#ChicaGoUK: The Funkhouse

Yes, there really are more of us going to Chicago this summer. Here's another one. Jonathan Monkhouse is the creator of London Improv and has been producing improv shows since it began. Over the years he's been part of 8bit, Music Box and a few improvathons. He goes to Chicago tomorrow morning. He is currently talking about himself in the third person.

Tell us a bit about yourself..

I studied to be an actor at university, but didn't enjoy learning scripts or being on stage and ended up mostly doing set-design and lighting. I saw Baby Wants Candy way back in 2001, but just thought they were superhuman, and didn't realise that anyone can train in improv.
I didn't set foot on stage after uni, until I got dragged to an improv workshop about 7 years later where, predictably, my obsessive personality caught the bug and have been improvising since. I also do a lot of impro-lighting, the most fun of which is for Showstoppers because they work in theatres with proper lighting rigs.

What's the best improv call-out you've ever heard?

My favourite one ever was a call for a location, which was "in a time-travelling caravan." Sadly that was a rehearsal though, so I don't know if it counts [even though I am the one conducting this interview, so I make the rules... oooh, Meta]. The best one for a show was probably Orient Express, because it led to the most satisfying show I've ever been in.

Which improv course are you doing, and what made you choose that one?

I'm doing the week intensive at The Annoyance Theatre. Earlier this year a bunch of people started saying they were going to iO for five weeks, and I couldn't do that. But then The Annoyance came up in conversation and that seemed to be a perfect fit. I like the idea that The Annoyance focusses closely on a performer's instinct.. slightly different to other schools of thought. I think if you want to become better at something you should be open to all the different ways of doing it, seek out all the best practitioners, and find out what works best for you. Like Bruce Wayne does.
I'll be learning Ju-jitsu from Mick Napier and bare-knuckle brawling from Susan Messing.

When/how did you start planning your trip?

About a week after the Annoyance conversation I booked the course. Then I set about trying to get my friend Chris [Mead] to come too. Once that was sorted, we looked for a place to stay. Originally we tried to keep it as cheap as possible, but then I found an amazing apartment to rent and our Chicago motto became "Go big, or go home." Our apartment is absolutely beautiful, but so expensive it makes me feel nauseous.

What are you most excited about?

I think living in an improv bubble for 10 days will be energising and helpful. Being in workshops and seeing shows for that whole time will be really useful for developing as an improviser.
There is talk of someone in Chicago producing a UK improviser show for us, so if that happens it'll be really fun. And seeing a new city is always cool.

Are there any shows you HAVE to see while you're over there?

There's more I want to see than I'll probably have time for. I really want to see TJ and Dave, Messing With A Friend, Felt [improvised puppet show] and Co-ed Prison Sluts. Seeing Baby Wants Candy in their natural habitat would be great. I've also heard that Improvised Shakespeare are pretty phenomenal.
Stupidly I've also set myself the challenge of finding the 'worst improv show' in Chicago, although this will be pretty hard to do tactfully. And it may not be that rewarding, apart from a good dose of schadenfreude.

What are you going to do in Chicago when you're not improvising?

Eat... and I've heard there is an excellent architecture tour, on a boat. Not something I'd think too much about, but a bunch of different people have told me about it individually. The new Batman film comes out while I'm there so I want to do the American movie theatre thing with a half tonne of Coca-cola and a 3 metre hotdog.

How do you think the trip will change you?

Pretty badly, financially. Afterwards, I'm flying straight from Chicago to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a month. In total I won't see my house for just under 6 weeks. Or be earning much money. I'm trying not to think about it too much.
As for my improv, I'm just looking forward to getting back into it. I've been doing so much of the production/lighting side of shows that my stage work has really suffered. All this will change.

Do you think you'll go back another time?

There's an idea that Chris and I return next year to do the iO five-week intensive. But there's loads of other really exciting cities with interesting improv scenes to explore. I've been asked to play in the Hideout Theatre 44-hr Improv Marathon next June in Austin, TX, and I don't want to miss that. And I've had invites to Edmonton in Canada too.
I should start entering the lottery.

If you could name a new impro group anything, what would it be?

I've wanted to call an improv group "The Margate Archery Club" for years, but all my show format ideas are science-fiction based, and no-one else seems to like it. I heard someone suggest "The Racists" once, which I enjoyed but I can't see it taking off.
How about "The Smell of Regret"?


