The Written Podcast: Improvisational Comedy

My favourite form of comedy is improvisational. That style offers a unique perspective every time, and can generate the most laughter within the audience. There have been many documented moments when actors in films and TV have strayed from the script and to offer up a moment which is often better than what was written.

There are theatre shows in which the actors completely make up. They have the basic story and characters, but it’s up to the actors to shape what happens. During these shows, even if you’re and experienced improvisation comedian, you can be put under pressure by the other actor. They may have made up a certain direction and befall you the task of continuing, which can be difficult to do, lead you to freeze for a second to think of what’s best to say. It’s during these moments, some of the best one-liners can be heard, even cheered and applauded. These actors are experienced to continue on track, but they’ve basically said the first thing that came to mind. It can be a line that if written down on paper, maybe wouldn’t have been seen as funny by the writers and edited out. It’s a line no writer probably couldn’t have made up, due to not being under that type of pressure when in the writer’s chair, but instead a different sort, the complete opposite of improvisational comedy.

Now, I’m not saying that professional writers who’ve spent hours and years perfecting a comedy script isn’t funny, because there are many films I would consider as the best comedies of all time and they’re scripted. No, my point is, during these improvised shows, the audience can laugh just as hard at something an actor had said which if they themselves had written down could have been cut from the final draft of the script.

That style of comedy is pure and genuine. It’s upfront and doesn’t hold back the punches. A classic example of improvisational comedy on TV is the ever popular show, Whose Line is it Anyway, where four professional improvisational comedians get up on stage and act out various scenes, completely made up on the spot, and you see it in every episode, those moments where one of the comedians are in that moment where they don’t quite know what to say or do, but then burst out with one of the funniest lines of that episode. Whose Line is it Anyway, created in England but perfected by the American network ABC and is now in its third form on CW.

I went to see Whose Line is it Anyway on stage in London, England, and it was as genuine as I knew it would be. But the beauty is, the show I was seeing that night was completely different to that of what would come after mine. Different suggestions from the audience, therefore different jokes. What you were watching was unique, and therefore can create one of the best talking points about theatre shows, because instead of discussing just the one thing that happened in the show we all went to see, we can discuss what happened in our show we went to see, and what the actors did there and then, on the spot, off the top of their heads.

One of the most talked about improvisational scene during Parks and Recreation made the head writer furious he didn’t think of that before. Chris Pratt made up the line there and then, using the resources he had at the time. Amy Schumer’s character, Leslie needed to be rushed to a hospital due to being severely ill, and Chris Pratt’s character, the lovable Andy, said, “I searched your symptoms into the thing up here and it says you could have network connectively problems.” That line is perfectly in line with Andy’s character, and that clip alone had been watched over a million times on YouTube – you can see why the head writer was furious – it’s also the head writer’s favourite scene in the entire show.

Another incredibly well-timed improvised scene was during the film, Batman Begins, when the Joker was walking out of a hospital. I’m pretty certain you’ve all heard about how Heath Ledger stopped midway toward the bus he was supposed to climb aboard as the hospital exploded. However, due to unexpected complications, the explosives delayed, and so Health took that opportunity to make the Joker play around with the remote – another absolutely perfect piece of improvisational (dark) comedy.

That type of comedy doesn’t come easy though. When put on the spot, it’s easy for the mind to freeze. Like when you’re asked to think of a word with the letter “f” in, but you’ve forgotten every single word you’ve ever known with that letter. You’re unexpectedly put on the spot, and sometimes it can be hard to think of a way out. It’s the same with improvisational comedy, which means it can be mentally draining, leaving you tired at the end of the show. Those people who are professionals, who’ve learnt how to be spontaneous or has a natural ability to come up with brilliant one-liners, don’t appear to struggle in any way. Those veterans in the field on Whose Line is it Anyway, they’ve been doing that show for years, and various other show centred around improvisational comedy, so they can think quickly – but there are plenty of outtakes showing even after so many years, they can still freeze, or struggle to think of something there and then, or say something they shouldn’t, it’s all part of the package.

Robin Williams is widely known as one of the best improvisational comedians in the world – the best comedian by many. Robin always had the crowd in stitches with his jokes which he’s thought of completely on the spot. One of my favourite videos, showcasing his wonderful talent was when he was entertaining the troops, and he was interrupted by the call of retreat. This is a moment he’d never forget, but after the call was complete, Robin diverted from his script he’d written beforehand and performed some absolutely perfect one-liners, making the troops laugh harder than ever.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)