Feb 20- An Evening with Mischler & More at easylaughs, sponsored by allimprov

Photo by Robin Straaijer

On Feb. 20 at easylaughs, Peter More and Nicole Mischler debutted their new sketch comedy show. A mix of written, scripted and improvised scenes in the style of Elaine May and Mike Nichols. The show opened with a vaudeville act, included some art-house theater, scenes about social media and dating and a couple of classic sketches from May & Nichols, a scene about the guilt of adultery and lust over the operation table. The show was a big hit and great fun. M&M will certainly be showing their sketch show again in the near future!

Photo by Robin Straaijer

TVA Top Module and Pina Bausch

February 21st, 2014:
The Top Module from TVA (Theatersports Vereniging Amsterdam) played at easylaughs in a show sponsored by allimprov.  The Top Module is TVA's most experienced players. Each year they choose a theme and have the freedom to experiment with different ways of using improvisation as performance. This year Pina Bausch, a German choreographer was the inspiration for movement-based improvisation. They take suggestions at the begin of the scene from the audience and then blend dance and ensemble work into the scenes for a heightened emotional and dramatic state. The show at easylaughs was a great success, The Top Module was excited to show their unique form to a new audience, and the form showed that improvisation mixed with dance is an exciting blend of two disciplines. The Top Module would like to thank easylaughs for hosting and thank allimprov for the sponsorship.

– Nicole, TVA Top Module

Workshop with JSTAR from Atlanta

The fabulous JSTAR is coming to Amsterdam!
JSTAR ıs the founder and artıstıc dırector of the 9 year old Basement Theatre ın Atlanta, GA USA. He ıs also the producer of the Spontaneous Combustıon ımprov festıval ın Atlanta ın March (2013 wıll be year 6 for the fest) Jstar has studıed at ıO (ımprov olympıc), Second Cıty and The Annoyance ın Chıcago as well as UCB New York, and Keıth Johnstone. He has also worked wıth everyone (alıve) who has wrıtten an ımprov book! Hıs ımprov style and teachıng combınes the best of the best from all schools ın order to have the most fun on stage! Jstar has travelled the world teachıng and performıng ımprov... ask to see hıs tattoos!

He'll be teaching a workshop on Saturday November 23 about starting scenes in new ways called: THREE STEPS AWAY.
How many times do we get that suggestion from the audience
HAMBURGER... and start the scene... "this is the best Hamburger!"
MOTORCYCLE... "This is the first time I've ridden a motorcycle!"
FOREST..."I've never been to the forest before!"
In this workshop we learn how to expand from the Suggestions
to begin dynamic scenes that will please not only your audience
but you as the actor!

The workshop takes place at Crea in Amsterdam from 1 to 4pm, and costs only 25euros.

Email to anne@easylaughs.nl for more information or to register.

ps If you want to see him perform, he'll take the stage with easylaughs the night before (Friday November 22)

Mischler and More Sci Fi at easylaughs 20th September

On 20th September, Mischler and More premiered their latest genre, Sci Fi. They picked Sci Fi because it’s one that improvisers alway complain as being difficult to do. Mischler and More’s approach is to try as much as possible to recreate a story in that genre. Not going for jokes that destroy that mood,but allowing there to be humour coming from the characters and situations. If that happens. They are also fine if the story is more tragic.

Their secret to science fiction, as with all stories and all improv, is that it is all about relationships and the needs of the characters. If some of those characters happen not to be human or happen to be mechanical, it doesn’t matter.

Mischler and More will be back soon with more visions of the future, watch this space (pun intended).

Epische Impro update

Een passepartout-houder beschreef zijn ervaringen bij de Epische Impro als volgt:

"Een unieke improtoneelervaring. Ik was de hele dag ondergedompeld in een goed geregisseerde soap, gespeeld door de beste improspelers, met spannende verhaallijnen die zich over meerdere uren uitstrekten en "round characters" die hele ontwikkelingen doormaakten, inclusief catharsissen die me echt raakten. Ik raakte gehecht aan de personages doordat ik ze zoveel beter kon leren kennen dan in een stuk van normale lengte. Bovendien was het twaalf uur lang hilarisch, ik heb erg veel gelachen. De spelers waren heerlijk ontspannen en genoten er zichtbaar ook zelf enorm van. Door de tijdsduur groeiden spelers en publiek bovendien naar elkaar toe en bereikte het contact tussen spelers en publiek een intensiteit die bij een normale improvoorstelling nooit gehaald kan worden. Acteurs, publiek, zaal en verhaal werden één. Beter dan "binge viewing"!"

Mischler and More

Mischler and More is a collaboration between two established Amsterdam-based improvisers, Nicole Mischler and Peter More. Nicole and Peter have been working together for years in various groups and decided to use their obvious chemistry and love of a challenge to try creating genre-based narrative longform show with just the two of them. By really delving into the genre and avoiding the usual superficial, cheap jokes of much improv genre work they have worked on two well-received "formats" so far, in the style of Shakespeare and Film Noir. There is the promise of more to come.

Thanks to allimprov and easylaughs help, they were able to quickly get off the ground and be dressed for the part. They have even already started making an impact on the festival circuit, starting with the huge Chicago Improv Festival, performing as one of five international groups. Their next festival is the less-well-known Delft Fringe and the hope to have another show in Amsterdam before that comes out.

Like them on Facebook to be kept up to date: facebook.com/MischlerMore

Harri Olli from Switzerland and Dizzy and the Pit Kittens

The night of the 17th of November held for improv lovers a very special occasion

at CREA: the groups Harri Olli from Switzerland and Dizzy and the Pit Kittens
teamed up to show a variety of longform styles and foster international improv
exchange.

