Our house teams<\/a> have a set run with a Hoopla director. After that many of them put the effort to keep going as an independent group. In fact many of our main weekend groups started out like that including Michelle, The Descendents, Gamez and more.<\/p>\n Lots of our\u00a0improv courses\u00a0have performances at the end and many people stick together after a course and decide to form a group, either all of the course together or a couple of like minded people in a new group.<\/p>\n Getting out there and performing whenever you can at Hoopla’s jams<\/a> is a good way of meeting fellow improvisers who are also interested in forming a group.<\/p>\n We run a couple of\u00a0improv networking events and multiple socials each year and they seem to be quite successful at connecting people together and forming new groups.<\/p>\n Met some people you like and share the same improv joy with? Form a team!<\/p>\n If starting a show from scratch you can also run auditions to find suitable people with a shared interest, and we can help spread about them too across our social media.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our pre-party<\/a> and mixer<\/a> shows are the best place to start out. They are designed for new groups to build up stage time. If the show takes off we also have many other performing opportunities<\/a> at Hoopla.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Groups can be any size, we\u2019ve seen anything from 1 person improv groups to 20.<\/p>\n Small numbers have the advantage that it\u2019s a lot easier to administrate and get everyone at rehearsals, but we tend not to book in groups of just 1 or 2 people so we’d recommend having more than 2.<\/p>\n Larger groups have the advantage that you can cover most show bookings and there is a lot more energy to the group, but they can be hard to organise due to differing levels of commitment and creative differences.<\/p>\n The most popular improv group size seems to be around 5 or 6 people.<\/p>\n The biggest challenge facing groups is different levels for commitment. It is therefore worth agreeing as a group what your expectations are, creative aims and rehearsal times before starting work on the show.<\/p>\n Some groups decide to run ongoing, with rehearsals and shows on a regular basis. This has the advantage that the group get to know each other and develop the show over the time. The disadvantage is that often the group ends up dissolving over time due to creative differences or different levels of commitment.<\/p>\n Another option is to do a theatre style short run, with the group meeting for a set number of rehearsals, doing a set number of shows, and then ending. This has the advantage that it\u2019s easier to agree levels of commitment and creative vision before starting, and you get to end on a high rather than fizzling out. It also gives people a chance to try out different ways of working and shows instead of being stuck with one.<\/p>\n Most groups rehearse about once a week, although if you can do more that\u2019s great too. Building up to a big festival or similar groups often try and do a couple of weeks of more intense rehearsals. The more you rehearse and get to know each other the better.<\/p>\n If possible we suggest having someone directing the group who is not then performing in the shows, as it\u2019s helpful to have an outside eye and is also helpful to have someone to unite the group together in one creative vision.<\/p>\nAt a course<\/h4>\n
At improv jams<\/h4>\n
At an improv networking event or social<\/h4>\n
Asking improv chums<\/h4>\n
Running<\/strong> auditions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Where to perform<\/h2>\n
Group Structures<\/h2>\n
Number of people<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Levels of commitment<\/h4>\n
Ongoing vs Short Run<\/h4>\n
Rehearsals<\/h4>\n
Directing and Coaching<\/h4>\n