{"id":1066,"date":"2014-12-21T00:36:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-21T00:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hooplaimpro.com\/2014\/12\/21\/getting-improvisers-into-tv-fi\/"},"modified":"2019-06-21T15:31:38","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T14:31:38","slug":"getting-improvisers-into-tv-fi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hooplaimpro.com\/getting-improvisers-into-tv-fi\/.html","title":{"rendered":"Getting Improvisers into TV & Film"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting Improvisers into TV & Film<\/h2>\n

At our last improv networking event<\/a> I made an announcement that I was keen to bridge the gap between the live improv scene and TV and Film.<\/p>\n

At the moment in London it feels like there is a certain limitation on the career of a performing improviser, they get into a regular team, perform lots, but the highest career point can feel still feel like a small fringe theatre or pub venue. This is still lots of fun, and is the core of great improv, but I think there is more that performers can do.<\/p>\n

I was talking to Rhiannon Vivian (from Music Box and The Maydays) who has recently got back from a couple of months in New York, performing and studying with places like UCB, The Pit and The Magnet Theatre. She said that in New York \u00a0there is a stronger link between the live improv scene and the Film and TV industries. Agents, Talent Scouts and Producers regularly come to live improv shows there and cast for actors directly from the improv theatres. Apparently this does have the side effect that the improv scene can feel more competitive than here, but it also means that improv feels more like a valid career rather than a naughty hobby.<\/p>\n

Also in America and Canada shows\u00a0comedy shows have a long history of using improvisers as the actors, writers, directors and show-runners. In fact improv skills can be seen as the grounding of many great comedy shows like Saturday Night\u00a0Live, Portlandia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Parks & Recreation, Community, Louie and more. Improv is cool. I\u2019ve never been cool so that sounds really naff to say. But improv inspired comedy on American TV is awesome. And I haven\u2019t even mentioned the movies.<\/p>\n

One thing those shows have in common is they don\u2019t feel the need to call themselves an improv show, and maybe that\u2019s something we could learn from here when trying to get improv inspired things on British TV and Film. Those shows use improvisers, they have heavily improvised dialogue and situations, but they call themselves comedy shows first and foremost. Maybe relentless trying to get improv on TV as \u2018an improv show\u2019 is what actually limits the\u00a0possibilities. Perhaps it\u2019s like trying to put on a play at the theatre and calling it \u2018The Method Acting Show\u2019.<\/p>\n

This is already changing in London, there are quite a few improvisers now appearing regularly on TV in this country, so it feels like a good time to go for it.<\/p>\n

After making the announcement at the\u00a0networking event there\u2019s been lots of people getting in touch, I\u2019ve even been slightly overwhelmed actually, but it\u2019s really exciting.<\/p>\n

And a plan is starting to form.<\/p>\n

What I’m personally doing at the\u00a0moment is writing loads and loads of sketches and situations to improvise around, and I’m planning to film them over August when we\u2019ve got time off from our improv courses<\/a>, working with a variety of cast and crew from the improv scene. I\u2019m going to be casting improvisers in them and the sketches will be heavily improvised on camera, around a given situation.<\/p>\n

Then I’m going to be launching a Hoopla youtube channel and comedy videos website, a bit like funny or die but without the die bit, and a bit like the ucbcomedy website. I think there’s some good comedy on youtube but it can be hard to find among the billions of videos. So I\u2019m going to build a separate website that hand selects the best stuff and points to videos, both videos we\u2019ve made and other peoples stuff (with their permission). So let me know if you have videos you\u2019d like to appear on that.<\/p>\n

After experimenting with that, and what works with youtube and other online audiences, I’m going to be promoting the best videos and building up subscribers. After that I\u2019m going to be spreading word with TV and Film companies regularly and
\nbuilding up a relationship with them, basically saying \u2018Hey, look at this!\u2019<\/p>\n

In the meantime I’ve also started\u00a0building up a contact list of TV and Film people, to keep an ongoing relationship about the improv scene and send them a monthly email newsletter of what’s going on in the improv scene, videos to watch (not just mine but anyone’s), hot shows, and actors to watch out for. This is to build up awareness of talent in the improv scene so that when they are casting or looking for actors they’ll look for improvisers. I think\u00a0sometimes not using improvisers in the UK is just due to lack of\u00a0awareness, rather than a deliberate choice.<\/p>\n

So improvisers it’s time to stop being coy and be bold!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in getting involved here\u2019s what I\u2019m especially looking for at the moment (casting for our videos isn\u2019t happening until later in the summer):<\/p>\n

– People who work in TV or Film or Online Content and would like to be kept up to date with what\u2019s happening in the UK improv scene (top shows, top videos, actor actress recommendations).<\/p>\n

– Professional actors and actresses from the improv scene who would like to be included in our\u00a0newsletter to TV and Film Industry (especially if you have a Casting Call Pro, Spotlight Link, online showreel).<\/p>\n

– People who are also making\u00a0comedy videos and would like us to help boost audience by having us\u00a0point to them from our new website.<\/p>\n

Email address is hooplaimpro@gmail.com (it might take us a couple of days to properly reply at the moment).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting Improvisers into TV & Film At our last improv networking event I made an announcement that I was keen to bridge the gap between the live improv scene and TV and Film. At the moment in London it feels like there is a certain limitation on the career of a performing improviser, they get[…] <\/p>\n

Read More<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGetting Improvisers into TV & Film | Hoopla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hooplaimpro.com\/getting-improvisers-into-tv-fi\/.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting Improvisers into TV & Film | Hoopla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getting Improvisers into TV & Film At our last improv networking event I made an announcement that I was keen to bridge the gap between the live improv scene and TV and Film. 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