Jonathan appears in Project Two, Silly String Theory and Ghostbusters: The Musical.
His Twitter name is @the_funkhouse
Follow all the improvisers at #ChicaGoUk

Project Two

... is coming.

Doctor Who helps us help people who help people with cancer. And their helpers.

Well the psychic dust has settled after our phenomenal Doctor Who show last week. The TARDIS has been put in storage and the myrka returned to his stable in the Cotswolds.

Thanks to the ticket pre-sales and the tremendous generosity of the audience making additional donations on the night; London Improv are delighted to announce that the princely sum of £460 will be given to Dimbleby Cancer Care who look after people with cancer and their supportive families. We would like extend a massive thank you to the audience for the extra donations and really hope you all had as much fun as we did. Also huge thanks to the cast and front-of-house folk who mucked in and made the show the amazing success it was.

If you were one of the lucky ones who got to see the show, wasn't it amazing?! For those who didn't, just to let you know - it really was fantastic. You missed out.

Some of the best improvisers in London were joined on stage by a real-life Sontaran, a martyr for the struggle against the Daleks, and one of the greatest companions The Doctor has ever had. It was nothing less than marvellous and loads of people have said they want us to do it again. So we are going to. If that's okay.

We're not sure when, but follow us on Twitter (@London_Improv) or sign up to the mailing list (who@londonimprov.co.uk) and we'll let you know as soon as we do. We guarantee an amazing cast, at least as good as the one below. And we'll be working on getting even more special guests.

Now, has anyone got Pertwee's phone number?

CAST - DOCTOR WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
Jana Carpenter (Spontaneity Shop, BBC's Doctor Who)
Dylan Emery (Grand Theft Impro, Showstoppers)
Paul Foxcroft (Horse Aquarium, Catch 23)
Michael Legge (BBC 6 Music, London Comedy Improv)
Adam Meggido (School of Night, Showstoppers)
Briony Redman (Horse Aquarium)
David Reed (The Penny Dreadfuls, Shamblehouse)
Tom Salinsky (Spontaneity Shop, TheatreSports)
Dan Starkey (Commander Strax - BBC's Doctor Who)
and
brilliantly
Sophie Aldred (Ace - BBC's Doctor Who)

CAST - THE OOD CAST LIVE
Andrew Candish
Chris Fosten
Chris Mead
Laura Mead
and Jonathan Funkhouse Monkhouse

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Jinni Lyons, Rhiannon Vivian, Adrian Simpson, Rob Grundel, Chrus Werren, Sarah Fletcher.

Not exactly a holiday

That's it. London Improv is truly on a break from doing London-based shows (for about 6 weeks).

Music Box had their last London outing last night, at their regular summer gig as part of the Zoo Lates at London Zoo. That was fun. The impro-gods were smiling down on us and provided us with the best audience of the entire run; about 80 people standing in the London Zoo aquarium, watching us dick about for 15 minutes. We'd found that people who had paid for penguins and meerkats weren't hugely enamoured by a 15-minute version of our musical, so we've been doing more short-form stuff and it's been going down really well. They much preferred monkey-gags to musical character journeys. Gibbon-knobs.

Speaking of short-form, the Great Big Send-Off was a blast. About 30 improvisers ended up being in the show, all adding their own little bit of brilliance, all playing together in a supportive and friendly way. Everyone was in high spirits and there to have a really good time. Which we all did. The main thing I was worried about was anyone who came who wasn't an improviser, that all they would experience would be a big cliquey in-joke that they couldn't be a part of.

Not so, it turned out. I was constantly keeping an eye out, and saw them laughing a lot. When in a game of 185, a call-out ended up being "185 improvisers walk into a bar..." they seemed to appreciate that I made reference to how geeky most of the jokes were:

"185 improvisers all walk into a bar at the same time, and Keith Johnstone shouts NO BLOCKING"
"185 improvisers walk into a bar, and one says "hey Dave" and other says "Hey Mike" and then they establish that they're in a pub, before working out what to do next before some sort of platform shift upsets it."
"185 improvisers walk into a bar and alienate everyone else in the room."

I chatted to some of the non-improvisers afterwards and they said they wanted us to go on for another hour, so that's a pretty good sign.

So this season is over now. Over with audience wanting more, which is very pleasing. They will get it, we will be back on the 13th September with an even more exciting line-up of improv, comedy and more. Until then, it's all about Edinburgh and the biggest arts festival in the world. I will be up there with Music Box (get your tickets quick, they're selling!!), and running tech for the fabulous Cariad Lloyd (FREE GIG... come!). In my spare time, I will be on the hunt for new acts for the London Improv comedy nights at The Miller, and if that all doesn't take my life I hope to be providing you with reviews of as many EdFringe impro shows as possible.

