04/13/2001

For a Night of Quick WHIT

Connecticut audiences love the WHIT of a new improv theater troupe co-sponsored by the New England Academy of Theatre (NEAT) in Hamden and the Elmwood Community Center in West Hartford. Paula Coco, the director and a stand-up comic, founded WHIT (West Hartford Improv Troupe) in the summer of 2000 after discovering how much she enjoyed working with promising actors, actresses and comics in classes and workshops at NEAT.

The creative energy and inventiveness of this improv troupe captivates the audience from the first scene on. While actors wait off-stage, Coco introduces the structure of each scene; she then invites the audience to supply relevant titles, names or attributes; and the actors take it from there.

For example, imagine a stage set with two rows of chairs to suggest the interior of a bus. Coco asks the audience for five adjectives that describe emotions. On the evening I attended a performance, the audience called out: "Giddy, anxious, indignant, hostile and romantic." Coco wrote each adjective on a piece of paper and handed it to the actors one by one as they prepared to board the bus. After the actor climbed on board, he or she acted out the assigned emotion, and those on the bus, starting with the driver, "caught" each new mood and joined in. Much like the contagion from hollering "fire!" in a movie theater, the bus passengers quickly picked up on each new mood in dramatic and hilarious fashion. Naturally the bus driver's concentration was thrown off, too, adding to the comedy. As each actor was dropped off, the group reverted to the previous emotion until everyone had reached their "stop."

Other scenes, to name a few, were a mock newscast of a fairy tale (title from the audience), a wacky version of The Dating Game, a pun-laced bar scene, and inventive scenarios based on quirky sentences audience members had contributed at the door.

Compelling improv theater requires remarkable talent and imagination, because actors invent the script on the spot, based on audience suggestions. It's dazzling to watch when done well. "Improv is to comedy what karaoke is to music," says Coco. "It provides a way for observers to be part of the show." Improv unfolds much like a conversation: participants don't really know where it's going, but they know they will sense the beginning, middle and end. From the wings, Coco can tell when a sketch has hit its high point and its end, which she signals by ringing a bell.

Coco teaches both stand-up comedy and improv techniques at NEAT. Despite its nebulous structure, there are distinct ground rules for improv performers:

1. Rule of agreement. Accept what other actors introduce into the dialogue and build on it. Never negate what someone else says because that kills the flow.

2. Respond to the moment and trust fellow actors. (This takes many hours of practice.)

3. Do not upstage another actor with a "killer line," especially early in a scene.

4. Introduce conflict but not by arguing. Make the problem bigger and bigger before solving it (this builds the comedy and audience involvement).

5. When sensing what the audience expects to happen, take a left turn into the unexpected (also for comedic impact).

6. Do not ask questions. Questions add nothing to a scene except the potential for embarrassing fellow actors.

7. No "pimping." In other words, do not give another actor a blank piece of paper with an introductory line like, "Read this!" Too risky!

Performances are held on the last Friday of every month, 8 p.m., at the Elmwood Community Center, 1107 New Britain Ave., West Hartford. Tickets cost $7 per person, available in advance or at the door.

WHIT also entertains at corporate parties and other venues. For tickets or information about WHIT, call 860-678-9494. To learn more about acting classes offered at the New England Academy of Theater (NEAT), call Jerry Prell, founder and artistic director, at 203-281-6115.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.