Harri Olli at easylaughs 21 April 2012

On 21 April 2012, easylaughs played host to Harri Olli. Harri Olli is a Zurich-based improv ensemble consisting of professional actors, musicians, directors, and comedians. They perform all around Europe.

They presented their two person format Zak&Sara, inspired by the song by Ben Folds, is a duo show specially developed for Simone Schwegler and Gerald Weber. It puts the relationship issues of two best friends on stage. They explore their own relationships honestly and turn the themes they find into stories. This creates an outstanding theatrical and comedic experience about friendships and relationships. The pair were on their way to Chicago to perform at the improv festival there.

The show was inspirational for their use of the space, physicality and commitment to the worlds that they had set up. 

Six Degrees - new narrative longform group

Six Degrees by Rick vd Meiden

On 31 March 2012, Six Degrees had their first performance. They used a slot from the regular easylaughs Saturday night at the Crea. The performed a 45-minute, single-story narrative based on six characters who all had some sort of connection to each other. Six Degrees was the result of an initiative to create a story-based longform group from experienced, committed players. The show was well-attended and well-received. Thanks to Allimprov, the show received sponsorship (with their scheme for existing groups hosting Allimprov-backed initiatives) which will enable Six Degrees to continue to develop. Six Degrees are Nicole Mischler, Miriam Brouwer, Lindy Seca, Marcel Butterhoff, Sven Lanser and Peter More.

 Next performance: Saturday June 2 at the Crea. Details: easylaughs.nl/shows

Impro Battle joins Wayne McGregor at Muziek Theater Amsterdam

Something amazing happened at Amsterdam's famed Muziek Theater. The national home of the ballet and the opera became home to one of the most dazzling dance nights in recent years. The evening was a collaboration between the Muziek Theater's educational department, led by Christine Timmer and various groups from Amsterdam to work together with famed English choreographer Wayne McGregor and compose a show. The groups worked together for a week and produced a beautiful spectacle. The highlight of this and the closing number was Impro Battle, an improvisational group led by Marijn Vissers, Milaino Spalburg and Bram Martens. The group composed of 24 members members of Meidenwerk Younited and Combiwel erupted on stage with energy and grace, wowing the audiences of their two sold out shows.
This is where I can get personal because I had the pleasure of working together with Impro Battle earlier in the season and in my opinion they are the most talented improv group in The Netherlands today. They exemplify what improv should be: playful and fun while having the advantage of truly representing the cosmopolitan face of Amsterdam and The Netherlands. On stage they were almost unrecognizable as they demonstrated such intense focus, finesse and agility and played a very moving performance. Special thanks to all of them for such a wonderful show.

Kwaliteitsimpuls voor Hatseflats! impro voor en met kinderen

Ooit had Theatersportvereniging Amsterdam (TVA) een kindervoorstelling onder de naam Abracadabra. Een fraai gedecoreerde theatersportvoorstelling waarbij de teams Mayo en Ketchup streden om de eer. Ondanks herhaaldelijke nieuwe impulsen van TVA-leden om Abracadabra nieuwe leven in te blazen, belandden de decors en kostuums op zolder…

Totdat het bij een van de ex-Abracadabra’ers vorige zomer begon te kriebelen. Thom Bruggeman wilde zijn zoon toch zeker kennis laten maken met impro. Al snel wist hij verschillende impro’ers waarmee hij eerder had gespeeld om zich heen te verzamelen onder de naam Hatseflats!

En zo kwam het dat in oktober vorig jaar de eerste voorstelling van Hatseflats! het licht zag. Een drukbezochte show waar het enthousiasme vanaf spatte. Neemt niet weg dat er aan de inhoud en de wijze van spelen nog wel wat te doen was. Want: hoe ga je om met kinderen? Wat zijn de do’s en don’ts in kindertheater? En hoe creëer je rust in de voorstelling en in de zaal? Samen met Marjolein Macrander, regisseur van, en actrice in kindervoorstellingen, werd een vast raamwerk opgezet, waarbinnen de verschillende theatersportvormen konden worden gespeeld.