Tasks.

In the meantime, I should be washing some clothes and generally having a bit of a think about what I take to Edinburgh in three days time. Three days time. Three days time. Three days time. Three days time. Gulp.

Hope to see you there, as long as I'm not crying.

Kiss!
- Jonathan Monkhouse, editor.

Jacob Banigan: a Lover of English

LondonImprov will be providing you with regular interviews with excellent people from the impro community, because we like you very much. To show you how serious we are about it we flew Jonathan to Vienna for our first one. Okay, that's not entirely true (he was out there for work) …

JACOB BANIGAN began improvising over 20 years ago in Edmonton, Canada, with the revered Rapid Fire Theatre. He's since moved to Austria, where he performs regularly with Theatre Im Bahnhof in Graz and The English Lovers in Vienna. He travels all over the world to teach and perform.

How did you discover improv?
JB: I first saw it when I was a teenager, when my sister told me to go see TheatreSports. I always knew I wanted to perform, and when I saw improv I realized the players were really enjoying themselves and the audience was with them the whole way. The world of stand-up looked pretty nasty from a distance, and when you're in the comedy world, you see that it really is.

What do you really love about improv?
With improv, the audience accepts all your ideas. If you say you’re 10 feet tall, they just go: “Okay”. And if you act a little bit that way they see it even more. We can paint the picture as fast as we want. What sustains it is the reality of these ridiculous situations: audiences come back for the true moments, instead of the comedy of it.

What was your favourite ever improv moment?
In 2006 I got to do a World Cup of TheatreSports in the Canadian team, with two very good friends of mine: Steve Sim and Derek Flores. That was a super highlight for me. But I’ve worked with so many great people. I go to Edmonton and we have fantastic shows. Sometimes just me and Mark (Meer), sometimes with others. And Jim (Libby) and I tootle around doing a lot of two-man shows. We created a board game show where you roll the dice and it tells you how long the scene is. We both play all the characters. It’s a mix of short- and long-form.

You were in the 50 hour Improvathon, and you’ve done ultra-long Soapathons. What’s the best thing about them?
The stories can take so long and get so complex, and when you try to back-track through one you realise it started two days ago! In the Improvathon, Ruth (Bratt) and Mark (Meer) had a funny little boob-poke right near the beginning. It was so early, but it paid off throughout, and at the very end created the most romantic, touching scene. There would be no way to predict that, or make that happen. You couldn't write that story, it would be ridiculous.

Did you have any out-of-body experiences?
I had some brain farts, yeah. Nothing that was transcendent, just embarrassing. Part way through a scene you think: “Am I still here? Am I still talking? Fuck!” There’s always a time in the Soapathon where everyone is flumping on stage. But everyone comes back.

Have you ever had a totally shit show?
Oh yes. In Wetaskiwin, Alberta, a small town. We did a fundraiser gig for The Wives of the Mounties. Full of small-town ladies with power issues (because they’re married to Mounties), all hammered. We got there and the place was already a riot. We couldn't wait to get off the stage. It felt like forever. They hated us. They threw pennies at us. They even came on stage and said: “SHUT UP AND GET OFF!” I got mad. I’ve promised myself never to get mad on stage again. We did maybe 10-15 minutes… We were supposed to do 40.

Do you perform in German when you do shows in Austria?
I perform in German sometimes, very bad German. My characters are usually foreigners or animals. Or objects.

Did you have to adapt your humour in any way?
Performing in another language allows you to simplify. You can’t be clever. You can’t make jokes. If I lose track of what’s going on in a show that’s mostly in German, it’s usually because people have started making jokes or doing wordplay. If you keep it to what’s real, and what’s here, it’s no problem. It can be really helpful for people to travel and perform in another country where you can’t just make references to your own pop culture.

How would you describe your own style?
I don’t mind giving life to objects or to dogs. Again, don’t play the dog like a crazy dog - just be a dog. The reality of that is interesting, too. I don’t mind looking stupid, because it’s not me, it’s the character. If I went out there and tried to be funny and charming I’d be dead. You don’t have to defend your ideas or sneak them in emotionally, you just have to bring them to the stage and connect them to the other people. People respect that. Sometimes people take the serious stuff too seriously, that’s bad theatre. It just needs to be alive.

