The Narrative Improv Jam

The Narrative Improv Jam
Theater	The Hideout Theatre
Directed by	Roy Janik
Cast	Varied
Run	Feb-Jun 2012

The Narrative Improv Jam was a monthly Friday-night show at The Hideout where the cast collaborated with the audience to perform a narrative longform.

It was part of The Wheel.

Summary

The Narrative Improv Jam had a cast of ringers joining the audience -- though the audience, too, was typically mostly improvisors. After leading the attendees in some simple warm-ups, several audience members would get up on the stage and do the opening scene of a longform narrative. As the story went on, audience members either volunteered or were pressed into service as volunteers.

History

A narrative improv jam had happened as a successful experiment at the first Improvised Play Festival, so it was brought into The Wheel in February of 2012. Along with Maestro Raw, the format replaced Dubbed Indemnity and The Nightmare Video Project, both of which required extensive and time-consuming video preparation.

During one performance of The Narrative Improv Jam, a longtime Hideout fan proposed to his partner in the middle of the show. The director and cast knew about this plan ahead of time, and so set up a story that included the protagonist happening on a marriage proposal in the middle of a public park. (She said yes.)

Due to poor attendance, the show was quickly replaced with The TV Set in July of 2012.

Media

Photos

• Photoset by Peter Rogers of the 1/20/12 show.

More Information

• The show's web page.