Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
We usually have our end of course shows on a Wednesday but last week it was a Saturday, and it was a lot busier than normal with some of the audience slightly "lively". Two pint glasses dropped on the floor and smashed before 8pm, always the sign of a good night.
There were lots of suggestions that were really helpful and inspiring for the cast, and that's what you want, especially when they are performing for the first time.
However every now and then one would pop up that was a bit more risky, like halfway through the first half somebody shouts out:
"Jimmy Saville's sex basement."
The audience laughed with a sharp intake of breath. There are different ways to look at that as a suggestion when you are hosting.
Does the person, and the rest of the audience, really want to see a scene involving Jimmy Saville on a Saturday night? Especially when it is the performers first ever time performing improv? No, I don't think so.
Maybe, just maybe, an experienced cast could take that suggestion and treat it with respect, play at the top of their intelligence, show morality, consequences and make a serious point out of it.
But really I don't think even the person giving that suggestion actually wants to see that scene. What they want instead is to get a laugh from having given the suggestion. So as a host that's what you give them, the laugh. You just have to stay relaxed, treat it as a joke (which it is), maybe play with them a bit, and then just ask for another suggestion.
This enables everyone to feel like they are in a safe place. The person has given that suggestion in the first place as they feel anonymous in the darkness, and the spontaneity they have seen on stage has rubbed off on them. So if we loose our cool over a bad suggestion we accidentally alienate the audience, as it looks like one rule for us and one rule for them.
So relax and acknowledge unhelpful suggestions, let them have a laugh for the suggestion, but don't actually use it!
Here's some other classic tricks for managing audience suggestions:
Can I get a load of suggestions?
If you ask for 'a' suggestion you often ending up having to take the first one. If you ask for a 'load' of suggestions you will get lots and you can now pick the most inspiring one if the first one isn't, don't spend too long doing that though.
You don't have to take the first suggestion
It's nice to take the first suggestion, but you don't have to. If the first suggestion isn't going to inspire your cast, or is going to freeze them up, then better to just laugh it off and get another one.
House Lights
I did this on Saturday. If your audience is getting slightly too rowdy then raise the house lights a little bit, the lack of anonymity soon quietens down the uninspiring suggestions and everyone else feels a bit safer again.
Reward good suggestions
React enthusiastically to suggestions you want. "Yes!!! Captain Pickle and the Balham underdogs! Yes! You can come for free every week. More like that please." Eventually everyone catches on to what sort of thing you need.
You can do a mini-version of an unwanted suggestion
If the host doesn't want to give the suggestion to the actors, they can do a little mini version of it themselves or do a little improvised bit about around it. This means it's been played with but in a safe way without breaking the main show.
I've even seen Showstoppers do this once. They took a suggestion of London Underground, did the opening number only, then Dylan said that's that and then prompted the audience to give him something inspiring. He then took this new suggestion (The Lost City of Atlantis) to inspire the actual complete musical. I love Dylan.
Ask for suggestions that inspire you
You can guide the audience into giving things that inspire you, I've found the following phrases quite helpful:
Please can we get a...
"exciting location you would like to see on stage"
"a place of adventure"
"an emotional relationship"
"an epic title of a story"
"a location to inspire our actors"
"a dream occupation"
" a life event"
All of those sort of things seem to give actors inspiration. I've found just asking for one word to be slightly flat, even when doing A to C on it, but that's just my personal preference. I especially like emotionally loaded suggestions.
Naughty Schoolboys
When someone shouts out "Jimmy Saville's Sex Basement" in a show they are basically just being a naughty school boy or girl in that moment, it doesn't mean they are trying to be unhelpful or disruptive to the show, so you can still have fun with blocking their suggestion.
You can play the same suggestion multiple different ways
The same suggestions to come up a lot. I've ended up on the Titanic in about five different shows. The first time was the classic "I'm King of the World" type thing. The next I was one of the band playing until the end. The last time I was one of the engine room guys. For each suggestion there are lots of ways of playing it, especially as you are playing with different people each time who will also have their own take on it.