What was your favourite improv show you ever saw?
The first time I saw Crumbs in Winnipeg they just blew my mind. Their style was so different from anything I’d seen before and I immediately wanted to steal from them. I was watching their show looking for a structure, and afterwards they told me they didn’t have one. They just start: no games and no hooks! They just kinda play. It was a revelation.

Do you have an improv hero?
Mark Meer. Everyone is just trying to catch up to him. Actually when I’m playing with him I’m not trying to catch up to him, I’m trying to knock him off his balance. I learned years ago not to try to play the same game he’s playing, because you won’t be able to. If you’re in his game, great, but if you’re not - don’t even try. My job now is like: “Okay, Mark seems to know what he’s doing, I’m going to try and make him trip.” But he totally glosses over, like that’s part of his world too! There’s nobody else like him. And he does it with pure joy.

Do you think improv works on TV?
It’s on in America occasionally, but I don’t think it’s exactly been done properly. ‘Whose Line’ is fantastic, for what it is. There was this show called ‘The Green Screen Show’ [where actors do a short-form show in front of a green screen, then environment and props are animated in before it’s broadcast]. I liked that it was about suggesting something that could then be put in afterwards. You can’t do that on stage. I think that’s the way to go, just without all the ‘funny-funny’.

Jacob is currently working on an improvised movie. At the moment he's not sure exactly how it will work.

If you would like to read the whole unabridged interview, you can: HERE

A New Generation Of Punk Rock

In a divorce settlement between me and sleep, I would cite the following three documentaries:

Westway To The World (2000) directed by Don Letts
Dogtown and Z-boys (2001) directed by Stacy Peralta
The Filth and The Fury (2000) directed by Julien Temple

Each one has struck me that a group of passionate individuals can come together and by sheer grit and determination will eventually find success, despite the world around them acting disinterested and/or aggressively negative.

I couldn't help but draw comparisons between the plight of early punk-rockers and skaters - struggling to have their art-form recognised - and the community of improvisers that surround me who are working hard on putting on brilliant shows while possible audience members wander unknowingly by.

Joe Strummer, the front-man for The Clash, was an intellectual and brilliant man with a passion that could rip a hole in parliament. Watch Westway To The World and you can't help but be struck by how focussed he was in achieving his goal. Hang the punk conventions on the wall, this guy avoided mind-limiting drugs and people who would lead him astray. Punk Rock was his addiction, his religion and his reason. I could list plenty of improvisers who feel the same about their art.

The Clash went on for longer than most bands have ever managed, and produced brilliant songs throughout their time; songs that everyone knows. A rare accolade for any band, and certainly one that won't be managed by any current popular television-age act I can think of.

There is footage of the Z-boys Skateboarding Team in Dogtown where they unleash their stunts on an unsuspecting crowd at a 1970's skateboarding competition. Until that moment skateboarding had been a balletic sport performed by pretty-boys in tight white vests and finely coiffed hair-dos, who did graceful handstands on their boards and balanced with stiff backs. Then the Z-boys appear from nowhere, hitting the deck with slides and skids and jumps, screeching round the park as close to the ground as they could with threadbare jeans and t-shirts that flapped in the wind. Skateboarding was suddenly exciting. No longer were the stars made up of people who could stand-up straight, they were those who took risks and flooded the competition with unpredictability. The Z-boys were pioneers, and despite the dejected looks from the skate-stars of the day, the crowd had now been subjected to the future of skating.

I couldn't help picturing Michael McIntyre in a tight white vest after that, much to the horror of my own sub-conscience.

You can see where I got my inspiration for the website design from. I genuinely believe improv is a new punk-rock. We are doing comedy our way, the way we believe it should be done. We do improv because it is exciting, new, ever-changing and not tied down by existing conventions. It worked for stand-up comedians twenty-five years ago, and now look.

We will do this whether we get an audience or whether we don't; but do you remember the names of the politicians that tried to get The Sex Pistols removed from the country, or do you know The Pistols as one of the most iconic bands in music history? Improvisers are passionate people who are doing good stuff. I take solace in believing that once it kicks off, impro will forever be a leviathan on the British comedy timeline. I know where I want to be when that happens.

God save the Queen.

(v)?

A few people have asked why I went for the American spelling of 'Improv' and not the British 'Impro'. Some even seemed a little hurt that I'd betrayed my impro roots and defected to the other side (of the Atlantic). One tiny little V holds the potential of some serious debate, so lets clear things up.

