Cincinnati Improvisation Troupe Makes Things Up Theatre-Style
The Middle Child will be performing a mix of both short and long form improv on Saturday, January 28, at The Stained Glass Theatre.
Tickets are $5, cash at the door, and all ages are welcome. The show is from 7:00pm until 9:00pm.
You may be a fan of “Whose Line Is It Anyway”, but not a theatergoer. Or perhaps you really like comedy, but a play just isn’t your thing.
Well local improv troupe, The Middle Child has a way of bringing both worlds together with much success.
“We tend to be a big hit with actors and those who regularly attend a play or musical”, says Missy Whitis, the troupe’s director. “And we’re also rock stars with 12 and 13-year olds”, she laughs. Why? “In long form, the characters and their relationships take time to develop, the story line has twists and turns. The audience can, (and usually does) become invested in what is happening to the people being created before their eyes. The laughter catches you off guard, and you forget it’s being made up on the spot.”
Long Form Improvisation is still comedy, but doesn’t always have to be funny. It still works to impress an audience, make them laugh, and create memorable moments. But in long form, the story is most important, and the working together as a team becomes essential in order for the audience to have experienced something magical.
Will people watch? “Usually our venues are running around looking for more chairs”, says Christopher Smyth – member of The Middle Child, and local actor. You may have seen Smyth as the Pirate King on the Showboat, or as a member of the trio of actors working hard in the Falcon Theatre’s Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged, and currently, Smyth is part of the landmark cast of The Footlighter’s Rent. “The arc of the multifaceted story you’re creating is a culmination of all the actor training you’ll receive,” remarked Smyth. “You just have to use it all in real time, at the same time. You’re a writer as well as a performer.”
And you could have been watching long form on television, and not even know it. The TBS network show, 10 Items or Less, was long-form improvisation. Created by John Lehr and Nancy Hower, it ran for three seasons, and is still highly popular on Hulu. “I asked John once about playing the same character for so long in an improv setting. I wanted to know if it was limiting or freeing” said Whitis. “John replied that ‘Limiting is freeing’. Knowing who he was as a long form character, was just a better way to …well…. know who he was.”