Film Noir
What the fuck? Why does this one come up so much? This is the only one that annoys me. Every time you ask for a suggestion of a genre someone shouts this out, as if they are the first person to ever say Film Noir in an improv show. In actual fact the first was Socrates at the Ampitheatre of Athens, and Aristotle told him to fuck off.
Which brings me on too...
Use up the suggestion you don't want in your example
I love this one, I can't believe I'm giving away these dark arts of hosting now!
For example:
"Please can I get a suggestion of a life event, for instance giving birth?"
"Please can I get a genre, for instance film noir?"
"Please can I get an object, for instance a spatula?"
Thus removing the option to say the one you don't want.
I love suggestions
I love getting suggestions from the audience and improvising from suggestions. I think improv is one of the few truly interactive art forms out there, and suggestions are a lovely moment where the audience get to participate and shape the show.
Most of all I think the audience wants to see great improv, so do whatever you can to create the environment, mood and inspiration to enable that to happen.
Lots of love,
Pineapple
Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Free improv workshops for teachers and youth workers
Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
We've been running improv workshops for over 10 years, but mainly for adults. We thought it would be fun to bring improv to a younger audience, as initially improv was designed for teenagers and young people.
We're giving a couple of free places per course now to teachers or youth workers or similar, people who are interested in improv and would like to participate and learn more and then maybe pass it on to their own students.
The places are covered financially by our courses and corporate work, so you don't need to apply for funding or anything. Also if you need any help setting up improv in your school I'm happy to help over email or phone or meet up before a course. This is part of a growing drive across the whole improv scene to improve diversity across the UK improv scene, opening up improv to different ages and backgrounds.
In Canada and New Zealand improv is now in almost every school, and is hugely successful in helping students work collaboratively and creatively together, as well as giving students more confidence.
Have a look at Canadian Improv Games (http://improv.ca/), as this gives a sense of how popular the improv in schools is over there. It's also worth having a read of books like Impro by Keith Johnstone, or Improvisation by Viola Spolin, as these are classics on using improv to inspire creativity in education.
If you're interested please email us at hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
Steve
Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
We've been running improv workshops for over 10 years, but mainly for adults. We thought it would be fun to bring improv to a younger audience, as initially improv was designed for teenagers and young people.
We're giving a couple of free places per course now to teachers or youth workers or similar, people who are interested in improv and would like to participate and learn more and then maybe pass it on to their own students.
The places are covered financially by our courses and corporate work, so you don't need to apply for funding or anything. Also if you need any help setting up improv in your school I'm happy to help over email or phone or meet up before a course. This is part of a growing drive across the whole improv scene to improve diversity across the UK improv scene, opening up improv to different ages and backgrounds.
In Canada and New Zealand improv is now in almost every school, and is hugely successful in helping students work collaboratively and creatively together, as well as giving students more confidence.
Have a look at Canadian Improv Games (http://improv.ca/), as this gives a sense of how popular the improv in schools is over there. It's also worth having a read of books like Impro by Keith Johnstone, or Improvisation by Viola Spolin, as these are classics on using improv to inspire creativity in education.
If you're interested please email us at hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
Steve
Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
Sunday, 17 January 2016
From the back of the room, the booker's point of view.
Blog
by Steve Roe,
co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro.
Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
Hi everyone,
This blog comes out of a conversation I had with one of the directors of a big improv group in a cafe the other day:
Improv group: "We're looking for more gigs, we actually don't do that many."
Booker (me): "Why don't you do more at our club? You only do once a month or so at the moment."
Improv group: "I thought you didn't like us enough."
Booker: "Eh? I'd love to have you there. I thought you were too busy to do more. I thought you didn't like our club that much or something."
Improv group: "Eh? We'd love to do more there."
Booker: "Let's do more then."
Improv group: "Yeah!"
Booker: "Yeah!"
In a one minute conversation we burst the bubble of paranoia on both sides and found new fun ways to work together.
It made me realise that sometimes groups and comics second guess what the booker of a night is up to, so I thought I'd just put it in writing so people don't have to second guess me!
From chatting to bookers from other nights many of this seems similar to other clubs, so I hope it's helpful for new groups when they are trying to get themselves on at bigger clubs.