Eleven years ago when I first came across improvisation in the form of Baby Wants Candy at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, I remember over-hearing a couple of friends of mine arguing about whether it should be shortened to Improv or Impro. I thought at the time.. what's the difference? It's only a word.

The two are quite different, I think. In general (and this is very general), Improv from over the pond is fast-paced, snappy long-form, aimed at being funny and crazy. It's had more years to become an established form of entertainment, with bigger audiences made up of people wanting to see the latest graduating class of Harold training or improv-trained alumni. The list of American and Canadian improvisers is as long as an Improvathon with big Hollywood names like Bill Murray and Amy Poeler. And Chevy Chase.

British Impro is - for a start - still finding it's footing. You won't find a TV Special of The Upright Citizens Brigade with huge comedy/film stars like Tina Fey, but you might find an episode of Showstoppers on Radio 4 and re-runs of Whose Line Is It Anyway? on Dave (at least half of which performers are North American). Non-commercially there seems to be a deeper investigation in to character depth and progression, realistic story arcs and reference to the longer heritage of British theatre. And I'd much rather watch Clive Anderson present 'WLIIA?' than Drew Carey.

Of course, this is totally general and I wish no disrespect to anyone working hard at this awesome, explosive, wonderful art-form. This is my passion and anyone who is putting effort into doing this stuff well would get a big fat cuddle from my chubby arms. There are similarities at every turn and the basic rules of good improvisation don't change. For every Die Nasty Improv Soap Opera there is an Austentatious Impro Novel. For every Curt Hatred there is a Reckoning. For every BassProv there is a Katy & Rach. Brilliant groups, all with individual styles, but with nuances of similarities.
For every 'Yes and...' there is a 'Yeah and...'

Yeah, and... they're all ace.

I called the site London Improv solely for internet search reasons. That's it. London Impro would only be found on Google if you searched for 'London Impro'. London Improv can be found if you type in London Impro and London Improv. I'm not betraying my routes, I'm just improving our Search Engine Optimisation, and that's better for everyone. And also geeky as hell.

Picture courtesy of Rapid Fire Theatre, Edmonton

Hello.

If you are reading this, it means you have found the site. And that's a good thing... Welcome, it's nice to see you. The fact that you are here means that this whole thing might work.

What thing?

Well, London has loads of brilliant stuff going on, and one of the most exciting is improvised comedy. There is a lot of improv about and the London Improv community is thriving with incredibly talented groups of dedicated performers making people laugh their heads off on a regular basis. But it seems the improvised comedy audience is few and far between. Unjustly.

Is the reason because improvised comedy isn't very good? No, absolutely not. Some of the best things I've seen on a performance stage has been completely made up on the spot by improvisers. It's like having a laugh with your mates, but every single one of those mates has trained for years to make themselves even funnier. You must remember Whose Line Is It Anyway? .. that brilliant, unpredictable show that was on about 15 years ago and is now being repeated on Dave every couple of hours? Remember that? I challenge you to find someone who didn't really really really like that show.

What about genius stuff like Curb Your Enthusiasm or Spinal Tap? or Beardyman? Or the film District 9? They're all improvised in different ways. If any of that floats you boat, just imagine what it'd be like to see people do that sort of thing right in front of your very eyes.

Granted, there is some improv out there that leaves a lot to be desired. I won't go into that because I'm meant to be encouraging, but if that's what you've seen... well... that's probably why some think impro isn't very good. That's easily cured by just seeing some really great stuff. And that's why LondonImprov.co.uk is here. We're here to make sure you find the best opportunity to see the best improvisation there is.

THIS BLOG...
Will fill with writings from some of the best improvisers around. Be sure to check back regularly to see what's going on. Upcoming shows, theories on impro, big news in the improv community... All sorts. We'll see. We will be hand-selecting some really great people to fill us with their wisdom and word-joy.

THE LONDON IMPROV COMEDY CLUB
Every Tuesday and Wednesday at The Miller near London Bridge, the London Improv Comedy Club happens. Currently they're presented by Hoopla! one of the foremost forces in bringing brilliant improvisation to the streets of London.
From May, Wednesdays will be taken over by London Improv, a community of improvisers who will go out of their way to give you a giggle in the middle of the week.

Our aim is to only put on really high quality improv, so you can rest assured that if you come to one of our shows you will only get top quality comedy.

There will also be special events hither and thither, so keep your eye on the website to keep totally up do date with the most exciting, fast-paced and creative entertainment in London.

You're welcome.

Kiss.