Feeling blue? Here’s how to ‘improv’ your sense of humour

So, how would you deal with a ghost under your bed? Call it out, scoff at the idea or cower in fear? For some, a ghost under the bed is the result of drinking too much, and is dealt with by drinking more and passing out. Sounds unbelievable, but this is no study: it was part of an impromptu sequence put on by members of the Improv Comedy Mumbai group.

A group dedicated to building a community of improv comedians in Mumbai, it was formed by Adam Dow, a 31-year-old improvisational artist and filmmaker. “Improv comedy involves games, scenes and monologues, performed spontaneously,” says Dow. He is quick to explain that improv is different from stand-up comedy, a fact that he has the most difficulty explaining to people.

In improv comedy, performers are given ideas and scenes on stage and have to use their wit and presence of mind to come up with a narrative. Find that hard to understand? Think of the hit TV show Whose Line is it Anyways? and its  desi version Tea Time Manoranjan, and you get a better idea of what improv comedy is.

And to help people polish their skills and learn the tricks of the trade, Dow is conducting an intensive and basic workshop this weekend.

“The most important lesson I tell the students is to be truthful and honest on stage. I am not teaching them to be funny, but to be
themselves, that connects more with audiences,” says Dow.

The comedy is tough, and besides quick wit and presence of mind, you also need good listening skills, elements of spontaneity, ability to work as a team and good stage presence.

Dow’s teaching inspirations and guides are Keith Johnstone, founder of Theatresports, the longest running Improv comedy show on the west coast of the USA; and the late actor Del Close.

So, using a lot of games, listening exercises, tools and technical information, Dow teaches his students how to do improv, particularly with a view to performing.

Having started classes from October last year, they have performed over five shows in the city.

Mukul Chadda, 36, has been acting in plays and in ad films for the past few years. On a trip to Chicago (called the home of improv comedy), he was so taken up by the performance of these artists, that he did a course in it.

“Improvisation is very very hard but fascinating too,” he says.
Improv comedy works a lot on building narratives, rather than just short gags, and Chadda considers his best selling point to be the fact that he is good at these narrative parts.

One of the first students of Dow’s, he has performed in most of the shows, including informal sessions at Dow’s house.
At one performance, the plank on the stage fell in, injuring one of the performers. Yet, the others carried on, joking about the incident, making it seem like part of the show. Clearly, improv is taken very seriously here.

“Each new batch of students is given basic training; if they show interest then they can join the regular groups and finally move on to performing,” says Dow.

Language isn’t a barrier, with most shows being performed in English, although Dow encourages people to use languages they are comfortable in. And although it is considered a late night show, these shows do not use profanity or abuses and there is a clear message to stay away from stereotypes.

For Natascha Chadha, 34, co-owner of the production company Everclear Films, having learnt improv comedy in her hometown Amsterdam and at college in the US, coming to India gave her improv passion a boost.

“I have attended so many classes but had never got a chance to perform. I was eager to and got the chance to do so here,” she says. Keen on doing improv singing in the future, Chadha thinks her strong point is that she brings in a lot of positivity and energy into her performances.

Dow’s future plans include getting more people interested in improv and increasing the duration of the shows, so that his students get more exposure and confidence.

“We also want to introduce improv singing. Next month, we plan on introducing short Bollywood pieces with the requisite song and dance,” he says.

Catch the show at Zenzi Mills, on Wednesday July 14th at 9pm. For workshop details, contact 98199 29805