My point of view, what I'm doing when booking
I'm sat at a computer with a spreadsheet with all the show dates for the year.
Each date has cells next to it for groups.
Red cells means no groups booked in yet.
Yellow and the group name means I've asked if they'd like to do that date and am waiting for them to confirm.
Green and the group name means they are booked and confirmed.
All Green = Happy Steve
This all takes place over email, which I have a finite amount of time to do each day.
That's it really.
My priorities when booking groups
1. Will the audience enjoy it?
2. Will the audience enjoy it?
3. Does it provide something different to what I've already booked on for that night?
4. Will I enjoy it?
That's it.
It's not political
I can't be bothered to be politicial when booking improv groups. I'm just constantly trying to book what I think will be the best thing for our audience right then, that's it.
Not booking you doesn't mean I don't like your group
We have shows every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Wednesdays are largely taken up with end of course shows and some Launch Pads and Stand Up nights.
Which leaves Friday and Saturday.
Friday is largely taken up by regular groups running their evening that we support.
Which leaves Saturday.
Saturday also has regularly performing groups already booked in long-term.
Which leaves about 1 slot every two weeks. We aren't open over August, Christmas, or Easter.
So that leaves about 16 free slots, so there is space for 16 newish groups on our main night, if we only booked them once a year, but we're more likely to book them more often than that, so it really goes down to about 5 or so slots.
So it's tough to get everything in. There are hundreds of improv groups that I love but I just don't have space to get them all in.
So not booking your group doesn't mean I think your group is bad, it just means I don't have space. Bookers do stay in touch with groups though so when space does open up they know who is ready, what they do and when they are available.
Slow emails doesn't mean I don't like you
If I haven't answered an email yet it's not because I don't like you, it's just that I've run out of time. For me, and most other comedy club bookers I know, the running the shows is the unpaid bit of what they do, so they do try but they do run out of time. Yes, we could be better on email. But I also want to cuddle my wife and go for a run around the park, so I don't get them all done there and then.
Catch Up Regularly
Occassionally regularly performing groups or comics at a club miss a few months for other things and then aren't on the listings again for a while. The comics sometimes think the club has gone off them, but all that's happened is the booker has assumed they are still doing something else. So just ask. Otherwise all manner of stories get created about why such and such club isn't booking such and such act.
It's ok to keep in touch regularly. Just because I haven't got anything available now doesn't mean I won't have something six months for now, and improv groups come and go so quickly it's helpful for me to know who is actively working on something. Also spots come up and being the group that fills them with something fun that fits into the night is really helpful.
Also clubs and bookers chat to each other lots, that's the main way groups get booked, is someone looking for recommendations. Being easy to work with and putting on a show that's fun for the audience is what gets people gigs.
Not that regularly though!
Every couple of months catching up is enough. More than that and bookers get a bit stressed out by Mount Emai..
Put the audience first
When lots of people write to me to book shows they write entirely from the point of view of what they want to do as improvisers. Unknown groups are more likely to get booked when they write from the point of view of the audience and why it would be fun for them.
I also see this with many long-form groups, who assume the audience have seen improv and know what tags, edits etc are. In reality about half our audience are often totally new to improv, and I think we need to think about them more and put ourselves in their shoes. Mick Napier's got a good bit about this in his new book.
Be distinctive
Most of the groups that email to book spaces seem to have the same show description:
"Hi, we'd like to book a show. We do a montage of scenes based on a word".
I hate to say this but it all sounds a bit generic when you see it in emails day after day, and it gives me nothing to sell the show on or attract an audience.
It doesn't take long to put an angle on a show and make it audience friendly and more interesting as a show description. Here's some examples of how to sublty change the show above:
"Hi, we'd like to book a show. We do a montage of scenes based on the last text sent from an audience member."
"We do a montage of scenes based on a random wikipedia article."
"We do a montage of scenes based on a word selected at random from a dictionary."
"We improvise a sketches based on what happens to be on a randomly selected radio station there and then"
Also costumes, entrace music, anything to make it a show is good.
Sell your group when emailling a booker
Every day I get one or two emails like this:
From: unknownimprovgroup@gmail.com
Subject: miller
Email:
Can I get a spot at one of your gigs please?
