TheatreSports | Megan's Head

Post Prague Improv excitement

On January 28, 2013

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

It’s taken me longer than I thought it would to recover and get used to being back. Cape Town has been aggressively windy, my sinuses are screaming, and the cough and cold I brought back from the temperatures in the minuses have been resolutely unshakeable. But, there is no time to ponder all of this, because starting from nowish, well at least tonight, is the beginning of two solid weeks of improv, with a brief break for me on the weekend for my sister-in-law’s wedding. It feels totally crazy and exciting, and the best part is that it is all improv so I don’t have to feel unprepared, just open and jolly, really.

Tonight is our first show of the year back at The Intimate, and it will be the usual evening of short form TheatreSports mayhem that our town side locals have come to know and love. Tomorrow night is TheatreSports at Kalk Bay Theatre, again for the usual suspects. After that things get properly crazy. Wednesday 30 Jan and Wed the 6th Feb are Wednesday Westerns, and I must confess I am the most excited to perform this. An hour and a half of Western drama, with guns, stage coach scenes, posses, outlaws, prostitutes, ranchers and everything else. Thursdays are also going to be totally delicious. They are Thursday at Thornton Hall, period dramas in the Jane Austen milieu (100 years today since the release of Pride and Prejudice!), Fridays are Family Musicals and Saturday is a highly competitive format called Superscene. Same thing for the 2nd week. I am absolutely convinced there is something to tickle everyone’s fancy.

I’ll probably write about each one afterwards, but if you want to see how amazingly brilliant, diverse and creative we are, book for our fest on the Kalk Bay Theatre website, or call Lisa on 0729393351 for the Monday or Tuesday shows.

Natalie’s Circle of Love FUNdraiser 2

By megan

On November 28, 2012

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

Dear friends, and readers of meganshead, on Tues 11 December we perform our final TheatreSports show of the year at The Kalk Bay Theatre. It’s a very special show because we are going to laugh you into the festive season AND raise money for Natalie’s Circle of Love. I am sure many of you remember Natalie’s story, and the brilliant Baxter FUNdraiser we did for her in April last year. Natalie is one of the bravest young people I know and I am delighted that we are able to dedicate this performance to her and raise much needed funds for her medical costs. Tickets to this show are R100 for adults and R50 for kids (all funds go to Natalie’s Circle of Love Trust) and I know they are going to fly, so book soon on 072 9393351. Then, on the night, we will be collecting soft toys and gentle toiletries for the Sarah Fox Convalescent Hospital for Children in Athlone. There are dedicated beds there for terminally ill children and they really have absolutely nothing. Book your ticket, bring a prezzie and come and laugh with us. What do you say?

Lovely, light, laughing improv

By megan

On September 18, 2012

In Cape Town, improv, inspiration, me on stage

Every now and then I end up being in an improv show that is so feel-good, so filled with inspiration, laughter, creativity and team spirit and just joyous. Last night’s TheatreSports show was that. And when it happens every single thing falls into place and my little universe’s balance gets restored.

To be honest, we have been struggling a little these last few weeks. Our group is very small at the moment, where improv has had to take a back seat for some who are busy with other stuff. We have also been struggling these last two weeks for audiences. We know this happens in waves, and on balance it is nothing short of miraculous that we have been able to sustain weekly (and more importantly) bi-weekly performances for almost twenty years. But traditionally, September and October are hard for us audience wise, and this year is no exception. Also, because our group is small we have a heavy workload to share. The usual.

So, when a show is delicious, it is made even more delicious by how it transcends our circumstances. In last night’s show we did an Ode to Grozevo (a made up country) where it is cold, and steaming, and rats are everywhere. My favourite scene was when I was the cockroach of peace in a Buddhist retreat. I loved watching the other team’s Voices From The Grave where they all died at a Toys R Us, Candice’s Johnny Clegg “take that!” stole the show, and my own personal highlight was a wombat slasher road movie. But there was even more, and we had great, fabulous fun and so did our audience.