First Dizzy at the Pitt Kittens took the stage to perform their show ‘Whirlpool’.
This format highlights the power of the combination of abstract scene work,
realistic scenes, and colorful stories. In a collage of scenes inspired by the
two words betrayal and paranoia. After presenting an improvised dance, in
which everyone of the four performers took the lead at some point, to lure the
audience in and probably warming up their bodies Dizzy and the Pitt Kittens
took the audience on a journey through single scenes and reoccurring stories
about cheating wives, rejection in social groups, the royal hierarchies and land
ownership among lions, the old rivalry between postman and dog, and others.

They presented not only how to stay in and instantly refind strong characters but
also how to organically transform smoothly from one scene to the next with all
players on the stage at all times, even if the scene is only about two or even one
person. This was for the spectator surely the most inspiring experience, leaving
us with the question “How the hell did they do that?”.

It was clear that there were four highly skilled and well assembled performers
on stage who seem to have found an outstanding level of groupmind and who
dare to go to places very few other improv groups would take their scenes:
funny, sad, and abstract all in one show.
(by: Gerald Weber)

In the second half the three players of the Swiss longform group Harri Olli took
to the stage. The two founders Gerry and Simone trained this year with BATS
from San Fransisco and brought BATS format ' The Naked Stage' with them to
Zurich.

Earlier in 2012 the duo had performed their two men show (also made possible
by All Improv) and for this second performance they invited new group member
Niggi to perform with them. ‘The Naked Stage’ consisted of three acts, each with
a predetermined length in time, and no change of characters or location. The
audience suggested a shed for a location and the three performers told the story
of a man dealing with the relationship with his father now and in the past, and
how that affected his marriage.

The story evolved in a calm pace with a very interesting tension underneath it.
Regularly this tension was broken by the funny twists in the universe they had
carefully created. For instance when Sarah, the wife, made light hearted remarks
about issues that her husband had difficulty dealing with, both frustrating
and thawing him. It was in moments like this, that the actors could show their
experience as an ensemble and the acting skills that they individually own.

The evening ended with a short jam session with all seven players on stage in
which they showed themselves from even more different sides. The audience got
a full spectrum of abstract, serious, and light fun as a dessert.
(by: Laura Doorneweerd)

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.

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
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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.

De Eskimo's

De Eskimo's is een experimentele mengvorm van pure improvisatie en meer klassieke theatrale elementen. Het experiment bestaat eruit te onderzoeken hoe het drama fris blijft, maar dat de scene wel inhoudelijk wordt uitgediept.
De Eskimo's werken in ieder geval met een gerenommeerde toneelschrijver. Zo kan het zijn dat de schrijver de acteurs een week voor de voorstelling, de opdracht geeft zich te verdiepen in een personage. De te spelen situatie tussen de personages wordt dan pas vlak voor het optreden aan de spelers en het publiek door de schrijver onthuld.

Maar het kan ook zo zijn dat zowel de personages als de situatie pas tijdens het optreden uit de doeken worden gedaan. Alles is mogelijk en niets moet bij de Eskimo's!

De speler is als een Eskimo die met weinig middelen zich ten overstaan van het publiek in het diepe gooit, in de hoop op een goede vangst.

De Eskimo’s is een initiatief van Patrick Sins en Maurice van Turnhout.
Verder werken mee: Annemarie Brijder, Lotte Gerritsjans, Marc van Dijk, Bart Danon, Daan Vennix, Dieter Camps en Frank Roumen

De Eskimo’s is in elk geval te zien op:

Donderdag 2 juni op het Scagon eenakterfestival te Schagen, vanaf 11.30 uur
Scagontheater
Tel: 0224-297978/06-12988666
Entreeprijs 10 euro

Zaterdag 4 juni op het Nanook Nono eenakterfestival vanaf 20.00 uur in De Theatergarage, Borgerhout, België
Reserveren:
06 467 467 63
Entreeprijs 10 euro

29 en 30 oktober op het Cameleon eenakterfestival, De Cameleon, Amsterdam
tijden volgen nog

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door AllImprov

Theater Battle at Sunday Mix 14.03.2010

From Theater Battle at Sunday Mix

From Theater Battle at Sunday Mix

From Theater Battle at Sunday Mix

From Theater Battle at Sunday Mix

From Theater Battle at Sunday Mix

Dit 27.03.10

DIT - 27 Maart 2010 from mathieu van den berk on Vimeo.

Seven Ages of Man March 9 and 10 in Florence

From Live Man Show - Florence

March 9th and March 10th, Florence Italy. Rod Ben Zeev and Ben Silburn went to perform a new show called The Seven Ages of Man in order to raise money for a charity in Africa in collaboration with V-day.

From Live Man Show - Florence

The show went really really really well. We will do more. We were the late night show after a spectacular English/Italian performance of The Vagina Monologues. Special thanks to Bari Hochwald (that's her in the car) for thinking of us in connection with the word "vagina" and making it happen, Trui Malten for hosting us with her lovely family in the mountains and Arielle Schnur for being a superb tech person and dedicated stage manager. We could not have done this without you. Extra thanks to AllImprov for supporting it from The Netherlands.

From Live Man Show - Florence

The article in Italian claims we are Irish. I love being Irish. Go Irish

Also this show has changed its name to Live Man Show due to the fact that another show already exists called Seven Ages of Man. It's a great show.

Watch the show here:

Men: A User's Manual from ben silburn on Vimeo.

Dit 20.02.10

DIT - 20 Februari 2010 from mathieu van den berk on Vimeo.