This is basically asking the booker to do all the work at first, so usually the answer is no. I usually work with them a bit, because we also run courses so we're also trying to grow new groups, but it does break my impro heart when I see people jeapordising themselves as I think it costs them gigs with other places.
It's better to put some information in as follows, and this seems to be true for all comedy clubs not just ours:
- Name of group
- Who is in the group
- How long you've been together
- Description of group, with an eye on what would make that fun for the audience and why it would be good for the night
- Any reviews you have
- Any links to website, social media or videos you have
- Availability
Think theatre not just improv
To the audience you are theatre or comedy that happens to be improvised. The mainstream audience don't know who Keith Johnstone is, they don't know what you are 'supposed' to be doing in your scene, they don't know your format, and they don't care.
If you think of your show as theatre it makes the show bigger, more audience friendly, more of a show.
General gig etiquette
- Turn up.
- Turn up on time.
- Bring the cast you said were in your show.
- Do the show you were booked to do.
- Run to agreed time.
- Support other acts.
- Support the night.
That's pretty much true for all comedy nights I think. Just doing all those things well means you're already halfway there. Many nights will support new acts, even when they are still a bit rough around the edges, as long as they are doing the above as it makes you easy to work with.
There you go, hope that wasn't too bad and may even be helpful. Feel free to write one about what booker's should do, I will read it and try and learn. Although if you suggest another productivity book about emails I will hunt you down and make you eat it.
Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
Hi everyone,
This blog comes out of a conversation I had with one of the directors of a big improv group in a cafe the other day:
Improv group: "We're looking for more gigs, we actually don't do that many."
Booker (me): "Why don't you do more at our club? You only do once a month or so at the moment."
Improv group: "I thought you didn't like us enough."
Booker: "Eh? I'd love to have you there. I thought you were too busy to do more. I thought you didn't like our club that much or something."
Improv group: "Eh? We'd love to do more there."
Booker: "Let's do more then."
Improv group: "Yeah!"
Booker: "Yeah!"
In a one minute conversation we burst the bubble of paranoia on both sides and found new fun ways to work together.
It made me realise that sometimes groups and comics second guess what the booker of a night is up to, so I thought I'd just put it in writing so people don't have to second guess me!
From chatting to bookers from other nights many of this seems similar to other clubs, so I hope it's helpful for new groups when they are trying to get themselves on at bigger clubs.
My point of view, what I'm doing when booking
I'm sat at a computer with a spreadsheet with all the show dates for the year.
Each date has cells next to it for groups.
Red cells means no groups booked in yet.
Yellow and the group name means I've asked if they'd like to do that date and am waiting for them to confirm.
Green and the group name means they are booked and confirmed.
All Green = Happy Steve
This all takes place over email, which I have a finite amount of time to do each day.
That's it really.
My priorities when booking groups
1. Will the audience enjoy it?
2. Will the audience enjoy it?
3. Does it provide something different to what I've already booked on for that night?
4. Will I enjoy it?
That's it.
It's not political
I can't be bothered to be politicial when booking improv groups. I'm just constantly trying to book what I think will be the best thing for our audience right then, that's it.
Not booking you doesn't mean I don't like your group
We have shows every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Wednesdays are largely taken up with end of course shows and some Launch Pads and Stand Up nights.
Which leaves Friday and Saturday.
Friday is largely taken up by regular groups running their evening that we support.
Which leaves Saturday.
Saturday also has regularly performing groups already booked in long-term.
Which leaves about 1 slot every two weeks. We aren't open over August, Christmas, or Easter.
So that leaves about 16 free slots, so there is space for 16 newish groups on our main night, if we only booked them once a year, but we're more likely to book them more often than that, so it really goes down to about 5 or so slots.
So it's tough to get everything in. There are hundreds of improv groups that I love but I just don't have space to get them all in.
So not booking your group doesn't mean I think your group is bad, it just means I don't have space. Bookers do stay in touch with groups though so when space does open up they know who is ready, what they do and when they are available.
