Gracing The Stage

I mentioned several of the recurring shows at Comedy Bar in my post about Catch 23 earlier this week. Of all the shows I mentioned, though, Impromptu Splendor is an anomaly. It’s certainly funny enough to deserve a weekly slot at Comedy Bar, but it’s not actually a comedy show. It’s something uniquely different from the many improv shows in Toronto; it’s improvised theatre.

Naomi Snieckus, Ron Pederson, Kayla Lorette, and Matt Baram performing in the style of Henrik Ibsen.

(I explain my potentially contentious assertion after the break!)

Before I go alienating the many talented improvisors in Toronto who might think I’m disparaging what they do, I should make some things clear. Toronto has a terrific improv community, which all four of the regular performers in Impromptu Splendor – Matt Baram, Kayla Lorette, Naomi Snieckus, and Ron Pederson -  are enthusiastic and valued members of. Snieckus has twice hosted and organized an annual improv marathon at Second City, “The Second City That Never Sleeps“, a benefit for Sick Kids, that draws on talent from all over the city (both she and Baram are Second City alumni); Pederson, a former MadTV cast member, regularly participates in comedy shows like Ghost Jail Theatre, as do his fellow IS cast members (Lorette is a founding member of Ghost Jail, as well as PROJECTProject).

Naomi Snieckus as "Darlene" in "Badger Hopscotch", a play not written by Judith Thompson.

Also, there are certainly improv shows around town that straddle the line between comedy and drama. The above mentioned Ghost Jail is unusually literate and theatrical in its approach to comedy, and some of the long form shows at Bad Dog Theatre touch on the sort of pathos inherent in drama (“About an Hour” and “Dreadwood” spring to mind). But Impromptu Splendor is a thoroughly dramatic animal; the laughs come from the drama – the term “dramedy”, as applied to the sort of shows one might see on HBO like “Six Feet Under” and “Dexter“, is a perfect label.

Here’s how it works: each week, the players prepare beforehand by studying the theatrical works of a particular playwright.  The night of, they take a single suggestion from the audience, and then perform a one act play based on that suggestion, in the style of the playwright that week. It’s definitely improv – the suggestion is always integral to the plot – but the familiarity with the style, and the listening and reaction skills of the players, could lead the barely initiated (in either improv or the featured playwright) to conclude they were watching a polished product. I’ve directed work by David Mamet, and the Mamet Christmas special could have sprung from his pen; likewise, the Tennessee Williams homage “Love is  a Riverbed” seemed to drip bourbon and inappropriate sexual tension from its pores.

Other playwrights already given the Splendid treatment include Henrik Ibsen and Judith Thompson. Tonight’s episode will be based on the works of the recently departed Pulitzer prize winner Harold Pinter. Future shows will begin to incorporate special guests, with an definite bent towards actors with an improv background, many of whom Toronto audiences may have forgotten as improvisors. Yes, I’m being a bit cryptic – they haven’t been officially announced yet – but it’ll knock your socks off when some of the names are made public (OK – maybe just one – Ted Dykstra!).

The Impromptu Splendor cast beneath the Comedy Bar marquee.

I’m a huge supporter of improv comedy in this town, but a show like this is something special; it’s the sort of show that can draw the theatre crowd, people who wouldn’t normally consider attending a show at a venue like Comedy Bar.  And the more we get actors and comics sharing their audiences, the better for everyone; a show like Impromptu Splendor has the potential to benefit both communities.