seem to have (holding thumbs that I don’t jinx it) broken the creative drought with a spurt of energy for a few interesting possibilities, the latest of which is a secret, but it is a new theatrical collaboration with some of my most favourite people and it is going to be groundbreaking in a hilarious and charming way. Watch this space.

Then there is the weather. I know, we are needing winter rains, but. I walked on Camps Bay beach yesterday, with my friend and the dogs, for over an hour and it was outrageously gorgeous.

And, ladies and gentlemen, I am writing again, not only here, but all over, with a collection of new ideas and things that make me enthusiastic and energised. Who knows what will become with these things, if they are ever to become actual things, but I am enjoying the process.

A few things Improv

By megan

On June 3, 2015

In Cape Town, improv, me on stage

On Sunday I performed some improv in Jozi with people I had never actually even met before. I was cheeky enough to invite myself to play with the Jittery Citizens who do a monthly stint at Kippies at The Market Theatre. We played Armando, to a tiny audience that included my very vocal nephews (who adored the show), and I was reminded that improv is an amazing thing; with a bit of robust confidence you can play with anyone, anywhere, and even play anything. I had never played Armando in front of a live audience before.

When I do something like this I end up getting re-inspired by what we do in Cape Town. I am reminded of how unbelievably good we are, and how well we know each other, and I know that we can do absolutely anything. Our annual Improv Festival is testimony to that.

Lately I have been feeling that our regular TheatreSports short form improv shows on a Monday night have been in need of a bit of a face lift. We haven’t been attracting huge houses, and us players are also in need of inspiration. So I am excited by our brazen new idea that will bring a completely different format every single Monday night. It started off two weeks ago with a Stuck in The Middle, a great format where one improviser (in this case Leon Clingman) was on stage for the full hour of the show, and the rest of the team put him in different scenes. This Monday’s show was an improvised documentary and I hear it was fantastic (I was in Jozi, so I missed it). It is a format that I think I might have invented and I have played in and seen some outrageous ones.

This coming Monday is SuperScene, a fast paced, high energy, competitive format, where ‘directors’ create scenes and stories played by the team. The audience votes out their least favourite scene in rounds and there is a winning story at the end, that gets a final big finale scene. I’ll be playing and directing in this one and already my competitive juices are flowing. I love winning SuperScene. The cast are Carolyn Lewis, Tandi Buchan, Tarryn Saunders, Anne Hirsch, Ryan Jales, Leon Clingman and me. That is a pretty hot line-up.

Apparently the week after that is Road Movie. I don’t even know what that is yet. Guess we’ll make it up! So, if you like your improv varied, shaken up and different every single time, call our booking line 0729393351 to book. Our Monday night shows start earlier than before, at 730pm, and we perform at the sexy Galloway Theatre at the Waterfront Theatre School. And, of course your weekly dose of improv is still unbelievably ridiculously cheap at R60 a ticket. Pathetic really. For those of you who have never been, here is a handy map too. There is usually convenient parking at the old Hirt and Carter building just a little way down the road.

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Megan's Head

A place where Megan gets off her head.

Tag: improv (Page 3 of 16)

Our 4th Improv Fest

February Improv Line up

Fortune Cookie and first resolutions

Improv Explosion – Double Bill

A few lovely little things on my mind

A few things Improv

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