Slow emails doesn't mean I don't like you
If I haven't answered an email yet it's not because I don't like you, it's just that I've run out of time. For me, and most other comedy club bookers I know, the running the shows is the unpaid bit of what they do, so they do try but they do run out of time. Yes, we could be better on email. But I also want to cuddle my wife and go for a run around the park, so I don't get them all done there and then.
Catch Up Regularly
Occassionally regularly performing groups or comics at a club miss a few months for other things and then aren't on the listings again for a while. The comics sometimes think the club has gone off them, but all that's happened is the booker has assumed they are still doing something else. So just ask. Otherwise all manner of stories get created about why such and such club isn't booking such and such act.
It's ok to keep in touch regularly. Just because I haven't got anything available now doesn't mean I won't have something six months for now, and improv groups come and go so quickly it's helpful for me to know who is actively working on something. Also spots come up and being the group that fills them with something fun that fits into the night is really helpful.
Also clubs and bookers chat to each other lots, that's the main way groups get booked, is someone looking for recommendations. Being easy to work with and putting on a show that's fun for the audience is what gets people gigs.
Not that regularly though!
Every couple of months catching up is enough. More than that and bookers get a bit stressed out by Mount Emai..
Put the audience first
When lots of people write to me to book shows they write entirely from the point of view of what they want to do as improvisers. Unknown groups are more likely to get booked when they write from the point of view of the audience and why it would be fun for them.
I also see this with many long-form groups, who assume the audience have seen improv and know what tags, edits etc are. In reality about half our audience are often totally new to improv, and I think we need to think about them more and put ourselves in their shoes. Mick Napier's got a good bit about this in his new book.
Be distinctive
Most of the groups that email to book spaces seem to have the same show description:
"Hi, we'd like to book a show. We do a montage of scenes based on a word".
I hate to say this but it all sounds a bit generic when you see it in emails day after day, and it gives me nothing to sell the show on or attract an audience.
It doesn't take long to put an angle on a show and make it audience friendly and more interesting as a show description. Here's some examples of how to sublty change the show above:
"Hi, we'd like to book a show. We do a montage of scenes based on the last text sent from an audience member."
"We do a montage of scenes based on a random wikipedia article."
"We do a montage of scenes based on a word selected at random from a dictionary."
"We improvise a sketches based on what happens to be on a randomly selected radio station there and then"
Also costumes, entrace music, anything to make it a show is good.
Sell your group when emailling a booker
Every day I get one or two emails like this:
From: unknownimprovgroup@gmail.com
Subject: miller
Email:
Can I get a spot at one of your gigs please?
This is basically asking the booker to do all the work at first, so usually the answer is no. I usually work with them a bit, because we also run courses so we're also trying to grow new groups, but it does break my impro heart when I see people jeapordising themselves as I think it costs them gigs with other places.
It's better to put some information in as follows, and this seems to be true for all comedy clubs not just ours:
- Name of group
- Who is in the group
- How long you've been together
- Description of group, with an eye on what would make that fun for the audience and why it would be good for the night
- Any reviews you have
- Any links to website, social media or videos you have
- Availability
Think theatre not just improv
To the audience you are theatre or comedy that happens to be improvised. The mainstream audience don't know who Keith Johnstone is, they don't know what you are 'supposed' to be doing in your scene, they don't know your format, and they don't care.
If you think of your show as theatre it makes the show bigger, more audience friendly, more of a show.
General gig etiquette
- Turn up.
- Turn up on time.
- Bring the cast you said were in your show.
- Do the show you were booked to do.
- Run to agreed time.
- Support other acts.
- Support the night.
That's pretty much true for all comedy nights I think. Just doing all those things well means you're already halfway there. Many nights will support new acts, even when they are still a bit rough around the edges, as long as they are doing the above as it makes you easy to work with.
There you go, hope that wasn't too bad and may even be helpful. Feel free to write one about what booker's should do, I will read it and try and learn. Although if you suggest another productivity book about emails I will hunt you down and make you eat it.
Blog by Steve Roe, co-founder of Hoopla. Hoopla run improv and stand up courses, shows and an improv club. Twitter: @HooplaImpro. Facebook: HooplaImpro. Website: www.HooplaImpro.com. Email: hooplaimpro@gmail.com.
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