Long-form improv is a completely different beast than short-form, which is what most of the public sees as the face of improv - à la Whose Line is it Anyway? But the vision of Del Close and Charna Halpern is more accurately realized in long-form: improvising an entire play from start to finish. For beginning improvisers, it's not easy, and it requires a very different set of improv muscles than does short-form.
Matthew Love shares an article on American Theatre that does a great job of briefly describing long-form improv's roots at Chicago's iO (formerly ImprovOlympic), and talks about some of the troupes and performers doing long-form today.
One of the most notable is T.J. Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi, known as, well, T.J. & Dave. Take a gander below at the trailer for the documentary that chronicles how they bring about their two-man weekly improvised long-form show.
Matthew Love shares an article on American Theatre that does a great job of briefly describing long-form improv's roots at Chicago's iO (formerly ImprovOlympic), and talks about some of the troupes and performers doing long-form today.
One of the most notable is T.J. Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi, known as, well, T.J. & Dave. Take a gander below at the trailer for the documentary that chronicles how they bring about their two-man weekly improvised long-form show.
Another group that has recently been gaining more and more popularity is the Improvised Shakespeare Company, also running out of Chicago. Every show is a completely improvised play in the style of Shakespeare. The performers draw upon stereotypes of Shakespeare's characters, settings, plot lines, and so on, but create an original play that is not a parody but rather a tribute to Shakespeare's classics.
See a scene from one of their shows:
See a scene from one of their shows:
Long-form is particularly difficult for new improvisers to handle. Stay tuned for more articles for how to get started with it.
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