When this happens we are spurred on, and encouraged and further inspired. Next week, to celebrate Heritage Day on Monday, we are going to have a braai before the show, so come early, and the show itself will be a take on the Sink or Swim format, called Braai or Burn! We hope to do something as fun and silly at The Kalk Bay Theatre on Tuesday, so watch this space (or our other spaces on @TheatresportsSA on twitter, and Improguise on Facebook).

The Official New Courses Press Release

By megan

On August 11, 2012

In applied improv, Cape Town, improv, inspiration

We Improguisers, best known as the company who performs Cape Townâ€™s best loved and longest running live improv show TheatreSports, will be running two fabulous and comprehensive improvisation workshops, starting on Thursday 6 September 2012, and running once a week for eight weeks.

One course will be Improv for Actors; aimed at taking trained actors through the aspects of improv that develop the skills of spontaneity, team work, characterisation, status, being present and truth, to name a few. The aim will be to get trained actors ready to perform both long and short form improv.

The second course, which will run concurrently, is for everybody. Do your friends and family tell you that you are funny? Was the last time you were on stage your school play, and do you miss it? Did you watch every episode of Whose Line is It Anyway? And think, â€œI can do that!â€ Have you seen TheatreSports and thought, â€œThatâ€™s what I want to do!â€ Are you a web designer, dog walker, gym instructor, radio announcer, or any other kind of somebody with a desire to improvise? Then this course is for you. It is a high impact, fast paced intro to improv that will make you feel fabulous. And, if you show promise, you could be invited to join the current team.

Course facilitators Megan Furniss, Tandi Buchan and Candice Dâ€™Arcy have returned from Improvention, a massive and inspiring Australian Improv festival, with the improv fire burning strong in their hearts and the vision of turning Cape Town into South Africaâ€™s improv capital.

â€œWe need a huge team of talented, committed improvisers to perform in all the formats, styles and shows we want to get going,â€ says improv veteran Megan Furniss. â€œWe were so inspired, and saw so much, and back home we have an audience ready for new and exciting forms of improvâ€.

So, we want you! Contact Megan immediately to secure your place in either course, and to find out the finer details, like costs, times and venues.

Â cell:083 4403961 follow @meganshead and @theatresportsSA on Twitter

An audience Challenge

By megan

On August 4, 2012

In Cape Town, deeply personal, improv, theatre stuff

It’s a good one. It’s not punishment or hard or horrible. It goes like this. On Monday night, at The Intimate, instead of us doing our usual (and I am not for one moment claiming it isn’t totally awesome) TheatreSports show, we will be trying out one of the brand new formats we saw in Oz at Improvention. It is still pure improvisation. It is still making it up in front of a live audience. It is just a bigger than usual cast, new exciting ideas, and a new approach to what we have been doing anyway.

It is guaranteed to be amazing (as with all improv) although I am sure it will have moments that will be great, and some less great. The usual. I am really excited to be playing this. We have been playing more or less the same (reliable) format for yonks and this feels like such a cool offering.

Now I know that there are lots of you who like reading what I say about theatre in CT (and sometimes beyond, like Jozi and G’town). Some of you like me seeing your shows and then writing about them. Some of you like me seeing other people’s shows, and then you go and see them (or not). Some of you just read what I say anyway, and never see anything. All of that is super cool.

My challenge is this. Come and see meÂ perform on Monday night. In a new improv format. I will be doing what I love. I will be doing it for you. And for my team. Just like the Olympics, only in a theatre. The ticket prices are the usual R50 (and this might be one of your last chances to pay such a pissy little amount for magnificent live theatre and a cast of 9!) Come and see what I do on stage. It will be a little like you saying, “Let’s check out what she’s got, instead of asking her to come and see what we’ve got.”

Come along and buy tickets at the door. Or call Ryan on 072 9393351. Or call me. Or leave a message here that you’ll be coming. Or on facebum or twitter. I would love to hear your feedback.

TheatreSports FUNdraiser 3

By megan

On May 2, 2012

In improv, inspiration

Megan's Head

A place where Megan gets off her head.

Tag: TheatreSports (Page 2 of 14)

Post Prague Improv excitement

Natalie’s Circle of Love FUNdraiser 2

Lovely, light, laughing improv

The Official New Courses Press Release

An audience Challenge

TheatreSports FUNdraiser 3

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