De voorstellingen van de afgelopen maanden hebben inmiddels aangetoond dat er vergeleken met de eerste keer al een hele stap is gemaakt. En dat blijkt ook wel uit de opkomst: ouders en kinderen komen steeds vaker terug. Dat leidde in maart zelfs tot een uitverkochte voorstelling.

Hoewel met het vaste raamwerk en de tips van Marjolein inmiddels de nodige vorderingen zijn gemaakt, toch willen de spelers van Hatseflats! zich graag verder ontwikkelen. Daarom volgen ze binnenkort opnieuw enkele trainingen van Marjolein Macrander. Deze verdere investering in de kwaliteit van de Hatseflats!-vorderingen wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt met een bijdrage van AllImprov. Zelf zien hoe Hatseflats! vooruitgaat? Bezoek een van de voorstellingen. Op www.wijzijnhatseflats.nl staat alle informatie en kan er worden gereserveerd.

Hero's Journey Class

On December 10, 2011. Peter More (of easylaughs and the Ad Libertines) gave a presentation-style workshop on the Hero's Journey. The workshop was attended by a nicely mixed group of people with a variety of experience in the Hero's Journey. The workshop covered the core concept of the the Journey and went on to discuss how it can be used within improvised stories. The workshop was part of a sponsorship deal with Ad Libertines a new narrative-based group that will reform in 2012.

"It was a wonderful workshop!!" - Mariette

Playing with Reality in Amsterdam

Myself, along with fellow company members Carolyn McCandlish, Jennifer Kent & Julio Peña, were in town last week to conduct our interactive performance workshops. Our style of performance invites onto the stage a member of the audience to portray the protagonist of an improvised narrative. Utilizing several techniques and concepts, we create a safe space for the participant to make bold choices and fight for their beliefs, all while creating a cohesive story for the viewing audience.

Our level 1 workshop took place over 2 days – Saturday, 29 October, and Sunday, the 30th. We had 6 attendees who worked wonderfully as a team and learned the tools we could share. At the end of the second day, they gave a performance for the public, which was also streamed live for everyone to see. In case you missed it, you can watch the recording here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18214885. After only 12 hours of training, they did an exceptional job, and we’re proud of their work.

The level 2 workshop was condensed to a 3-hour session on Wednesday, 2 November. With 2 new attendees and 2 attendees from the level 1 workshop, we were able to impart a handful of skills that we use to understand how the participant wants to play and how to challenge them. All attendees seem to have gained valuable tools from the session.

Our goal for these workshops was to teach some of our skills, and, while the attendees may not dive into the world of interactive performance, they can at least transfer some of them to their work in improvisation and performance. From talking with the attendees afterwards, it sounds like they’re able to do exactly that.

We were also fortunate enough to perform in the second slot of easylaughs’ Friday show at CREA Café. It was a full house, and the workshop attendees came to support us.

We returned home to New York this past weekend with pride in our work and confidence in what we taught. Thank you to All Improv for giving us this opportunity. We hope to return soon!

Shea Elmore
Director
Playing with Reality


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Playing with Reality is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Playing with Reality must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Patti Stiles' Workshop Notes

Thanks for supporting Patti Stiles' workshops in Amsterdam.

I will not need the full allocated support cause the workshop filled up completely.
I'll send a (little) donation request separately by e-mail.

I am now sending you my entry for the blog:


Patti Stiles: she made us look and feel good!

Canadian (now Australian) improv goddess Patti Stiles has been trained by Keith Johnstone and this was obvious in the 2 workshops she taught in Amsterdam. A lot of Keiths motto's have been misinterpreted over the years, and she has set them straight. This may sound very strict, but Patti is a wonderful person, breathing all improv principles and opening up many new possibilities.

The most impactful day was the second one, especially for improv teachers. She showed us how we hover around what is really important: the motto of Make your partner look good. All improv principles like Yes And, being Aware, etc. derive from that basic motto. Which is more than just a t-shirt motto! We talked about the fact that forbidding players to block, stall, whimp, etc. does not make their fear go away. The fear will come back at other levels.

If you truly want to take their fear away, you need them to start focussing on the other player. If you are making your partner look good, you are not in your head with your own fear.

This, and so many other insights, were the result of Patti's workshop. We hope the new values will quickly spread to the Dutch improv society!

Anja Boorsma
Far Fetched Productions